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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-10, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (WO 2020/153713, a copy of which is included with this Office action). The English language equivalent US 2022/0102646 is relied upon for citation purposes.
Claim 1: Kim et al. teaches organic electroluminescent devices which comprise an anode, a hole transport region, an emission region comprising a mixture of a first host, a second host, and a phosphorescent dopant material, an electron transport region, and a cathode (device examples 43 to 142 as shown in Table 2). Device examples, 67-76, 77-86, 97-114, and 133-142 anticipate the composition as recited in independent claim 1. Specifically, Kim et al. teaches that in preparing the devices taught in table 2, a first host and a second host are co-deposited in a 1:1 weight ratio (paragraph 0273). Preparing device example 77, as one example, necessarily requires preparing a mixture/composition of compound 18 as the first host material and compound Z-2 as the second host material. Compound 18 is taught as having the structure
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192
212
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(page 191) and anticipates Chemical Formula 1 of claim 1. As applied to Chemical Formula 1, X is equal to O, R6 is equal to a C16 heterocyclic group, R5 and R7 are hydrogen, Z1-Z3 are equal to N, L1 and L2 are both equal to a single bond, Ar1 and Ar2 are equal to an unsubstituted phenyl group, and R1 and R4 are equal to hydrogen, and R2 and R3 are joined together to form an unsubstituted benzene ring. Compound Z-2 is taught as having the structure
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154
222
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(page 210) and anticipates the combination of Chemical Formulae 2 and 3 of claim 1. As applied to Chemical Formulae 2 and 3, compound Z-2 has Ar3 equal to an unsubstituted phenyl group, R8-R11 equal to hydrogen, a3* and a4* equal to CRb with both Rb equal to hydrogen, a1* and a2* are each a linking carbon and a1* and a2* are linked to chemical formula 3 with R12 equal to hydrogen, L3 equal to a single bond, L4 and L5 equal to phenylene, and Ar4 and Ar5 equal to unsubstituted phenyl groups.
Claims 2 and 3: Compound 18 in the mixture used to prepare device example 77 also anticipates Chemical Formula 1-II of claim 2 with Rc and Rd equal to hydrogen and all other variables being described in claim 1 above. Compound 18 also anticipates claim 3 which further limits the first compound recited in claim 2 to Chemical Formula 1-II.
Claims 4 and 5: Variables Ar1 and Ar2 in the mixture comprising compounds 18 and Z-2 used to prepare device example 77 are both unsubstituted phenyl which anticipates claim 4 as well as the first structure recited in claim 5.
Claims 7-9: Compound Z-2 in the mixture used to prepare device example 77 anticipates Chemical Formula 2A of claim 7 and Chemical Formula 2A-2 of claim 8 with Rb3 and Rb4 equal to hydrogen and all other variable assignments being described in claim 1 above, thereby anticipating claims 7 and 8 as well as claim 9 which further limits the second compound to include Chemical Formula 2A-2.
Claim 10: In compound Z-2 L3-L5 are equal to a single bond or a phenylene group, Ar3-Ar5 are all equal to unsubstituted phenyl groups, and Rb and R8-R12 are all equal to hydrogen, thereby anticipating claim 10.
Claims 12-15: Device example 77 as described in claim 1 above comprises an anode, a cathode, and a light emitting layer comprising a 1:1 mixture of a first host and a second host, the first and second hosts anticipating all of the structural limitations of claim 1, thereby anticipating claims 12-14. Additionally, the device example 77 is inherently a display device, thereby anticipating claim 15.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim A (WO 2021/096331). Kim A has a publication date before Applicants filing date of 5/31/21 but after Applicants foreign priority date of 6/8/20. Applicants may overcome this rejection by providing a certified English language translation of their foreign priority document KR-10-2020-0069201. A copy of Kim A is included with this Office action.
