DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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
Applicant’s election with traverse of claims #1-20, corresponding to FIG. 8, in the reply filed on July 13, 2026 is acknowledged. The Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant because the species FIGS. 2-13, 15-20, 22 fall under the genus comprising a display panel having a substrate, light-emitting layer, and color filtering layer, while adding mutually exclusive characteristics such as a touch layer, different color filter structural aspects, etc… A serious burden exists if the species are not restricted because of different search strategies and queries. The Examiner has reconsidered the issue of generic claims and claims 1 and 20 are deemed generic.
The restriction requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Additionally, claims 3-7 are withdrawn by the Examiner for reading on at least non-elected species FIG. 6, which adds a fourth color sub-filter.
Additionally, claim 8 is withdrawn by the Examiner for reading on non-elected FIG. 15.
Additionally, claims 9-10 are withdrawn by the Examiner for reading on non-elected FIG. 16.
Additionally, claims 13-15 are withdrawn by the Examiner for reading on non-elected FIG. 18.
Additionally, claims 16-18 are withdrawn by the Examiner for reading on non-elected FIG. 22.
Claims 1, 2, 11, 12, 19, and 20 remain under examination in the instant application.
Specifications
The title is objected to because a more descriptive title is requested.
Drawing Objections
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “black matrix” of claim 12 and “dummy light emitting unit” of claim 19 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. § 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 2, 11, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant, regards as the invention.
As to claim 2, it is unclear how “the color filtering layer comprises first regions located between two adjacent ones of the light-emitting units” (emphasis added) because only a single region is formed between two adjacent light-emitting units in elected FIG. 8.
Furthermore as to claim 2, there is a difference in the number of first regions in the limitation “wherein the color filtering layer comprises first regions located between two adjacent ones of the light-emitting units; along a first direction, at least overlapped color filter units of different colors are disposed in the first region” (emphasis added).
Claim Rejections 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2)
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)(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.
Claims 1, 2, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2024/0222572 A1), hereafter “Kim”.
As to claim 1, Kim teaches:
A substrate SUB1. See Kim, FIG. 2.
An array layer BUF located at a side of the substrate.
A light-emitting layer PDL located at a side of the array layer away from the substrate, the light-emitting layer comprising light-emitting units.
A color filtering layer CF1+CF2+CF3 located at a side of the light-emitting layer away from the substrate, the color filtering layer comprising color filter units CF1, CF2, CF3 that correspond to the light-emitting units.
Wherein the color filter units comprise a first-color color filter unit CF1 and a second-color color filter unit CF3, and the first-color color filter unit is located at a side of the second-color color filter unit adjacent to the substrate, and wherein the first-color color filter unit is a blue color filter unit.
As to claim 2, Kim teaches the color filtering layer comprises first regions (portions between L1, L2, L3) located between two adjacent ones of the light-emitting units; along a first direction (vertical), at least overlapped color filter units of different colors are disposed in the first region; and the first direction is a direction perpendicular to the substrate and pointing to a light exit surface of the display panel.
As to claim 20, Kim teaches:
A display apparatus (FIG. 1), comprising a display panel DD, wherein the display panel comprises: a substrate SUB1.
An array layer BUF located at a side of the substrate.
A light-emitting layer PDL located at a side of the array layer away from the substrate, the light-emitting layer comprising light-emitting units.
A color filtering layer CF1+CF2+CF3 located at a side of the light-emitting layer away from the substrate, the color filtering layer comprising color filter units CF1, CF2, CF3 that correspond to the light-emitting units.
Wherein the color filter units comprise a first-color color filter unit CF1 and a second-color color filter unit CF3, and the first-color color filter unit is located at a side of the second-color color filter unit adjacent to the substrate, and wherein the first-color color filter unit is a blue color filter unit.
Claims Allowable If Rewritten in Independent Form
Claims 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.
As to claim 19, prior art fails to teach the limitations of the dummy light-emitting unit.
No Prior Art Applied
No prior art has been applied to claims 11 and 12.
As to claim 11, Kim does not teach “the red color filter unit is located at a side of the green color filter unit away from the substrate” because Kim’s red color filter unit CF2 is located closer to the substrate than the green color filter unit CF3.
As to claim 12, Kim does not teach “wherein along the first direction, the black matrix overlaps the first region”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUBERR CHI whose telephone number is (571)270-3955. The examiner can normally be reached 10am to 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sue Purvis can be reached on (571) 272-1236. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUBERR L CHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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