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
Claims 18-23 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on August 6, 2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8, 13, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Takayama (PG Pub 2022/0223669 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Takayama teaches a display panel, the display panel having a first sub-edge (an edge of 30, figs. 2 and 4) extending along a first direction, the display panel comprising: a substrate (10); an isolation structure (30) arranged on a side of the substrate, a first opening being enclosed by the isolation structure; a light-emitting functional layer (EL1), at least part of the light-emitting functional layer being arranged in the first opening; and a first electrode (E21) arranged on a side of the light-emitting functional layer facing away from the substrate, the first electrode being connected to the isolation structure; wherein an orthographic projection of the first opening on the substrate has a first outer edge (an edge of 30) facing the light-emitting functional layer, the first outer edge comprises a first section, and an angle between an extension line of the first section and the first direction is greater than or equal to 0° (the angle between an extension of edge 30 and the same edge of 30 is zero) and less than or equal to 26°.
Regarding claim 2, Takayama teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises a data line (GL, figs. 1,2,4) and a scanning line (SL), one of the data line and the scanning line extends along the first direction, and the other extends along a second direction, and the first direction intersects the second direction.
Regarding claim 3, Takayama teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the first outer edge is a polygon in shape and comprises a plurality of sides with different lengths (paragraph [0029]), and the first section is the longest side of the plurality of sides with different lengths.
Regarding claim 8, Takayama teaches the display panel of claim 1, wherein the isolation structure comprises a first part (31, figs. 2 and 4) and a second part (32) sequentially arranged along a direction away from the substrate, and an orthographic projection of the first part on the substrate is located within (figs. 2 and 4) an orthographic projection of the second part on the substrate.
Regarding claim 13, Takayama teaches a display panel, comprising: a substrate (10, figs. 1,2,4); a data line (GL) and a scanning line (SL) that are arranged on a side of the substrate; an isolation structure (30) arranged on a side of the substrate, a first opening being enclosed by the isolation structure; a light-emitting functional layer (EL1), at least part of the light-emitting functional layer being arranged in the first opening; and a first electrode (EL21) arranged on a side of the light-emitting functional layer facing away from the substrate, the first electrode being in contact (fig. 4) with the isolation structure; wherein an orthographic projection of the first opening on the substrate has a first outer edge (an edge of 30) facing the light-emitting functional layer, the first outer edge comprising a first section, and an angle between an extension line of the first section and a first direction is greater than or equal to 0° (the angle between an extension of edge 30 and the same edge of 30 is zero) and less than or equal to 26°, wherein the first direction is an extension direction of any one of the data line and the scanning line.
Regarding claim 14, Takayama teaches the display panel of claim 13, wherein the first direction is the extension direction of the data line (figs. 1,2,4).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takayama (PG Pub 2022/0223669 A1) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Liu et al (PG Pub 2024/0306464 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Takayama remains as applied in claim 8.
Takayama further teaches the display panel of claim 8, wherein the first part (31, figs. 2 and 4) comprises a first side surface facing the first opening and overlapping with the first electrode, the second part comprises a second side surface facing the first opening, and an edge of the orthographic projection of the first part on the substrate is parallel (figs. 2 and 4) to an edge of the orthographic projection of the second part on the substrate, wherein an edge of the orthographic projection of the first part on the substrate coincides with the first outer edge (an edge of 30) ; or an edge of the orthographic projection of the second part on the substrate coincides with the first outer edge, and wherein the first part comprises a first cross section, the first cross section is perpendicular to a plane where the substrate is located.
Takayama does not teach the first cross section is a regular trapezoid in shape.
In the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches the first cross section (200, fig. 2) is a regular trapezoid in shape, for the benefit of improving effectiveness of isolation (paragraphs [0244][0248]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the first cross section a regular trapezoid in shape for the benefit of improving effectiveness of isolation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7,10-12,15-17 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Prior art does not teach
“the first outer edge is not parallel to the second outer edge adjacent thereto” (claims 4 and 15).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1882. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8am to 4pm EST.
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, Dale Page can be reached at 571 270 7877. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
