DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Election filed on May 26, 2026.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species B in the reply filed on May 26, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Furthermore, the applicant asserts that claims 1-7, 9 and 11-20 read on Species B. However, the examiner maintains that claims 11-20 read on Species B as explained in the Restriction Requirement.
Claims 1-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on Feb 3, 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR 10-2023-0014709 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
Claims 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 10,497,896 B2).
In re claim 11, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) a display device, comprising: a substrate (111); a first metal layer (AL2) on the substrate; an encapsulation layer (310) on the first metal layer; a second metal layer (TL, TE) on the encapsulation layer; and a contact hole (CH3) through the encapsulation layer, with the first metal layer and the second metal layer being connected to each other through the contact hole, wherein the encapsulation layer recedes away from the contact hole.
In re claim 12, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) a dielectric layer (230) between the encapsulation layer and the first metal layer, wherein the contact hole is in the dielectric layer.
In re claim 13, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) the substrate includes a display area (DA) and a non-display area (NDA), and the contact hole (CH3) is on the non-display area.
In re claims 14 and 15, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) a dam (DA) in the non-display area and between the contact hole and the display area. The dam and the dielectric includes a same dielectric material.
In re claim 16, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) wherein the second metal layer overlaps the dam.
In re claims 17 and 18, Lee et al. shows (fig. 6) wherein the encapsulation layer includes a concave (CH2)portion that recedes away from the contact hole. The concave portion recesses toward the display area.
In re claim 19, Lee et al. discloses (col. 11, lines 20-35) the second metal layer is configured as a touch sensor metal.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sung (US 10,541,380 B1), Ochi (US Pub. 2021/0296425 A1), Hwang (KR-20190047554-A) and Saitoh (WO-2022064562 A1) each disclose various elements of the claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW E WARREN whose telephone number is (571)272-1737. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kretelia Graham can be reached at 571-272-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW E WARREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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