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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment dated 01/02/2026, in which claims 1, 13 were amended, claims 5 was cancelled, claims 6-12, 14-20 were withdrawn, has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatakeyama et al. (US Pub. 20150236274).
Regarding claim 1, Hatakeyama et al. discloses in Fig. 1, paragraph [0012], [0024]-[0027], [0073], [0104] an organic electroluminescence device comprising:
a first electrode [102];
a hole transport region [104] on the first electrode [102];
an emission layer [105] on the hole transport region [104];
an electron transport region [106] on the emission layer [105]; and
a second electrode [108] on the electron transport region [106],
wherein: the first electrode [102] and the second electrode [108] each independently comprise at least one selected from Ag, Mg, Cu, Al, Pt, Pd, Au, Ni, Nd, Ir, Cr, Li, Ca, LiF/Ca, LiF/Al, Mo, Ti, W, In, Sn, and Zn, a compound of two or more thereof, a mixture of two or more thereof, or an oxide thereof [paragraph [0110], [0258]]; and
the emission layer [105] comprises a polycyclic compound [paragraph [0012], [0024]-[0027], [0034]]
Hatakeyama et al. fails to explicitly disclose
the polycyclic compound represented by Formula 1:
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and wherein, in Formula 1,
X1 to X5 are each independently O, NAr1, S, or Se,
Y is O, S, or Se,
Ar1 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
R2 and R4 to R7 are each independently a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
a and c are each independently an integer of 0 to 3,
b is an integer of 0 to 2, and
d to f are each independently an integer of 0 to 4, and
wherein a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more.
However, Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0023], [0048]-[0056], [0073]-[0074]
the polycyclic aromatic compound is a multimer having two or three structures represented by the general formula (1) which is represented by general formula (2)
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Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0073] that the multimer may be in a form in which a plurality of unit structures are bonded such that any ring contained in the unit structure (ring A, ring B or ring C, or ring a, ring b or ring c) is shared by adjacent unit structures.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the finite number of predictable solutions for bonding a third structure represented by the general formula (2) into a dimer structure (2-5-3) or bonding three structures represented by the general formula (2) to form a trimer having three structures in which a ring is shared by adjacent unit structures.
For example,
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Thus, absent unexpected results, it would have been obvious to try forming a polycyclic compound represented by
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to yield a composite suitable for a trimer having three structures represented by the general formula (2) of Hatakeyama et al.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that:
When R3 and R1 on left side or right side of the above formular represent hydrogen atoms, R2 on left side of the above formular is equivalent to R1 of the claimed Formula 1. R2 on right side of the above formular is equivalent to R3 of the claimed Formula 1.
Hatakeyama et al. further discloses in paragraph [0025] that R2 represents a diarylamino which is a substituted of amine group NH2 in which hydrogen atoms of amine group.
When R2 on right side of the above formular represents a diarylamino, a≥1. When R2 on left side of the above formular represents a diarylamino, c≥1.
Thus, Hatakeyama et al. suggests
a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more;
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group.
Consequently, paragraph [0025]-[0027] of Hatakeyama et al. suggests that the above formular
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is an equivalent to the claimed Formula 1
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Consequently, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify Hatakeyama et al. to form a polycyclic compound represented by Formula 1
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and wherein, in Formula 1,
X1 to X5 are each independently O, NAr1, S, or Se,
Y is O, S, or Se,
Ar1 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group,
R2 and R4 to R7 are each independently a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
a and c are each independently an integer of 0 to 3,
b is an integer of 0 to 2, and
d to f are each independently an integer of 0 to 4;
wherein a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Hatakeyama et al. in the above manner for the purpose of providing suitable a trimer composition having three structures represented by the general formula (2) of Hatakeyama et al.
Regarding claims 2-4, Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0117], [0119] the emission layer comprising a host and a dopant, and the dopant comprises the polycyclic compound. As stated above, Hatakeyama et al. suggests to one skill in the art forming the polycyclic compound represented by the claimed Formula 1. Therefore, the emission layer comprising the polycyclic compound suggested by Hatakeyama et al. would possess the claimed properties of “is a delayed fluorescent emission layer, is to emit delayed fluorescence, is a thermally activated delayed fluorescent emission layer to emit blue light.” See MPEP 2112.01 I and II
Regarding claim 13, Hatakeyama et al. discloses
a polycyclic compound [paragraph [0012]-[0027], [0073]-[0075]]
Hatakeyama et al. fails to explicitly disclose
the polycyclic compound represented by Formula 1:
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and wherein, in Formula 1,
X1 to X5 are each independently O, NAr1, S, or Se,
Y is O, S, or Se,
Ar1 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
R2 and R4 to R7 are each independently a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
a and c are each independently an integer of 0 to 3,
b is an integer of 0 to 2, and
d to f are each independently an integer of 0 to 4;
wherein a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more.
However, Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0023], [0048]-[0056], [0073]-[0074]
the polycyclic aromatic compound is a multimer having two or three structures represented by the general formula (1) which is represented by general formula (2)
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Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0073]-[0074] that the multimer may be in a form in which a plurality of unit structures are bonded such that any ring contained in the unit structure (ring A, ring B or ring C, or ring a, ring b or ring c) is shared by adjacent unit structures.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the finite number of predictable solutions for bonding a third structure represented by the general formula (2) into a dimer structure (2-5-3) or bonding three structures represented by the general formula (2) to form a trimer having three structures in which a ring is shared by adjacent unit structures.
For example,
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980
1341
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972
1661
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Thus, absent unexpected results, it would have been obvious to try forming a polycyclic compound represented by
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504
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to yield a composite suitable for a trimer having three structures represented by the general formula (2) of Hatakeyama et al.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that:
When R3 and R1 on left side or right side of the above formular represent hydrogen atoms, R2 on left side of the above formular is equivalent to R1 of the claimed Formula 1. R2 on right side of the above formular is equivalent to R3 of the claimed Formula 1.
Hatakeyama et al. further discloses in paragraph [0025] that R2 represents a diarylamino which is a substituted of amine group NH2 in which hydrogen atoms of amine group.
When R2 on right side of the above formular represents a diarylamino, a≥1. When R2 on left side of the above formular represents a diarylamino, c≥1.
Thus, Hatakeyama et al. suggests
a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more;
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group.
Consequently, paragraph [0025]-[0027] of Hatakeyama et al. suggests that the above formular
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is an equivalent to the claimed Formula 1
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Consequently, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify Hatakeyama et al. to form a polycyclic compound represented by Formula 1
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and wherein, in Formula 1,
X1 to X5 are each independently O, NAr1, S, or Se,
Y is O, S, or Se,
Ar1 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
at least one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group, and a remaining one of R1 or R3 is a substituted amine group,
R2 and R4 to R7 are each independently a hydrogen atom, a deuterium atom, ahalogen atom, a cyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted amine group, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted ring-forming heteroaryl group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, or combined with an adjacent group to form a ring,
a and c are each independently an integer of 0 to 3,
b is an integer of 0 to 2, and
d to f are each independently an integer of 0 to 4;
a sum of a and c is an integer of 1 or more.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Hatakeyama et al. in the above manner for the purpose of providing suitable a trimer composition having three structures represented by the general formula (2) of Hatakeyama et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/02/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Further, in response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
In this case, Applicant’s statement that “Hatakeyama merely states that the unit structure may be bonded and that a shared ring may be "any one" of the rings (ring A, ring B, or ring C, or ring a, ring b, ring c). See Hatakeyama, par. [0073]. This disclosure is nothing more than an undirected statement that ring fusion is possible. Critically, Hatakeyama does not appear to identify which ring is to be shared. Furthermore, Hatakeyama does not suggest that multimer formation results in a polycyclic structure having 7 fused aromatic rings centered around 3 boron atoms and 6 hetero atoms, as required by the present claims” is Applicant’s own opinion without taking into account knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made.
As stated in the rejection, Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0023], [0048]-[0056], [0073]-[0074] the polycyclic aromatic compound is a multimer having two or three structures represented by the general formula (1) which is represented by general formula (2)
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.
Hatakeyama et al. discloses in paragraph [0073] that the multimer may be in a form in which a plurality of unit structures are bonded such that any ring contained in the unit structure (ring A, ring B or ring C, or ring a, ring b or ring c) is shared by adjacent unit structures.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the finite number of predictable solutions for bonding a third structure represented by the general formula (2) into a dimer structure (2-5-3) or bonding three structures represented by the general formula (2) to form a trimer having three structures in which a ring is shared by adjacent unit structures.
For example,
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Examiner illustrated what paragraph [0023] and [0073] of Hatakeyama et al. would suggest to one skill in the art by providing above examples. Besides the claimed formula, the above examples show that one skill in the art can apply paragraph [0023] and [0073] of Hatakeyama et al. to yield formulas that was not claimed or disclosed by Applicant. Just because Applicant does not know how to apply the teaching of paragraphs [0023] and [0073], does not mean the teachings in paragraph [0023] and [0073] are “mere statement” and “undirected statement” to one skill in the art. In fact, Applicant’s argument that “the number of structurally distinct fused patterns far exceeds the three examples presented in the Office Action” which seems to indicate that one would be able to derive a number of distinct fused patterns using a dimer structure (2-5-3) or monomer structure (2). Therefore, the teachings in paragraph [0023] and [0073] are not “mere statement” and “undirected statement”.
In addition, Applicant has not provided all possible number of structurally distinct fused patterns to form a trimer. Therefore, Applicant’s argument that “the number of structurally distinct fused patterns far exceeds the three examples presented in the Office Action” is not persuasive and has no support. Even if the number of structurally distinct fused patterns exceeds three examples, that does not mean there is infinite number of structurally distinct fused patterns. Therefore, there are finite number of predictable solutions for bonding a third structure represented by the general formula (2) into a dimer structure (2-5-3) or bonding three structures represented by the general formula (2) to form a trimer having three structures in which a ring is shared by adjacent unit structures.
Overall, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive. The claims stand rejected and the Action is made FINAL.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SOPHIA T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1686. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am -5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
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/SOPHIA T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893