DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Election/Restriction
The applicant has elected invention II, with traverse. Based on the response to the restriction requirement, it appears to the examiner that there was perhaps a misunderstanding, as the organic layers that are the subject of the restriction requirement are the organic insulating layers. The examiner contacted the applicant’s representative Mr. Sachar to explain this apparent misunderstanding and inquire whether the applicant wished to proceed with the elected claims. The examiner also pointed out that claim 34, as it depends from claim 33, is also part of invention I. Mr. Sachar requested that the examination of elected invention II proceed.
Non-elected claims 28, 29, 33-36, and 41, corresponding to non-elected inventions I and III, are withdrawn from consideration.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 22-27, 30-32, and 37-40 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Oh, US 2013/0161680, in view of Imamura, US 2003/0164674.
Claim 22: Oh discloses
a substrate (401);
a pixel including a pixel electrode (410), organic layers (412) including a light emitting layer, and a common electrode (413), the organic layers being disposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode (FIG. 4);
a first inorganic insulating layer (421) covering the pixel;
a second inorganic insulating layer (422 or 423) disposed at an opposite side of the first inorganic insulating layer from the substrate, being in contact with the first inorganic insulating layer (in the area between pixels, FIG. 4);
and a first organic insulating layer (432, left) and a second organic insulating layer (432, right, or 431, left) that are disposed in a same layer (between 421 and 422 or 423) and on the first inorganic insulating layer, and are in contact with the first and second inorganic insulating layers (FIG. 4),
wherein the second inorganic insulating layer covers the first and second organic insulating layers (FIG. 4),
and the first inorganic insulating layer is in contact with the second inorganic insulating layer in a region between the first organic insulating layer and the second organic insulating layer (in the middle).
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Oh does not disclose any details about a peripheral area. However, peripheral areas were ubiquitous in displays, and it was known to extend such encapsulation layers into the peripheral area. See e.g. Imamura which discloses:
a substrate (2) including a display area (11a) and a peripheral area (11b) surrounding the display area (FIG. 2);
a first inorganic insulating layer (14d1/214d1, “The barrier layers 14d are made of an inorganic membrane such as SiO2” [0114]) covering the pixel and disposed in both the display area and the peripheral area continuously;
a second inorganic insulating layer (14d2/214d2) disposed at an opposite side of the first inorganic insulating layer from the substrate, being in contact with the first inorganic insulating layer, and disposed in both the display area and the peripheral area continuously (FIG. 3);
and an organic insulating layer (14C2, [0114]) and in contact with the first and second inorganic insulating layers, wherein the second inorganic insulating layer covers the organic insulating layer (FIG. 3):
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It would have been obvious to have had the peripheral area of Imamura in the device of Oh, as it would have been obvious to use the peripheral banks of Imamura to delimit the spread of the organic layer so as to make a narrow frame region (Imamura [0038]).
Claim 23: the first organic insulating layer is encompassed by the first and second inorganic insulating layers, and the second organic insulating layer is encompassed by the first and second inorganic insulating layers (Oh FIG. 4).
Claim 24: the first inorganic insulating layer is in contact with the second inorganic insulating layer in the peripheral area (Imamura FIGS. 3, 13).
Claim 25: the first and second organic insulating layers are disposed in the display area (Oh FIG. 4).
Claim 26: the first (432, left) and second (431, left) organic insulating layers overlap the pixel in a plan view.
Claim 27: a third organic insulating layer disposed in the same layer, wherein the third organic insulating layer overlaps the pixel in a plan view and is disposed between the first organic insulating layer and the second organic insulating layer. See Oh FIG. 4. A pixel can be considered a unit of illumination with a three or more subpixels. Three subpixels of Oh (the two that are shown and one to the left that is not shown) comprise a pixel; 432 to the left (not shown) would be the first organic insulating layer; the one to the right (shown would be the second organic insulating layer, and the one in the middle (the one to the left that is shown) would be the third organic insulating layer.
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Claim 30: the first inorganic insulating layer includes a flat surface, a first inclined surface, and a second inclined surface, the flat surface is disposed between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in a cross-sectional view, the first organic insulating layer is in contact with both the flat surface and the first inclined surface, and the second organic insulating layer is in contact with both the flat surface and the second inclined surface.
