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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claims for foreign priority based on an application filed
in Korea, KR 10-2023-0104526 on August 10, 2023. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/04/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 08/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/10/2026.
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, 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.
Rejection note: Italicized claim limitations are limitations not explicitly disclosed in the primary
reference but disclosed in the secondary references.
Claims 1-4, 7, 10, 14, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Paek et al. discloses a display device, comprising:
a first substrate 110, 120 including a display area DA and a non-display area NDA (Fig. 3: DA, NDA, paragraph 0044, 0050);
a second substrate 200 disposed on the first substrate 110, 120 (Fig. 3: 200, paragraph 0047);
a display element layer 310 disposed on the second substrate 200 and overlapping the display area DA (see Fig. 3: 310, paragraph 0068);
a first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) disposed on the display element layer 310, overlapping the non-display area NDA, and including an inorganic material (Fig. 3: 320, 310, paragraph 0076);
and a second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) disposed on the first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320), including a concavo-convex structure, and including an inorganic material (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077),
Note that according to paragraph 0077, encapsulation layer 320 is a multilayer structure including two inorganic material layers and these two layers are interpreted as the first and second encapsulation layers.
wherein the first substrate 110, 120 includes: a first surface 110a overlapping an edge portion of the first substrate 110, 120 and facing the second substrate 200, and a first inclined surface 110b extending to the first surface 110a, an inclination angle formed by the first surface 110a and the first inclined surface 110b is an obtuse angle (Fig. 3: 110, 110a, 110b, paragraph 0052),
Note that while Fig. 3 shows a curved surface 110b, according to paragraph 0058, the surface can also be inclined.
and the first inclined surface 110b overlaps the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) in a direction Z perpendicular to the first substrate 110, 120.
Paek II teaches a display device, comprising the following limitations not disclosed in Paek et al:
a display element layer 151 disposed on the second substrate 130 (Fig. 2: 151, 200, paragraph 0062, 0063).
and the first inclined surface IP overlaps the second encapsulation layer 153 in a direction Z perpendicular to the first substrate 110 (Fig. 2: IP, 153, 110, paragraph 0056)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Park II in order to have the display element layer disposed on the second substrate and the first inclined surface overlap the second encapsulation layer in a direction perpendicular to the first substrate. By doing so, the second substrate would serve as a support layer for the display element layer, ensuring better reliability of the display element layer upon bending and the overlap between the incline surface and the second encapsulation would shield vulnerable edges and form undercut regions during etching.
Wang et al. teaches a display device, comprising the following limitations not disclosed in Paek et al:
a second encapsulation layer 51 including a concavo-convex structure 31 (Fig. 2: 51, 31, paragraph 0036, 0044, 0046).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Wang et al. in order to have the second encapsulation layer include a concavo-convex structure. By doing so, the uneven surface of the second encapsulation layer would block a liquid organic encapsulation layer from flowing through the entire uneven surface, as recognized by Wang et al. (paragraph 0027).
Regarding Claim 2, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the first inclined surface 110b and the second substrate 200 form an undercut UC (Fig. 3: 110a, 110b, 200, UC, paragraph 0057).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Paek et al. and Park II teaches the display device of claim 2, wherein the undercut UC overlaps the second encapsulation layer 153 in the direction Z perpendicular to the first substrate 110 (as taught by Paek II, see Fig. 2: 153, Fig. 5C: UC).
Regarding Claim 4, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) completely covers the first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077).
Note the second encapsulation layer and the first encapsulation layer is included in the multilayer encapsulation structure 320 and thus the second encapsulation layer would completely cover the first encapsulation layer (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077).
Regarding Claim 7, Wang et al. teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the second encapsulation layer includes:
a plurality of first layers 51 including the concavo-convex structure 31 and that are spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to the first substrate 1; a second layer completely 52 covering the plurality of first layers 51 and including the concavo-convex structure; and a third layer 53 disposed on the second layer 52 and including the concavo-convex structure (see Fig. 2: 51, 52, 53, paragraph 0036, 0044, 0046).
Regarding Claim 10, Wang et al. teaches the display device of claim 7, wherein the second layer 52 physically contacts the first encapsulation layer (lower flat portion of layer 51).
Note that the protrusions in the upper portion of layer 51 is interpreted as the first layer of the second encapsulation layer and the low flat portion of the layer 51 is interpreted as the first encapsulation layer. This way, the second layer 52 physically contacts the first encapsulation layer (flat portion of layer 51) on the right side of the device shown in Fig. 2.
Regarding Claim 14, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 13, wherein the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) overlaps the display area DA and the non-display area NDA in plan view (see Fig. 3: DA, NDA, 320), and the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) completely covers the first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) in plan view (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077).
Note the second encapsulation layer and the first encapsulation layer is included in the multilayer encapsulation structure 320 and thus the second encapsulation layer would completely cover the first encapsulation layer (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077).
