Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/823,135

DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING ANTENNAE AND ANTENNA CIRCUIT BOARD

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 03, 2024
Priority
Nov 20, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0160398
Examiner
SIVJI, NIZAR N
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Seoul National University R&DB Foundation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
929 granted / 1084 resolved
+25.7% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+19.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1101
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
§103
49.7%
+9.7% vs TC avg
§102
17.5%
-22.5% vs TC avg
§112
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1084 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 . Examiner Note Examiner contacted Applicant representative Joseph Gross discussing the content of the claims for speedy prosecution but no agreement has been reached. Election/Restrictions Claim 13-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/14/2026. 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. 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. Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garrido Lopez et al. Pub. No. US 20240113436 A1 in view of Kim et al. Pub. No. US 20230231294 A1. Regarding Claim 1, Garrido Lopez teaches a display device (Fig. 1 Unit 10 and Para 25, Device 10 may be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, device 10 may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, headset device, or other wearable or miniature device, a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, a media player, or other small portable device. Device 10 may also be a set-top box, a desktop computer, a display into which a computer or other processing circuitry has been integrated, a display without an integrated computer, a wireless access point, a wireless base station, an electronic device incorporated into a kiosk, building, or vehicle, or other suitable electronic equipment ) comprising: a display panel (Fig. 1 Unit 14 and Para 27, Device 10 may, if desired, have a display such as display 14 ) including a display area (Para 27, Display 14 may be mounted on the front face of device 10 i.e., display area) and a non-display area (Para 33, Display 14 may have an inactive border region that runs along one or more of the edges of active area AA i.e., no-display area) at least partially surrounding the display area (Fig. 1 and Para 27 surrounded the display area) and including a dielectric film (Para 27, The rear face of housing 12 (i.e., the face of device 10 opposing the front face of device 10) may have a substantially planar housing wall such as rear housing wall 12R (e.g., a planar housing wall). Rear housing wall 12R may have slots that pass entirely through the rear housing wall and that therefore separate portions of housing 12 from each other. Rear housing wall 12R may include conductive portions and/or dielectric portions. If desired, rear housing wall 12R may include a planar metal layer covered by a thin layer or coating of dielectric such as glass, plastic, sapphire, or ceramic (e.g., a dielectric cover layer). Housing 12 may also have shallow grooves that do not pass entirely through housing 12. The slots and grooves may be filled with plastic or other dielectric materials. If desired, portions of housing 12 that have been separated from each other (e.g., by a through slot) may be joined by internal conductive structures (e.g., sheet metal or other metal members that bridge the slot) i.e., a non-display area at least partially surrounding the display area and including a dielectric film) including a protrusion area extending from a portion of the non-display area (Para 30, the top portion of peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may, if desired, have an inwardly protruding ledge that helps hold display 14 in place i.e., including a protrusion area extending from a portion of the non-display area); and wherein the protrusion area includes a first area in parallel with the non-display area (Para 30, the top portion of peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may, if desired, have an inwardly protruding ledge that helps hold display 14 in place. The bottom portion of peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the rear surface of device 10). Peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may have substantially straight vertical sidewalls, may have sidewalls that are curved, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when peripheral conductive housing structures 12W serve as a bezel for display 14), peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may run around the lip of housing 12 (i.e., peripheral conductive housing structures 12W may cover only the edge of housing 12 that surrounds display 14 and not the rest of the sidewalls of housing 12) i.e., the protrusion area includes a first area in parallel with the non-display area), a bending area extending from the first area and bent toward a rear surface of the display panel to face a side surface direction of the display panel (Fig. 1 shows Unit 12 W i.e., first area bend towards a rear surface of the display panel to face a side surface direction of the display panel), and a second area extending from the bending area and overlapping the first area at a lower portion of the display panel (12 R i.e., second area extending from the bending area and overlap 12W i.e., first area at a lower portion of the display panel). Garrido Lopez does not specifically teach an antenna circuit board connected to the protrusion area, wherein the protrusion area further includes: a first antenna disposed in a portion of the second area corresponding to the non-display area; and a second antenna overlapping the first antenna in the first area. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches an antenna circuit board (Fig. 1 Unit 150 and Para 90 first circuit board) connected to the protrusion area (Para 71, the first circuit board 150 may include a first core layer 160 and first signal wirings 170 formed on a surface of the first core layer 160. The second circuit board 250 may include a second core layer 260 and second signal wirings 270 formed on a surface of the second core layer 260 i.e., an antenna circuit board connected to the protrusion area), wherein the protrusion area further includes: a first antenna disposed in a portion of the second area corresponding to the non-display area (Para 125, The first antenna device 100 included in the above-described antenna package may be disposed toward the front portion of the image display device 400, and may be disposed on the top surface of the display panel 40 i.e. no-display area); and a second antenna overlapping the first antenna in the first area (Para 43, The first antenna unit 120 and the second antenna unit 220 may be formed on top surfaces of the first antenna dielectric layer 110 and the second antenna dielectric layer 210 i.e., a second antenna overlapping the first antenna in the first area). