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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Invention II and Species D directed to Fig. 3-4 and 14-15 (Claims 8-15 and 18-20) in the reply filed on June 16th, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 1-7 and 16-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected Invention and Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11 recites “transferring the mask pattern transferred to the transfer substrate” in line 4 contains typographical errors and should be amended to “transferring the mask pattern from the transfer substrate onto the substrate” for avoiding confusion.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 8, 15 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HEO et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0341607 A1), hereinafter as HEO.
Regarding claim 8, HEO discloses a method of manufacturing a display device (OLED display device) in Figs. 2A-3, comprising: forming an auxiliary electrode (metal pattern 210a) on a substrate (substrate 200) (see Fig. 2A and [0049-0051], [0054-0055), forming a through-opening (opening in bank 220 above metal pattern 210 before forming photoresist pattern 300) by laminating and patterning an insulating layer (laminating bank 220 and patterning bank 220 to expose electrodes 210 and metal pattern 210a) on the auxiliary electrode (see Fig. 2B and [0056]), positioning a mask pattern (photoresist pattern 300) at a position overlapping the through-opening (fill in the opening above metal pattern 210), laminating a light emitting layer (combination of layers 230a, 240 and 230b) on the mask pattern and the insulating layer (see Figs. 2C-2E and [0059-0064]), removing the mask pattern (remove photoresist pattern 300) and forming a light emitting layer opening (forming an opening within layers 230a, 240 and 240b above metal pattern 210a) in the light emitting layer (see Fig. 2F and [0067]), and forming a common electrode (forming second electrode 260) on the light emitting layer, wherein the common electrode is electrically connected to the auxiliary electrode through the light emitting layer opening (see Fig. 2G and [0068-0069]).
Regarding claim 15, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 8, wherein a width of the mask pattern (a width of the bottom surface of photoresist 300) is smaller than a width of the through-opening (a width of the upper portion of the opening above metal pattern 210a) (see Fig. 2B).
Regarding claim 19, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 8, further comprising: forming a plurality of pixel electrodes (plurality of electrodes 210 for plurality of sub pixels) on the substrate (see Fig. 2A and [0049], [0051], [0056]), wherein the auxiliary electrode and the plurality of pixel electrodes (metal pattern 210a and electrode 210) are disposed on a same conductive layer and comprise a same material (see [0053-0054]).
Regarding claim 20, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 19, wherein the forming of the through-opening by patterning the insulating layer comprises forming a pixel opening (hole in bank 220 exposing electrode 210 for each of plurality of sub pixels) overlapping the plurality of pixel electrodes (see Fig. 2B and [0049], [0056]).
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
a. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
b. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
c. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
d. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HEO et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0341607 A1), hereinafter as HEO, as applied to claim 8 above in view of Sakaguchi (Pub. No.: US 2015/0076464 A1).
Regarding claim 9, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 8, but fails to disclose wherein the mask pattern comprises an organic material including polyimide.
Sakaguchi discloses a method of manufacturing a display device in Figs. 1-3 comprising a mask pattern (photoresist for forming spacers 8) comprises an organic material including polyimide (see [0048] and [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the mask pattern comprising polyimide of Sakaguchi for forming the mask pattern of HEO because having the modified material for the method would improve the process of patterning with superior thermal stability during curing or baking the mask pattern and high resistance to moisture.
Claims 10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HEO et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0341607 A1), hereinafter as HEO, as applied to claim 8 above in view of Jin et al. (Hongzheng Jin and James C. Sturm, Super-high-resolution transfer printing for full-color OLED display patterning, Year: 2010, Society for Information Display, pgs. 141-145) hereinafter as Jin.
Regarding claim 10, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 8, wherein the positioning of the mask pattern at a position overlapping the through-opening (overlapping with the opening above metal pattern 210a). HEO fails to disclose wherein forming the mask pattern on a master substrate.
Jin discloses a method of manufacturing a display device comprises forming a mask pattern (patterned PDMS layer) on a master substrate (Si substrate), transferring the mask pattern formed on the master substrate directly onto a substrate (ITO/glass substrate) (see Figs. 1a-1d and pgs. 141-142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the method of using the master substrate to form the mask pattern of Jin into the method of HEO for transferring the mask pattern into the display substrate because the modified method would improve the patterning process with low manufacturing cost.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of HEO and Jin discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 10, wherein the positioning of the mask pattern at a position overlapping the through-opening comprises transferring the mask pattern formed on the master substrate directly onto the substrate (see Jin, Figs. 1a-1d and pgs. 141-142).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HEO et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0341607 A1), hereinafter as HEO, as applied to claim 8 above in view of CHOI et al. (Pub. No.: US 2023/0207735 A1), hereinafter as CHOI.
Regarding claim 18, HEO discloses the method of manufacturing a display device of claim 8, but fails to disclose further comprising: forming a common voltage line on the substrate, wherein the auxiliary electrode is electrically connected to the common voltage line.
CHOI discloses a method of manufacturing a display device in Fig. 3 comprising: forming a common voltage line (power line EVSS) on a substrate (substrate SUB) (see [0068]), wherein an auxiliary electrode (electrode 210) is electrically connected (through contact hole CH) to the common voltage line (see [0076-0077]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the method of forming the common voltage line of CHOI into the method of HEO for connecting the auxiliary electrode for receiving power because the modified structure would provide a reliable connecting structure for providing power to all OLEDs of the display device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if amends to overcome the objections as set forth in the office action and rewritten independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 12 and 14 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.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited art, whether taken singularly or in combination, especially when all limitations are considered within the claimed specific combination, fails to disclose or suggest the claimed invention having:
Wherein the positioning of the mask pattern at a position overlapping the through-opening comprises: transferring the mask pattern formed on the master substrate to a transfer substrate, and transferring the mask pattern transferred to the transfer substrate onto the substrate as recited in claim 11. Claim 12 depends on claim 11, and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
Wherein the removing of the mask pattern comprises transferring the mask pattern using an electrostatic chuck as recited in claim 14.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CUONG B NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1509 (Email: CuongB.Nguyen@uspto.gov). The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
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/CUONG B NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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