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 .
Status of the Application
Claims 1-24 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 6/10/2024 and 2/27/2025 are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The term “the second connection electrode” in claim 16, page 6 line 2 was not introduced before being referenced.
Appropriate correction is required.
For compact prosecution, the examiner interprets “the second connection electrode” in claim 16, page 6 line 2 to read “the additional connection electrode”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1, 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1).
Re Claim 1 Kim teaches a display device (FIG. 10) [0031], comprising:
a substrate (200, FIG. 13 & 14) [0067];
a plurality of sub-pixels (SP) [0084] on the substrate (200), each sub-pixel (SP) including a first area (TA1) [0091] and a second area (DA) [0090];
a plurality of reflective electrodes (280 [0074] & 520 [0119], 280 and 520 are taught Kim as part of LED) on the substrate (200, FIG. 14);
a plurality of transistors (DR1 [0099] & DR2 [0111]) in each of the plurality of sub-pixels (SP) on the substrate (200);
a plurality of first light emitting diodes (OLED2) [0111], each first light emitting diode (OLED2) in the first area (TA1) of a corresponding sub-pixel (SP) of the plurality of sub-pixels (FIG. 14); and
a second light emitting diode (OLED1) [0110] in the second area (DA) of at least one sub-pixel (SP) of the plurality of sub-pixels (FIG. 14),
wherein the second light emitting diode (OLED1, 3 distinct surfaces for light emitting layer 310) [0106]) is different from the plurality of first light emitting diodes (OLED2, 2 distinct surfaces for light emitting layer 510 [0140]), and a bottom surface of the second light emitting diode (OLED1, use bottom of 310) and bottom surfaces of the plurality of first light emitting diodes (OLED2, use bottom surface of 510) are on different planes in a cross-section view of the display device (FIG. 14).
Re Claim 2 Kim teaches the display device of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the second light emitting diode (bottom of 310) is at a height with respect to the substrate that is higher than a height of the bottom surfaces of the plurality of first light emitting diodes (bottom of 510, FIG. 14).
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 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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1) in view of Lee et al. (WO 2021215585 A1).
Re Claim 3 Kim teaches the display device of claim 1, but does not teach:
an insulating layer on the substrate;
a bank on the insulating layer; and
a plurality of contact holes in the insulating layer through which the second light emitting diode and the plurality of reflective electrodes are connected,
wherein the bank is non-overlapping with the plurality of contact holes.
Lee teaches an insulating layer (19, page 21 par 2) on the substrate (11, page 25 par 4);
a bank (40, page 24 last par) on the insulating layer (19); and
a plurality of contact holes (CTD & CTS, page 37 par 2) in the insulating layer (19) through which the second light emitting diode (30, page 37 par 2 use 2nd 30 from top in PX1, FIG. 7) and the plurality of reflective electrodes (21 & 22, page 35 last par) are connected,
wherein the bank (40) is non-overlapping with the plurality of contact holes (CTD & CTS, FIG. 14).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Lee into the structure of Kim since Lee teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Lee in combination with Kim in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating the reflective electrodes through the insulating layer to build a device that is capable of process reduction. Page 2 par 4 states, “An object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of reducing the number of processes by including a separate transistor for applying an alignment signal in a manufacturing process.”
Claims 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1) in view of Li et al. (CN 117440709 A).
Re Claim 4 Kim teaches the display device of claim 1, further comprising:
a planarization layer (270) [0076] on an upper portion of the plurality of transistors (DR1 & DR2); and
an insulating layer (290) [0075] above the planarization layer (270), below the second light emitting diode (OLED1, FIG. 14),
wherein a thickness of a first portion (thickness of 290 in TA1) of the insulating layer (290) in the first area (TA1) is different from a thickness of a second portion (thickness of 290 between highest parts of 280 and 320) of the insulating layer (290) in the second area (DA, FIG. 14).
Kim does not teach the insulating layer is below the plurality of first light emitting diodes.
