DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
2. This application is a 371 of PCT/KR2023/002902 03/03/2023.
Preliminary amendment
3. Preliminary amendment filed on 09/04/2024 has been acknowledged and considered.
In the Preliminary amendment, the applicants have amended claims 5, 7, 11-16, 18 and 21 and canceled claims 20 and 22 and remained claims 1-4, 6, 98=10, 17 and 19.
Claims 1-19 and 21 are currently pending in the application.
Oath/Declaration
4. The oath/declaration filed on 09/04/2024 is acceptable.
Priority
5. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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.
6. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over WRIGHT C (WO-2015089062) in view of CHOI H (WO-2019143230-A1) and further in view of CHOI Y (KR-20030030792-A).
Regarding claim 13, WRIGHT C discloses a patterning method for an organic light-emitting thin film, the patterning method comprising:
forming an organic light-emitting thin film (24) (see corresponding organic thin-film layer (340) in the functional layer (300) in ZHANG Z (WO-2019128948-A1) on a substrate (20);
forming a photoresist (26) on the organic light-emitting thin film (24);
patterning the photoresist (26) to form a photoresist pattern (32);
dry-etching the organic light-emitting thin film (24) using the photoresist pattern (32) as an etching mask (30) to form an organic light-emitting pattern (46); and
removing the photoresist (40) (Figs. 3A-3F and English Text).
WRIGHT C discloses the features of the claimed invention as discussed above, but does not disclose forming an organic light-emitting thin film comprising an organic light- emitting composite.
CHOI H, however, disclose forming an organic light-emitting thin film (101) comprising an organic light- emitting composite (100) (Fig. 6 and English Text).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of WRIGHT C to provide an organic light-emitting thin film comprising an organic light- emitting composite as taught by CHOI H for a purpose of improving luminous light efficiency for the patterned method for an organic light-emitting thin film.
WRIGHT C and CHOI H disclose the features of the claimed invention as discussed above but does not disclose dry-etching the organic light-emitting thin film.
CHOI Y, however, discloses dry-etching the organic light-emitting thin film (24) (Figs. 4d-4e and English Text).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of WRIGHT and CHOI H to provide dry-etching the organic light-emitting thin film as taught by CHOI Y for a purpose of exposing the patterned organic light-emitting thin film for the patterned method for an organic light-emitting thin film.
7. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over WRIGHT C, CHOI H and CHOI Y in view of CHEN R (KR-20070006617-A).
Regarding claim 17, WRIGHT C, CHOI H and CHOI Y disclose the features of the claimed invention as discussed above but does not disclose the organic light-emitting pattern has a size of 10 nm to 1000 µm.
CHEN R, however, disclose wherein the organic light-emitting pattern (104) has a dimension of 3mm x 3mm (Fig. 1 and English Text).
However, the selection of the claimed process parameters would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date was made to form the organic light-emitting pattern has a size is within the claimed range, since it is well settles that when the general conditions of a claim are discloses in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. The following is a statement of reason for the indication of allowable subject matter:
None of the prior art of records disclose an organic light-emitting composite, comprising: a curable phosphorescent host; a curable phosphorescent dopant; and an organic silica precursor forming a silicone (-Si-O-Si-) network together with the curable phosphorescent host and the curable phosphorescent dopant, wherein the curable phosphorescent host and the curable phosphorescent dopant comprise a cross-linking functional group, as cited in the independent claim 1.
Claims 2-12 are directly or indirectly depend on claim 1, then, they are also being allowed.
None of the prior art of records disclose an organic light-emitting device, comprising: a curable phosphorescent host; a curable phosphorescent dopant; and an organic silica precursor forming a silicone (-Si-O-Si-) network together with the curable phosphorescent host and the curable phosphorescent dopant, wherein the curable phosphorescent host and the curable phosphorescent dopant comprise a cross-linking functional group, in combinations with the other steps as cited in the independent claim 18.
Claims 19 and 21 are directly depend on claim 18, then, they are also being allowed.
Claims 14-16 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.
Cited Prior Arts
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
SONG T (KR-20180065365-A) discloses an organic light-emitting thin film, the patterning method comprising a patterning method for organic light emitting layer 130 and the second electrode 126 of the first contact portion and the organic light emitting layer 130 and the second electrode 126 of the second contact portion are removed using the etch resist 115 as a mask (Figs. 9a-9d and English Text).
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Phuc T. Dang whose telephone number is 571-272-1776. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
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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/PHUC T DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
