Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/476,451

COMMUNICATION LAMP AND CONTROL METHOD OF COMMUNICATION LAMP

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 28, 2023
Examiner
KIM, RICHARD H
Art Unit
2871
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
734 granted / 900 resolved
+13.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+5.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
925
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
59.5%
+19.5% vs TC avg
§102
28.7%
-11.3% vs TC avg
§112
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 900 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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. Election/Restrictions Claims 9-15 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/2/2026 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. Claim (s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakada et al. (US 2020/0353817 A1) in view of Lampen (US 2024/0288700 A1) and Pasca (US 2023/0280613 A1). Nakada et al. discloses a device comprising a selective transmission film (16) whose light transmittance is adjusted according to a control signal (paragraph 00 49 ) ; an optical system (4) including a light sourc e (paragraph 0044) . Nakata et al. does not disclose the device wherein the optical system includes first and second optical systems irradiated with light from the light source and configured to transfer the light to outside the communication lamp, and a housing in which the first optical system and the second optical system are housed ; a moving unit configured to change positions of the first and second optical systems. Lampen discloses a device wherein an optical system (3) includes first (6) and second (9) optical system s configured to transfer the light to outside the communication lamp ( 2,4 ) , and a housing (3) in which the first optical system (6) and the second optical system (9) are housed , a moving unit (M1, M2) configured to change the position of the first and second optical system s. Pasca discloses the device wherein optical systems (11, 22 ) is irradiated with light from a light source (13). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the optical system includes first and second optical systems irradiated with light from the light source and configured to transfer the light to outside the communication lamp, and a housing in which the first optical system and the second optical system are housed; a moving unit configured to change positions of the first and second optical systems since one would be motivated for the orientation of the virtual image to avoid an undesired change when the light beam is adapted to different eye positions of the user (paragraph 0006). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein first and second optical systems are irradiated with light from the light source since one would be motivated to employ a liquid crystal display comprising a backlight as a picture generating unit Nakada et al. disclose the device comprising a control unit (2) configured to control the selective transmission film (16), and light source (4) (paragraph 0053, 0064). Nakada et al. does not disclose the device wherein the control unit is configured to receive information from inside the communication lamp and outside the communication lamp, and configured to control the selective transmission film, the light source, and the moving unit based on the received information. Lampen discloses that information from inside the communication lamp such as the eye-box position of different users and image orientation determines the control of the moving unit ( paragraph 0012-0013 ) , and a control unit controls the moving unit (paragraph 0024). Nakada et al. discloses that an image is displayed outside of the vehicle (paragraph 0051). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the control unit is configured to receive information from inside the communication lamp and outside the communication lamp, and configured to control the selective transmission film, the light source, and the moving unit based on the received information since i t is well known in the art to employ a control unit configured to receive information that is relevant to the control and operation of the controlled devices to automatically control the devices based on received parameters. Information from outside the communication lamp is relevant to an outside display and information from inside the communication lamp is relevant to the position of the moving unit. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-8 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT RICHARD H KIM whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-2294 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F, 10 am-6:30 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Michael Caley can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-2286 . 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. /RICHARD H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 28, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
82%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+5.0%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 900 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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