Li teaches the insulating layer (150) [0123] is below the plurality of first light emitting diodes (EE1, [0105], [0068] states, “The first and second light-emitting diodes LD1 and LD2 may form one light-emitting element.”, FIG. 6 & 7).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Li into the structure of Kim since Li teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Li in combination with Kim in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating the insulating layer in relation to the functional layers to improve power efficiency of the light-emitting element. [0004] states, “The display device includes light-emitting elements, and the light-emitting element includes a pixel electrode, a common electrode, and a light-emitting layer disposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. In order to improve power efficiency of the light-emitting element, functional layers (e.g., a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, an auxiliary layer, and the like) may be further disposed above and below the light-emitting layer.”
Re Claim 5 Kim in view of Li teaches the display device of claim 4, wherein the thickness of the first portion (T1 on modified drawing below) of the insulating layer (Li, 150) in the first area is less than the thickness of the second portion (T2 on modified drawing below) of the insulating layer (150) in the second area (see modified drawing below).
Modified Li FIG. 6 shown below
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Re Claim 6 Kim in view of Li teaches the display device of claim 5, wherein the second portion of the insulating layer (Li, T2 in modified FIG. 6 above) in the second area includes a concave pattern (bottom part of 150 directly between SE2 and DE2) through the second portion of the insulating layer (150), and a depth of the concave pattern is less than the thickness of the second portion (T2 in modified Li FIG. 6 above) of the insulating layer (150) in the second area (see modified Li FIG. 6 above).
Re Claim 7 Kim in view of Li teaches the display device of claim 6, wherein the concave pattern (Li, bottom part of 150 directly between SE2 and DE2) overlaps the second light emitting diode (EE2, FIG. 8) [0105] in the second area (see modified FIG. 6 under claim 5).
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 20240014349 A1) and Chen et al. (US 20210013186 A1, IDS).
Re Claim 8 Kim teaches the display device of claim 1, but does not teach:
a connection electrode electrically connecting the plurality of first light emitting diodes and the second light emitting diode to the plurality of transistors,
wherein the connection electrode is above and overlaps the plurality of first light emitting diodes in the first area.
Park teaches a connection electrode (CNE1 & CNE2 & CNL1) [0120] electrically connecting the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LDf) [0046] and the second light emitting diode (LDr) to the plurality of transistors (T1 & T2, [0110], FIG. 4-6),
wherein the connection electrode (CNE1) is above and overlaps the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LDf) in the first area (see FIG. 6 & modified drawing below).
Modified FIG. 5 shown below
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It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Park into the structure of Kim since Park teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Park in combination with Kim in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating electrodes around the light emitting diode layers to build an effective light source in a pixel regardless of the design of the pixel. [0004] states, “Embodiments provide a light emitting element capable of serving as an effective light source in a pixel regardless of the design of the pixel.”
Kim in view of Park does not teach the connection electrode overlaps and is below the second light emitting diode in the second area.
Chen teaches the connection electrode (CL1 & CL2 [0029], RL1 [0030]) overlaps (RL1 overlaps) and is below the second light emitting diode (LD2) in the second area (right half of 104b in FIG. 8).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Chen into the structure of Kim in view of Park since Chen teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Chen in combination with Kim in view of Park in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating electrodes around the light emitting diode layers to increase yield and get the maximum possible yield rate during the manufacturing process. [0002] states , “When the integration of the elements in the lighting device is high, the manufacturing difficulty is also relatively high. Therefore, how to improve the yield rate of the lighting devices is still an important issue, and the industry needs continuous efforts.”
