Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/107,824

COOLING DEVICE AND PROJECTION IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDED WITH SAME

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 09, 2023
Examiner
TON, MINH TOAN T
Art Unit
2882
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
21%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
30%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 21% of cases
21%
Career Allow Rate
11 granted / 53 resolved
-47.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
69
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
51.2%
+11.2% vs TC avg
§102
31.4%
-8.6% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 53 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . 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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Miyazaki et al [JP 2016133609 – IDS]. Miyazaki discloses and illustrates in at least Figures 2 and 4 a projection image display device with a cooling device comprising: a container (a dust-proof case 10) is sealed and accommodates a first heating element (display devices 7R/7G/7B); a first radiator (heat exchanging unit comprising 5B radiating portion) disposed outside the container; a first air blower (cooling fan 17) that blows wind to the first radiator; and a heat dissipator (heat sinks 12R/12G/12B) that is disposed outside the container to receive the wind from the first air blower and dissipates heat of the first element, wherein the heat dissipator is connected the first heat element (7R/7G/7B); a prism 8 that is accommodated in the container to separate incident light into a plurality of colors of light and combine the plurality of colors of light. Miyazaki discloses in [0009]: ‘the device suppresses dust and dust from adhering to the optical light processing unit 3 into which light from the light source is incident, and suppress the respective members of the light processing unit from being overheated. Miyazaki discloses in the abstract the invention directed to a projector that suppresses dust/dirt being adhered to an optical processing unit and suppress each member of the optical processing unit from being placed in to an overheated state. Per multiple (first/second/third/fourth) flow paths with respect the relationships to the generated heat and cooling air, Miyazaki discloses and illustrates in the figures multiple (first/second/third) heating elements (display devices 7R/7G/7B), wherein heat dissipators (heat sinks 12R/12G/12B) that are disposed outside the container to receive the wind from the (first) air blower 17 and dissipate heat of the elements. Here, Miyazaki discloses and illustrates multiple flow paths with respect to the direct/indirect flowing generated heat/cooling air from/to the heating elements, the radiators, the heat dissipators. Per a second air blower and a second radiator from claims 4-5, Miyazaki discloses [0014] and illustrates in the figures a (second) air blower 16 and the heat exchanging unit 5 comprising a (second) radiating portion in the container (dust-proof case 10). PNG media_image1.png 648 268 media_image1.png Greyscale 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. Claim 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki et al [JP 2016133609 – IDS] above in view of Nakahito et al [JP2002352622, IDS] and CN 214375779 U (892 ref). The limitation not explicitly disclosed by Miyazaki is a light shielding plate. The use of a light shielding means to block out undesired/unnecessary light into devices’ components that would minimizing/prevent deteriorating quality and/or malfunction to the components. Nakahito discloses a projection image display device with a cooling device comprising the use of a light shielding plate for advantages such as preventing user’s eyes from being damaged without deteriorating the cooling efficiency of the fan, preventing failures/malfunction to devices’ components due an increase in temperature. CN ‘779 discloses a projection mage display device with a cooling device comprising the use of light shielding plate 51 for effective shielding light at the display projecting portion so as the contrast of the display is improved. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the use of a light shielding plate for advantages such as preventing user’s eyes from being damaged without deteriorating the cooling efficiency of the fan, preventing failures/malfunction to devices’ components due an increase in temperature, the contrast of the display is improved. Per the prism and the image display device comprising DMD from claims 8-9, Miyazaki discloses [0013] a projector 1 comprising the prism 8 and the (second) heating element (display devices 7R/7B/7G), wherein the display devices are such as DMD. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 10 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 prior art of record neither anticipates nor render obviousness a projection image display device comprising: a cooling device a container that is sealed and accommodates a first heating element; a first radiator disposed outside the container; a first air blower that blows wind to the first radiator; and a heat dissipator that is disposed outside the container to receive the wind from the first air blower and dissipates heat of the first heating element; the cooling device further comprising a heat receiver that is disposed in the container and receives heat of a second heating element disposed in the container; a first flow path that is connected to the first radiator and the heat receiver, wherein a refrigerant cooled by the first radiator flows through the first flow path; and a second flow path that is connected to the heat receiver and the first radiator, wherein the refrigerant raised in temperature by the heat receiver flows through the second flow; prism that is accommodated in the container to separate incident light into a plurality of colors of light and combine the plurality of colors of light, wherein the second heating element includes an image display facing one surface of the prism, and the first heating element includes a light shielding plate that shields light reflected from the image display, the light shielding plate includes: a photo detector that receives light reflected from the image display, and a heat-conducting plate connected to the photo detector, and the heat-conducting plate is connected to the heat dissipator via the container. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOAN TON whose telephone number is (571)272-2303. The examiner can normally be reached M-F. 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. 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. /TOAN TON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2882
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 09, 2023
Application Filed
May 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Aug 19, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 19, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 25, 2025
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12571984
LIGHT WAVE PHASE INTERFERENCE IMPROVEMENT OF DIGITAL MICROMIRROR DEVICE BY MEANS OF MECHANICALLY STRESSING THE DEVICE PACKAGE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12572061
PROJECTION DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12543486
Display Substrate and Display Device
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 03, 2026
Patent 11281093
SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING MASK PATTERN MEASUREMENTS PERFORMED WITH COMPENSATED LIGHT SIGNALS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 22, 2022
Patent 9715183
DEVICE, LITHOGRAPHIC APPARATUS, METHOD FOR GUIDING RADIATION AND DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Jul 25, 2017
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
21%
Grant Probability
30%
With Interview (+9.6%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 53 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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