Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/505,836

DISPLAY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 09, 2023
Priority
Nov 23, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0158615
Examiner
GREEN, TRACIE Y
Art Unit
2875
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
1115 granted / 1404 resolved
+11.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1431
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
88.7%
+48.7% vs TC avg
§102
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
§112
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1404 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/09/2023 has been considered by examiner. Election/Restrictions Claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/12/2026. Claims 1-17 are pending and an action on merits follows. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. 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. Claims 1-2 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al.( US 20210217835 A1) (Park, hereafter). Regarding claim 8, Park discloses (1-19 and corresponding text):Display device Display panel(10) comprising: a substrate including a display area (DA) and a peripheral (NA)area located on one side of the display area (DA); a first inorganic layer(40) on the substrate(110); a first organic layer(182) on the first inorganic layer(140); a light emitting element (LD) on the first organic layer(182) in the display area (DA); a second inorganic layer (391)on the first organic layer(182) and the light emitting element((LD); a second organic (392)layer on the second inorganic layer(391); a color conversion layer 230R, 230g, 230b) on the second inorganic layer in the display area, and configured to convert a wavelength of light emitted from the light emitting element(π103-π104); a third inorganic layer(393) on the second inorganic layer(391 and the color conversion layer(230RGB); and a first dam (DM1) structure on the second inorganic layer (391)in the peripheral area (NA), wherein the first organic layer (182) Park fails to explicitly disclose includes at least two openings between the first dam structure and the display area, and wherein the second inorganic layer directly contacts the first inorganic layer through the at least two openings, and wherein the third inorganic layer directly contacts the second inorganic layer in the at least two openings. It would Have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the display device of Park includes at least two openings between the first dam structure and the display area, since 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; and to and wherein the second inorganic layer directly contacts the first inorganic layer through the at least two openings, and wherein the third inorganic layer directly contacts the second inorganic layer in the at least two openings since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 Regarding claim 2, Park disclose (Figure 2),further comprising a transistor(TRd) on the substrate (110), wherein the first insulating layer(140) is on the first transistor(TRd). Regarding claims 16 and 17, the limitations, a first bank on the first organic layer in the display area; and a first bank pattern on the first organic layer in the peripheral area, wherein the first dam structure is on the first bank pattern, and wherein the second insulating layer covers the first bank and the first bank pattern(claim 16);wherein the color conversion layer further includes a second bank overlapping the first bank in a plan view, and wherein the first dam structure is at a same layer as the second bank.(claim 17) et do not appear to contain any additional features which define more than slight constructional changes which come within the scope of the customary (sign) practice followed by persons skilled in the art, especially as the advantages thus achieved can be readily contemplated in advance. Alternatively, these limitations are not deemed patentable since the applicant’s disclosure fails to show such limitations to solve any problems or to yield any unobvious advantage that is not within the scope of the teachings applied. Therefore, such limitations would be a matter of design alternative. It would Have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the display device of Park wherein the second insulating layer covers the first bank and the first bank pattern; wherein the color conversion layer further includes a second bank overlapping the first bank in a plan view, and wherein the first dam structure is at a same layer as the second bank to further protect the device from environmental elements. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 3 is 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. /claims 4-15 are objected to due to their dependency on claim 3. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the 892 and below: US 20230209934 A1-General state of the art-display apparatus and a multi-screen display apparatus including the same US 20200321292 A1-General state of the art-A static electricity blocking line is disposed in the non-display area and surrounds the display area. The static electricity blocking line overlaps the driver. US 20180004016 A1-General state of the art- a favorably formed touch sensing function into a display device. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACIE Y GREEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3104. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thursday, 10am-8pm. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TRACIE Y GREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 09, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+9.3%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1404 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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