Re Claim 9 Kim in view of Park teaches the display device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of first light emitting diodes (Park, LDf) [0046] and the second light emitting diode (LDr) each include a plurality of layers including:
a first semiconductor layer (SEC1 & SEC1_r) [0047];
a second semiconductor layer (SEC2 & SEC_r) [0047] having a width (use DR1 direction; it projects from left to right in FIG. 5) that is smaller than a width of the first semiconductor layer (SEC1 & SEC1_r, FIG. 2 & 5);
a light emitting layer (AL & AL_r) [0065] having a width (in DR1 direction) that is smaller than the width (in DR1 direction) of the first semiconductor layer (SEC1 & SEC1_r), the light emitting layer (AL & AL_r) between the first semiconductor layer (SEC1 & SEC1_r) and the second semiconductor layer (SEC2 & SEC2_r);
a first electrode (EL & EL_r) [0047] in (electrical) contact with the first semiconductor layer (SEC1 & SEC1_r, SEC1 & SEC1_r are in LD, FIG. 2 & 5).
Kim in view of Park does not teach a second electrode in contact with the second semiconductor layer,
wherein a stacking order of the plurality of layers of the plurality of first light emitting diodes is reversed from a stacking order of the plurality of layers of the second light emitting diode.
Chen teaches a second electrode (CE2 & ce2) [0028] in contact with the second semiconductor layer (SE2) [0027],
wherein a stacking order of the plurality of layers of the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LD1) [0028] is reversed from a stacking order of the plurality of layers of the second light emitting diode (LD2, 104b in FIG. 8 shows LD2 is LD2 rotated by 180 degrees).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Chen into the structure of Kim in view of Park since Chen teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Chen in combination with Kim in view of Park in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating electrodes in the light emitting diodes and flipping the second light emitting diode to increase yield and get the maximum possible yield rate during the manufacturing process. [0002] states , “When the integration of the elements in the lighting device is high, the manufacturing difficulty is also relatively high. Therefore, how to improve the yield rate of the lighting devices is still an important issue, and the industry needs continuous efforts.”
Re Claim 10 Kim in view of Park teaches the display device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of reflective electrodes (Kim, 280 & 520) include:
a plurality of first reflective electrodes (520); and
a second reflective electrode (280) spaced apart from the plurality of first reflective electrodes (520) and on a same plane (280 & 520 are both directly under 360 in FIG. 14) as the plurality of first reflective electrodes (520).
Kim in view of Park does not teach the second reflective electrode overlapping the plurality of first light emitting diodes in the first area,
wherein the connection electrode includes:
a first connection electrode connected to the plurality of first light emitting diodes and the plurality of first reflective electrodes;
a second connection electrode connected to the second light emitting diode and the plurality of first reflective electrodes; and
a third connection electrode connected to the plurality of first light emitting diodes, the second light emitting diode, and the second reflective electrode.
Chen teaches the second reflective electrode (RE on left of 104b in FIG. 8) overlapping the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LD1) in the first area (left side of 104b in FIG. 8),
wherein the connection electrode (CL1 & CL2 & RL1) includes:
a first connection electrode (RL1) connected (mechanically) to the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LD1) and the plurality of first reflective electrodes (RE on right of 104b in FIG. 8);
a second connection electrode (CL1) connected (mechanically) to the second light emitting diode (LD2) and the plurality of first reflective electrodes (RE on right of 104b in FIG. 8); and
a third connection electrode (CL2) connected (mechanically) to the plurality of first light emitting diodes (LD1), the second light emitting diode (LD2), and the second reflective electrode (RE on left of 104b in FIG. 8).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Chen into the structure of Kim in view of Park since Chen teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Chen in combination with Kim in view of Park in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating electrodes around the light emitting diodes to increase yield and get the maximum possible yield rate during the manufacturing process. [0002] states , “When the integration of the elements in the lighting device is high, the manufacturing difficulty is also relatively high. Therefore, how to improve the yield rate of the lighting devices is still an important issue, and the industry needs continuous efforts.”
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 20240014349 A1) and Chen et al. (US 20210013186 A1, IDS) as applied to claims 1, 8, and 10 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (KR 20230165654 A).
Re Claim 11 Kim in view of Park and Chen teaches the display device of claim 10, but does not teach:
a bonding layer including a first portion between the second light emitting diode and the second connection electrode and a second portion between the second light emitting diode and the third connection electrode in the second area.
