Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/633,676

DISPLAY METHOD, DISPLAY DEVICE, STEERING WHEEL, AND VEHICLE

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Apr 12, 2024
Examiner
MAWARI, REDHWAN K
Art Unit
3664
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allow Rate
494 granted / 686 resolved
+20.0% vs TC avg
Strong +27% interview lift
Without
With
+27.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
722
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.3%
-31.7% vs TC avg
§103
55.7%
+15.7% vs TC avg
§102
15.8%
-24.2% vs TC avg
§112
18.4%
-21.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 686 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 . Response to Amendment This Office Action is responsive to Applicant’s amendment and request for reconsideration of application 18/633,676 filed on January 08, 2026. The amendment contains amended claims: 1,7, 9, 15, and 17. 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. Claims 1 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view Klank (US 9637169 B2). Regarding claim 1, DAI discloses a method for displaying a vehicle operation interface (abstract, “displaying a parking route learning interface”), comprising: obtaining status information, wherein the status information comprises environment information (abstract, “parking lot... environment simulation ...scene change in the parking route... is realized”); obtaining a first scenario based on the status information (abstract, “panoramic image and a second view region used for presenting environment simulation”); obtaining a first operation interface that matches the first scenario (abstract, “the parking route learning interface comprises a first view region used for presenting a panoramic image and a second view region used for presenting environment simulation”); and displaying the first operation interface (abstract, “displaying a parking route learning interface in a learning process of a parking route which takes a designated position in a parking lot as a starting point”). Dai does not explicitly disclose but, Klank teaches a display device disposed on a steering wheel of the vehicle (claim 7, “the display device (120) is either secured on a steering wheel (102) of a vehicle”): obtaining a steering wheel angle of the steering wheel (claim 7, “determining a steering wheel rotational angle (φ) of the steering wheel”): and adjusting, based on the steering wheel angle, a display rotation angle of the first operation interface on the display device being rotated with the steering wheel (claim 7, “ based on the detected acceleration, and modifies orientation of a display (225) of the data based on the steering wheel rotational angle (φ)”). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the orientation of the display taught in Klank with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted a simpler and less elaborate display. Regarding claim 4, DAI discloses wherein the environment information comprises at least one of the following: location information, road information, weather information, or accident information (page 14, lines 21-22, “location…”). Claims 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view Klank of (US 9637169 B2) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of LI (2017/0297586). Regarding claim 2, DAI does not explicitly disclose but LI teaches the method further comprises: obtaining user identity information; and obtaining user setting information based on the user identity information, wherein the user setting information comprises at least one scenario, at least one operation interface, and information about a correspondence between the scenario and the operation interface; and the obtaining a first operation interface that matches the first scenario comprises: obtaining based on the user setting information, the first operation interface that matches the first scenario (¶0035, “The selectable portions of the driver preferences interface 150 can include manual driving 305, learning mode 310, adjust preferences 315, autonomous driving 320, first driver 325, second driver 330, aggressive 340, and cautious 335”, ¶0039, “The first driver 325 may be automatically selected when the driver selects autonomous driving 325. However, the driver preferences interface 150 may also be configured to have the driver selection be independent from the selection of autonomous driving 320. Additionally, should the driver profile be selected prior to the selection of autonomous driving 320, the driver preferences interface 150 can activate the autonomous driving mode implementing the previously selected driver profile”). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the user’s identify taught in LI with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the driver's comfort while the vehicle is in an autonomous mode. Regarding claim 5, DAI does not explicitly disclose but, LI teaches status information further comprises vehicle information, and the vehicle information comprises at least one of the following: driving status information or use status information; the driving status information comprises at least one of the following: driving mode information, gear information, motion status information, drive system status information, energy system status information, lighting system status information, or vehicle fault information; and the use status information comprises at least one of the following: call status information, screen brightness, speaker volume, a temperature adjustment mode, an air circulation mode, a seat status, a window status, or an atmosphere light status (¶0035, ¶0007-¶0008). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the driving mode taught in LI with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the driver's comfort while the vehicle is in an autonomous mode. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view of Klank (US 9637169 B2) as applied to claim 2, and further in view of Ucar (US 20220289240 A1). Regarding claim 3, DAI does not but, Ucar teaches wherein the method further comprises: obtaining a first user instruction, wherein the first user instruction instructs to select the first operation interface as an operation interface that matches the first scenario; and in response to determining that the first operation interface is different from a second operation interface, updating the user setting information, wherein the second operation interface is an operation interface that is in the user setting information and that matches the first scenario currently (¶0075). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the obtaining instructions from the user taught in Ucar with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the driver's comfort while the vehicle is in an autonomous mode. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view of Klank (US 9637169 B2) and further in view of Roche (US 20210334565 A1). Regarding claim 6, DAI does not explicitly disclose but, Roche teaches wherein after the obtaining a first scenario based on the status information, the method further comprises: obtaining, based on the first scenario, a feedback mode that matches the first scenario, wherein the feedback mode comprises a feedback manner and a feedback intensity feedback manner comprises at least one of the following: a vibration feedback, a sound feedback, or a brightness feedback; and feedback intensity comprises at least one of the following: a vibration amplitude, a vibration frequency, volume, or brightness (¶0037). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the feedback from the user taught in Roche with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of improve performance and responsiveness of the feedback to the user. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view Klank (US 9637169 B2), and further in view of Kohara (US 20200231099 A1). Regarding claim 7, DAI does not explicitly disclose but, Kohara teaches further comprising adjusting the operation interface based on a line-of-sight direction of a user, which wherein a vehicle displays the first operation interface by using a steering wheel, and the method further comprises: obtaining the line-of-sight direction of the user a steering wheel angle; and displaying the operation interface based on the line-of-sight direction of the user and the steering wheel angle (¶0054). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the steering wheel angl and line of sight adjustment taught in Kohara with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of visual indication as at least one of a reduction in a length of the predicted path, a flashing of the predicted path, and a merging of the predicted path and the instantaneous path at the display. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI (CN113147745) in view Klank (US 9637169 B2), as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Han (20220319468). Regarding claim 8, DAI does not explicitly disclose but, Han teaches wherein: the vehicle comprises a first display apparatus and a second display apparatus, and the first operation interface comprises a first sub-interface and a second sub-interface; and the displaying the first operation interface specifically comprises: the first sub-interface by using the first display apparatus; and the second sub-interface by using the second display apparatus (abstract). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the displays and interfaces taught in Han with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of visual indication as at least one of a reduction in a length of the predicted path, a flashing of the predicted path, and a merging of the predicted path and the instantaneous path at the display. Regarding claims 9-16, claims 9-16 are rejected using the same art and rationale used to reject claims 1-8. Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shalaby (DE102019101036A1) in view of DAI (CN113147745) and further in view of Klank (US 9637169 B2). Regarding claim 17, Shalaby discloses a steering wheel (¶0019, “steering wheel”), wherein the steering wheel comprises: a first operation device, configured to display an operation interface and receive a user instruction (¶0019, “the steering wheel switch unit has a configuration unit with which an operating element and/or the display unit can be configured individually for the user”), wherein the first operation device is detachably mounted on the first mounting part (¶0007, “the steering wheel switch unit in this way, it is also intended to be detachably and non-destructively attached to a steering wheel,”); Shalaby does not explicitly disclose but, DAI teaches wherein the operation interface is obtained based on status information, and the status information comprises environment information; and a first mounting part (abstract, “the parking route learning interface comprises a first view region used for presenting a panoramic image and a second view region used for presenting environment simulation”); and displaying the first operation interface (abstract, “displaying a parking route learning interface in a learning process of a parking route which takes a designated position in a parking lot as a starting point”). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the steering wheel device disclosed in Shalaby with the displays and interfaces taught in DAI with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the usability and the individual and flexible design options of the steering wheel switch unit. Dai does not explicitly disclose but, Klank teaches a display device disposed on a steering wheel of the vehicle (claim 7, “the display device (120) is either secured on a steering wheel (102) of a vehicle”): obtaining a steering wheel angle of the steering wheel (claim 7, “determining a steering wheel rotational angle (φ) of the steering wheel”): and adjusting, based on the steering wheel angle, a display rotation angle of the first operation interface on the display device being rotated with the steering wheel (claim 7, “ based on the detected acceleration, and modifies orientation of a display (225) of the data based on the steering wheel rotational angle (φ)”). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in DAI with the orientation of the display taught in Klank with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted a simpler and less elaborate display. Regarding claim 18, Shalaby further teaches wherein the first operation device is mounted on the first mounting part in a magnetically-fixed manner (¶0011). Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shalaby (DE102019101036A1) in view of DAI (CN113147745) as applied in claim 17, Klank (US 9637169 B2), and further in view of Durocher (US 20020153234 A1). Regarding claim 19, Shalaby does not explicitly disclose but, Durocher discloses wherein the first operation device further comprises a first connection part, the first mounting part further comprises a second connection part, and the first operation device is fastened to the first mounting part by using the first connection part and the second connection part (FIG. 10, ¶0071). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine steering wheel device disclosed in Shalaby with the connections for the steering wheel taught in Durocher with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the usability and the individual and flexible design options of the steering wheel switch unit. Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shalaby (DE102019101036A1) in view of DAI (CN113147745), Klank (US 9637169 B2) as applied in claim 17, and further in view of MADAU (US 20170310144 A1). Regarding claim 20, Shalaby does not explicitly disclose but, MADAU teaches wherein the first operation device comprises a wireless charging receive end, the first mounting part comprises a wireless charging transmit end, and the first mounting part supplies power to the first operation device via the wireless charging transmit end and the wireless charging receive end (¶0013). Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine displaying a parking route learning interface disclosed in Shalaby with the connections for the steering wheel taught in Durocher with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted an improvement of the usability and the individual and flexible design options of the steering wheel switch unit. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments regarding 35 USC § 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC § 101 has been withdrawn. Applicant's arguments regarding the prior art rejection have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chan (US 20160364059 A1) discloses A stationary interface control knob includes a body having a fixed substantially-cylindrical surface with a first axis, and a flexible touch panel sensor having a sensor surface at least partially in cylindrical form with a spaced relationship from the fixed substantially-cylindrical surface. The sensor surface has a second axis coinciding with the first axis. The flexible touch panel sensor senses a user interaction with the fixed substantially-cylindrical surface and generates an interface signal in response thereto. Also discloses are method of controlling the stationary interface control knob (abstract). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REDHWAN K MAWARI whose telephone number is (571)270-1535. The examiner can normally be reached mon-Fri 8-5. 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, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at 571-272-5109. 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. /REDHWAN K MAWARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 12, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 07, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jan 08, 2026
Response Filed
Jan 30, 2026
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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+27.1%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 686 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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