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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2021-0165807, filed on 11/26/2021.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In Formula 3, on page 21 of the instant specification, Y4 and Y5 are not defined.
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 1-3, 5-16, and 18-25 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.
With respect to independent claims 1 and 14, the claims contain characters Y4 and Y5 in Formula 3, however, these characters are not defined in the instant claim, nor are they defined in the instant specification.
In continuing examination, LB will be interpreted as being an auxiliary ligand represented by Formula 5A or 5B, which are pictured below.
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The definitions of R21, R22, f, g, and R31 through R33 will be taken from paragraph [0089] of the instant specification.
Support for this interpretation comes from paragraph [0089] of the instant specification.
Claims 2, 3, 5-13, 15, 16, and 18-25 are rejected by virtue of dependency.
Examiner notes that claims 4 and 17 have not been rejected as they contain sufficient structure to overcome this rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-8 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US 2022/0069237 A1) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2017/0077423 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Kwon discloses an organic light emitting diode comprising an anode (a first electrode), a cathode (a second electrode) and an emissive layer between the electrodes (paragraph 0161) which comprises a compound (paragraph 0030) such as compound 1 (page 45) pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of instant Formula 1 when LA has the structure of Formula 2, LB has the structure of Formula 5A, m is 1, n is 2, and m+n is 3.
In Formula 2, X1 and X2 are CR7, X3 to X5 are each CR8, X6 to X9 are each CR9, a is 0 and R1 through R5 are not present, b is 0 and R6 is not present, and R7 through R9 are each hydrogen.
In Formula 5A, f and g are 0, and R21 and R22 are not present.
However, while Kwon teaches that the emission layer may further comprise a host (paragraph 0156), all the example devices comprise a single host compound (paragraph 0292), and a dual host composition is not taught nor fairly suggested.
In analogous art, Ahn teaches an organic light electroluminescent device comprising a light emitting layer with a phosphorescent dopant and multi-component host compounds which result in high efficiency and long lifespan compared to a conventional device with only one host compound (abstract).
Ahn gives an example of the first host compound, which is H1-89 (page 24), pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of the instant first host compound represented by Formula 7 when X is CR43R44, Z1 to Z4 are each CR45, R41 is a phenyl-substituted C12 heteroaryl (carbazolyl), R42 is not present, R43 and R44 are each a C1 alkyl (methyl) group, three of R45 are a hydrogen atom and the R45 at Z3 is an unsubstituted C6 aryl (phenyl) group, L1 and L2 are each a single bond, and p is 0.
Ahn also gives an example of the second host compound, which is H2-112 (page 49), pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of the instant second host compound represented by Formula 9 when R51 and R52 are a C6 aryl (phenyl), and R53 has the structure of Formula 10A, Y1 through Y3 are each nitrogen atoms, and L is a C6 arylene (m-phenylene).
In Formula 10A, R62 and R63 are linked to form a dimethyl-substituted indenocarbazole moiety, and all other R characters are hydrogen atoms.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dual host composition of Ahn in the emitting layer of the device of Kwon in order to achieve high efficiency and long lifespan compared to a conventional device with only one host compound, as taught by Ahn.
With respect to claims 2 and 3, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and LA has the structure of Formula 4A or 4C when c is 0, as pictured above.
With respect to claim 4, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and LB has the structure of Formula 5A, for the reasons discussed above.
With respect to claim 5, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and X1 and X2 are CR7, X3 to X5 are each CR8, X6 to X9 are each CR9, as discussed above.
With respect to claim 6, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and the organometallic compound is identical to instant compound 1, as pictured above.
With respect to claim 7, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and the first host is identical to instant GHH6, as pictured above.
With respect to claim 8, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and the second host is identical to instant GEH2, as pictured above.
With respect to claim 24, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, and Kwon teaches an organic light emitting device (paragraph 0294) which is patterned onto a glass substrate (paragraph 0290).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form an organic light emitting device on a glass substrate comprising the diode of Kwon and Ahn as taught by Kwon.
Claims 9-23 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US 2022/0069237 A1) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2017/0077423 A1) as applied above, and further in view of Shin et al. (US 2018/0166647 A1).