Regarding claim 18, Paek et al. discloses a display device, comprising:
a first substrate 110, 120 including a main area FA and a pad area RFA (Fig. 1: 110, 120, Fig. 3: FA, RFA, paragraph 0044, 0049, 0050);
a second substrate 200 disposed on the first substrate 110, 120 and including a bending area BA disposed between the main area FA and the pad area RFA (Fig. 3: 200, BA, paragraph 0047);
a display element layer 310 disposed on the second substrate 200 and overlapping the main area FA (see Fig. 3: 310, paragraph 0068);
a first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) disposed on the display element layer 310 and including an inorganic material (Fig. 3:L 320, 310, paragraph 0076);
and a second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) disposed on the first encapsulation layer (included in layer 320), including a concavo-convex structure, and including an inorganic material (Fig. 3: 320, paragraph 0076, 0077),
Note that according to paragraph 0077, encapsulation layer 320 is a multilayer structure including two inorganic material layers and these two layers are interpreted as the first and second encapsulation layers.
wherein the first substrate 110, 120 includes a first sub-substrate 110 and a second sub-substrate 120 spaced apart from each other with the bending area BA disposed between the first sub-substrate 110 and the second sub-substrate 120 (Fig. 3: 110, 120, BA),
the first sub-substrate 110 includes: a surface 110a facing the second substrate 120, and a first inclined surface 110b facing the bending area BA and extended to the surface 110a (Fig. 3: 110, 110a, 110b, BA, paragraph 0052),
Note that while Fig. 3 shows a curved surface 110b, according to paragraph 0058, the surface can also be inclined.
and the first sub-substrate 110 and the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) overlap each other in a direction Z perpendicular to the first substrate 110, 120 (Fig. 3: 110, 120, 320, Z).
Paek II teaches a display device, comprising the following limitations not disclosed in Paek et al:
a display element layer 151 disposed on the second substrate 130 (Fig. 2: 151, 200, paragraph 0062, 0063).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Park II in order to have the display element layer disposed on the second substrate. By doing so, the second substrate would serve as a support layer, ensuring better reliability of the display element layer upon bending.
Wang et al. teaches a display device, comprising the following limitations not disclosed in Paek et al:
a second encapsulation layer 51 including a concavo-convex structure 31 (Fig. 2: 51, 31, paragraph 0036, 0044, 0046).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Wang et al. in order to have the second encapsulation layer include a concavo-convex structure. By doing so, the uneven surface of the second encapsulation layer would block a liquid organic encapsulation layer from flowing through the entire uneven surface, as recognized by Wang et al. (paragraph 0027).
Regarding Claim 19, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 18, wherein an inclination angle formed by the first inclined surface 110b and the surface 110a is an obtuse angle, and the second substrate 200 and the first inclined surface 110b form an undercut UC (Fig. 3: 110a, 110b, 200, UC, paragraph 0057).
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1), as applied to Claim 3 above, further in view of Yamazaki et al. (US 20150214379 A1) and Muller et al. (US 5252881).
Regarding Claim 5, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 3, wherein the second encapsulation layer (included in layer 320) includes an inorganic material having acid resistance against a fluorine-based etchant (Fig. 3:L 320, paragraph 0076, 0077).
While Paek et al. fails to explicitly teach the inorganic material having acid resistance against a fluorine-based etchant, Yamazaki teaches a display device comprising an encapsulation layer 34 including an inorganic material formed of amorphous silicon (see Fig. 3B: 34, paragraph 0162), which is the same material disclosed by the Applicant for the second encapsulation layer (see paragraph 00169 of originally filed disclosure). Furthermore, Muller et al. teaches that amorphous silicon having acid resistance against a fluorine-based etchant (Column 10, lines 35-41).
Therefore, using the combined teachings of Paek et al., Yamazaki et al. and Muller et al., it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the inorganic material layer of Yamazaki et al. for the second encapsulation layer of Paek et al., as both materials are known encapsulants used to protect underlying device structures and thus, the substitution would have yielded predictable results. Further, a person of ordinary skill in the art, using the combined teachings of Paek et al., Yamazaki et al. and Muller et al., would have recognized that selecting the encapsulation layer of Yamazaki et al. for the second encapsulation layer of Paek et al. would result in the second encapsulation layer including an inorganic material having acid resistance against a fluorine-based etchant.
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Paek et al. and Yamazaki et al. teaches the display device of claim 5, wherein the second encapsulation layer includes amorphous silicon (as taught by Yamazaki et al., see paragraph 0162).
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1), as applied to Claim 7 above, further in view of Jiang et al. (US 20190067639 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Paek et al, Paek II and Wang et al. fails to teach the display device of claim 7, wherein the third layer has higher hydrophobicity than the plurality of first layers.
However, Jinag et al. teaches a display device, wherein the third layer 022 has higher hydrophobicity than the plurality of first layers 021 (Fig. 2: 021, 022, paragraph 0056).
