DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/20/2026 has been entered.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (US 2021/0126200A1) in view of Giebeler (Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 2448–2450; 1998).
Regarding Claims 1-4, 11-15, 17, Song teaches a blue organic light emitting element 140B includes the anode 141, a plurality of organic layers and the cathode 148. For example, the plurality of organic layers includes the hole injection layer 142, the hole transport layer 143, the electron blocking layer 144, the light emitting layer 145, the electron transport layer 146 and the electron injection layer 147 (paragraph 101). Chemical Formula 1 may be included in a hole transport layer or an electron blocking layer among a plurality of organic layers disposed between an anode and a cathode of an organic light emitting display device, thereby providing high luminous efficiency and long lifetime (paragraph 87). Chemical Formula 1 can be represented by Song Prod 46 (page 46):
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426
260
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Song Prod 46 reads on applicants’ Formula 1 wherein R1 is bonded to CY2; L1 = phenylene; L2, and L3 = direct bond; R2 = phenyl; R3 = biphenyl; CY1 – CY3 = phenyl; Z1-Z4 = H; X1 = O (per claims 1-4, 11-13, 17).
R2 = 3-1 or 4-1 and R3 = 3-4 or 4-4 (per claims 14-15)
Song teaches a hole injection layer may be formed of one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of HAT-CN(dipyrazino[2,3-f:2′,3′-h]quinoxaline-2,3,6,7,10.11-hexacarbonitrile), CuPc(phthalocyanine), PEDOT:PSS, NPD(N,N′-bis(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-2,2′-dimethylbenzidine), and the like, but may not be limited thereto (paragraph 106).
The office notes that Song teaches N,N′-bis(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-2,2′-dimethylbenzidine:
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144
268
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as a hole injection layer material which is out of scope based on the limitation that na1 = 2-4.
Giebeler teaches it is known in the art that starburst amines have been used as hole-injecting buffer layers to lower the operating voltage in a vapor-deposited OLEDs. It has been found that the inclusion of m-MTDATA could suppress the commonly observed leakage current responsible for catastrophic failures as well as lower the operating voltage of the OLED. These effects were attributed to its low ionization potential (5.1 eV), the very good hole transport properties, and the smooth, pinhole-free film properties of the m-MTDATA compound (page 2448).
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146
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(page 2449)
m-MTDATA reads on applicants’ Formula 202 wherein L201-L204 = phenylene, xa1-xa4 = 1; R201-R204 = phenyl; na1 = 2.
The office views the above a strong incentive to use a starburst amine, m-MTDATA, in place of N,N′-bis(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-2,2′-dimethylbenzidine since research shows that m-MTDATA promotes lower the operating voltage and the suppression of commonly observed leakage current.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of invention to have replace the hole injection material of Song with m-MTDATA (which reads on the instant limitations) since Giebeler teaches sad starburst amine promotes lower the operating voltage and the suppression of commonly observed leakage current, absent unexpected results (per claim 1).
Regarding Claims 16-19, Song and Giebeler teach the invention of claim 1. Song also teaches a version of Chemical Formula 1 represented by Song Prod 46A:
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428
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Song Prod 46A reads on applicants’ Formula 1 wherein R1 is bonded to CY2; L1 = phenylene; L2, and L3 = direct bond; R2 = phenyl; R3 = dibenzofuran; CY1 – CY3 = phenyl; Z1-Z4 = H; X1 = O (per claims 16-18).
Song Prod 46A contains ring system 2-4 (per claim 19).
Regarding Claim 20, Song and Giebeler teach the invention of claim 1. Song also teaches a version of Chemical Formula 1 represented by Song Prod 50:
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Song Prod 50 is identical to applicants’
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118
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(per claim 20).
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Song (US 2021/0126200A1) in view of Giebeler (Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 2448–2450; 1998) and Seki (US 2013/0105785).
Regarding Claims 7-9, Song and Giebeler teaches the device of claim 1 but fails to mention an electronic apparatus.
Seki teaches an image display apparatus including an organic light-emitting device and a thin-film transistor (TFT) device wherein the anode or a cathode of the organic light-emitting device is connected to a drain electrode or a source electrode of the TFT device. The thin-film transistor device serves as a device configured to apply an electrical current to the organic light-emitting device (paragraph 52). The organic light-emitting device also contains a color filter (paragraph 50).
As both Song in view of Giebeler and Seki teaches organic light-emitting devices and Seki teaches an organic light-emitting device configured in an electronic apparatus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to have used the organic light-emitting device of Song in known application areas which would have included in an electronic apparatus as taught by Seki which reads on the instant limitations, absent unexpected results (7-9).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 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.
A comprehensive search of the prior art did not show the inventive compound in a capping layer.
Response to Amendment
The rejections have been modified by the incorporation of a starburst amine to address applicants’ amendments
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY D CLARK whose telephone number is (571)270-7087. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-4PM M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Chriss can be reached on 571-272-7783. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY D CLARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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