Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/089,760

SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE DISPLAY

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Dec 28, 2022
Examiner
CASS, JEAN PAUL
Art Unit
3666
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
OA Round
4 (Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allow Rate
719 granted / 984 resolved
+21.1% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
83 currently pending
Career history
1067
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
§103
56.8%
+16.8% vs TC avg
§102
12.6%
-27.4% vs TC avg
§112
12.8%
-27.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 984 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Restriction Requirement Claims 9 and 10 are directed to a new invention and are subject to a restriction requirement. Claim 9-10 are directed to a system of controlling a plurality of vehicle displays and was added for the first time after final and are not entered. There is burden on the office as these are classified in a mutually exclusive class different from the examined claims. Claim 9-10 are classified in G02B27/0093 Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking. Therefore claims 9-10 are not entered. Response to the Applicant’s arguments The previous rejection is withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments are entered. Applicant’s remarks are also entered into the record. A new search was made necessitated by the applicant’s amendments. A new reference was found. A new rejection is made herein. Applicant’s arguments are now moot in view of the new rejection of the claims. Claims 1 and 5 are amended to recite and the primary reference to MacMullan is silent but LIUZHOU teaches “an input unit configured to receive a request from a vehicle occupant for movement of the content amount a plurality of display regions”. (see claims 1-3 where the display can be projector LED that is monochromatic or in full LCD color and input a remote controller that can provide an image on the rear seat windscreen pellicle or on the automotive rear windshield being based on teh vehicle speed signal) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the LIUZHO publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the LIUZHO publication teaches that a seat can include a remote controller to project an image within the vehicle via an input.. This can be provided via a full color LCD projector or a monochromatic LED to the real seat windscreen pellicle and/or the rear windshield. See claims 1-5. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. sec. 103 as being unpatentable as obvious in view of International Patent Application Pub. No.: WO2006101801A2 to Mac Mullan et al. filed in 2005 and in view of U.S. Patent No.: US10020995B2 to Ricci that was filed in 2012 (hereinafter “Ricci”) and in view of Chinese Patent Pub. No.: CN208003466U (hereinafter the 466 reference) and in view of Chinese Patent Pub. No.: CN104442570A to Liuzhong Hangsheng Technology Co. LTD (hereinafter “LIUZHONG”) filed in 2014. PNG media_image1.png 622 926 media_image1.png Greyscale Mac Mullan discloses “1. A system for controlling (See FIG. 4 where the content source 402 can provide a content source from the MPEG decoder chip 408 to a HDMI transmitter chip and to a wireless transmitter to a wireless signal to a content sink 404 and wireless receiver 418 to the HDMI receiver chip 412 and to the monitor via the 24 bit line)” Ricci teaches “..a vehicle display comprising:” (see col. 7, lines 1-30). Claims 1 and 5 are amended to recite and the primary reference to MacMullan is silent but LIUZHOU teaches “an input unit configured to receive a request from a vehicle occupant for movement of the content amount a plurality of display regions”. (see claims 1-3 where the display can be projector LED that is monochromatic or in full LCD color and input a remote controller that can provide an image on the rear seat windscreen pellicle or on the automotive rear windshield being based on teh vehicle speed signal) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the LIUZHO publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the LIUZHO publication teaches that a seat can include a remote controller to project an image within the vehicle via an input.. This can be provided via a full color LCD projector or a monochromatic LED to the real seat windscreen pellicle and/or the rear windshield. See claims 1-5. Mac Mullan discloses “a content movement input unit configured to receive a request for a movement of content (see paragraph 127- 134 where a hello message and a request to connect message is provided and acknowledged to share the content in blocks 1736-8) PNG media_image2.png 836 662 media_image2.png Greyscale among a plurality of display regions; (see FIG. 12 where the sink pair 1202 can provide content from the channel 1 and 2 to the wireless receiver to process the received data to provide the high definition content to the first and the second display) PNG media_image3.png 610 934 media_image3.png Greyscale a control unit configured to generate a content movement control command according to the request for movement; and a display unit configured to display the content according to the content movement control command”. (see paragraph 4-10 and 51-53 and FIG. 17b where the media source provides the content from the first computer and to the wireless transmitter to move the contract from the first display to the receiver 1716 and to the media sink via a bidirectional share of information in block 1768)”. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of Ricci with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since Ricci teaches that a handoff between two different processing modules to transfer content in a vehicle can be provided. A hand-off to provide task can be provided from a first processing module to a second processing module and this can be provided with a gesture command. See col. 50, lines 1-66 of Ricci. Claim 1 is amended to recite and the 466 reference teaches “..wherein the control unit generates a control command for controlling at least one of a sound or seat rotation, considering movement information of the content playing region”. (this is identified by the applicant under 112(6) in FIG. 2 and paragraph 130-140 as the user moving the seat and the content moving from the side window to directly in front of the user in the rotated seat direction) (See abstract and claims 1-9 and paragraph 1-20 where the user sits with a virtual reality head set and the seat can be rotated with the vr display being output) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the 466 publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the 466 publication teaches that a seat and a user can be belted into the seat with a pair of vr headset augmented reality glasses so the user’s image is in the front of their head at all times and the seat can be rotated to provide an additional rotated effect with the content being displayed. See paragraph 1-20 of the 466 and the abstract. Ricci teaches “...2. The system of claim 1, wherein: the input unit receives the request for the movement of the content by receiving a user request through at least one of a gesture, voice, inputting through a home button, or inputting through a smartphone”. (see col. 19, line 19-67). