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 Objections
Claim 13 is objected to. Specifically, “Formula C” in claim 13 should be amended to Formula 1C.
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 9, 13, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mitsui et al. (US 2012/0025179).
Compound D-34 of Mitsui et al., which has the structure,
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208
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(page 17), anticipates Formula 1 of claim 9. As applied to Formula 1, compound D-34 has n11 equal to 1, X1 equal to a single bond, n21 and n31 equal to zero, all R1-R3 groups being equal to hydrogen atoms, n41 equal to 1, R41 and R42 equal to hydrogen atoms, and Q is equal to an electron-withdrawing group. Compound D-34 also anticipates Formula 1A of claim 13 with all variable assignments being described in claim 9. Compound D-34 also anticipates claims 17 and 18 as described in claim 9 above.
Claims 9-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ammasi et al. (Struct. Chem. 2018, 6(18), 5012-5017).
Claim 9: Ammasi et al. teaches compound ICAZ2 (which is also referred to as ICZA2) which has the structure
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134
274
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(page 970). As applied to Formula 1 this compound has n12, n22, and n32 equal to zero, n31 equal to zero, n11 and n21 equal to 1, X1 and X2 equal to a single bond, n41 equal to 2, and Q equal to an electron withdrawing group of the structure
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162
264
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. The thiophene moiety in the compound above can be shown as
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152
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with the bottom R41 and R42 being joined to form a C4 heteroaromatic ring, which is a permitted embodiment of claim 9.
Claim 10: In the electron withdrawing group Q as shown above, R43 is hydrogen, Y41 is a cyano group, and Y42 is a phenyl group substituted with one R10a where R10a is a nitro group.
Claims 11 and 12: In the compound above n11 and n21 are each 1, and n31 is zero, which satisfies the limitations of claims 11 and 12.
Claim 13: The compound shown in claim 9 above also satisfies Formula 1A of claim 13 with all variable assignments being described in claim 9 above.
Claims 14 and 15: For claims 14 and 15, compound ICAZ3 of Ammasi et al. is relied upon. Compound ICAZ3 has the structure
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110
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. In this compound Y41 and Y42 are each a cyano group, which satisfies claims 14 and 15.
Claim 16: Compound ICAZ3 as shown in claims 14 and 15 above has Q equal to a group represented by Formula 2-1 with R43 equal to hydrogen, thereby satisfying claim 16.
Claim 17: In the compound shown in claim 9 above, variable n41 is equal to 2, thereby satisfying claim 17.
Claim 18: In the compound shown in claim 9 above, R1 to R3 are all equal to hydrogen atoms, thereby satisfying claim 18.
Claim 19: Compound ICZA2 is taught as having a HOMO energy level of -2.84 eV and a LUMO energy level of -5.66 eV, which satisfies claim 19 (Table 2).
Claims 9, 10, and 13-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fisher et al. (US Pat. 3,855,215).
The compound of claim 3 of Fisher et al. which has the structure,
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158
256
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, anticipates Formula 1 of claim 9. As applied to Formula 1, this compound has n11 and n31 equal to zero, n21 equal to 1, X2 equal to O, n12, n22, and n32 equal to zero (all R1-R3 groups equal to hydrogen atoms), n41 equal to 0, and Q equal to an electron withdrawing group which has the structure CH=C(CN)2. Variable Q also anticipates Formula 1-1 of claim 10 with R43 equal to hydrogen and Y41 and Y42 equal to a cyano group. This compound above also anticipates Formula 1A of claim 13 with all variable assignments being described above. Additionally, Y41 and Y42 are both a cyano group which anticipates claims 14 and 15 and Formula 2-1 of claim 16. Variable n41 is equal to zero which anticipates claim 17 and all R1-R3 are hydrogen atoms which anticipates claim 18.
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.
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 1-3, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitsui et al. (US 2012/0025179).
Claims 1 and 2: Mitsui et al. teaches compounds for photoelectric conversion elements and imaging devices. Example 1 of Mitsui et al. is drawn to a device which comprises a first electrode (ITO), an electron blocking layer (EB-3), an optical activation layer which comprises a charge transport compound as taught by Mitsui et al. therein and fullerene, and a second electrode (ITO). While the device examples do not include a compound which satisfies Formula 1 of claim 1, it would have been prima facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have prepared a device according to example 1 which comprises a compound satisfying Formula 1 in the optical activation layer. Specifically, Mitsui et al. teaches specific suitable compounds which may be employed in the optical activation layer, including but not necessarily limited to, compound D-34, whose structure is shown in claim 9 above. An optoelectronic device comprising compound D-34 would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art as it is taught to be a preferred compound to be used in such a capacity. Compound D-34 satisfies Formula 1 of claim 1. As applied to Formula 1, compound D-34 has n11 equal to 1, X1 equal to a single bond, n21 and n31 equal to zero, all R1-R3 groups being equal to hydrogen atoms, n41 equal to 1, R41 and R42 equal to hydrogen atoms, and Q is equal to an electron-withdrawing group.
Claim 3: Figure 4 of Mitsui et al. is drawn to an organic photoelectric conversion device comprising a transparent substrate (180), a first electrode (190), an electron-blocking region comprising layers 192a through 192c, an organic photoelectric conversion layer (200), a hole-blocking region comprising layers 203a through 203c, and a second electrode (300). Given that compound D-34 represents an explicitly taught compound which is suitable as the photoelectric conversion layer and Fig.4 teaches a preferred device embodiment wherein the organic photoelectric conversion layer is sandwiched between an electron-blocking layer and a hole-blocking layer, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to have prepared a device according to Fig. 4 of Mistui et al. with compound D-34 being employed in the photoelectric conversion layer, thereby satisfying claim 3.
Claim 7: Mitsui et al. teaches electronic apparatus comprising the optoelectronic device, such as the device architectures shown in Figures 14-17, thereby satisfying claim 7.
Claim 8: Figure 14 of Mistui et al. is drawn to an electronic apparatus which comprises a thin-film transistor connected to the first electrode as well as color filters (28 and 29), thereby satisfying claim 8 (Fig. 14 and paragraph 0371).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 and 20 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. The organic photoelectric conversion layers taught by Mitsui et al. have the charge-separation molecule and fullerene present in the same layer. Mitsui et al. does not teach or suggest having these two components present in two separate layers as required by claim 4. Claims 5 and 6 are allowable by virtue of their dependency on claim 4. The specific compounds recited in claim 20 are not taught or suggested by the prior art.
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
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