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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-18 and 20 in the reply filed on 03 July 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the second trace portion both “overlapping with” and “partially overlapping with” the pixel display area. Examiner is interpreting as at least partially overlapping with.
Claim 16 recites an outline of the first groove having “a circular shape, a ring shape, an elliptical shape, a rectangular shape, and a square shape” [emphasis added]. Examiner is interpreting this limitation to instead say “…a rectangular shape, [[and]] or a square shape” to match with applicant’s specification ¶0081.
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(s) 1-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114975821 (Xiao et al) and US 20190006626 (Kim et al). For convenience a machine translation of Xiao by Espacenet has been provided with this office action.
As to claim 1: Xiao teaches a display panel, comprising a plurality of pixel display areas, and a non-display area between the pixel display areas (Xiao Fig 1, display area 141 and non-display areas adjacent);
wherein the display panel further comprises:
a substrate (111);
an inorganic insulating layer disposed on a side of the substrate (117);
a first metal layer disposed on a side of the inorganic insulating layer away from the substrate, wherein the first metal layer comprises a plurality of first metal traces, each of the first metal traces comprises a first trace portion overlapped with a corresponding one of the pixel display areas (114 overlapping with pixel area);
a first organic insulating layer disposed on a side of the first metal layer away from the substrate (112), wherein a first groove is provided on a side of the first organic insulating layer away from the substrate, and the first groove is disposed corresponding to the first trace portion (groove region 12A above 114); and
a second metal layer disposed on the side of the first organic insulating layer away from the substrate, wherein the second metal layer comprises a plurality of first electrodes disposed corresponding to the pixel display area (electrode 12); and
wherein each of the first electrodes covers the first groove (12 above 12A),
Xiao fails to explicitly teach distances between different elements.
Kim discloses a device similar to that of Xiao, and explicitly teaches an organic layer beneath an electrode (Kim Fig 4 170 beneath ED) and a trace portion beneath (111) wherein the thickness of the organic layer ranges between 0.1 to 3 micrometers. In other words, that a minimum distance between the first electrode and the first trace portion of the first metal trace corresponding to the first electrode is greater than or equal to 1.2 µm (Fig 5 T1 may range from 0.1 to 3 microns ¶0130). Though this distance does not exactly correspond to the distance between the first electrode and the first trace portion of Kim, it demonstrates that those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to construct the device within the claimed spacing.
As to claim 2: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein the minimum distance between the first electrode and the first trace portion of the first metal trace corresponding to the first electrode is less than or equal to 4 µm (Fig 5 T1 may range from 0.1 to 3 microns ¶0130).
As to claim 3: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein the first organic insulating layer has a thickness less than or equal to 4 µm (Fig 5 T1 may range from 0.1 to 3 microns ¶0130).
As to claim 4: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao further teaches wherein the first organic insulating layer comprises:
A first organic sub-insulating layer disposed on the side of the first metal layer away from the substrate (bottom layer of 112), wherein a minimum distance between an area of the first organic sub-insulating layer corresponding to the first metal trace and the substrate is greater than a minimum distance between the first metal trace and the substrate (distance from 114 to bottom of 116 appears to satisfy); and
a second organic sub-insulating layer disposed on a side of the first organic sub- insulating layer away from the substrate (upper layers of 112), wherein the first groove is disposed on a side of the second organic sub-insulating layer away from the substrate (groove in upper layers of 112).
As to claim 5: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 4. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein a thickness of the first organic sub-insulating layer on the inorganic insulating layer is greater than a thickness of the first metal layer on the inorganic insulating layer. (the spacing disclosed by Kim demonstrates that those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to construct the device within the claimed spacing)
As to claim 6: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 4. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein a thickness of the first organic sub-insulating layer in an area not corresponding to the first metal trace is less than or equal to 2 µm; and
a thickness of the second organic sub-insulating layer in the area not corresponding to the first metal trace is less than or equal to 2 µm (170 can equal up to 3 µm ¶0089. i.e., each sub-insulating layer may be 1.5 µm).
As to claim 7: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao teaches the panel further comprising:
a third metal layer disposed between the inorganic insulating layer and the first metal layer, wherein the third metal layer comprises a plurality of second metal traces, each of the second metal traces comprises a second trace portion overlapped with the pixel display area (Fig 1 115 a conducting layer which overlaps with 141); and
a second organic insulating layer disposed between the third metal layer and the first metal layer (119);
wherein the second trace portion and the first trace portion are at least partially overlapped in the pixel display area (114/115 overlap with 141).
As to claim 8: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 7. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein a minimum distance between the second trace portion and the first trace portion is greater than or equal to 1.2 µm (Kim demonstrates that those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to construct the device within the claimed spacing)
As to claim 9: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao further teaches wherein the first electrode comprises a flat portion and a recessed portion, the recessed portion is attached with the first groove, and the flat portion is disposed around the first groove (recessed portion 12A with flat portions adjacent. Curved side portions of 12A constitute grooves).
As to claim 10: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao teaches the display further comprises a pixel definition layer (14) and a second electrode (15), wherein the pixel definition layer is disposed on the second metal layer, and the second electrode is disposed on the pixel definition layer (14 on 12 and 15 above 14).
As to claim 11: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 10. Xiao further teaches wherein the pixel definition layer has an opening, and the opening exposes the first electrode (opening 121 exposes 12).
As to claim 12: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein a depth of the first groove is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 0.8 µm (Kim teaches a preferred ratio of groove depths affecting light-extraction efficiency of the device ¶0151. It would have been within the ability of one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to therefore vary the depth of the groove in such a way that would produce a groove being between 0 and 0.8 µm in depth).
As to claim 13: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 12. The grooves shown in Kim Fig 5 are curved and therefore there is at least one included angle between a side wall and a bottom surface of the groove being between 120 to 160 degrees.
As to claim 14: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao further teaches wherein the first organic insulating layer is provided with one first groove in the pixel display area, and the first groove is located at a center of the pixel display area (groove extends into 112 and is centered in pixel display area).
As to claim 15: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 14. Xiao further teaches wherein a shape of the first groove matches a shape of the pixel display area (opening profile of pixel display area matches that of groove).
As to claim 16: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 15. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein an outline of the first groove has an elliptical shape (Fig 5, arc 181 reasonably interpreted to be elliptical in shape)
As to claim 17: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 15. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein an outline of the first groove has a first arc and a second arc, and the first arc is connected with the second arc (Fig 5 inflection point IP and peak of wave 181b, respectively).
As to claim 18: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 17. Kim, as applied to claim 1, further teaches wherein the first arc has a greater curvature radius than the second arc (IP closer to a straight line than 181b and therefore has a greater curvature radius)
As to claim 20: Xiao+Kim teaches the display panel of claim 1. Xiao further teaches wherein a first through-hole is provided on the first electrode to connect the first electrode to a thin film transistor (Fig 1 holes in 112 connects 12 to 116)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Corbyn D Mellinger whose telephone number is (703)756-5683. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6 Eastern.
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/Corbyn D Mellinger/Examiner, Art Unit 2899
/EVAN G CLINTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
