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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/20/2024, 6/5/2024 and 6/27/2024. The submission 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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-11, 16-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over An et al. US 2020/0350516 in view of Ma et al. US 2019/0074339.
Re claim 1, An teaches a display panel (fig8), comprising:
a driving backplane (100-116, fig 6, [99-107]);
a plurality of light-emitting devices (200, fig6 and 8, [108]), spaced apart at a side of the driving backplane (top side of 100-116, fig6 and 8);
a pixel definition layer (117, fig6 and 8, [111]), located at a same side of the driving backplane as the light- emitting device (200, fig6 and 8, [108]), and provided with a plurality of openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]), wherein the openings define ranges of the light-emitting devices in one-to-one correspondence (fig7);
a lens layer (450 and 410, fig7 and 8, [127]), located at a side of the light-emitting device away from the driving backplane (450/410 formed on top of 200, fig8), wherein the lens layer (450/410, fig7 and 8, [127]) comprises a separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) and an intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]), the separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) is provided with a light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [127]), the intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]) is located within a range surrounded by the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [127]) and is spaced apart from a sidewall of the light-transmitting hole (450 spaced apart from inner sidewall of 410, fig7 and 8); in a direction perpendicular to the driving backplane (Z, fig8), one of the openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) is located opposite to the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [124]);
the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [124]) and the opening (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) expand in a direction (Z, fig8) away from the driving backplane (100-116, fig6 and 8), and an outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens (top surface of 450 in contact with 430, fig8, [126]) contracts in the direction (Z, fig8) away from the driving backplane;
a dielectric layer (430, fig8, [126]), covering the lens layer (450/410, fig8, [126, 127]) and filling the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]), wherein the dielectric layer has a larger refractive index than the lens layer (450 with refractive index lower than 430, fig8, [127]); and
An does not explicitly show a cover plate.
Ma teaches a cover plate (70, fig1 and 2, [53]), located at a side of the dielectric layer away from the driving backplane (70 formed above 50, fig2, [38, 53]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of An and Ma to add a cover plate above the light extractor layer. The motivation to do so is to use the cover layer as an cover window to protect the display device (Ma, [53]).
Re claim 2, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting device comprises a first electrode (An, 211, fig6, [108]), a light-emitting layer (An, 231, fig6, [112]), and a second electrode (An, 251, fig6, [108]) sequentially stacked in the direction away from the driving backplane (An, Z, fig6); wherein first electrodes (An, 211, fig6, [108]) of the light-emitting devices are spaced apart, and are exposed by the openings (An, OP1, fig6, [111]) in one-to-one correspondence; the light-emitting devices share the same second electrode (An, 251, fig8, [108]); the second electrode covers on a side of the pixel definition layer away from the driving backplane and recesses into the opening (An, 251 cover side surface of 117 and OP1, fig8); and the lens layer (An, 450/410, fi8) is located at a side of the second electrode away from the driving backplane (An, 450/410 formed on top of 251, fig8); and an orthogonal projection of the separating lens on the driving backplane is located within a range covered by the pixel definition layer (An, fig7), and the intermediate lens is located in the opening (An, fig7 and 8).
Re claim 3, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1, further comprising: an encapsulation layer (An, 300, fig8, [118]), covering the light-emitting devices (An, 200, fig6 and 8, [108]); and a touch layer (An, 500, fig10, [137]), located on a surface of the encapsulation layer (An, top surface of 300 facing 400, fig10) away from the driving backplane; wherein the lens layer (An, 450 and 410, fig7 and 8, [127]) covers the touch layer (An, 500, fig10, [137]); and the cover plate (Ma 70 added over 400 of An in fig10) is located at a side of the touch layer (An, top surface of 500, fig10) away from the driving backplane.
Re claim 4, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1,wherein in one of the openings (An, OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) and the intermediate lens (An, 450, fig7 and 8, [127]) in the light-transmitting hole (An, OP2, fig7 and 8, [127]) corresponding to the one of the openings (An, OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]), an orthogonal projection of the intermediate lens on the driving backplane covers a center of an orthogonal projection of the opening on the driving backplane (An, fig7).
