DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Specification
The title of the invention DISPLAY PANEL AND DISPLAY APPARATUS HAVING A DAM UNIT IN A PERIPHERAL AREA is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Na et al. US 2022/0181417 in view of Lee et al. US 20190245015.
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Na et al. US 2022/0181417
Regarding claim 1, Na et al. in Fig. 3 and [0037]-[0121] disclose a display panel, wherein the display panel comprises:
a substrate 100 [0039] comprising a display area AA and a peripheral area NA around the display area;
a display element 120 [0046] disposed in the display area AA;
a thin film encapsulation layer 130 [0047], [0114] covering the display area AA and comprising a first inorganic encapsulation layer 131, an organic encapsulation layer 132, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 133; and
a dam unit DAM [0119]-[0120] comprising a plurality of dams DAM1, DAM2, DAM3 disposed in the peripheral area NA; and
a common voltage line Vss [0108] disposed in the peripheral area NA,
wherein the plurality of dams DAM1, DAM2, DAM3 comprise an organic layer [0079]-[0080], the organic layer is at least partially disposed on a side surface of an outermost dam DAM2 among the plurality of dams DAM1, DAM2, DAM3,
wherein the common voltage line Vss is disposed between the substrate 100 and the outermost dam DAM2.
Na et al. do not expressly disclose wherein the plurality of dams DAM1, DAM2, DAM3 comprise an inorganic layer, the inorganic layer is at least partially disposed on a side surface of an outermost dam among the plurality of dams,
wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer 131 directly contacts the inorganic layer on the side surface of the outermost dam.
However, in analogous art, Lee et al. in Figs. 5A and 7E-7G teach a display panel, wherein the display panel comprises:
a plurality of dams DM1, DM2 [0069] comprise an inorganic layer 174 [0092], the inorganic layer is at least partially disposed on a side surface of an outermost dam among the plurality of dams DM2, Fig. 7D,
wherein a first inorganic encapsulation layer directly contacts the inorganic layer 174 on the side surface of the outermost dam DM2 [0101]-[0102].
Lee et al. in [0137]-[0138] teach that encapsulating the organic light-emitting display device by a thin film encapsulation layer prevents the influence of humidity and oxygen from the exterior.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Lee et al. in the device of Na et al. for the purpose of providing an display device having improved reliability.
Regarding claim 2, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the inorganic layer 172 comprises a protrusion tip protruding toward at least one groove RC2, [0096]-[0099] of a plurality of grooves disposed between the plurality of dams, Fig. 7D.
Regarding claim 3, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 2. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein an opposite electrode EL2 180 [0049]-[0051] of the display element 182 is disconnected by the protrusion tip 172.
Regarding claim 4, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the inorganic layer 174 is disposed to extend from the side surface of the outermost dam DM2 to an upper surface of the substrate 110, and the first inorganic encapsulation layer 192 covers an edge of the inorganic layer 174 disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 110.
Regarding claim 5, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the display panel further comprises an inorganic insulating layer 140 [0044] disposed between the substrate 110 and the display element, wherein the inorganic insulating layer 140 extends to a portion of the peripheral area PA, and the inorganic layer 174 directly contacts the inorganic insulating layer 140 in the peripheral area PA.
Regarding claim 6, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the display panel further comprises a plurality of grooves [0096]-[0099] disposed between the dam unit and an edge of the substrate in the peripheral area PA.
Regarding claim 9, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the substrate 110 further comprises an opening area TA disposed inside a front display area DA and a non-display area PA disposed between the opening area TA and the front display area DA, and the substrate 110 includes a first opening TH corresponding to the opening area TA, Figs. 1A-1B and 5A [0032]-[0036].
Regarding claim 10, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 9. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the non-display area PA comprises a plurality of grooves [0096]-[0099].
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Na et al. in view of Lee et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Park et al. US 2021/0384465.
Regarding claim 7, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. teach the display panel of claim 1 but do not expressly teach wherein the display area DA comprises a front display area and a corner display area extending from a corner of the front display area, and at least two corner light emitting elements disposed in the corner display area are connected to a pixel circuit.
However, in analogous art, Park et al in Figs. 1-4B and [0091]-[0138] discloses display panel and a display apparatus in which a display area DA for displaying an image is extended and the DA comprises a front display area FDA and a corner display area CDA extending from a corner of the front display area FDA, and at least two corner light emitting elements PX2, PX3 disposed in the corner display area CDA are connected to a pixel circuit Fig. 4B.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Park et al. in the display panel of Na et al. and Lee et al. for the purpose of extending the display area for displaying an image.
Regarding claim 8, Na et al. in view of Lee et al. further in view of Park et al. teach the display panel of claim 7. Park et al. in [0091]-[0138] teach wherein the corner display area CDA comprises a first corner display area and a second corner display area, and a driving circuit DC providing a scan signal SL is disposed in the second corner display area, and a corner light emitting element PX3 disposed in the second corner display area MDA among the at least two corner light emitting elements is disposed to overlap the driving circuit DC, Fig. 4B.
Claim(s) 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. US 2021/0384465 in view of Na et al. US 2022/0181417, and further in view of Lee et al. US 2019/0245015.
