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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Group I, Species B (Figs. 15A-15B), Subspecies B (Fig. 2B2), Sub-subspecies (j) (Fig. 5D), Sub-sub-subspecies 5 (Figs. 10A-10B), Sub-sub-sub-subspecies (1) (Fig. 13A), claims 1-11, in the reply filed on August 7, 2026 is acknowledged. Therefore, claims 1-11 are presented for examination.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Kim et al. (US 2021/0167151, hereinafter Kim) in view of Moon et al. (US 2021/0234119, hereinafter Moon).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses for a display device comprising that
a first conductive layer (first connection electrode CNE1, Fig. 4), a second conductive layer (contact hole CNT-2, Fig. 4), a third conductive layer (second connection electrode CNE2, Fig. 4), a fourth conductive layer (first electrode AE, Fig. 4), an insulating layer (fourth insulating layer 40, Fig. 4), a functional layer (hole control layer HCL, Fig. 4), and a light-emitting layer (light emitting layer EML, Fig. 4),
wherein the second conductive layer (CNT-2, Fig. 4) is provided over the first conductive layer (CNE1, Fig. 4),
wherein the third conductive layer (CNE2, Fig. 4) is provided over the second conductive layer (CNT-2, Fig. 4),
wherein a side surface of the second conductive layer (side surface of CNT-2, Fig. 4) is positioned on an inner side of a side surface of the first conductive layer (inner side of side surface of CNE1, Fig. 4) and a side surface of the third conductive layer (inner side of side surface of CNE2, Fig. 4) in a cross-sectional view (Fig. 4),
wherein the insulating layer (40, Fig. 4) is provided to cover at least part of the side surface of the second conductive layer (part of side surface of CNT-2, Fig. 4),
wherein the fourth conductive layer (AE, Fig. 4) is provided to cover the first conductive layer (CNE1, Fig. 4), the second conductive layer (CNT-2, Fig. 4), the third conductive layer (CNE2, Fig. 4), and the insulating layer (40, Fig. 4), because Applicants do not specifically claim the fourth conductive layer covers an entirety of the insulating layer, the first electrode AE by Kim covers a portion of the fourth insulating layer 40 along the vertical direction in a cross-sectional view (Fig. 4),
and to be electrically connected to the first conductive layer (CNE1, Fig. 4), the second conductive layer (CNT-2, Fig. 4), and the third conductive layer (CNE2, Fig. 4),
wherein the functional layer (HCL, Fig. 4) is provided to comprise a region in contact with the fourth conductive layer (AE, Fig. 4),
wherein the light-emitting layer (EML, Fig. 4) is provided over the functional layer (HCL, Fig. 4).
Kim does not explicitly disclose that visible light reflectance of at least one of the first conductive layer, the second conductive layer, and the third conductive layer is higher than visible light reflectance of the fourth conductive layer.
However, Moon discloses a display device including a light emitting layer EML directly on a pixel electrode PXE electrically connected to a connection electrode 162 (Fig. 4), and therefore, the light emitting layer EML corresponds to the claimed functional layer, the pixel electrode corresponds to the claimed fourth conductive layer, and the connection electrode 162 corresponds to at least one of the claimed third conductive layer or second conductive layer. Moon further teaches that “the pixel electrode PXE may be formed of a transparent metal material (transparent conductive material, TCO), such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), capable of transmitting light therethrough…” ([0104]) and “the connection electrode 162 and the third signal line 164 may be formed of a single layer or multiple layer made of a low resistance material, for example, any one of aluminum (Al), gold (Au), and copper (Cu) or an alloy thereof” ([0098]), therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the disclosed connection electrode has a greater visible light reflectance than the pixel electrode made of transparent metal material.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Moon’s known material selections to Kim’s display device using a transparent metal material for the first electrode (or anode) and a highly reflective metal material for the connection electrode or via, in order to improve optical and electrical properties of organic light emitting diode device.