Claims 1 and 11: Kim A teaches organic electroluminescent devices which comprise an anode, a hole transport region, an emission region comprising a mixture of a first host and a second host, a phosphorescent dopant material, an electron transport region, and a cathode (device examples 43 to 142 as shown in Table 2). The emission layer is prepared via the deposition of a first host, a second host, and a dopant. Prior to deposition, there would inherently be a composition comprising a first host and a second host. As one example, device example 5 of Kim A is comprised of an emission layer comprising compound 3 as a first host and compound 58 as a second host. Preparing device example 5 necessarily requires preparing a mixture/composition of compound 3 as the first host material and compound 58 as the second host material. Compound 3 is taught as having the structure
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128
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(page 71) and anticipates Chemical Formula 1 of claim 1. As applied to Chemical Formula 1, X is equal to O, R5-R7 are hydrogen, Z1-Z3 are equal to N, L1 is equal to phenylene, L2 are both equal to a single bond, Ar1 is equal to an unsubstituted phenyl group, Ar2 is equal to an unsubstituted naphthyl group, and R1 and R4 are equal to hydrogen, and R2 and R3 are joined together to form an unsubstituted benzene ring. Compound 58 is taught as having the structure
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122
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(page 107) and anticipates the combination of Chemical Formulae 2 and 3 of claim 1. As applied to Chemical Formulae 2 and 3, compound Z-2 has Ar3 equal to an unsubstituted phenyl group, R8-R11 equal to hydrogen, a3* and a4* equal to CRb with both Rb equal to hydrogen, a1* and a2* are each a linking carbon and a1* and a2* are linked to chemical formula 3 with R12 equal to hydrogen, L3 and L4 equal to a single bond, L5 equal to phenylene, Ar4 equal to dibenzofuran, and Ar5 equal to unsubstituted phenyl group. Compound 58 is also identical to compound 2-64 of claim 11.
Claims 2 and 3: Compound 3 in the mixture used to prepare device example 5 also anticipates Chemical Formula 1-II of claim 2 with Rc and Rd equal to hydrogen and all other variables being described in claim 1 above. Compound 3 also anticipates claim 3 which further limits the first compound recited in claim 2 to Chemical Formula 1-II.
Claims 4 and 5: Variables Ar1 and Ar2 in the mixture comprising compounds 2 and 58 used to prepare device example 5 are unsubstituted phenyl and unsubstituted naphthyl, respectively, which anticipates claim 4 as well as the first and third structures, respectively, as recited in claim 5.
Claims 7-9: Compound 58 in the mixture used to prepare device example 5 anticipates Chemical Formula 2A of claim 7 and Chemical Formula 2A-2 of claim 8 with Rb3 and Rb4 equal to hydrogen and all other variable assignments being described in claim 1 above, thereby anticipating claims 7 and 8 as well as claim 9 which further limits the second compound to include Chemical Formula 2A-2.
Claim 10: All of the limitations regarding variables L3-L5, Ar3-Ar5, Rb, and R8-R12 is anticipates by compound 58 as described in claim 1 above, thereby anticipating claim 10.
Claims 12-15: Device example 5 as described in claim 1 above comprises an anode, a cathode, and a light emitting layer comprising a 1:1 mixture of a first host and a second host, the first and second hosts anticipating all of the structural limitations of claim 1, thereby anticipating claims 12-14. Additionally, the device example 5 is inherently a display device, thereby anticipating claim 15.
Claim 6: Kim A teaches and exemplifies compound 45 which is the same compound as compound 1-4 of claim 6. While Kim A does not prepare a light-emitting device comprising compound 45 as a first host and a compound satisfying chemical formulae 2 and 3 as a second host, the preparation of such a device is at once envisaged given the teachings of Kim A. That is to say, the selection of compound 45 with any one of the explicitly taught second host materials taught by Kim A is at once envisaged, thereby anticipating claim 6.
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.
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.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0102646) as applied to claim 1 above.
While Kim et al. does not explicitly teach a mixture of a first host and a second host which comprises one of the compounds recited in Group 2 of claim 11, the overall teachings of Kim et al. render obvious such mixtures. Specifically, at least compound Z-1 as taught on page 210 reads on claim 11, specifically compound 2-2 of claim 11. While there is no device example comprising compound Z-1 and a compound which satisfies Chemical Formula 1 of claim 1, it is submitted that one having ordinary skill in the art understands that the teachings of Kim et al. is not strictly limited to the device examples. The device examples shown in Table 2 represent combinations of certain first and second host materials. Specifically, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it prima facie obvious and would have been motivated to prepare a light-emitting device comprising a first host satisfying claim 1 and a second host satisfying claim 11 (when employing compound Z-1) as Kim et al. teaches a finite number of preferred first and second host materials. The combination of any one of the first host material and any one of the second host material represents one of a finite set of possible combinations to test for improved device performance, as demonstrated in the device examples of Kim et al. To prepare such a device would require preparing a 1:1 mixture of compound Z-1 and for co-deposition as taught by Kim et al. Such a mixture satisfies all of the limitations of claim 11. Such a mixture would be expected to perform in a manner described in the other device examples of Kim et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT S LOEWE whose telephone number is (571)270-3298. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Robert S Loewe/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766