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 II in the reply filed on 11/17/25 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-25 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/17/25.
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.
Claims 26, 28 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Moon et al. (US 2020/0259126).
Claim 26: Moon teaches a process for forming a display device using a mask assembly (Abst.; ¶ 0003), comprising the steps of: arranging a substrate (SUB) and a mask assembly (MA) to face a deposition source (S) (Fig. 2; ¶¶ 0063-0068); and supplying deposition material from the source through the mask and to the substrate as a coating (¶ 0068), wherein the mask assembly comprises a frame (FR) (i.e. claimed support) defining a first opening (OP) (Fig. 8A; ¶¶ 0049-0062), a support (SP-1) (i.e. claimed connecting portion) defining a second opening (i.e. the space between each SP-1 in Fig. 8A) which corresponds to the first opening (Fig. 8A), the support arranged on a frame (Fig. 8A; ¶¶ 0049-0062) and made of a metal, such as stainless steel (¶¶ 0100-0102), and a mask (MK) arranged on the support and configured to shield the first and second openings via a plurality of holes (OPP) corresponding to the openings (Fig. 8A; ¶¶ 0049-0062).
Claim 28: Moon teaches that the support comprises at least two layers stacked on one another (¶¶ 0100-0102).
Claim 32: Moon teaches that, when only SP-1 is present, the width in the DR1 direction of the second opening is the same as the first opening (see, e.g., Fig. 8A).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon in light of Dong et al. (US 2021/0359210).
Claim 27: Moon fails to teach that the frame is made of silicon or that the mask is silicon oxide, nitride or oxynitride. Dong teaches a mask used for depositing the layers of a display device (Abst.) and explains that a suitable material for the supporting frame is silicon (¶ 0006) and that a suitable material for the mask is silicon nitride (¶ 0006). The simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is prima facie obvious. MPEP § 2143. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of filing to have selected a silicon frame and a silicon nitride support with the predictable expectation of success.
Claims 30 and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon in light of Cho et al. (US 2022/0042159).
Claim 30: Moon fails to discuss a shape of the openings. Cho teaches a mask assembly used to deposit the layers of a display device (Abst.) and explains that each of the mask openings has a tapered shape with a wide width closer to the supporting frame than near the top away from the frame (Fig. 4) and that such a configuration allows for more precise control of the deposition material (¶ 0079). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of filing to have used the tapered shape of Cho in the mask of Moon in order to have more precise control over the deposition material.
Claim 31: Cho further teaches that the upper surface of the opening, away from the support frame, may curve out again (i.e. claimed width decreases in a direction away from the support up to a point and then increases after said point).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert A Vetere whose telephone number is (571)270-1864. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00 EST.
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/ROBERT A VETERE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712