Lee teaches a bonding layer (210, page 8 par 7) including a first portion (210 on left in FIG. 5) between the second light emitting diode (110, page 8 par 4) and the second connection electrode (51, page 8 par 7) and a second portion (210 on right in FIG. 5) between the second light emitting diode (110) and the third connection electrode (52, page 8 par 7) in the second area (FIG. 5, integrating 110 from Lee into Kim for OLED1 will place 110 in the second area).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Lee into the structure of Kim in view of Park and Chen since Lee teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Lee in combination with Kim in view of Park and Chen in the above manner for the motivation of using a bonding layer to connect the second light emitting diode to modify and optimize the electrode’s surface. Page 8 par 7 states, “The silver paste 210 can modify the surfaces of the ITO electrodes 51 and 52 into metal surfaces.”
Re Claim 12 Kim in view of Park and Chen and Lee teaches the display device of claim 11, further comprising:
an insulating layer (Chen, PL1) [0029] below a portion of the second connection electrode (CL1) and a portion of the third connection electrode (CL2), the insulating layer (PL1) including a concave pattern (PL1 directly over SE1 in LD1 in 104b of FIG. 8) between the portion of the second connection electrode (CL1) and the portion of the third connection electrode (CL2, FIG. 8).
Re Claim 13 Kim in view of Park and Chen and Lee teaches the display device of claim 11, wherein the bonding layer (Lee, 210, page 8 par 7) includes silver paste.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20200203453 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 20240014349 A1) and Chen et al. (US 20210013186 A1, IDS) and Lee et al. (KR 20230165654 A) as applied to claims 1, 8, 10, and 11 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (CN 116581230 A, “Kim2 hereafter”).
Re Claim 14 Kim in view of Park and Chen and Lee teaches the display device of claim 11, but does not teach the bonding layer includes anisotropic conductive paste.
Kim2 teaches the bonding layer (page 11 par 2 states, “The contact electrode CTE may be disposed on the pixel electrode PXE. The contact electrode CTE and the pixel electrode PXE may be bonded together by ACF or anisotropic conductive paste (ACP).”) includes anisotropic conductive paste (FIG. 8).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Kim2 into the structure of Kim in view of Park and Chen and Lee since Kim2 teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Kim2 in combination with Kim in view of Park and Chen and Lee in the above manner for the motivation of using a bonding layer including includes anisotropic conductive paste to build a display device capable of reducing the resistance of a pixel electrode. Page 2 par 4 states, “Embodiments provide a display device capable of reducing the resistance of a pixel electrode connected to a micron light emitting diode (micron LED).”
Claims 15-20 and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20210013186 A1, IDS) in view of Chen et al. (EP 4089747 A1, “Chen2” hereafter) and Lee et al. (WO 2021215585 A1).
Re Claim 15 Chen teaches a display device (100) [0026], comprising:
a substrate (102) [0027];
a sub-pixel on the substrate (104) [0027], the sub-pixel including a first area (FIG. 2, left side of 104a, see modified FIG. 2 below) and a second area (see modified FIG. 2 below) that is spaced apart from the first area (see modified FIG. 2 below);
a transistor (TFT) [0032] on the substrate (102);
a light emitting diode (LD1) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 below), the light emitting diode (LD1) including a first electrode (CE1) [0027] and a second electrode (CE2);
a first connection electrode (CL1) [0029] connected to the first electrode (CE1) of the light emitting diode (LD1) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 below), the first connection electrode (CL1) electrically connecting the first electrode (CE1) and the transistor (TFT);
an additional connection electrode (RL1) [0030] including a first portion (RLa) of the additional connection electrode (RL1) that is (mechanically) connected to the second electrode (CE2) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 below) and a second portion (RLb) that is in the second area (see modified FIG. 2 below) at a height that is less than a height of the first portion (RLa) of the additional connection electrode (RL1) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 below).
