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 1-9 in the reply filed on April 22, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by An et al. (US 2021/0202853).
Regarding claim 1, An discloses a display apparatus (Figs. 1-3) comprising: a support substrate including a first support substrate and a second support substrate spaced apart from each other (110 & 120; Paragraph [0051]); a substrate disposed on the support substrate (200; Paragraph [0051]); a display layer disposed on a portion of the substrate disposed on the first support substrate (310; Paragraph [0072]); and a thin-film encapsulation layer disposed to cover the display layer (320; Paragraph [0072]), wherein a surface of the first support substrate and a surface of the second support substrate facing each other include a slope surface (110b & 120b; Paragraph [0060-0061]).
Regarding claim 4, An further discloses wherein each of the first support substrate and the second support substrate includes a plurality of sides, and at least one of the plurality of sides of the first support substrate or at least one of the plurality of sides of the second support substrate includes the slope surface (110b & 120b; Paragraph [0060-0061]).
Regarding claim 5, An further discloses wherein a protective layer disposed on the support substrate and the substrate (630; Paragraph [0085]).
Regarding claim 6, An further discloses wherein the protective layer overlaps a region in which the first support substrate is spaced apart from the second support substrate in a plan view (630; Paragraph [0085]).
Regarding claim 8, An further discloses wherein the substrate is bent to form a bent portion (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 9, An further discloses a bending protective layer disposed on the bent portion of the substrate (630; Paragraph [0085]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 7 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.
Specifically, with regard to claim 2, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest the requirement wherein one of the surface of the first support substrate and the surface of the second support substrate facing each other includes a groove extending in a direction away from another one of the surface of the first support substrate and the surface of the second support substrate facing each other.
Claim 3 is objected to based on its dependence from claim 2.
Specifically, with regard to claim 7, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest the requirement wherein the protective layer includes amorphous silicon.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNE M HINES whose telephone number is (571)272-2285. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8:00-4:30.
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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 571-273-8300.
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/Anne M Hines/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2879
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