Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/338,388

DISPLAY PANEL WITH NONOPAQUE AUXILIARY STRUCTURES AND DISPLAY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§112§OTHER
Filed
Jun 21, 2023
Priority
Mar 30, 2023 — CN 202310335898.7
Examiner
WILLIAMS, JOSEPH L
Art Unit
2875
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Shanghai Tianma Micro-Electronics Co. Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
769 granted / 932 resolved
+14.5% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
951
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
59.9%
+19.9% vs TC avg
§102
18.3%
-21.7% vs TC avg
§112
6.1%
-33.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 932 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112 §OTHER
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 . The amendment and response filed on 1/22/2026 has been entered and overcomes the rejection to claim 14. Allowable Subject Matter The indicated allowability of claims 1-13 and 15-19 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to CN 113764602, of record by Applicant. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow. 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. Claim 2 is 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 2 recites the limitation "the color filters" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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. Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 9, 11, 12, and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by CN 113764602, of record by Applicant. Regarding independent claim 1, CN (‘602) teaches in figure 4 and the corresponding text, a display panel (no number) having a first display region (100) comprising a light-transmitting region (no number), and the display panel comprising: a display function layer (no number) comprising light-emitting elements (31); a color filter layer (8) arranged on a side of the display function layer facing towards a display surface (no number) of the display panel, and comprising color resists (83) corresponding to the light-emitting elements; and auxiliary structures (81) that are nonopaque and arranged on the side of the display function layer facing towards the display surface of the display panel, wherein each of the auxiliary structures is at least located between adjacent color resists of the color resists and overlaps with the light-transmitting region. Regarding dependent claim 2, CN (‘602) teaches one of the auxiliary structures overlaps with one of the color filters along a first direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to a plane of the display panel. Regarding dependent claim 3, CN (‘602) teaches the color filter layer further comprises a light-blocking layer (82) disposed around the color filters and comprising a first opening exposing the light-transmitting region, at least a part of one of the auxiliary structures being located in the first opening. Regarding dependent claim 6, CN (‘602) teaches the color filter layer further comprises a light-blocking layer (82) disposed around the color filters, and one of the auxiliary structures overlaps with the light-blocking layer along the first direction that is parallel to a plane of the display panel. Regarding dependent claim 9, CN (‘602) teaches one of the auxiliary structures is at least partially located on a side of the light-blocking layer facing towards the display surface of the display panel. Regarding dependent claim 11, CN (‘602) teaches one of the auxiliary structures at least partially overlaps with one of the color resists. Regarding dependent claim 12, CN (‘602) teaches the color filter layer further comprises a light-blocking layer disposed around the color filters, the light-blocking layer at least partially overlaps with one of the color resists, and different color resists of the color resists overlap with the light-blocking layer by different sizes, or wherein one of the auxiliary structures at least partially overlaps with one of the color resists, and different color resists of the color resists overlap with one of the auxiliary structures by different sizes. Regarding dependent claim 16, CN (‘602) teaches a touch function layer (7) located at the side of the display function layer facing towards the display surface of the display panel, wherein a sub-layer of the touch function layer is reused as the auxiliary structures. Regarding dependent claim 17, CN (‘602) teaches a second display region (200) having a smaller light transmittance than the first display region, wherein, in the second display region, the light-blocking layer covers a gap region between adjacent light-emitting elements of the light-emitting elements. Regarding independent claim 18, CN (‘602) teaches a display device comprising a display panel, wherein the display panel has a first display region comprising a light-transmitting region, and comprises: a display function layer comprising light-emitting elements (31, 32); a color filter layer (8) arranged on a side of the display function layer facing towards a display surface of the display panel, and comprising color resists (83) corresponding to the light-emitting elements; and auxiliary structures (81) that are nonopaque and arranged on the side of the display function layer facing towards the display surface of the display panel, wherein each of the auxiliary structures is at least located between adjacent color resists of the color resists and overlaps with the light-transmitting region. Regarding dependent claim 19, CN (‘602) teaches a pad (7) is provided in a region where one of the auxiliary structures does not overlap with one of the color resists (dos not overlap in area 200). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-15 are 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. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-2465. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 AM- 5:00 PM. 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, JAMES R. GREECE can be reached at (571) 272-3711. 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. JOSEPH L. WILLIAMS Primary Examiner Art Unit 2875 /JOSEPH L WILLIAMS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 21, 2023
Application Filed
Aug 11, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112, §OTHER
Nov 05, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 03, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112, §OTHER
Jan 22, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112, §OTHER (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12615910
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2y 6m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026
Patent 12610714
DISPLAY PANEL, DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DISPLAY PANEL
2y 8m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Patent 12604643
DISPLAY PANEL HAVING TOTAL REFLECTION INTERFACE FORMED BY LOW REFRACTION LAYER AND HIGH REFRACTION AND DISPLAY DEVICE
3y 2m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+15.5%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 932 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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