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, which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/27/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 10/27/2023. These drawings are considered acceptable by Examiner.
America Invents Act
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 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.
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.
1. Claim(s) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Teramoto et al., (U.S. Pub. No. 2017/0213882 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Teramoto et al., teaches a display device comprising: a substrate (11, “substrate,” ¶ [0035]-¶ [0050]; see at least Fig. 3); a plurality of first banks (plurality of protrusions of 17) each having a protruding shape, provided on the substrate (11), and comprising a flat portion (flat portion of 17) and an inclined portion (inclined portion of 17) provided to a periphery of the flat portion ; a plurality of light-emitting elements including pixel electrodes (18, “pixel electrode”), a light-emitting layer (20, “organic EL layer”), and counter electrodes (21, “cathode electrode”) stacked on the first banks (17) in the order as listed; a sealing film (24, “sealing layer”) covering the light-emitting elements; a plurality of color filters (25, “color filter”) that are provided on the sealing film (24) to be in direct contact with the sealing film (24) and are colored corresponding to the pixel electrodes (18); and a light-blocking layer (BM) provided between adjacent pixel electrodes (18) of the pixel electrodes (18) in plan view, wherein each pixel electrode (18) includes a pixel electrode (18) flat portion provided on the flat portion of a corresponding one of the first banks (17) and a pixel electrode (18) inclined portion inclined with respect to the substrate (11) on the inclined portion of the corresponding first bank (1st bank of 17), and each counter electrode is made of a transflective metal film (“a semi-transmissive material such as a magnesium-silver (Mg-Ag) alloy,” ¶ [0046]) and includes a counter electrode flat portion (flat portion of 21) provided along the pixel electrode (18) flat portion in an area overlapping the flat portion of the first bank (bank of 17) and a counter electrode inclined portion (inclined portion of 21) provided along the pixel electrode (18) inclined portion in an area overlapping the inclined portion of the first bank (bank of 17).
Regarding Claim 2, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second bank (plurality of 19) provided between adjacent pixel electrodes (18) of the pixel electrodes (18) and having openings in areas overlapping the pixel electrode (18) flat portions, wherein the second bank (plurality of 19) includes a bottom portion provided between adjacent first banks (17) of the first banks (17) and a wall portion covering the inclined portions of the first banks (17), the pixel electrode (18) flat portion, the light-emitting layer (20), and the counter electrode flat portion (flat portions of 21) are stacked in the order as listed, in the area overlapping the flat portion of each of the first banks (17), and the pixel electrode (18) inclined portion, the wall portion of the second bank (plurality of 19), the light-emitting layer (20), and the counter electrode inclined portion (inclined portions of 21) are staked in the order as listed, in the area overlapping the inclined portion of the first bank (1st bank of 17).
Regarding Claim 3, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the flat portion of the first bank (17) is greater than the thickness of the bottom portion of the second bank (plurality of 19) in a direction perpendicular to the substrate (11, as clearly displayed in Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 4, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 1, wherein a normal direction of each of the pixel electrode (18) inclined portions of the pixel electrodes (18) intersects the light-blocking layer (BM), and a normal direction of each of the counter electrode inclined portions of the counter electrodes (21) intersects the light-blocking layer (BM, as clearly displayed in Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 5, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 1, wherein the light-blocking layer (BM) is provided between the sealing film (24) and the color filter (25).
Regarding Claim 6, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of wiring lines (GE1) provided to the substrate (11); and a planarization film (15) covering the wiring lines (GE1), wherein each of the first banks (1st bank of 17) is provided on the planarization film (15), a contact hole (contact hole above E2) is formed at a position not overlapping the first bank (17) but overlapping the light-blocking layer (BM) in the planarization film, and each of the pixel electrodes (18) is electrically coupled to a corresponding wiring line of the wiring lines (GE1) through the contact hole.
It should be noted that the phrase a contact hole is formed at a position not overlapping the first bank but overlapping the light-blocking layer in the planarization film does not recite a positive limitation and instead attempts to claim the disclosed invention by excluding what the applicants did not disclose or invent, rather than distinctly and particularly pointing out what the applicants did disclose or invent. Essentially this claim language fails to provide any structural element or concrete component and there is improper.
Regarding Claim 7, Teramoto et al., teaches the display device according to claim 2, further comprising: a protrusion (protrusion on the bottom of 19, as clearly displayed in Fig. 3) provided to the bottom portion of the second bank (plurality of 19) and protruding in a direction perpendicular to the substrate (11), wherein the protrusion (protrusion on the bottom of 19) is provided at a position overlapping the light-blocking layer (BM).
Other Prior Art Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Espacenet Patent Search Complete (Global Dossier)
Examiner's Note
The Examiner cites particular figures, paragraphs, columns and line numbers in the reference(s), as applied to the claims above. Although the particular citations are representative teachings and are applied to specific limitations within the claims, other passages, internally cited references, and figures may also apply. In preparing a response, it is respectfully requested that the Applicant fully consider the references, in their entirety, as potentially disclosing or teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as fully consider the context of the passage as taught by the reference(s) or as disclosed by the Examiner.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Hana Featherly whose telephone number is (571)-272-8654. The examiner can normally be reached on M-R . If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Greece can be reached on 571-272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-272-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/Hana Featherly/
USPTO Art Unit 2875
Patent Examiner Hana Featherly
/JAMES R GREECE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2875