Modified FIG. 2 shown below
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Chen does not teach the additional connection electrode electrically connecting together the second electrode of the light emitting diode and a power line.
Chen2 teaches the additional connection electrode (BE below 138-2 on left in FIG. 1, page 6 last par) electrically connecting together the second electrode (138-2 on left in FIG. 1, page 6 par 3) of the light emitting diode (130 on left in FIG. 1, page 7 par 2) and a power line (122 under 138-2 on left in FIG. 1, page 11 last par).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Chen2 into the structure of Chen since Chen2 teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Chen2 in combination with Chen in the above manner for the motivation of connecting the light emitting diode’s second electrode to a power line to allow for a light emitting diode to emit unform light. Page 2 par 2 states, “…the present disclosure aims at providing a lighting device having a light adjusting layer for making an emitting light uniform.”
Chen in view of Chen2 does not teach a bank including a first portion of the bank in the first area, a second portion of the bank that is on the second portion of the additional connection electrode in the second area, and an opening overlapping the light emitting diode in the first area.
Lee teaches a bank (40, page 14 par 5) including a first portion of the bank in the first area (left side of FIG. 8), a second portion of the bank (40) that is on the second portion of the additional connection electrode (27, page 14 par 5) in the second area (right side of FIG. 8), and an opening overlapping the light emitting diode (30, page 14 par 5) in the first area (left side of FIG. 8).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Lee into the structure of Chen in view of Chen2 since Lee teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Lee in combination with Chen in view of Chen2 in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating banks into the device to help control the light from the light emitting diode. Page 21 par 5 states, “That is, the first bank 40 may provide a region in which the light emitting device 30 is disposed, and at the same time perform the function of a reflective barrier rib that reflects the light emitted from the light emitting device 30 in an upward direction.”
Re Claim 16 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 15, further comprising:
a planarization layer (Chen, PL1) [0029] in the first area (left side of FIG. 2, see modified drawing under claim 15) and the second area (right side of FIG. 2, see modified drawing under claim 15), the planarization layer (PL1) on the transistor (TFT) in the first area (FIG. 2);
a first reflective electrode (RE on left in FIG. 2) [0033] on the (bottom surface of) planarization layer (PL), the first reflective electrode (RE on left in FIG. 2) connected (mechanically) to the first connection electrode (RE on left in FIG. 2) in the first area (see drawing under claim 15) and (mechanically) connected to the transistor (TFT); and
a second reflective electrode (RE on right in FIG. 2) on the (bottom surface of) planarization layer (PL1) and on a same plane as the first reflective electrode (RE on left in FIG. 2), the second reflective electrode (RE on right in FIG. 2) connected to the second connection electrode (RE on right in FIG. 2) in the second area (see modified FIG. 2 under claim 15).
Re Claim 17 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 16, further comprising:
an insulating layer (Chen, 114 & 116) [0033] including a first portion (114 directly above GE in FIG. 2) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) that is between the light emitting diode (LD1) and the second reflective electrode (RE on right in FIG. 2) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 under claim 15) and a second portion (114 & 116 directly under RLb) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) that is overlapped by the second portion (RLb) of the additional connection electrode (RL1) in the second area (see modified FIG. 2 under claim 15),
wherein a thickness of the second portion (114 & 116 directly under RLb) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) in the second area (see drawing under claim 15) is greater than a thickness of the first portion (114 directly above GE in FIG. 2) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) in the first area (see modified FIG. 2 under claim 15).
Re Claim 18 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 17, wherein the second portion (Chen, RLb) of the additional connection electrode (RL1) in the second area (see drawing under claim 15) is in (mechanical) contact with an upper surface of the second portion (114 & 116 directly under RLb) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) in the second area (see drawing under claim 15).
