Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 20190058021 A1)
In regard to claim 13 Kim teaches a display device [see Fig. 4], comprising:
a first substrate [see Fig. 4 see lower substrate see paragraph 0035 “a substrate 100, which includes an active area AA having a plurality of sub-pixels SP and a non-active area formed around the active area”] including an active area and a non-active area adjacent to the active area, the active area including a plurality of sub-pixels;
a second substrate [“an encapsulation substrate 200, which is disposed to face the substrate 100”] facing the first substrate and having a size smaller [see Fig. 1 “pad electrodes are provided at the pad portion P of the substrate 100, which protrudes further than the encapsulation substrate 200”] than a size of the first substrate; and
a dam disposed [“a seal pattern 300, which is located between the first dam D1 and the second dam D2, as seen in a planar view, and which is located between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200, as seen in a vertical cross-section” “seal pattern 300 is formed of a liquid material having a certain initial viscosity, which mainly includes an organic material, such as epoxy having adhesive properties, and a polymer material including a photoinitiator or a thermal initiator” “since the filler 250 and the seal pattern 300 are formed of different materials from each other and the filler 250 is disposed so as to contact the seal pattern 300 after the seal pattern 300 has been pre-cured or cured, interference between the filler 250 and the seal pattern 300 does not occur” , thus the seal pattern 300 also functions as “dam” under broadest reasonable interpretation] in the non-active area between the first substrate and the second substrate,
wherein the second substrate includes:
a first part disposed [see Fig. 4 see 200 is in both active and non-active, the Examiner notes that the claim does not state that the “first part” is a different material than the “second part”, thus they can be portions of the same substrate] in the active area and the non-active area; and
a second part disposed only [see Fig. 4 see the “second part” is 210a, 210b see paragraph 0058 “the first to fourth dam patterns 220, 162, 210a and 210b are formed of organic materials”] in the non-active area, and wherein ends of the second part and the dam are aligned [see Fig. 4 see inner ends of 210a, 210b are aligned with outer ends of 300 because they are touching] with each other.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 20190058021 A1) in view of Watabe et al. (US 20170229664 A1) hereafter referred to as Watabe
In regard to claim 1 Kim teaches a display device [see Fig. 4], comprising:
a first substrate [see Fig. 4 see lower substrate see paragraph 0035 “a substrate 100, which includes an active area AA having a plurality of sub-pixels SP and a non-active area formed around the active area”] including an active area and a non-active area adjacent to the active area, the active area including a plurality of sub-pixels;
a second substrate [“an encapsulation substrate 200, which is disposed to face the substrate 100”] facing the first substrate;
a dam attaching [“a seal pattern 300, which is located between the first dam D1 and the second dam D2, as seen in a planar view, and which is located between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200, as seen in a vertical cross-section” “seal pattern 300 is formed of a liquid material having a certain initial viscosity, which mainly includes an organic material, such as epoxy having adhesive properties, and a polymer material including a photoinitiator or a thermal initiator” “since the filler 250 and the seal pattern 300 are formed of different materials from each other and the filler 250 is disposed so as to contact the seal pattern 300 after the seal pattern 300 has been pre-cured or cured, interference between the filler 250 and the seal pattern 300 does not occur”, thus the seal pattern 300 also functions as “dam” under broadest reasonable interpretation] the first substrate and the second substrate in the non-active area; and
a pad [see “pad electrodes 135 (see FIG. 4) in the non-active area of the first side”] disposed outside the dam on one side of the first substrate, wherein the second substrate includes:
a first part [see Fig. 4 see 200 is in both active and non-active, the Examiner notes that the claim does not state that the “first part” is a different material than the “second part” , thus they can be portions of the same substrate] disposed across the active area and in the non-active area; and
a second part [see Fig. 4 see that 200 extends in the non-active between AA and pad electrodes 135, also see 210a, 210b see paragraph 0058 “the first to fourth dam patterns 220, 162, 210a and 210b are formed of organic materials”] in contact with the first part, overlapping with a portion of the non-active area between the active area and the pad,
but does not teach and made of a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor.
See Kim paragraph 0061 “The third dam pattern 210a and the fourth dam pattern 210b may also be formed in the process of forming a black matrix layer (not shown) or a color filter layer (not shown) on the encapsulation substrate 200” “because this liquid material has fluidity, when the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 are bonded to each other and receive pressure, the liquid material may be spread nonuniformly due to surface deviation of the substrate 100. When the distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 becomes a predetermined value after the bonding, the seal pattern 300 is cured by heat or UV and changes into a solid state, whereby the distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 can be maintained constant” .
See Watabe teaches rib see Fig. 4, Fig. 5 see paragraph 0048 “As a method for forming the rib 92, patterning using a photolithography technique, a printing method, an aerosol deposition method, sheet pasting or the like can be used” “the rib 92 is formed of SiN, silicon oxide (SiO), ITO or the like. Moreover, the same material as the sacrificial layer may be used for the rib 92, and a metal oxide or metal nitride may be used” “A material that can easily crack and does not easily pass water and oxygen through is preferable for the rib 92. The thickness (height) of the rib 92 is set to be basically the same as or slightly greater than the thickness of the multilayer structure that is subsequently formed in the area surrounded by the rib 92” “the filler 72 may be scattered inside the recess part in Step S30, and the filter 72 can be evenly spread in the gap when the two substrate layers are bonded in a vacuum”.
