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 .
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 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.
Claim 14, 19, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US publication 2022/0059799 A1), hereinafter referred to as Kim799.
Regarding claim 14, Kim799 teaches a display device (fig. 9 and related text) comprising: a first electrode (ae1/ae2/ae3, [045]) disposed on a substrate (110, [0114]); a pixel-defining layer (150, [0151]) that covers an edge of the first electrode and defines light-emitting areas and a non-light-emitting area (fig. 9); a light emitting layer (OL, [0155]) disposed on the first electrode and the pixel-defining layer (fig. 9); a second electrode (CE, [0157]) disposed on the light emitting layer; a thin-film encapsulation layer (160/171/173/175/70, [0112 and 0217-0222]) disposed on the second electrode, the thin-film encapsulation layer comprising a first encapsulation layer (171, [0222]), an etch stopper layer (175, [0222]) disposed on the first encapsulation layer, a second encapsulation layer (173, [0222]) disposed on the etch stopper layer, and a third encapsulation layer (70, [0112]) disposed on the second encapsulation layer (fig. 9); and a wavelength conversion layer (330/340/350/370, [0264]) disposed on the thin-film encapsulation layer and comprising a bank (370, [0264]) overlapping the non-light-emitting area (fig. 9), wherein the third encapsulation layer (70) contacts the etch stopper layer (175) in the non-light-emitting area (fig. 9).
Regarding claim 19, Kim799 teaches a display device (fig. 9 and related text) comprising: a first electrode (ae1/ae2/ae3, [045]) disposed on a substrate (110, [0114]); a pixel-defining layer (150, [0151]) that covers an edge of the first electrode and defines light-emitting areas and a non-light-emitting area (fig. 9); a light emitting layer (OL, [0155]) disposed on the first electrode and the pixel-defining layer (fig. 9); a second electrode (CE, [0157]) disposed on the light emitting layer; a thin-film encapsulation layer (160/171/173/175/70, [0112 and 0217-0222]) disposed on the second electrode, the thin-film encapsulation layer comprising a first encapsulation layer (171, [0222]), a second encapsulation layer (173, [0222]) and an organic layer (160, [0218]) disposed on the first encapsulation layer and spaced apart from each other (fig. 9), and a third encapsulation layer (70, [0112]) disposed on the second encapsulation layer and the organic layer (fig. 9); and a wavelength conversion layer (330/340/350/370, [0264]) disposed on the thin-film encapsulation layer, the wavelength conversion layer comprising a bank (370, [0264]) overlapping the non-light-emitting area (fig. 9), wherein the third encapsulation layer (70) contacts an etch stopper layer (175) in the non-light-emitting area.
Regarding claim 23, Kim799 teaches wherein a thickness of the organic layer (160) is less than a thickness of the second encapsulation layer (173).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 is allowable primarily because the prior arts of record, singly or in combination, neither anticipates nor render obvious the following limitations when taken in combination with all other limitations:
“…wherein the second encapsulation layer comprises first regions overlapping the light-emitting areas and second regions not overlapping the light-emitting areas, and a thickness of the first regions is greater than a thickness of the second regions.”.
Kim799 discloses some features of the claimed invention as explained above for claim 14 and 19.
However, Kim799 or the prior arts of record, singly or in combination, neither anticipates nor render obvious the above quoted limitations when taken in combinations with all other limitations.
Therefore, the independent claim 1 is allowed. The depended claims 2-13 are allowed for their dependency to claim 1.
Claims 15-18, 20-22, and 24 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:
The claims contain limitations that none of the prior art of record discloses, teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combinations when taken in combination with all other limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mohammed R Alam whose telephone number is 469-295-9205 and can normally be reached between 8:00am-6:00pm (M-F) or by e-mail via Mohammed.Alam1@uspto.gov.
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 on 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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/MOHAMMED R ALAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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