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 of claims 1-10, 12, 13-14 & 16-20 in the reply filed on May 07, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 1-6, 13-14, 18 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US Pub. 2019/0207150).
Regarding claim 1, Kwon teaches a display panel 100 divided into a display area DA and a peripheral area NDA adjacent to the display area (Fig. 1), wherein the display panel comprises:
at least one transistor DT disposed on a base layer 110 (Fig. 1-2);
a light emitting device EA comprising a first electrode CE and a second electrode AE disposed on the first electrode CE and electrically connected to the at least one transistor DT;
a separator 140;
a power line SCPL at least partially disposed in the peripheral area NDA (Fig. 1); and
a separation conductive layer (note part of first electrode CE on 140 on the right) comprising:
a first portion disposed on the separator 140; and
a second portion disposed in the peripheral area (portion of CE extending beyond 140 on the right is considered in the peripheral area, Fig. 1-2),
an outer side surface of the separator comprises a connection area (note right side edge of partition 140, Fig. 2),
an interior angle between the connection area and a lower surface of the separator 140 (around 900) is smaller than an interior angle (higher than 900) between an inner side surface of the separator 140 and the lower surface of the separator, and the first portion disposed on the connection area is connected to the second portion (Fig. 2).
Though Kwon teaches the interior angle between the connection area and a lower surface of the separator 140 (around 900) is smaller than an interior angle (higher than 900) between an inner side surface of the separator 140 and the lower surface of the separator as addressed above; notwithstanding, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Furthermore, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Regarding claim 2, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the second portion is electrically connected to the power line SCPL, the power line receives a constant voltage, and the first portion receives the constant voltage via the second portion (Fig. 1-2 & Para [0094-0095 & 0107]).
Regarding claim 3, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the second portion extends from a portion of the first portion, which is disposed on the connection area, to a direction away from the separator (Fig. 1-2).
Regarding claim 4, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the power line SCPL is electrically connected to the first electrode and provides a first power supply voltage to the first electrode CE (Fig. 1-2 & Para [0094-0095 & 0107]).
Regarding claim 5, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 4, wherein a portion of the power line electrically connects the first electrode, and another portion of the power line electrically connects the second portion of the separation conductive layer (Fig. 1-2 & Para [0094-0095 & 0107]).
Regarding claim 6, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the power line is electrically connected to the at least one transistor and provides a second power supply voltage to the at least one transistor (Fig. 102 and associated text).
Regarding claim 13, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the first portion has substantially a same shape as the separator in a plan view (Fig. 1-2).
Regarding claim 14, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the interior angle between the inner side surface of the separator and the lower surface of the separator and the interior angle between the connection area and the lower surface of the separator is about equal to or greater than about 90 degrees (Fig. 2). notwithstanding, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Furthermore, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Regarding claim 18, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, further comprising: a connection wiring electrically connecting the at least one transistor to the light emitting device, wherein the connection wiring comprises: an emission connection part electrically connected to the light emitting device; and a driver connection part electrically connected to the at least one transistor (note the electrical connections to the transistor DT and light emitting device EA in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 20, Kwon teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the separation conductive layer is spaced apart from the second electrode, and the separation conductive layer and the second electrode comprise a same material (Fig. 1-2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-10, 12, 16-17 & 19 are 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOR KARIMY whose telephone number is (571) 272-9006. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:30 AM -5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eva Montalvo can be reached at (571) 270-3829. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOR KARIMY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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