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of Ricci with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since Ricci teaches that a handoff between two different processing modules to transfer content in a vehicle can be provided. A hand-off to provide task can be provided from a first processing module to a second processing module and this can be provided with a gesture command. See col. 50, lines 1-66 of Ricci. PNG media_image4.png 630 968 media_image4.png Greyscale Mac Mullan discloses “3. The system of claim 1, wherein: the control unit determines a content playing region considering allocation information of a content display region according to the request for the movement, and accordingly generates the content movement control command”. (see block 1718 where the HDP is asserted in block 1758 to the media source and the media content source in block 1704 and then in response there is an acknowledgment in block 1764 and then a bidirectional exchange of control information in block 1766 and 1768 is provided to transmit the media content from the media source and the transmitter 1706 to the transmitter 1716 and the media sink to the display of the content) Claim 4 is cancelled. Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. sec. 103 as being unpatentable as obvious in view of International Patent Application Pub. No.: WO2006101801A2 to Mac Mullan et al. filed in 2005 and in view of U.S. Patent No.: US10020995B2 to Ricci that was filed in 2012 (hereinafter “Ricci”) and the 466 publication and in view of Chinese Patent Pub. No.: CN104442570A to Liuzhong Hangsheng Technology Co. LTD (hereinafter “LIUZHONG”) filed in 2014. PNG media_image1.png 622 926 media_image1.png Greyscale Mac Mullan discloses “5. A method for controlling (See FIG. 4 where the content source 402 can provide a content source from the MPEG decoder chip 408 to a HDMI transmitter chip and to a wireless transmitter to a wireless signal to a content sink 404 and wireless receiver 418 to the HDMI receiver chip 412 and to the monitor via the 24 bit line)” Claims 1 and 5 are amended to recite and the primary reference to MacMullan is silent but LIUZHOU teaches “receiving a content movement input from a vehicle occupant for movement of the content amount a plurality of display regions”. (see claims 1-3 where the display can be projector LED that is monochromatic or in full LCD color and input a remote controller that can provide an image on the rear seat windscreen pellicle or on the automotive rear windshield being based on teh vehicle speed signal) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the LIUZHO publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the LIUZHO publication teaches that a seat can include a remote controller to project an image within the vehicle via an input.. This can be provided via a full color LCD projector or a monochromatic LED to the real seat windscreen pellicle and/or the rear windshield. See claims 1-5. Ricci teaches “..a vehicle display comprising:” (see col. 7, lines 1-30). PNG media_image2.png 836 662 media_image2.png Greyscale Mac Mullan discloses “ (a) receiving content movement input; (see paragraph 127- 134 where a hello message and a request to connect message is provided and acknowledged to share the content in blocks 1736-8) (b) generating a command for content movement control; and (see FIG. 12 where the sink pair 1202 can provide content from the channel 1 and 2 to the wireless receiver to process the received data to provide the high definition content to the first and the second display) PNG media_image3.png 610 934 media_image3.png Greyscale (c) moving a content presentation region and performing content display according to the command. ”. (see paragraph 4-10 and 51-53 and FIG. 17b where the media source provides the content from the first computer and to the wireless transmitter to move the contract from the first display to the receiver 1716 and to the media sink via a bidirectional share of information in block 1768) Claim 5 is amended to recite and the 466 reference teaches “...generates the control command for the content movement control for controlling at least one of a sound or seat rotation, considering movement information of the content playing region”. (this is identified by the applicant under 112(6) in FIG. 2 and paragraph 130-140 as the user moving the seat and the content moving from the side window to directly in front of the user in the rotated seat direction) (See abstract and claims 1-9 and paragraph 1-20 where the user sits with a virtual reality head set and the seat can be rotated with the vr display and audio being output) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the 466 publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the 466 publication teaches that a seat and a user can be belted into the seat with a pair of vr headset augmented reality glasses so the user’s image is in the front of their head at all times and the seat can be rotated to provide an additional rotated effect with the content being displayed. See paragraph 1-20 of the 466 and the abstract. Ricci teaches “...6. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving a request for movement of a display region for the content through at least one of the gesture of the occupant inside of the vehicle, the voice thereof, the 15 inputting through the button on the screen, or the inputting through the smartphone. ”. (see col. 19, line 19-67). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of Ricci with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since Ricci teaches that a handoff between two different processing modules to transfer content in a vehicle can be provided. A hand-off to provide task can be provided from a first processing module to a second processing module and this can be provided with a gesture command. See col. 50, lines 1-66 of Ricci. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. sec. 103 as being unpatentable as obvious in view of International Patent Application Pub. No.: WO2006101801A2 to Mac Mullan et al. filed in 2005 and in view of U.S. Patent No.: US10020995B2 to Ricci that was filed in 2012 (hereinafter “Ricci”) and in view Chinese Patent Application Pub. No.: CN 112498189A filed in 2019 and in view of the 466 publication and in view of Chinese Patent Pub. No.: CN104442570A to Liuzhong Hangsheng Technology Co. LTD (hereinafter “LIUZHONG”) filed in 2014. The 189 publication teaches “...7, The method of claim 5, further comprising generating the command for the content movement control for setting play region according to an arrangement position”. (see abstract). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present disclosure to combine the teachings of the 189 Chinese publication with the disclosure of Mac Mullan with a reasonable expectation of success since the 189 publication teaches that a seat adjustment can be detected. Then a visual angle can also be adjusted to a range. This can improve an experience of the display. See abstract. Claim 8 is cancelled. Claims 9-10 are not entered as being directed to a non-elected invention. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEAN PAUL CASS whose telephone number is (571)270-1934. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 7 am to 7 pm; Saturday 10 am to 12 noon. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott A. Browne can be reached on 571-270-0151. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JEAN PAUL CASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 28, 2022
Application Filed
Sep 20, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Dec 19, 2024
Response Filed
Mar 14, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Apr 15, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Apr 15, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 29, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 29, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 11, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 18, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Sep 30, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 18, 2025
Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+25.9%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
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