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Claim 31: the first inorganic insulating layer (421) includes a first portion, a first inclined surface protruding from the first portion toward the second inorganic insulating layer (422), and a second inclined surface protruding from the first portion toward the second inorganic insulating layer, the first portion is disposed between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in a cross-sectional view, the first portion includes a second portion in contact with the first inclined surface and a third portion in contact with the second inclined surface, the first organic insulating layer (431) is disposed at the second portion, and the second organic insulating layer (432) is disposed (indirectly) at the third portion.
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Claim 32: Oh discloses a third organic insulating layer (419) on the pixel electrode, under the organic layers, and under the common electrode (413), wherein the third organic insulating layer surrounds the pixel electrode and includes a first side wall (left sidewall) and a second side wall (right sidewall) that are in contact with the pixel electrode, a part of the pixel electrode is disposed between the first side wall and the second side wall in the cross-sectional view, the first inclined surface faces the first side wall via the common electrode, and the second inclined surface faces the second side wall via the common electrode.
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Oh does not disclose what material layer 419 is formed from, but it was well-known in the art to form such layers from organic material. See e.g. Imamura, organic bank layer 112b, FIG. 3 [0103]. It would have been obvious to have used an organic material for layer 419 of Oh as a known material used for a known purpose.
The examiner understands facing the sidewall “via the common electrode” to mean that the inclined surfaces of the first inorganic insulating layer face in the side walls in the direction of the common electrode.
Claim 37: Oh discloses
a substrate (401) including a display area and a peripheral area surrounding the display area;
Oh does not illustrate the peripheral area, but Imamura discloses display area 11a and peripheral area 11b; this was ubiquitous and would be expected to exist in Oh.
pixels in the display area, each of the pixels including a light emitting layer (412);
a first inorganic insulating layer covering the pixels and disposed in both the display area (Oh 421 or 422) and the peripheral area (Imamura 12b or 14d1) continuously;
a second inorganic insulating layer disposed at an opposite side of the first inorganic insulating layer from the substrate, being in contact with the first inorganic insulating layer, covering the pixels, and disposed in both the display area (Oh 422 or 423) and the peripheral area (Imamura 14d1 or 14d2) or continuously;
and a first organic insulating layer and a second organic insulating layer (431 or 432 in both the left and right subpixels, Oh FIG. 4) that are disposed in a same layer and on the first inorganic insulating layer, and are in contact with the first and second inorganic insulating layers (Oh FIG. 4; Imamura FIG. 3),
wherein the second inorganic insulating layer covers the first and second organic insulating layers, and the first inorganic insulating layer is in contact with the second inorganic insulating layer in a region between the first organic insulating layer and the second organic insulating layer (Oh FIG. 4).
It would have been obvious to have had the peripheral area of Imamura in the device of Oh, as Imamura discloses as it would have been obvious to use the peripheral banks of Imamura to delimit the spread of the organic layer so as to make a narrow frame region (Imamura [0038]).
Claim 38: the first inorganic insulating layer covers a whole of the display area (Oh FIG. 4; Imamura FIG. 3).
Claim 39: the first inorganic insulating layer (421) includes a first portion, a first inclined surface protruding from the first portion toward the second inorganic insulating layer (422), and a second inclined surface protruding from the first portion toward the second inorganic insulating layer, the first portion is disposed between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in a cross-sectional view, the first portion includes a second portion in contact with the first inclined surface and a third portion in contact with the second inclined surface, the first organic insulating layer (431) is disposed at the second portion, and the second organic insulating layer (432) is disposed (indirectly) at the third portion.
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Claim 40: Oh discloses a third organic insulating layer (419), wherein the third organic insulating layer delimits the pixels and includes a first side wall and a second side wall that face the light emitting layer (412), the first inclined surface faces the first side wall via the light emitting layer, and the second inclined surface faces the second side wall via the light emitting layer.
Oh does not disclose what material layer 419 is formed from, but it was well-known in the art to form such layers from organic material. See e.g. Imamura, organic bank layer 112b, FIG. 3 [0103]. It would have been obvious to have used an organic material for layer 419 of Oh as a known material used for a known purpose.
The examiner understands facing the sidewall “via the light emitting layer” to mean that the inclined surfaces of the first inorganic insulating layer face in the side walls in the direction of the light emitting layer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and is listed in the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER BRADFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-1596. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30-6:30.
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, Jacob Choi can be reached at 469.295.9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER BRADFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897