Thus, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to modify Kim to include that “and made of a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor”.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that 210, 220 can be used for both dam and spacing adjustment by using a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor and adjusting thickness like in Watabe.
In regard to claim 2 Kim and Watabe as combined teaches wherein a boundary between the first part [see that this is true under broadest reasonable interpretation because see Kim “first to fourth dam patterns 220, 162, 210a and 210b” i.e. 210a and 210b are also “dam” structures] and the second part overlaps the dam.
In regard to claim 3 Kim and Watabe as combined teaches wherein the first part of the second substrate extends [see Kim Fig. 4 see combination] from an area overlapping the active area to an area overlapping the dam in the non-active area.
In regard to claim 5 Kim and Watabe as combined teaches wherein an end portion of the second part [see Kim Fig. 4 see inner ends of 210a, 210b are aligned with outer ends of 300 because they are touching, see that this is true under broadest reasonable interpretation because see Kim “first to fourth dam patterns 220, 162, 210a and 210b” i.e. 210a and 210b are also “dam” structures] is disposed to be aligned with an end portion of the dam.
In regard to claim 8 Kim and Watabe as combined teaches wherein an end portion of the second part is disposed inside [see Kim Fig. 4 see inner ends of 210a, 210b are inside compared to substrate 100] from an end portion of the first substrate on sides other than the one side of the first substrate on which the pad is disposed.
In regard to claim 10 Kim and Watabe as combined teaches further comprising: a plurality of light emitting elements [see Kim paragraph 0061 “organic light-emitting diode of each sub-pixel”] disposed to correspond to the plurality of sub-pixels; an encapsulation part [“protective film 191”] covering the plurality of light emitting elements; and a filling member [“a filler 250 is provided in the area surrounded by the seal pattern 300 between the substrate 100 (including, e.g., the various components and layers on the substrate 100) and the encapsulation substrate 200 (including, e.g., components formed on the encapsulation substrate 200), thereby maintaining a constant distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200”] disposed on the encapsulation part and filling a space between the first substrate and the second substrate.
In regard to claim 11 Kim and Watabe as combined does not sate wherein an adhesive strength of the dam is higher than an adhesive strength of the filling member.
See Kim “seal pattern 300 is formed of a liquid material having a certain initial viscosity, which mainly includes an organic material, such as epoxy having adhesive properties” “When the distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 becomes a predetermined value after the bonding, the seal pattern 300 is cured by heat or UV and changes into a solid state” however see “a filler 250 is provided in the area surrounded by the seal pattern 300” “the filler 250 is disposed so as to contact the seal pattern 300 after the seal pattern 300 has been pre-cured or cured, interference between the filler 250 and the seal pattern 300 does not occur”, thus the shape is made by the seal pattern 300 which is described as “adhesive”, rather than the filler 250.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to use “wherein an adhesive strength of the dam is higher than an adhesive strength of the filling member ”, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 20190058021 A1) in view of Watabe et al. (US 20170229664 A1) hereafter referred to as Watabe
In regard to claim 16 Kim does not teach wherein the second part is made of a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor.
See Kim paragraph 0061 “The third dam pattern 210a and the fourth dam pattern 210b may also be formed in the process of forming a black matrix layer (not shown) or a color filter layer (not shown) on the encapsulation substrate 200” “because this liquid material has fluidity, when the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 are bonded to each other and receive pressure, the liquid material may be spread nonuniformly due to surface deviation of the substrate 100. When the distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 becomes a predetermined value after the bonding, the seal pattern 300 is cured by heat or UV and changes into a solid state, whereby the distance between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 200 can be maintained constant” .
See Watabe teaches rib see Fig. 4, Fig. 5 see paragraph 0048 “As a method for forming the rib 92, patterning using a photolithography technique, a printing method, an aerosol deposition method, sheet pasting or the like can be used” “the rib 92 is formed of SiN, silicon oxide (SiO), ITO or the like. Moreover, the same material as the sacrificial layer may be used for the rib 92, and a metal oxide or metal nitride may be used” “A material that can easily crack and does not easily pass water and oxygen through is preferable for the rib 92. The thickness (height) of the rib 92 is set to be basically the same as or slightly greater than the thickness of the multilayer structure that is subsequently formed in the area surrounded by the rib 92” “the filler 72 may be scattered inside the recess part in Step S30, and the filter 72 can be evenly spread in the gap when the two substrate layers are bonded in a vacuum”.
Thus, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to modify Kim to include that wherein the second part is made of a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that 210, 220 can be used for both dam and spacing adjustment by using a transparent conducting oxide or an oxide semiconductor and adjusting thickness like in Watabe.
Conclusion
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/SITARAMARAO S YECHURI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893