Re claim 5, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1,wherein the light-transmitting hole (An, OP2, fig7 and 8, [127]) is surrounded by a plurality of sidewalls; and the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens (An, 450, fig7 and 8, [127]) comprises at least one lens side surface parallel to an orthogonal projection, on the driving backplane, of at least one of the sidewalls of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located (An, fig7).
Re claim 6, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1, wherein a width of the light-transmitting hole in a row direction is less than a length of the light-transmitting hole in a column direction (An, narrow width of OP1 along x of III-III is less than the length of OP1 in the y direction above the narrow OP1, fig7); and a width of the intermediate lens in the row direction is less than a length of the intermediate lens in the column direction (An, width of small 450 along X of III-III is less than the length of large 450 in the Y direction above the small 450, fig7).
Re claim 7, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate lens is a strip-shape structure extending along the column direction (An, 450 about one third the width of OP1 located at center of elliptical OP1, fig8 and 13B, [124, 127]); in the row direction, a ratio of the width of the intermediate lens to the width of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located is not less than 10% and not more than 50% (An, 450 about 1/3 size of OP2, in A1, fig8); and in the column direction, a ratio of the length of the intermediate lens to the length of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located is not less than 30% and not more than 80% (An, 450 about 1/3 size of OP2, in A1, fig8).
Re claim 9, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 7, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens is surrounded and smoothly connected by a plurality of curved lens side surfaces (An, 450, fig7 and fig8).
Re claim 10, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate lens comprises a plurality of extension portions radially distributed, and at least one of the extension portions is parallel to an orthogonal projection, on the driving backplane, of a sidewall of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located (An, round corners of 450 parallel to round corners of OP2, fig7).
Re claim 11, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1,wherein the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens has a same shape on the driving backplane as the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located (An, fig7).
Re claim 16, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 1,wherein the intermediate lens is of an annular shape and surrounds outside a center of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located (An, 450, fig16).
Re claim 17, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 16, wherein the intermediate lens comprises a plurality of lens units spaced apart around the center of the light-transmitting hole where the intermediate lens is located (An, 450, fig16 or 17).
Re claim 19, An teaches a manufacturing method of a display panel (fig8), comprising:
forming a driving backplane (100-116, fig6, [99-107]);
forming a pixel definition layer (117, fig6 and 8, [111]) and a plurality of light-emitting devices (200, fig6 and 8, [108]) at a side of the driving backplane (top side of 100-116, fig6 and 8),
wherein the plurality of light-emitting devices (200, fig6 and 8, [108]) are spaced apart at the side of the driving backplane, and the pixel definition layer (117, fig6 and 8, [111]) is provided with a plurality of openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) defining ranges of the light-emitting devices in one-to-one correspondence (fig7);
forming a lens layer (450 and 410, fig7 and 8, [127]) at a side of the light-emitting device away from the driving backplane,
wherein the lens layer comprises a separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) and an intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]), the separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) is provided with a light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]), the intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]) is located within a range surrounded by the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]) and is spaced apart from a sidewall of the light-transmitting hole (fig7); in a direction perpendicular to the driving backplane (Z, fig8), one of the openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) is located opposite to the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [127]);
sizes of the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig7 and 8, [124]) and the opening (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) expand in a direction (Z, fig8) away from the driving backplane, and an outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens (surface of 450 in contact with 430, fig8, [127]) contracts in the direction away from the driving backplane;
forming a dielectric layer (430, fig8, [126]) covering the lens layer (450/410, fig8, [126, 127]) and filling the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]), wherein the dielectric layer has a larger refractive index than the lens layer (450 with refractive index lower than 430, fig8, [127]); and
An does not explicitly show forming a transparent cover plate at a side of the dielectric layer away from the driving backplane.
