DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1). “Where only a single view is used in an application to illustrate the claimed invention, it must not be numbered and the abbreviation "FIG." must not appear.”
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 1-20 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. Claim 1 recites the compound of formula 1 wherein Ar2 and Ar3 can each be an alkyl group, which is confusing as these groups, as shown in the chemical structure, are cyclic groups, i.e., they cannot be a monovalent alkyl group. The same confusing language is used in claims 4-8, 12, 16 and 18. The other claims do not remedy the deficiency and they are therefore indefinite by dependency. In addition, claims 4, 11 and 15 depend on claim 1 and recite compounds having the moiety corresponding to Ar1 as a diarylamino group, which is outside the scope of Ar1 as defined in claim 1.
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 1-14 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2023/0121704 A1 to Oh et al.
Regarding claim 1, Oh et al. discloses an OLED comprising the compound
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320
268
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which is exemplified by
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384
484
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.
This compound is representative of the claimed compound: Z = O, X = Y = NR4 (R4 = aromatic), Ar2 = aromatic, and Ar2 = Ar3 = Ar4 = Ar5 = benzene ring. Claim 1 is therefore unpatentable. So are claims 2-14. Claims 18-20 are disclosed in the examples and pages 43+.
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.
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.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2023/0121704 A1 to Oh et al. in view of Yook et al., Advanced Materials 2014, 26, 4218-4233.
Regarding claims 16-17, Oh et al. discloses the OLED wherein the EML comprises the organoboron compound as a blue light-emitting dopant and a host material such as the following compound
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276
468
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.
As the organoboron dopant and the anthracene host bear bulky branched alkyl groups, they are expected to be soluble in selected organic solvents. Further, the use of solution-based fabrication of organic layers of OLED’s as a means to increase efficiency and scalability is well established in the art (see Yook et al., page 4218, right column). Thus, while Oh et al. fails to teach a fabrication of the EML from an organic solution of the dopant and the host materials, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to employ such method to lower the production cost, especially for large displays.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The compounds of claim 15 are not disclosed or suggested by Oh et al., which represents the closest prior art of record.
Other Prior Art of Record
The compound of claim 1 is also disclosed by US 2023/0113946 A1.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VU ANH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5454. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ROBERT JONES can be reached at (571) 270-7733. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VU A NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
