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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on August 28, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-15 are pending in the instant application.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohchi (WO 2019012987 A1, cited by Applicant), Ohchi hereinafter, in view of Takayama (JP 2022108901 A, cited by Applicant), Takayama hereinafter.
The following rejection is based on a foreign reference WO 2019012987 A1. For examination purpose reference is been made to a copy of a machine translation of the applied reference, which is hereby provided. A copy of a machine translation of the applied reference JP 2022108901 A was provided by the Applicant.
Regarding claim 9, Ohchi discloses a display device (1, ¶ [33], fig. 1) comprising: a substrate (100, ¶ [38], fig. 2); a lower electrode (110, ¶ [38]) provided above the substrate (100); a rib (120, ¶ [40], fig. 2) which covers an end portion of the lower electrode (110) and comprises an aperture (see fig. 2) overlapping the lower electrode (110); an organic layer (130, ¶ [38], fig. 2) provided on the lower electrode (110) and including a light emitting layer (¶ [42]); and an upper electrode (140, ¶ [38]) which covers the organic layer (130), wherein the rib (120) comprises a first rib layer (121, ¶ [47], fig. 2) formed of a first inorganic insulating material and a second rib layer (122, ¶ [46], fig. 2) located on the first rib layer (121) and formed of a second inorganic insulating material, and the organic layer (130) is located on the second rib layer (122) immediately above the end portion of the lower electrode (110).
However, Ohchi fails to exemplify that a partition which comprises a lower portion provided on the rib and formed of a conductive material and an upper portion provided on the lower portion and protruding from a side surface of the lower portion; and that the upper electrode is in contact with the lower portion of the partition.
In the same field of endeavor, Takayama discloses a display device comprising a partition (30, ¶ [40], fig. 4) which comprises a lower portion (31, ¶ [41]) provided on a rib (12, ¶ [23], fig. 4) and formed of a conductive material and an upper portion (32) provided on the lower portion (31) and protruding from a side surface of the lower portion (31) (see fig. 4); and that an upper electrode (E22, ¶ [41], fig. 4) is in contact with the lower portion (31) of the partition (30), in order to suppress undesired current leakage caused by the connection of the organic layers of a plurality of adjacent display elements (¶ [62]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing of the claimed invention to have a display device comprising a partition which comprises a lower portion provided on a rib and formed of a conductive material and an upper portion provided on the lower portion and protruding from a side surface of the lower portion; and that an upper electrode is in contact with the lower portion of the partition as taught by Takayama in the device of Ohchi, in order to suppress undesired current leakage caused by the connection of the organic layers of a plurality of adjacent display elements (¶ [62]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Ohchi and Takayama rendered obvious the limitations of claim 9.
However, the combination of Ohchi and Takayama fails to exemplify that the first inorganic insulating material and the second inorganic insulating material are the same material.
Meanwhile, Ohchi discloses in ¶ [49] that rib (120) can comprise only silicon oxide (SiO).
It is considered within the capabilities of one skilled in the art to provide for the first inorganic insulating material and the second inorganic insulating material are the same material as an obvious matter of design engineering since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art; St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8; in order to simplify manufacturing by eliminating the need to chance the target material to be deposited.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing of the claimed invention to provide for the first inorganic insulating material and the second inorganic insulating material are the same material as an obvious matter of design engineering; St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8; in order to simplify manufacturing by eliminating the need to chance the target material to be deposited.
Regarding claim 11, in the combination of Ohchi and Takayama, Ohchi discloses that each of the first inorganic insulating material and the second inorganic insulating material is silicon oxide (SiO) or silicon oxynitride (SiON) (¶s [46]-[47]).
Regarding claim 12, in the combination of Ohchi and Takayama, Ohchi discloses that the first inorganic insulating material and the second inorganic insulating material are different materials (¶s [46]-[47]).
Regarding claim 13, in the combination of Ohchi and Takayama, Ohchi discloses that the second inorganic insulating material is silicon oxide (SiO) (¶ [46]) or silicon oxynitride (SiON).
Regarding claim 14, in the combination of Ohchi and Takayama, Ohchi discloses that the first inorganic insulating material is silicon nitride (SiN) (¶ [47]), silicon oxide (SiO) or silicon oxynitride (SiON).
Regarding claim 15, in the combination of Ohchi and Takayama, Ohchi discloses that a thickness of the first rib layer (121) is different from a thickness of the second rib layer (322) (see fig. 21).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The claims stand allowed as indicated on the Office action mailed on April 27, 2026.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE M. DIAZ whose telephone number is (571)272-9822. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00.
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/JOSE M DIAZ/ Examiner, Art Unit 2875
/ANNE M HINES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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