Ma teaches a transparent cover plate (70, fig1 and 2, [53]), located at a side of the dielectric layer away from the driving backplane (70 formed above 50, fig2, [38, 53]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of An and Ma to add a cover plate above the light extractor layer. The motivation to do so is to use the cover layer as an cover window to protect the display device (Ma, [53]).
Re claim 20, An teaches a display apparatus, comprising a display panel (fig8), wherein the display panel comprises:
a driving backplane (100-116, fig6, [99-107]);
a plurality of light-emitting devices (200, fig6 and 8, [108]), spaced apart at a side of the driving backplane (top side of 100-116, fig6 and 8);
a pixel definition layer (117, fig6 and 8, [111]), located at a same side of the driving backplane as the light- emitting device, and provided with a plurality of openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]), wherein the openings define ranges of the light-emitting devices in one-to-one correspondence (fig7);
a lens layer (450 and 410, fig7 and 8, [127]), located at a side of the light-emitting device away from the driving backplane, wherein the lens layer comprises a separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) and an intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]), the separating lens (410, fig7 and 8, [127]) is provided with a light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]), the intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]) is located within a range surrounded by the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]) and is spaced apart from a sidewall of the light-transmitting hole;
in a direction (Z, fig8) perpendicular to the driving backplane, one of the openings (OP1, fig7 and 8, [124]) is located opposite to the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]);
the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]) and the opening (OP1, fig8, [124]) expand in a direction (Z, fig8) away from the driving backplane, and an outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens (450, fig7 and 8, [127]) contracts in the direction away from the driving backplane;
a dielectric layer (430, fig8, [126]), covering the lens layer (450/410, fig8, [126, 127]) and filling the light-transmitting hole (OP2, fig8, [127]), wherein the dielectric layer has a larger refractive index than the lens layer (450 with refractive index lower than 430, fig8, [127]); and
An does not explicitly show a cover plate, located at a side of the dielectric layer away from the driving backplane.
Ma teaches a transparent cover plate (70, fig1 and 2, [53]), located at a side of the dielectric layer away from the driving backplane (70 formed above 50, fig2, [38, 53]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of An and Ma to add a cover plate above the light extractor layer. The motivation to do so is to use the cover layer as an cover window to protect the display device (Ma, [53]).
Claim(s) 12 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over An et al. US 2020/0350516 in view of Ma et al. US 2019/0074339 and Wang et al. US 2022/0059791.
Re claim 12, An does not explicitly show the display panel according to claim 1,wherein the light-transmitting hole is surrounded by two planar sidewalls and one curved sidewall; and the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens is surrounded by two planar side surfaces and one curved side surface; and the two planar side surfaces are parallel to orthographic projections, on the driving backplane, of the two planar sidewalls respectively.
Wang teaches pie shaped pixel (200A, fig1, [34]) surrounded by two planar sidewalls and one curved sidewall.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of An, Ma and Wang to adjust the shape of some pixel in the boundaries to pie shape. The motivation to do so is to the achieve uniform light emitting for application with specific shaped boundaries (Wang, [34]).
An in view of Yoo and Wang teaches wherein the light-transmitting hole is surrounded by two planar sidewalls and one curved sidewall (An, OP1 with the pie shape as in Wang and OP2 adjusted according to OP1, fig7 and 8); and the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate lens is surrounded by two planar side surfaces and one curved side surface (An, 450 adjusted to pie shape to fit in pie shaped OP1/2, fig7 and 8); and the two planar side surfaces are parallel to orthographic projections, on the driving backplane, of the two planar sidewalls respectively.
Re claim 18, An modified above teaches the display panel according to claim 12, wherein the curved sidewall has a same slope as the planar sidewall (An, two planar sidewall and one curved sidewall of pie shaped 410 have same slope and two planar sidewall and one curved sidewall of pie shaped 450 have same slope, fig8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 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.
Specifically, the limitations are material to the inventive concept of the application in hand to improve brightness of the display panel and prevent color deviation.
Conclusion
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/XIAOMING LIU/Examiner, Art Unit 2812