Regarding claim 11, Park et al in Figs. 1-4B and [0091]-[0138] discloses a display apparatus wherein the display apparatus comprises:
a cover window CW [0096] comprising a flat portion and a curved portion curved at a corner of the flat portion [0101]; and
a display panel disposed on a surface of the cover window CW and including a substrate 100 [0123] including a display area DA overlapping the flat portion and a peripheral area PA surrounding the display area DA,
wherein the display panel comprises:
a display element OLED disposed in the display area DA;
a thin film encapsulation layer TFE [0198] Fig. 8A covering the display area DA and comprising a first inorganic encapsulation layer 310, an organic encapsulation layer 320, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 330.
Park et al. do not expressly disclose a dam unit comprising a plurality of dams disposed in the peripheral area PA, a common voltage line disposed in the peripheral area PA, wherein the plurality of dams comprise an inorganic layer, the inorganic layer is at least partially disposed on a side surface of an outermost dam among the plurality of dams, wherein the common voltage line is disposed between the substrate and the outermost dam, and wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer directly contacts the inorganic layer on the side surface of the outermost dam.
However, in analogous art, Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] discloses a display panel [0030] with high quality images while reducing an area of dead space of the display panel, wherein the display panel comprises:
a substrate [0038] comprising a display area DA and a peripheral area PA around the display area DA [0036];
a display element 182 [0033],[0051] disposed in the display area DA;
a thin film encapsulation layer 190 covering the display area DA [0038] and comprising a first inorganic encapsulation layer 192, an organic encapsulation layer 194, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 196 [0058]; and
a dam unit comprising a plurality of dams DM1, DM2 disposed in the peripheral area PA [0062], wherein the plurality of dams comprise an inorganic layer 172, 174, the inorganic layer 174 is at least partially disposed on a side surface of an outermost dam DM2 among the plurality of dams, and
wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer 192 directly contacts the inorganic layer 174 on the side surface of the outermost dam DM2.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Lee et al. in the display apparatus of Park et al. for the purpose of reducing the area of dead space of the display device while displaying high quality images.
Park et al. in view of Lee et al. do not expressly teach a common voltage line disposed in the peripheral area PA, wherein the common voltage line is disposed between the substrate and the outermost dam.
However, in analogous art, Na et al. in Fig. 3 and [0037]-[0121] teach a display panel comprising a common voltage line Vss [0108] disposed in a peripheral area NA, wherein the common voltage line Vss is disposed between substrate 100 and an outermost dam DAM2.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Na et al. in the display of Park et al. and Lee et al. for the purpose of providing a stable Vss connection.
Regarding claim 12, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the inorganic layer 172 comprises a protrusion tip protruding toward at least one groove RC2, of a plurality of grooves disposed between the plurality of dams, Fig. 7D.
Regarding claim 13 Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 12. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein an opposite electrode EL2 180 [0049]-[0051] of the display element 182 is disconnected by the protrusion tip 172.
Regarding claim 14, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the inorganic layer 174 is disposed to extend from the side surface of the outermost dam DM2 to an upper surface of the substrate 110, and the first inorganic encapsulation layer 192 covers an edge of the inorganic layer 174 disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 110.
Regarding claim 15, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the display panel further comprises an inorganic insulating layer 140 [0044] disposed between the substrate 110 and the display element, wherein the inorganic insulating layer 140 extends to a portion of the peripheral area PA, and the inorganic layer 174 directly contacts the inorganic insulating layer 140 in the peripheral area PA.
Regarding claim 16, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach wherein the display panel further comprises a plurality of grooves [0096]-[0099] disposed between the dam unit and an edge of the substrate in the peripheral area PA.
Regarding claim 17, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Park et al in Figs. 1-4B and [0091]-[0138] teach wherein the display area DA comprises a front display area FDA and a corner display area CDA extending from a corner of the front display area FDA, and at least two corner light emitting elements PX2, PX3 disposed in the corner display area CDA are connected to a pixel circuit Fig. 4B.
Regarding claim 18, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 17. Park et al. in [0091]-[0138] teach wherein the corner display area CDA comprises a first corner display area and a second corner display area, and a driving circuit DC providing a scan signal SL is disposed in the second corner display area, and a corner light emitting element PX3 disposed in the second corner display area MDA among the at least two corner light emitting elements is disposed to overlap the driving circuit DC, Fig. 4B.
Regarding claim 19, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 11. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0034] teach wherein the display panel of claim 11 further comprises an opening area TA disposed inside a front display area DA and a non-display area PA disposed between the opening area TA and the front display area DA, and a component [0034] corresponding to the opening area TA is further disposed under the display panel.
Regarding claim 20, Park et al. in view of Lee et al. and further in view of Na et al. teach the display apparatus of claim 19. Lee et al. in Fig. 5A and [0030]-[0109] teach the display panel of claim 9, wherein the non-display area PA comprises a plurality of grooves [0096]-[0099].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONYA D MCCALL-SHEPARD whose telephone number is (571)272-9801. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached at (571)272-1864. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Sonya McCall-Shepard/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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