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 Claims
Claims 2 and 4 are amended due to Applicant's amendment dated 04/01/2026. Claims 2-7 are pending.
Response to Amendment
The rejection of claims 2-7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (WO 2017030283 A1) in view of Ito (US 2016/0020405 A1) is overcome due to the Applicant’s amendment dated 04/01/2026. The rejection is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on pages 10-13 of the reply dated 04/01/2026 with respect to the rejection of claims 2-7 as set forth in the previous Office Action have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's argument –Applicant argues on pages 10-13 that the cited references do not teach the claims as amended, which limits the definition of the (C6-C30)aryl groups of Ar to groups that do not include phenyl.
Examiner's response –As discussed in greater detail in the new grounds of rejection below, Ahn in view of the newly cited reference Tamano (English translation of WO 2009099133 obtained from Global Dossier) teach the claims as amended.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
For consistency and ease of reading, it is recommended in the last paragraph of claim 2 to replace “the (5- to 30-membered)heteroaryl which Ar represents” with “the substituted or unsubstituted (5- to 30-membered)heteroaryl which Ar represents”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the newly added amendment that Ar represents a substituted or unsubstituted (C6-C30) aryl which is selected from the group consisting of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc. As written, it is unclear if only the “aryl” or the entire “substituted or unsubstituted (C6-C30) aryl” is selected from the group consisting of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc. If only the “aryl” is selected from the group consisting of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc., this allows for the groups of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc. to be further substituted. If the entire “substituted or unsubstituted (C6-C30) aryl” is selected from the group consisting of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc., the groups may not be further substituted.
For purposes of examination, the limitation will be interpreted as either the “aryl” or the entire “substituted or unsubstituted (C6-C30) aryl” may be selected from the group consisting of terphenyl, naphthyl, binaphthyl, etc.
Claims 3-7 are rejected for being dependent upon indefinite claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 2-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (WO 2017030283 A1) in view of Tamano (English translation of WO 2009099133 obtained from Global Dossier).
Regarding claims 2-7, Ahn teaches an organic electroluminescent device having low driving voltage, excellent current and power efficiencies, and significantly improved operative lifespan by using a phenanthrene compound represented by formula 1 as a host material in a light-emitting layer (¶ [8]-[11] and [20]). Formula 1 may be further represented by formula 4 (¶ [26]). Examples of compounds represented by formula 4 include C-44 (¶ [195]-[197] and pg. 10).
formula 4:
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257
205
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C-44:
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170
114
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Compound C-44 fails to include an anthracene group as required by the claims. However, Ahn does teach L1 may represent a single bond (as shown in C-44) or an unsubstituted C6-C18 arylene, among others, wherein examples thereof include anthracene (¶ [32] and [42]).
Tamano teaches an organic EL element having excellent characteristics such as low driving voltage, long life, and heat resistance by including a compound having a carbazolyl group represented by general formula [1] (¶ [0009]-[0014]). In general formula [1], A represents a carbazolyl group represented by general formula [2] )¶ [0013]). The compound represented by general formula [1] may be used as a host material (¶ [0101] and [0113]). Examples of compounds represented by general formula [1] include compound 32 (pg. 12).
[1]:
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123
202
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[2]:
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148
241
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32:
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95
197
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Therefore, as Ahn teaches L1 may represent an unsubstituted C6-C18 arylene including anthracene, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the single bond in the location of L1 of Ahn’s C-44 with an anthracene group, as shown in Tamano’s compound 32, to arrive at a compound that reads on Tamano’s general formula [1], as taught by Tamano. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a device with excellent characteristics such as low driving voltage, long life, and heat resistance, as taught by Tamano.
The modified compound C-44 of Ahn in view of Tamano reads on Tamano’s general formula [1] wherein: A represents a carbazolyl group represented by general formula [2]; R1 to R4 and R6 to R9 each represent hydrogen, and R5 represents an unsubstituted monovalent aromatic heterocyclic group; Ar1 represents an unsubstituted monovalent aromatic hydrocarbon group; and R10 to R16 each represent a hydrogen atom (see Tamano, ¶ [0012]-[0015]). Accordingly, the modified compound C-44 of Ahn in view of Tamano is expected to obtain the benefits of Tamano.
The modified compound C-44 of Ahn in view of Ito has the same structure as the claimed H-80 (claim 4) and is reproduced below in comparison to the claimed formula 1-7.
modified C-44:
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280
495
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formula 1-7:
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176
331
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The modified compound C-88 of Ahn in view of Tamano reads on the claimed formula 1-7 wherein:
X represents -N=;
Y represents -O-;
R is not required to be present;
R1 represents an unsubstituted C6 aryl, and R2 to R6, R8, R9, and R11 to R18 each represent hydrogen; and
Ar represents a carbazolyl substituted with phenyl (claim 3).
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRAELYN R WATSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1822. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-5pm.
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/BRAELYN R WATSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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