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 priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a) based upon PCT/CN2022/083462 filed on 03/28/2022.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of “Species IV (Claims 1-3, 11, 16-17, 19, 22, and 26-28)” in the reply filed on December 11, 2025, is acknowledged.
Claims 4-10 and 12-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 1-3,11,16-17,19,22 and 26-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 024/0090303 A1; Kubota et al.; 03/2024; (“303”) in view of US 2017/0092890 A1; Seo et al.; 03/2017; (“890”).
Regarding Claim 1. 303 teaches in Fig. 20A about a light-emitting device comprising:
at least one light-emitting unit (whole layer stack shown in Fig. 20A), wherein the light-emitting unit comprises: a luminescent layer (item 4411), an electron functional layer (item 4420) and a hole functional layer (item 4430), and the electron functional layer and the hole functional layer are disposed on opposite sides of the luminescent layer (items 4420 and 4430 are disposed on opposite sides of item 4411);
a material of the luminescent layer comprises: host materials and guest materials doped in the host materials (“the light-emitting layer may contain one or more kinds of organic compounds … host material … in addition … guest material”, [0127], Ln. 1-4), and the host materials comprise: hole transport materials and electron transport materials (“both of the hole-transport material and the electron-transport material can be used”, [0127], Ln. 5-6);
a material of the electron functional layer is the same as the electron transport materials, and a material of the hole functional layer is the same as the hole transport materials (“the light-emitting layer preferably includes … a combination of a hole-transport material and an electron-transport material”, [0128], Ln. 1-3);
303 does not teach about a light-emitting device wherein an energy value HOMOA of a highest occupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials and an energy value HOMOB of a highest occupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfy: HOMOA-HOMOB>0.2eV; and an energy value LUMOA of a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials and an energy value LUMOB of a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfy: LUMOA-LUMOB>0.2eV.
890 teaches in Fig. 4B about a light-emitting device wherein an energy value HOMOA (HOMO of host material 132) of a highest occupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials and an energy value HOMOB (HOMO of host material 133) of a highest occupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfy: HOMOA-HOMOB>0.2eV (“HOMO level of the host material 133 may be either higher or lower than the HOMO level of the host material 132”, [0199], Ln. 3-5); and an energy value LUMOA (LUMO of host material 132) of a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials and an energy value LUMOB (HOMO of host material 133) of a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfy: LUMOA-LUMOB>0.2eV (“difference between the LUMO level of the host material 133 and the LUMO level of the host material 132 … preferably greater than or equal to 0.2 eV”, [0198], Ln. 1-6).
Thus, it would have been obvious to try by one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the
invention was made, to consider utilizing the differences HOMOA-HOMOB and LUMOA-LUMOB of 890 to set the difference values of HOMOA-HOMOB and LUMOA-LUMOB in 303 to provide a suitable energy difference for the injection of electron carriers and hole carriers from the pair of electrodes to the host material and guest material as taught by 890 in [0198], Ln. 6-10.
Regarding Claim 2. 890 teaches in Fig. 4B about a light-emitting device wherein the energy value HOMOA of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials satisfies a relation between HOMOA and HOMOB (with individual energy range values of HOMOA or HOMOB not specified); and the energy value LUMOA of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials satisfies a relation between LUMOA and LUMOB (with individual energy range values of LUMOA or LUMOB not specified); and
the energy value HOMOB of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfies a relation between HOMOA and HOMOB (with individual energy range values of HOMOA or HOMOB not specified); and the energy value LUMOB of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfies a relation between LUMOA and LUMOB (with individual energy range values of LUMOA or LUMOB not specified).
890 does not teach about a light-emitting device wherein the energy value HOMOA of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials satisfies: -5.7eV≤HOMOA≤-5.1eV; and the energy value LUMOA of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the hole transport materials satisfies: -2.7eV≤LUMOA≤-2.0eV; and
the energy value HOMOB of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfies: -6.2eV≤HOMOB≤-5.4eV; and the energy value LUMOB of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the electron transport materials satisfies: -3.1eV≤LUMOB≤-2.3eV.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to find the proper energy value ranges for HOMOA, LUMOA, HOMOB, and LUMOB (while following the teaching of 890, in the rejection of Claim 1, regarding the differences HOMOA-HOMOB>0.2eV and LUMOA-LUMOB>0.2eV), since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding Claim 3. 303 teaches in Fig. 20A about a light-emitting device wherein the light-emitting unit further comprises: an anode (item 672) and a cathode (item 688), the anode is disposed on a side of the hole functional layer away from the luminescent layer (item 672 is disposed on a side of item 4430 and away from item 4411), and the cathode is disposed on a side of the electron functional layer away from the luminescent layer (item 688 is disposed on a side of item 4420 and away from item 4411).
Regarding Claim 11. 303 teaches in Fig. 20A about a light-emitting device wherein the hole functional layer is in contact with the anode (item 4430 is in direct contact with item 672), and the electron functional layer is in contact with cathode (item 4420 is in direct contact with item 688).
Regarding Claim 16. 303 teaches in Fig. 6A about a light-emitting device wherein a material of the anode comprises: transparent materials, and a material of the cathode comprises: opaque materials; or, the material of the anode comprises: opaque materials, and the material of the cathode comprises: transparent materials (“one of the common electrode 123 and the pixel electrode 111 is preferably an electrode having both a light-transmitting property and a light-reflecting property …, and the other of the common electrode 123 and the pixel electrode 111 is preferably a reflective electrode”, [0132], Ln. 2-7).