With respect to claim 9, Kwon and Ahn teach the light emitting diode of claim 1, as discussed above.
However, neither Kwon nor Ahn teach a second emitting layer separated from the first emitting layer by a charge generation layer.
In analogous art, Shin teaches a white LED device having a tandem structure in which there is a first emitting layer including a blue emitting layer, and a second emitting layer including a yellow-green emitting layer, which are vertically laminated with a charge generation layer between the first and second emitting layers (paragraph 0007). Shin teaches that in order to obtain a white LED having long lifetime, an LED having a tandem structure with plural emitting units is widely used (paragraph 0006). Shin also teaches that use of a charge generation layer between emitting layers increases the current efficiency of each emitting layer and smoothly distributes charge to each emitting layer (paragraphs 0007-0008).
Examiner would like to note that as Kwon teaches a device comprising the compound may emit white light (paragraph 0218), this is interpreted to overlap in scope with Shin who teaches one blue light layer and one yellow-green layer which results in white light emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the emitting layer composition of Kwong and Ahn as one of the emitting layers in a tandem device structure with plural emitting layers in order to obtain a white light emitting LED having long lifetime, as taught by Shin.
Further, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a charge generation layer between emitting layers in order to increase the current efficiency of each emitting layer and smoothly distribute charge to each emitting layer, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 10, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 9, and Shin also teaches that the second emitting material layer may include a red emitting material layer, a green emitting material layer, and a yellow-green emitting material layer.
Examiner notes that Kwon teaches the compounds typically emit in the 500-600 nm range, which makes them suitable for some green emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the host and dopant of Kwon and Ahn in one of the layers, such as the green emitting layer of the second emitting material layer in the device of Shin, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 11, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 10, and Shin teaches three sublayers in the second emitting material layer, as discussed above.
With respect to claim 12, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 9, and Shin teaches that the organic light emitting diode may further include a third emitting material layer and a second charge generation layer between the second and third emitting parts (paragraphs 0103-0104).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a third emitting material layer and a second charge generation layer between the second and third emitting material layers, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 13, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 12, and Shin also teaches that the second emitting material layer may include a red emitting material layer, a green emitting material layer, and a yellow-green emitting material layer.
Examiner notes that Kwon teaches the compounds typically emit in the 500-600 nm range, which makes them suitable for some green emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the host and dopant of Kwon and Ahn in one of the layers, such as the green emitting layer of the second emitting material layer in the device of Shin, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 14, Kwon discloses an organic light emitting diode comprising an anode (a first electrode), a cathode (a second electrode) and an emissive layer between the electrodes (paragraph 0161) which comprises a compound (paragraph 0030) such as compound 1 (page 45) pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of instant Formula 1 when LA has the structure of Formula 2, LB has the structure of Formula 5A, m is 1, n is 2, and m+n is 3.
In Formula 2, X1 and X2 are CR7, X3 to X5 are each CR8, X6 to X9 are each CR9, a is 0 and R1 through R5 are not present, b is 0 and R6 is not present, and R7 through R9 are each hydrogen.
In Formula 5A, f and g are 0, and R21 and R22 are not present.
However, while Kwon teaches that the emission layer may further comprise a host (paragraph 0156), all the example devices comprise a single host compound (paragraph 0292), and a dual host composition is not taught nor fairly suggested.
In analogous art, Ahn teaches an organic light electroluminescent device comprising a light emitting layer with a phosphorescent dopant and multi-component host compounds which result in high efficiency and long lifespan compared to a conventional device with only one host compound (abstract).
Ahn gives an example of the first host compound, which is H1-89 (page 24), pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of the instant first host compound represented by Formula 7 when X is CR43R44, Z1 to Z4 are each CR45, R41 is a phenyl-substituted C12 heteroaryl (carbazolyl), R42 is not present, R43 and R44 are each a C1 alkyl (methyl) group, three of R45 are a hydrogen atom and the R45 at Z3 is an unsubstituted C6 aryl (phenyl) group, L1 and L2 are each a single bond, and p is 0.
