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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cai et al. (US 2022/0384741). Cai et al. has a foreign priority date of 4/21/21 and all of the subject matter disclosed in US 2022/0384741 is supported in the foreign priority document CN 202110423792.3.
Cai et al. teaches organic electroluminescent materials and devices. The devices are comprised of an anode, a hole transport region, an emission region, an electron transport region, and a cathode. The emission region includes a phosphorescent dopant. The phosphorescent dopant more specifically comprises a ligand LA which includes the specific ligands described in claim 14. Claim 17 of Cai et al. is drawn to specific iridium complexes. This includes iridium complex 473 which has the formula Ir(LA)(LB)2 where LA is ligand La502 and where LB is Lb1. Ligand La502 has the structure
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(page 102) and Lb1 has the structure
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(page 130). Ligand La502 in iridium complex 473 anticipates ligand LA of claim 1. As applied to Formula I of claim 1, ligand La502 has ring Y1 equal to S, X1 and X2 equal to C, both RA bonded to C are equal to hydrogen atoms, K1 is a direct bond, Z1 is C, ring B is benzene, two adjacent RB being bonded to form a 5-membered furan ring, and two adjacent members of the furan ring are bonded to form a p-cyanophenyl-substituted benzene ring, and where the ligand is coordinated to M where M is iridium. The compound above satisfies the condition that when Y1 is O, S, or Se, then two RB substituents are joined to form a 5-membered ring. Additionally, none of the provisos in claim 1 apply to ligand La502 above or iridium complex 473.
Claim 2: Ligand La502 above contains no R or R’; both RA groups are hydrogen atoms, and all RB groups are hydrogen atoms with the exception that one RB group is an aryl group, thereby anticipating claim 2.
Claim 3: Ring B in ligand La502 is benzene which anticipates claim 3.
Claim 4: In ligand La502 X1 and X2 are C, Y1 is S, which anticipates claim 4.
Claims 5 and 6: Ligand La502 also anticipates Formula III of claim 5 with all X3 through X10 equal to C all RB equal to hydrogen atoms, Y2 equal to O, three RC groups are equal to hydrogen atoms, and one RC group is equal to a p-cyanophenyl group, thereby anticipating claims 5 and 6.
Claim 7: As applied to Formula III, each of X3 through X10 are carbon atoms which anticipates claim 7.
Claims 8 and 9: Ligand La502 above anticipates the first ligand of claims 8 and 9 with all variables being described in claims 1 and 7 above.
Claim 10: Ligand La502 satisfies LA45(YJ)(RK)(RL)(RM) of claim 10, more specifically, ligand La502 has the structure LA45 with the formula LA45(Y2)(R1)(R1)(R73), thereby anticipating claim 10.
Claims 11, 12, and 14: Iridium complex 473 as describe above has the formula Ir(LA)(LB)2 which anticipates claims 11, 12 and 14.
Claim 13: In iridium complex 473, LB is 2-phenylpyridine which anticipates the 5th structure recited in claim 13 with all Y groups equal to C and all R groups equal to H and K1’ equal to a direct bond.
Claim 17: The rejection of claim 1 above is wholly incorporated into the rejection of claim 17. Cai et al. teaches organic electroluminescent devices as described in claim 1 above. The employment of any one of the explicitly taught complexes taught by Cai et al., including complex 473 is at once envisaged. Such a device comprising complex 473 in the emission layer anticipates the organic light-emitting device as recited in claim 17.
Claims 18 and 19: The exemplified host material taught by Cai et al. is a mixture of a hole transporting host material H1 and an electron transporting host material H2 as taught on page 26. Both of these host material H1 satisfies all of the limitations claim 18. Specifically, host material H1 satisfies the host material
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as recited in claim 18 and host material H2 satisfies host material
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as recited in claim 18, thereby anticipating claims 18 and 19.
Claim 20: Cai et al. teaches consumer products prepared from the devices taught therein (paragraph 0037). As such, it would have been readily envisaged to prepare consumer products from any of the light-emitting devices taught therein, including one which comprises iridium complex 473.
Claims 1-4, 11, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sang et al. (US 2023/0063868). Sang et al. has two foreign priority applications which were both filed before Applicants provisional filing date and the subject matter disclosed below are supported by these foreign priority documents.
Claims 1, 11, and 16: Sang et al. teaches the platinum complex Pt-57-1 which has the structure
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where R is equal to hydrogen (page 70). This complex anticipates Formula IV of claim 16 with L3 being absent a bond, L1 and L2 being a direct bond, X1 and X2 being C, RA being hydrogen, Y1 being S, Z1 being C, ring B being benzene, two adjacent RB groups being joined together to form a furan ring and two adjacent groups of the furan ring being bonded to form a cyano-substituted benzene ring, K1 and K1’ being a direct bond, K2’ being O, M1 being platinum, Z1’ being N, ring E being imidazole, two adjacent RB groups being joined to form a benzene ring, ring F being a benzene ring and two RF being t-butyl groups. This complex comprises a ligand LA of formula I of claim 1, and has the formula Pt(LA) of claim 11.
Claim 2: The platinum complex above has RA and RB equal to hydrogen atoms or cyano which anticipates claim 2.
Claims 3 and 4: The platinum complex above has ring B equal to benzene and both X1 and X2 groups equal to C, which anticipates claims 3 and 4.
Claim 17: The rejection of claim 1 above is wholly incorporated into the rejection of claim 17. Sang et al. teaches organic electroluminescent devices as described in claim 1 above. The employment of any one of the explicitly taught complexes taught by Sang et al., including complex Pt-57-1, is at once envisaged. Such a device comprising complex Pt-57-1 in the emission layer anticipates the organic light-emitting device as recited in claim 17.
Claims 18 and 19: The exemplified host material taught by Sang et al. is a mixture of a hole transporting host material X-4 and an electron transporting host material 2C-31 as taught on page 26. Both of these host material H1 satisfies all of the limitations claim 18. Specifically, host material X-4 satisfies the host material
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as recited in claim 18 and host material 2C-31 satisfies host material
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as recited in claim 18, thereby anticipating claims 18 and 19.
Claim 20: Sang et al. teaches consumer products prepared from the devices taught therein (paragraph 0039). As such, it would have been readily envisaged to prepare consumer products from any of the light-emitting devices taught therein, including one which comprises Pt-57-1.
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 specific iridium complexes recited in claim 15 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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