Regarding Claim 17. 303 teaches in Fig. 6A about a light-emitting device, wherein the hole transport materials comprise: aromatic amine materials (“aromatic amine compound”, [0115], Ln. 5) or branched polymer family materials (“examples of a p-type semiconductor material include … a dibenzothiophene derivative”, [0331], Ln. 1-10, which could be a branched polymer material depending on the specific structure of the polymer formed), and the electron transport materials comprise: aromatic compound materials (“as the electron-transport material, it is possible to use a material having a high electron-transport property, such as … a π-electron deficient heteroaromatic compound”, [0117], Ln. 9-21, heteroaromatic compounds are aromatic, meaning they possess aromatic properties despite containing one or more non-carbon atoms within their cyclic, conjugated ring system, obeying Hückel's rule for delocalized π-electrons); or
the hole transport materials comprise: a compound C and/or a derivative of the compound C, and the compound C comprises: triphenylamine, fluorene, spirofluorene or phenothiazine (“examples of a p-type semiconductor material include … a fluorene derivative,” [0331], Ln. 4-7); and
the electron transport materials comprise: heterocyclic compound, the heterocyclic compound comprises: a D functional group and an E atom, the D functional group comprises: naphthalene, anthracene, quinoline or triazine, and the E atom comprises: nitrogen atom, phosphorus atom or sulfur atom (“as the electron-transport material, it is possible to use a material having a high electron-transport property, such as a metal complex having a quinoline skeleton …, or a π-electron deficient heteroaromatic compound such as a nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic compound”, [0117], Ln. 1-22).
Regarding Claim 19. 890 teaches in [0225], [0254], [0319], [0325], [0328], [0326], [0347], and [0451] about a light-emitting device, wherein
the light-emitting unit is a red light-emitting unit (item 383R), the hole transport materials comprise: a triphenylamine group and a dibenzothiophene functional group, or the triphenylamine group and a dibenzofuran functional group (“examples of the material having a high hole-transport property include … triphenylamine …, dibenzothiophene …, dibenzofuran” [0328]); the electron transport materials comprise: a first group and a first functional group, the first group comprises: a triazine group, a quinoline group, a naphthalene group or an anthracene group, and the first functional group comprises: a carbazole functional group or a fluorene functional group (“quinoline ligand, … triazine derivative” [0347], “naphthalene” [0225], “anthracene” [0325], “carbazole” [0319]); or
the light-emitting unit is a green light-emitting unit (item 383G), the hole transport materials comprise: a triphenylamine group and a carbazole functional group, or the triphenylamine group and a
spirofluorene functional group (“examples of the material having a high hole-transport property include … triphenylamine …, carbazole compounds” [0328], and spirofluorene [0225]), and the electron transport materials comprise: a triazine group and a carbazole functional group, or the triazine group and a dibenzofuran functional group (“triazine” [0347], “carbazole” [0319], “dibenzofuran” [0451]); or
the light-emitting unit is a blue light-emitting unit the (item 383B) hole transport materials comprise: a triphenylamine group, a second functional group and a third functional group, the second functional group comprises a carbazole functional group or a spirofluorene functional group, the third
functional group comprises a naphthalene functional group or an anthracene functional group (“examples of the material having a high hole-transport property include … triphenylamine …, carbazole compounds” [0328], “spirofluorene skeleton … naphthalene group” [0225], and “anthracene” [0326]), the electron transport materials comprise a fourth functional group, and the fourth functional group comprises: a triazine functional group, the naphthalene functional group, the anthracene functional group or a fluorene functional group (triazine derivative” [0347], “naphthalene” [0225], “anthracene” [0325], “fluorene” [0254]).
Regarding Claim 22. 890 teaches in [0340] about a light-emitting device, wherein
the light-emitting unit is a red light-emitting unit, and a thickness range of the luminescent layer is 10-100nm ([0340], Ln. 4); or
the light-emitting: unit is a green light-emitting unit, and a thickness range of the luminescent layer is 10-100nm ([0340], Ln. 4); or
the light-emitting unit is a blue light-emitting unit, and a thickness range of the luminescent layer is 10-100nm ([0340], Ln. 4).
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding Claim 26. 303 teaches in Fig. 23E about a display apparatus, comprising: the light-emitting device according to claim 1 (display portion item 9410 is a display apparatus, comprising a plurality of light emitting devices according to claim 1).
Regarding Claim 27. 303 in view of 890 teaches about a preparation method of the light-emitting device according to claim 1. This method follows the same forming methodology as the light-emitting device of claim 1. Please refer to rejection of claim 1 for the rejection of claim 27 (present claim).
Regarding Claim 28. 890 teaches in Fig. 10A and the Fourth Step within the specification ([0525]-[0529]) about a preparation method, wherein the forming a luminescent layer (item 190), an electron functional layer (items 113 and 114) and a hole functional layer (item 111) comprises:
evaporating by using a same evaporation chamber (within the Fourth Step there is no mentioned about using a different chamber for evaporation [0525]-[0529]) to form the luminescent layer (“the light-emitting layer 190 can be formed by evaporating a guest material”, [0527], Ln. 1-2), the electron functional layer (“the electron-transport layer 113 can be formed by evaporating a substance having a high electron-transport property”, [0528], Ln. 1-3) and the hole functional layer (“the hole-injection layer 111 can be formed by co-evaporating a hole-transport material and a material containing an acceptor substance”, [0526], Ln. 1-3).
Conclusion
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/FERNANDO L TOLEDO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JORGE ANDRES LOPEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2897