Regarding claim 2, Moon further discloses that the functional layer (EML, Fig. 4) comprises one or both of a hole-injection layer and a hole-transport layer, because “the organic material layer of the light emitting layer EML may include an organic light emitting layer, and may further include a hole injecting/transporting layer and/or an electron injecting/transporting layer” (emphasis added, [0107]) and
wherein a work function of the fourth conductive layer (PXE, Fig. 4) is higher than a work function of each of the first to third conductive layers (164/162/152, Fig. 4), because the pixel electrode PXE by Moon can be made of indium tin oxide (ITO) ([0104]) and its work function typically ranges from 4.4 to 4.5 (Examiner’s search result), while the connection electrode or via by Moon can be made of aluminum ([0098]) and the work function of aluminum is typically between 4.06 and 4.28 eV (Examiner’s search result), therefore, the work function of the pixel electrode (claimed fourth conductive layer) can be higher than the work function of connection electrodes and vias in Moon, which correspond to the first to third conductive layer in the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 3, Moon further discloses that the functional layer (EML, Fig. 4) comprises one or both of an electron-injection layer and an electron-transport layer, because “the organic material layer of the light emitting layer EML may include an organic light emitting layer, and may further include a hole injecting/transporting layer and/or an electron injecting/transporting layer” (emphasis added, [0107])
and wherein a work function of the fourth conductive layer (PXE, Fig. 4) is lower than a work function of each of the first to third conductive layers (164/162/152, Fig. 4), because the pixel electrode PXE by Moon can be made of indium tin oxide (ITO) ([0104]) and its work function typically ranges from 4.4 to 4.5 (Examiner’s search result), while the connection electrode or via by Moon can be made of copper ([0098]) and the work function of copper is typically between 4.5 and 4.7 eV (Examiner’s search result), therefore, the work function of the pixel electrode (claimed fourth conductive layer) can be lower than the work function of connection electrodes and vias in Moon, which correspond to the first to third conductive layer in the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 4, Kim further discloses that a side surface of the first conductive layer (side surface of CNE1, Fig. 4) has a tapered shape (Fig. 4) with a taper angle less than 90° in a cross-sectional view (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Moon further discloses that the fourth conductive layer (PXE, Fig. 4) comprises an oxide containing one or more selected from indium, tin, zinc, gallium, titanium, aluminum, and silicon, because “the pixel electrode PXE may be formed of a transparent metal material (transparent conductive material, TCO), such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), capable of transmitting light therethrough…” (emphasis added, [0104]).
Regarding claim 8, Moon further discloses that the second conductive layer (162, Fig. 4) comprises aluminum, because “the connection electrode 162 and the third signal line 164 may be formed of a single layer or multiple layer made of a low resistance material, for example, any one of aluminum (Al), gold (Au), and copper (Cu) or an alloy thereof” (emphasis added, [0098]).
Regarding claim 9, Kim does not explicitly disclose that the third conductive layer comprises titanium or silver.
However, Kim further discloses that the conductive layers 200-2 and 200-4 shown in Fig. 6 can be formed by “titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), and titanium (Ti) are stacked in this order” (emphasis added, [0126]), therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that these titanium-containing conductive materials are also suitable for the second connection electrode CNE2, which corresponds to the claimed third conductive layer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use titanium (Ti) for the connection electrode CNE2 in Kim, as employing a known conductive material already used in Kim’s display device, in order to simplify material selection and fabrication, and provide predictable electrical interconnection performance.
Regarding claim 10, Moon further discloses that at least one of a connector and an integrated circuit, because as illustrated in Fig. 1 of Moon, “examples of the external device EXD may include a connection film, a printed circuit board, a driver integrated circuit (DIC), a connector, a wire connection film and the like” (emphasis added, [0064], Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Moon further discloses that the display module according to claim 10, and at least one of a battery, a camera, a speaker, and a microphone, because “a display device 1 according to an embodiment may be applied to a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a television, a game machine, a wristwatch-type electronic device, a head mounted display, a monitor of a personal computer, a laptop computer, a car navigation system, a car's dashboard, a digital camera, a camcorder, an external billboard, an electronic billboard, a medical device, an inspection device, various household appliances such as a refrigerator and a washing machine, or an Internet-of-Things device” (emphasis added, [0057], Fig. 1).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2021/0167151, hereinafter Kim) in view of Nagatomo et al. (US 2018/0315946, hereinafter Nagatomo). The teachings of Kim are discussed above.
Regarding claim 5, Kim does not explicitly disclose that the insulating layer has a curved surface.
However, Nagatomo discloses an organic light emitting device including an insulating layer 117 covering side surfaces of the first electrode 110 and the first metal layer 111 (Fig. 1), which can correspond to the one of the first to third conductive layer in the claimed invention, and the insulating layer 117 has a curved surface (Fig. 1), therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that an insulating layer disposed over conductive electrodes and interconnections in an OLED device may be formed with a curved, conformal surface rather than straight or flat surface. Such a curved profile would have been understood to provide smoother coverage over electrode sidewalls and edges, thereby reducing stress associated with sharp corners and improving device reliability.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the straight and flat surface of Kim’s fourth insulating layer to include the curved surface taught by Nagatomo, in order to optimize mechanical, optical and electrical characteristics of the OLED device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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, because the cited prior arts do not teach the claimed limitations, “an oxide of the third conductive layer” and “an oxide of the second conductive layer” recited in claim 7.
Conclusion
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/JAY C KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/WOO K LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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