DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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.
Claim Objections
2. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 1, line 8, recites: “the first portion” which lacks an antecedent basis. For examination purposes, “the first portion” is interpreted to be “a first portion”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
3. Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0381653 A1 (the ‘653 reference, of record and cited in the European PCT Search Report dated 24/10/2025).
The reference discloses in Fig. 5 and related text a display device as claimed.
Referring to claim 11, the ‘653 reference discloses a display device, comprising:
a substrate (100);
a light emitting layer (320, para [131] (paragraph(s) [0131])), disposed on the substrate (100);
a metal layer (power supply line 10, para [74], and note that power supply lines are notoriously made of metal), disposed on the substrate (100);
a protective layer (109, para [125]), disposed on the substrate (100), wherein the metal layer (10) is located between the light emitting layer (320) and the protective layer (109); and
a first encapsulation layer (410, para [150]), covering the light emitting layer (320) and a first portion of the metal layer (10),
wherein a thickness of the first encapsulation layer (410) on the light emitting layer (320) is substantially equal to a thickness of the first encapsulation layer (410) on the first portion of the metal layer (10) (as clearly depicted in Fig. 5).
Referring to claim 14, the reference further discloses that the first encapsulation layer (410) comprises a (inherently) relatively rough surface, (a portion of) which is located between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the metal layer (10).
4. Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0408482 A1 (the ‘482 reference).
The reference discloses in Fig. 7 and related text a display device as claimed.
Referring to claim 11, the ‘482 reference discloses a display device, comprising:
a substrate (601);
a light emitting layer (1022, para [131] (paragraph(s) [0131])), disposed on the substrate (601);
a metal layer (6032, para [131]), disposed on the substrate (601);
a protective layer (6031, para [131]), disposed on the substrate (601), wherein the metal layer (6032) is located between the light emitting layer (1022) and the protective layer (6031); and
a first encapsulation layer (1031, para [109]), covering the light emitting layer (1022) and a first portion of the metal layer (6032),
wherein a thickness of the first encapsulation layer (1031) on the light emitting layer (1022) is substantially equal to a thickness of the first encapsulation layer (1031) on the first portion of the metal layer (6032) (as clearly depicted in Fig. 7).
Referring to claim 14, the reference further discloses that the first encapsulation layer (1031) comprises a (inherently) relatively rough surface, (a portion of) which is located between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the metal layer (6032).
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.
5. Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Bang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0381653 A1 (the ‘653 reference, of record and cited in the European PCT Search Report dated 24/10/2025).
Referring to claims 12-13, the reference discloses a display device as detailed above for claim 11, and further discloses:
an electrode (20, para [74]), disposed on the substrate (100); and
a second encapsulation layer (430, para [155]), covering the substrate (100) and close to the electrode (20).
Although the reference does not specifically disclose relative dimensions as claimed, the claimed relative dimensions (claim 12: wherein a difference between a thickness of the second encapsulation layer next to the electrode and a thickness of the first encapsulation layer on the light emitting layer is less than 10%; claim 13: wherein the thickness of the second encapsulation layer next to the electrode is substantially equal to the thickness of the first encapsulation layer on the light emitting layer) will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art (the reference discloses that both the second encapsulation layer 430 and the first encapsulation layer 410 are formed of inorganic thin films such as SiNx, para [150, 155]) unless there is evidence indicating such dimensions are critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation"; MPEP 2144.05.
6. Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0408482 A1 (the ‘482 reference).
Referring to claims 12-13, the reference discloses a display device as detailed above for claim 11, and further discloses:
an electrode (another metal layer 6032), disposed on the substrate (601); and
a second encapsulation layer (1032, para [109]), covering the substrate (601) and close to the electrode (6032).
Although the reference does not specifically disclose relative dimensions as claimed, the claimed relative dimensions (claim 12: wherein a difference between a thickness of the second encapsulation layer next to the electrode and a thickness of the first encapsulation layer on the light emitting layer is less than 10%; claim 13: wherein the thickness of the second encapsulation layer next to the electrode is substantially equal to the thickness of the first encapsulation layer on the light emitting layer) will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art (the reference discloses that both the second encapsulation layer 1032 and the first encapsulation layer 1031 are formed of inorganic thin films such as silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, or silicon oxide, para [109, 46-49]) unless there is evidence indicating such dimensions are critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation"; MPEP 2144.05.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 1-10, insofar as in compliance with the claim objections detailed above, are allowable over the prior art of record.
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 teach or render obvious a method for manufacturing a display device with all exclusive limitations as recited in claim 1, which may be characterized in removing a first portion of the release layer to expose the light emitting layer and the first portion of the first metal layer, and in forming a first encapsulation layer, which covers the light emitting layer, the first portion of the first metal layer, and a second portion of the release layer.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TU TU V HO whose telephone number is (571)272-1778. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday 6:30 - 15:00, Monday through Thursday.
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07-17-2026
/TU-TU V HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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