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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1, 2, 4-10, 12, 14, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by So et al. (US 12,069,908).
Regarding independent claim 1, So et al. (‘908) teaches in figures 1, 3, and 5, and the corresponding text, a display device comprising: a base substrate (100) including a display area (DA) and a peripheral area (PA) positioned outside the display area; an organic insulating layer (160) disposed on the display area of the base substrate; a light emitting device (180) disposed on the organic insulating layer; a first dam (DM2) disposed on the peripheral area of the base substrate and spaced apart from the organic insulating layer; and a pattern (BP) disposed on the peripheral area of the base substrate and positioned outside a region enclosed by the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 2, So et al. (‘908) teaches the pattern is disposed on a same layer as the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 4, So et al. (‘908) teaches the pattern includes a same material as the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 5, So et al. (‘908) teaches the pattern is integrally formed with the first dam and the pattern protrudes from an outer sidewall of the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 6, So et al. (‘908) teaches the pattern is spaced apart from the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 7, So et al. (‘908) teaches a second dam (DM1) spaced apart from the first dam, wherein the first dam has a closed loop shape, and wherein the second dam is disposed in a region encircled by the closed loop shape of the first dam.
Regarding dependent claim 8, So et al. (‘908) teaches a first peripheral area extending along a first straight line extending in a first direction; a second peripheral area extending along a second straight line extending in a second direction crossing the first direction; and a corner peripheral area connecting the first peripheral area to the second peripheral area, wherein the pattern is disposed on the corner peripheral area of the base substrate.
Regarding dependent claim 9, So et al. (‘908) teaches a polygon or fan-out shape.
Regarding dependent claim 10, So et al. (‘908) teaches an inorganic insulating layer disposed between the base substrate and the organic insulating layer, wherein the pattern is disposed on a same layer as the inorganic insulating layer.
Regarding dependent claim 12, So et al. (‘908) teaches a first inorganic encapsulation layer (191) disposed on the organic insulating layer and covering the light emitting device; an organic encapsulation layer (192) disposed on the first inorganic encapsulation layer, covering the display area, and positioned inside an inner region encircled by the first dam; and a second inorganic encapsulation layer (193) disposed on the organic encapsulation layer, wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer extend beyond the first dam from the inner region encircled by the first dam.
Regarding independent claim 21, So et al. (‘908) teaches a display device comprising: a base substrate (100); an organic insulating layer (160) disposed on the base substrate; a light emitting device (180) disposed on the organic insulating layer; a first dam (DM2) encircling the organic insulating layer and spaced apart from the organic insulating layer; a second dam (DM1) disposed on the base substrate, wherein the second dam is encircled by the first dam, wherein the organic insulating layer is encircled by the second dam, and wherein the second dam is disposed between the first dam and the organic insulating layer; and a pattern (BP) disposed on the base substrate and adjacent to an outer sidewall of the first dam, wherein a portion of the first dam is disposed between the pattern and the second dam.
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.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over So et al. (US 12,069,908), of record.
Regarding claim 15, So (‘908) teaches all of the claimed limitations except for the claimed pattern height.
Further regarding claim 15, the height appears to be an obvious choice in design based upon the intended size of the display device.
Hence, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the pattern of So for the purpose of preventing the spread of material. The height appears to be an obvious choice in design based upon the intended size of the display device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 are allowed.
Claims 3, 11, and 14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 16, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest a method of manufacturing a display device, the method comprising: forming a base substrate including a display area and a peripheral area positioned outside the display area on a carrier substrate; forming a pattern on the peripheral area of the base substrate; forming a light emitting device on the peripheral area of the base substrate; forming an encapsulation layer covering the light emitting device; forming a protective film on the base substrate to cover the pattern and the encapsulation layer; removing the carrier substrate from the base substrate; and removing the protective film disposed on the base substrate by peeling off a portion of the protective film covering the pattern and then peeling off another portion of the protective film covering the encapsulation layer.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-2465. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 AM- 5:00 PM.
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, JAMES R. GREECE can be reached at (571) 272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOSEPH L. WILLIAMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/JOSEPH L WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875