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Garrido Lopez with the method of Kim so as to prevent the signal interference and the signal loss while implementing high frequency or ultra-high frequency radiation properties using the plurality of antenna devices (see Kim Para 6). Regarding Claim 2, Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the display panel has a stack structure that includes: a flexible substrate; a lower cover layer disposed below the flexible substrate and including a heat dissipator; a display layer disposed on the flexible substrate; a dielectric film disposed on the display layer; a polarizing film disposed on the dielectric film; and a cover window disposed on the polarizing film (Para 57 and 83). Regarding Claim 4, Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the first antenna and the second antenna each have a symmetrical dipole antenna structure (Para 53). Regarding Claim 5, Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the first antenna and the second antenna each have a symmetrical slot antenna structure (Para 36). Regarding Claim 7, Garrido Lopez does not specifically teach wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are each array antennas arranged in a 1 × N shape (where N is an integer of 2 or more). However, in the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches that first antenna and the second antenna may be arranged in an array form(Para 44 and 45). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Garrido Lopez with the method of Kim so as to prevent the signal interference and the signal loss while implementing high frequency or ultra-high frequency radiation properties using the plurality of antenna devices (see Kim Para 6). Regarding Claim 8, Garrido Lopez does not specifically teach wherein a feeding line connected to the first antenna and the second antenna is disposed in the bending area. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches that feeding and control signaling may be implemented from a first antenna driving integrated circuit (IC) chip 310 and a second antenna driving IC chip 320 to the first antenna unit 120 and the second antenna unit 220, respectively. The predetermined number of the first antenna units 120 may be coupled through the first signal wiring 170, and the predetermined number of the second antenna units 220 may be coupled through the second signal wiring 270 (Para 79-80). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Garrido Lopez with the method of Kim so as to prevent the signal interference and the signal loss while implementing high frequency or ultra-high frequency radiation properties using the plurality of antenna devices (see Kim Para 6). Regarding Claim 9, Garrido Lopez does not specifically teach wherein a shield including a conductive metal is disposed in the bending area, and wherein the shield is segmented from the first antenna and the second antenna. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches a separate ground layer may be formed under the radiators 122 and 222, and a conductive member of the display device to which the antenna device is applied may serve as the ground layer for the radiators 122 and 222 i.e., a conductive metal is disposed in the bending area, and wherein the shield is segmented from the first antenna and the second antenna (Para 56). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Garrido Lopez with the method of Kim so as to prevent the signal interference and the signal loss while implementing high frequency or ultra-high frequency radiation properties using the plurality of antenna devices (see Kim Para 6). Regarding Claim 10, Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are each disposed on a front surface of the dielectric film (Para 40). Regarding Claim 11, Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are each disposed on a rear surface of the dielectric film (Para 36). Regarding Claim 12. The display device of claim 1, , Garrido Lopez teaches wherein the dielectric film includes a touch electrode corresponding to the display area (Para 27). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 3 in combination of 6 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 reference fail to teach the limitation of “wherein the lower cover layer includes an opening in which the heat dissipator is removed at a portion thereof overlapping the first antenna and the second antenna and wherein the first antenna and the second antenna each have a Quasi-Yagi structure”. These limitation in combination of other elements are neither found nor disclosed in prior art as a whole. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Samardzija et al. Pub. No. US 20240097309 A1 - Electronic Device With Near-Field Antenna Operating Through Display Fabrega Sanchez et al. Patent No. US 11733744 B2 - Display-side antenna Jian et al. Pub. No. US 20220109225 A1 - DISPLAY MODULE AND MOBILE TERMINAL Ramalingam et al. Pub. No. US 20220094064 A1 - Electronic Devices Having Compact Dielectric Resonator Antennas Chen et al. Pub. No. US 20210367326 A1 - MOBILE DEVICE AND ANTENNA MODULE THEREOF WO 2020234949 A1 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE WO 2013159430 A1 - MULTI-ANTENNA TERMINAL Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIZAR N SIVJI whose telephone number is (571)270-7462. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4. 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, Alison Slater can be reached at (571) 270-0375. 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. NIZAR N. SIVJI Primary Examiner Art Unit 2647 /NIZAR N SIVJI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 03, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+19.7%)
2y 6m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1084 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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