Re Claim 19 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 18, further comprising:
a second connection electrode (Chen, RL2) [0030] that is in (mechanical) contact with the upper surface of the second portion (114 & 116 directly under RLb) of the insulating layer (114 & 116) in the second area (see drawing under claim 15), the second connection electrode (RL2) spaced apart from the additional connection electrode (RL1) on the upper surface of the second portion (114 & 116 directly under RLb) of the insulating layer (114 & 116, FIG. 2).
Re Claim 20 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 17, further comprising:
a first contact hole (Lee, CTD, page 42 par 2) through the first portion (left side of FIG. 8) of the insulating layer (19, page 21 par 2) in the first area (left side of FIG. 8), the first connection electrode (26, page 21 par 3) connected (electrically) to the first reflective electrode (CSE2, page 22 par 2) through the first contact hole (CTD); and
a second contact hole (CTS, page 42 par 2) through the second portion (right side of FIG. 8) of the insulating layer (19) in the second area (right side of FIG. 8), the additional connection electrode (27) connected (electrically) to the second reflective electrode (VSL, page 8 par 3) through the second contact hole (CTS, FIG. 8).
Re Claim 22 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 15, wherein the light emitting diode includes:
a first semiconductor layer (Chen2, 132 on left in FIG. 1, page 6 par 3) including a first portion (132 portion directly under 136) of the first semiconductor layer (132) and a second portion (outer edges of 132) of the first semiconductor layer (132);
a second semiconductor layer (136) overlapping the first portion (132 portion directly under 136) of the first semiconductor layer (132) without overlapping the second portion (outer edges of 132) of the first semiconductor layer (132);
a light emitting layer (134) between the second semiconductor layer (136) and the first portion (132 portion directly under 136) of the first semiconductor layer (132),
wherein the first electrode (138-1 on left in FIG. 1, page 6 last par) is on the second portion (outer edges of 132, AL in on outer edges of 132 in FIG. 1, and 138-1 is on AL) of the first semiconductor layer (132) and the second electrode (138-2 on left in FIG. 1) is on the second semiconductor layer (136, FIG. 1).
Modified Chen2 FIG. 1 shown below
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Re Claim 23 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 22, wherein a portion of the first connection electrode (Chen2, BE under 138-1 on left in FIG. 1, page 6 last par) that is connected to the first electrode (138-1 on left in FIG. 1) is over the light emitting diode (130 on left in FIG. 1) and a portion of the additional connection electrode (BE under 138-2 on left) that is connected to the second electrode (138-2 on left in FIG. 1) is over the light emitting diode (130 on left, FIG. 1).
Re Claim 24 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 15, wherein the second portion of the additional connection electrode (Chen, RLb) in the second area (see modified Chen FIG.2 under claim 15) is configured to connect to another light emitting diode in the second area but the second area lacks the other light emitting diode (see modified Chen FIG.2 under claim 15).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20210013186 A1, IDS) in view of Chen et al. (EP 4089747 A1, “Chen2” hereafter) and Lee et al. (WO 2021215585 A1) as applied to claim 15-17 and 20 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 20230247888 A1, “Lee2” hereafter).
Re Claim 21 Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee teaches the display device of claim 20, but does not teach the first portion of the bank is within the first contact hole and the second portion of the bank is within the second contact hole.
Lee2 teaches the first portion of the bank (PDL, [0056], PDL portion in PT1) is within the first contact hole (PT1) [0075] and the second portion of the bank (PDL, PDL portion in PT3) is within the second contact hole (PT3, [0076], FIG. 4).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching as taught by Lee2 into the structure of Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee since Lee2 teaches a display device.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Lee2 in combination with Chen in view of Chen2 and Lee in the above manner for the motivation of optimally integrating banks (PDL layers) to absorb light in the contact holes. [0078] states, “The pixel defining layer PDL may include a light absorbing material that absorbs visible light.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH MARK SIPLING whose telephone number is (571)272-3269. The examiner can normally be reached 10 AM - 6 PM EST.
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/KENNETH MARK SIPLING/ Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/DUY T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818 7/22/26
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