Note that layer 022 has hydrophobic particles 0222 and therefore has higher hydrophobicity than the plurality of first layers 021. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Lee et al. in order to have the third layer have higher hydrophobicity than the plurality of first layers. Doing so would block moisture and oxygen from permeating into the display device, as recognized by Jinag et al. (paragraph 0059).
Regarding Claim 9, Jinag et al. teaches the display device of claim 8, wherein the third layer 022 includes carbon, fluorine, and hydrogen ions (paragraph 0058).
Note that according to paragraph 0058, the hydrophobic particles 0222 included in the third layer 022 includes magnesium fluoride, inherently comprising fluoride ions, and alkyl groups inherently comprising carbon and hydrogen ions.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1), as applied to Claim 1 above, further in view of Lee et al. (US 20230121948 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Paek et al. teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the first substrate includes a second surface 110c facing the first surface 110a (Fig. 3: 110c, 110a, paragraph 0098) and a second inclined surface overlapping the edge portion of the first substrate and extended to the second surface, and an inclination angle formed by the second surface and the second inclined surface is an obtuse angle.
Lee et al. teaches a display device comprising the following limitations not explicitly disclosed in Paek et al.:
wherein the first substrate 120 includes a second surface S4 facing the first surface S3 and a second inclined surface SS2 overlapping the edge portion of the first substrate 120 and extended to the second surface S4, and an inclination angle formed by the second surface S4 and the second inclined surface SS2 is an obtuse angle (Fig. 5B: 120, S3, S4, SS2, paragraph 0066).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Lee et al. in order to have the first substrate include a second surface facing the first surface and a second inclined surface overlapping the edge portion of the first substrate and extended to the second surface, and an inclination angle formed by the second surface and the second inclined surface is an obtuse angle. By doing so, the strength of the first substrate may be increased so as to absorb shock even when an external shock is applied thereto, as recognized by Lee et al. (paragraph 0066).
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Paek et al., Paek II and Lee et al. teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the second inclined surface overlaps the second encapsulation layer in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate.
Note that the second encapsulation 153 of Paek II covers the entire display area (see Fig. 2: 153). Therefore, when the second inclined surface of Lee is disposed in the display device of Paek et al. modified by Paek II, the second inclined surface will overlap the second encapsulation layer in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1), as applied to Claim 1 above, further in view of Heo et al. (US 20180182812 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Paek et al, Paek II and Wang et al. fails to teach the display device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the second encapsulation layer in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate is about 0.2 μm or less.
However, Heo et al. teaches a display device, wherein a thickness of the second encapsulation layer in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate is about 0.2 μm or less (see Claim 15).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Heo et al. in order to have a thickness of the second encapsulation layer in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate is about 0.2 μm or less. Doing so would the second encapsulation layer has sufficient thickness to form the concavo-convex structures.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paek et al. (US 20210202868 A1), in view of second reference Paek et al. (US 20200004295 A1), herein referred to as Park II, and Wang et al. (US 20210359252 A1), as applied to Claim 19 above, further in view of Park et al. (US 20230094306 A1).
Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Paek et al, Paek II and Wang et al. fails to teach the display device of claim 19, wherein the first sub-substrate includes a second inclined surface opposing the first inclined surface, the second inclined surface is extended to the surface in a direction opposite to a direction in which the first inclined surface is disposed, an inclination angle formed by the surface and the second inclined surface is an obtuse angle, and the second inclined surface and the second encapsulation layer overlap each other in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate.
However, Park et al. teaches a display device, wherein the first sub-substrate SUB_1 includes a second inclined surface 13 opposing the first inclined surface (the inclined surface to the left of SUB_1 in Fig. 15), the second inclined surface 13 is extended to the surface 11 in a direction opposite to a direction in which the first inclined surface is disposed, an inclination angle formed by the surface 11 and the second inclined surface 13 is an obtuse angle, and the second inclined surface 13 and the second encapsulation layer 193 overlap each other in the direction DR3 perpendicular to the first substrate SUB_1 (Fi8g. 15: SUB_1, 193, D3, Fig. 16: 11, 13, 193, paragraph 0180, 0181).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary sill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the teachings of Paek et al. and Lee et al. in order to have the first sub-substrate include a second inclined surface opposing the first inclined surface, the second inclined surface is extended to the surface in a direction opposite to a direction in which the first inclined surface is disposed, an inclination angle formed by the surface and the second inclined surface is an obtuse angle, and the second inclined surface and the second encapsulation layer overlap each other in the direction perpendicular to the first substrate. Doing so would improve the reliability of the display device, as recognized by Park et al. (paragraph 0184).
Conclusion
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/HAMNA FATHIMA IQBAL/Examiner, Art Unit 2817
09/05/2026
/ANTONIO B CRITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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