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 Invention I, claims 1-17, in the reply filed on March 11, 2026 is acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 11, 2026.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Republic of Korea on February 14, 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR 10-2023-0019319 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 29, 2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on July 18, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuwabara (US Pub 2005/0057151).
In re claim 1, Kuwabara discloses a display panel (i.e. see at least Figures 17A-17C; paragraphs 0158-0177) comprising: a base layer (i.e. 1810); a pixel defining layer (i.e. 1811a, 1811b) which is disposed on the base layer and in which a light emitting opening is defined; a partition wall (i.e. 1810, 1812) which is disposed on the pixel defining layer and in which a partition wall opening corresponding to the light emitting opening is defined, the partition wall comprising: a first partition wall layer (i.e. 1800) disposed on the pixel defining layer and including a metal (i.e. see least paragraphs 0158-0169); and a second partition wall layer (i.e. 1812) disposed on the first partition wall layer and including at least one of amorphous carbon, polycrystalline silicon, or n-type silicon (i.e. in this case, polycrystalline silicon – see at least paragraph 0079); and a light emitting element comprising an anode (i.e. 1813), an intermediate layer (i.e. 1814), and a cathode (i.e. 1815) which is in contact with the partition wall (i.e. see at least paragraph 0158), the light emitting element being disposed in the partition wall opening (i.e. see at least Figures 17A-17B).
In re claim 9, Kuwabara discloses wherein the first partition wall layer (i.e. 1800) is directly disposed on the pixel defining layer, and the second partition wall layer (i.e. 1812) is directly disposed on the first partition wall layer (i.e. see at least Figures 17A-17B showing at least part of 1812 is on 1800 on the side).
In re claim 12, Kuwabara discloses wherein the cathode (i.e. 1815) is in contact (in this case, at least electrical or capacitively contact) with the second partition wall layer (i.e. 1812) (i.e. see at least Figures 17A-17B).
Claims 2-8, 10, 11, and 13-15 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.
Claims 16 and 17 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art of Kuwabara (US Pub 2005/0057151) either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or render obvious a display panel comprising: a base layer; a pixel defining layer which is disposed on the base layer and in which a light emitting opening is defined; a partition wall which is disposed on the pixel defining layer and in which a partition wall opening corresponding to the light emitting opening is defined; and a light emitting element comprising an anode, an intermediate layer, and a cathode which is in contact with the partition wall, the light emitting element being disposed in the partition wall opening, wherein the partition wall comprises: a first partition wall layer disposed on the pixel defining layer and including a metal; a second partition wall layer disposed on the first partition wall layer and including a conductive inorganic material; and a third partition wall disposed on the second partition wall layer and including a metal or a silicon-based compound as recited in claim 16.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY HO whose telephone number is (571)270-1432. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM, Monday-Friday.
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, Marlon Fletcher can be reached at 571-272-2063. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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