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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: "high molecular compound" should read as "high molecular . Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 / 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1-6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Kim et al. (US 2012/0056171 A1, hereinafter "Kim").
In the pertinent art of organic light-emitting devices, Kim teaches a fluorenyl compound with heterocyclic moieties as seen in Chemical Formula 35, shown below (pg 10).
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The compound Chemical Formula 35 of Kim is:
a high molecular compound of mass above 1 x 104,
contains a repeating unit comprising a fluorenediyl unit wherein the repeating unit repeats one time, as defined in the instant specification wherein the repeating unit refers to a unit including one or more high molecular materials (instant specification ¶ [0046]),
contains a triazine electron-transport skeleton and a carbazole hole-transport skeleton,
the carbazole is bonded to the fluorenediyl group through an unsubstituted first arylene group (bi-phenylene),
the triazine is bonded to the fluorenediyl group through an unsubstituted second arylene group (phenylene).
Kim teaches the claimed invention above but does not expressly teach that the intramolecular charge transfer occurs between the hole-transport skeleton and the electron-transport skeleton in an excited state. It is reasonable to presume that the intramolecular charge transfer occurring between the two skeletons in an excited state is inherent to Chemical Formula 35 of Kim. Support for said presumption is found in that Chemical Formula 35 of Kim has the same structural elements as Dimer A (instant Specification ¶ [0421]) including a fluorenediyl core substituted by (1) a carbazole that is a hole transport skeleton and (2) a heteroaromatic group with a 6-membered ring containing at least two nitrogen atoms as an electron transport skeleton wherein the two skeletons are attached to the fluorenediyl core via phenylene linkers. Therefore, Chemical Formula 35 of Kim is expected to have the same properties of the claimed invention.
Therefore, Chemical Formula 35 of Kim reads on instant claims 1-2.
Regarding claim 3, the first arylene group, of Chemical Formula 35 of Kim, is a plurality of unsubstituted m-phenylene groups and the second arylene group is an unsubstituted m-phenylene group.
Regarding claims 4 and 11, the Chemical Formula 35 of Kim is represented by G1 wherein α represents an unsubstituted arylene group having 12 carbon atoms (bi-phenylene), β represents an unsubstituted arylene group having 6 carbon atoms (phenylene), A represents a carbazole hole-transport skeleton, B represents a triazine electron-transport skeleton, and R1 to R6 represent hydrogen.
Regarding claim 5, α represents a plurality of unsubstituted m-phenylene groups bonded to one another and β represents an unsubstituted m-phenylene group.
Regarding claim 6, the Chemical Formula 35 contains (1) a carbazole hole-transport skeleton comprising a pi-electron trich heteroaromatic skeleton and an aromatic amine skeleton and (2) a triazine electron transport skeleton comprising a pi-electron deficient heteroaromatic skeleton.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yang et al. (CN 104326980 A, hereinafter "Yang"). Note that a machine-generated English translation is relied upon and provided with this office action.
In the pertinent art of organic light-emitting devices, Yang teaches a fluorenediyl compound in an organic light-emitting device including Host11, shown below (Description pg 13).
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The compound Host11 of Yang is:
a high molecular compound,
contains a repeating unit comprising a fluorenediyl unit wherein the repeating unit repeats two times,
contains a phosphorous oxide electron-transport skeleton and a carbazole hole-transport skeleton (Description pg 4),
the carbazole is bonded to the fluorenediyl group through an unsubstituted first arylene group (phenylene),
the phosphine oxide is bonded to the fluorenediyl group through an unsubstituted second arylene group (phenylene).
Yang teaches the claimed invention above but does not expressly teach that the intramolecular charge transfer occurs between the hole-transport skeleton and the electron-transport skeleton in an excited state. It is reasonable to presume that the intramolecular charge transfer occurring between the two skeletons in an excited state is inherent to Host11 of Yang. Support for said presumption is found in that Host11 of Yang has the same structural elements as Dimer A (instant Specification ¶ [0421]) including a fluorenediyl core substituted by (1) a carbazole that is a hole transport skeleton and (2) a heteroaromatic group as an electron transport skeleton wherein the two skeletons are attached to the fluorenediyl core via phenylene linkers. Therefore, Host11 of Yang is expected to have the same properties of the claimed invention.
Therefore, Host11 of Yang reads on instant claims 1-2.
Regarding claim 3, the first arylene group, of Host11 of Yang, is an unsubstituted m-phenylene groups and the second arylene group is an unsubstituted m-phenylene group.
Regarding claims 4 and 5, the Chemical Formula 35 of Kim is represented by G1 wherein α represents an unsubstituted arylene group having 6 carbon atoms (phenylene), β represents an unsubstituted arylene group having 6 carbon atoms (phenylene), A represents a carbazole hole-transport skeleton, B represents a phosphine oxide electron-transport skeleton, and R1 to R6 represent hydrogen.
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 7-8 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2012/0056171 A1, hereinafter "Kim") as applied to claims 1-6 and 11. Note that a machine-generated English translation is relied upon and provided with this office action.
Kim teaches the Chemical Formula 35, described above, that reads on claims 1-6 and 11. Kim teaches Example 4 as an organic light-emitting device containing the compound Chemical Formula 4 and Ir(PPy)3 as the light-emitting substance and an ITO glass substrate (¶ [0146] – [0153]). Kim teaches the above; however, Kim does not teach a specific device that contains the Chemical Formula 35. Kim teaches an anode, a cathode, and an organic layer and the compound Chemical Formula 4 is in the organic layer as discussed above. It would have been obvious to use the compound Chemical Formula 35 in the organic layer with the device structure of anode, organic layer containing Chemical Formula 35 and Ir(PPy)3, cathode as Kim demonstrates this device structure was known prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention. The resulting Modified Example 4 reads on claims 7-8 and 12-13 wherein the light-emitting device comprises at least one of a substrate.
Claims 9-10 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2012/0056171 A1, hereinafter "Kim") as applied to claims 1-8 and 11-13 in view of Takahashi et al. (US 2017/0271610 A1, hereinafter "Takahashi").
Kim teaches the Chemical Formula 35 and the Modified Example 4 described above that reads on claims 1-8 and 11-13; however, Kim is silent on an electronic device that contains a housing and a communication function.
In the relevant art of organic light-emitting devices, Takahashi teaches a novel light-emitting element that has high luminous efficiency, low power consumption (¶ [0016]) along with an organic compound that has a function of transporting an electron and transporting a hole that preferably includes a pi-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring skeleton and a pi electron rich heteroaromatic ring skeleton and an aromatic amine skeleton (¶ [0023]). Takahashi teaches an electronic device including FIGS. 31A with a housing and a function of being connected to a variety of computer networks with a wireless communication function (¶ [0646] – [0647]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further include the Modified Example 4 of Kim in the electronic device of Takahashi, based on the teachings of Takahashi. The motivation for doing so would have been to select a compound with hole/electron transport abilities containing a heteroaromatic ring to obtain a device with has high luminous efficiency, low power consumption, as taught by Takahashi (¶ [0016]). The resulting modified electronic device reads on claims 9-10 and 14-15.
Conclusion
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/L.Q.N./Examiner, Art Unit 1786
/JENNIFER A BOYD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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