Ahn also gives an example of the second host compound, which is H2-112 (page 49), pictured below.
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This compound meets the requirements of the instant second host compound represented by Formula 9 when R51 and R52 are a C6 aryl (phenyl), and R53 has the structure of Formula 10A, Y1 through Y3 are each nitrogen atoms, and L is a C6 arylene (m-phenylene).
In Formula 10A, R62 and R63 are linked to form a dimethyl-substituted indenocarbazole moiety, and all other R characters are hydrogen atoms.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dual host composition of Ahn in the emitting layer of the device of Kwon in order to achieve high efficiency and long lifespan compared to a conventional device with only one host compound, as taught by Ahn.
However, neither Kwon nor Ahn teach a second emitting part separated from the first emitting layer by a charge generation layer.
In analogous art, Shin teaches a white LED device having a tandem structure in which there is a first emitting layer including a blue emitting layer, and a second emitting layer including a yellow-green emitting layer, which are vertically laminated with a charge generation layer between the first and second emitting layers (paragraph 0007). Shin teaches that in order to obtain a white LED having long lifetime, an LED having a tandem structure with plural emitting units is widely used (paragraph 0006). Shin also teaches that use of a charge generation layer between emitting layers increases the current efficiency of each emitting layer and smoothly distributes charge to each emitting layer (paragraphs 0007-0008).
Examiner would like to note that as Kwon teaches a device comprising the compound may emit white light (paragraph 0218), this is interpreted to overlap in scope with Shin who teaches one blue light layer and one yellow-green layer which results in white light emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the emitting layer composition of Kwong and Ahn as one of the emitting layers in a tandem device structure with plural emitting layers in order to obtain a white light emitting LED having long lifetime, as taught by Shin.
Further, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a charge generation layer between emitting layers in order to increase the current efficiency of each emitting layer and smoothly distribute charge to each emitting layer, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claims 15 and 16, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and LA has the structure of Formula 4A or 4C when c is 0, as pictured above.
With respect to claim 17, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and LB has the structure of Formula 5A, for the reasons discussed above.
With respect to claim 18, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and X1 and X2 are CR7, X3 to X5 are each CR8, X6 to X9 are each CR9, as discussed above.
With respect to claim 19, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and Shin also teaches that the second emitting material layer may include a red emitting material layer, a green emitting material layer, and a yellow-green emitting material layer.
Examiner notes that Kwon teaches the compounds typically emit in the 500-600 nm range, which makes them suitable for some green emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the host and dopant of Kwon and Ahn in one of the layers, such as the green emitting layer of the second emitting material layer in the device of Shin, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 20, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 19, and the third layer is a yellow-green emitting material layer, as discussed above.
With respect to claim 21, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and Shin also teaches that the emissive layer may further comprising a third emitting layer between the second emitting layer and the second electrode including a second charge generation layer between the second and third emitting material layers, and the third emitting material layer may be a blue emitting material layer (paragraphs 0103-0104).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a third, blue emitting material layer and a second charge generation layer between the second emitting layer and the second electrode, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 22, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 21, and Shin also teaches that the second emitting material layer may include a red emitting material layer, a green emitting material layer, and a yellow-green emitting material layer.
Examiner notes that Kwon teaches the compounds typically emit in the 500-600 nm range, which makes them suitable for some green emission.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the host and dopant of Kwon and Ahn in one of the layers, such as the green emitting layer of the second emitting material layer in the device of Shin, as taught by Shin.
With respect to claim 23, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 22, and the third sublayer of the second emitting material layer emits yellow-green light, as discussed above.
With respect to claim 25, Kwon, Ahn, and Shin teach the light emitting diode of claim 14, and Kwon teaches an organic light emitting device (paragraph 0294) which is patterned onto a glass substrate (paragraph 0290).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form an organic light emitting device on a glass substrate comprising the diode of Kwon, Ahn, and Shin, as taught by Kwon.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park et al. (US 2017/0207396 A1) – teaches a relevant host composition
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL SIMBANA whose telephone number is (571)272-2657. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M..
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/RACHEL SIMBANA/Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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