Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/884,759

DISPLAY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 13, 2024
Priority
Mar 24, 2022 — continuation of PCTJP2022014187
Examiner
LE, BAO-LUAN Q
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
52%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
69%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 52% of resolved cases
52%
Career Allowance Rate
520 granted / 993 resolved
-7.6% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
1037
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
59.4%
+19.4% vs TC avg
§102
26.1%
-13.9% vs TC avg
§112
10.4%
-29.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 993 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/13/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Objection/s to the Specification The title of the invention, “DISPLAY DEVICE,” is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Rejections – 35 USC § 102 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 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 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shimoyama (US 20190363512 A1). Regarding claim 1, Shimoyama teaches a display device (Fig. 1-7) comprising: a light source (125); an optical engine (121, 123, 30, and/or 42) configured to generate image light to be displayed on a display surface on the basis of light from the light source (125); a power supply board (12 and/or 16) configured to drive the light source (125) and the optical engine (121, 123, 30, and/or 42); and a case (11) configured to accommodate a device component which comprises at least one of the optical engine (121, 123, 30, and/or 42) and the power supply board (12 and/or 16), wherein the case (11) has a wall (11a/b/c) which include a heat radiating part that is thermally connected to a heat generating component (14/18) included in the device component, to allow heat of the heat generating component (14/18) to be released outside of the case (11), and wherein the heat generating component (14/18) is mounted on a first surface (top surface) of a board (12 and/or 16) included in the device component. Regarding claim 2, Shimoyama further teaches the device component includes a plurality of the heat generating components (14/18) that are thermally connected to an inner surface of the wall (11c) facing the first surface (top surface). Regarding claim 3, Shimoyama further teaches a second surface (bottom surface) of the board (12 and/or 16), which faces a side opposite to the first surface (top surface), is thermally connected to a different wall (11a) of the case (11), and the different wall (11a) faces the second surface (bottom surface). Regarding claim 4, Shimoyama further teaches a thermal connection component (11d/19) configured to fill a space between the heat generating component (14/18) and the inner surface of the wall (11c) so as to thermally connect the heat generating component (14/18) and the wall (11c) to each other. Regarding claim 5, Shimoyama further teaches a plurality of heat radiator fins (11f) on an outer surface of the wall (11a/c; Fig. 7). Regarding claim 6, Shimoyama further teaches the heat radiator fins (1f) are disposed on the outer surface of the wall (11a/b/c) facing at least the first surface (top surface) of the board (12 and/or 16; Fig. 7). Regarding claim 8, Shimoyama further teaches a projection lens (60) configured to magnify the image light. Claim Rejections - AIA 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 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 of this title, 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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimoyama in view of Fujiwara (US 20030007327 A1). Regarding claim 7, Shimoyama does not teach a fan. Fujiwara further teaches a fan (22) configured to flow air outside the case (25) for cooling the case (25), wherein the fan (22) is configured to cause air to flow in a direction in which the heat radiator fins (50) extend along the outer surface of the wall (25). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to combine Shimoyama with Fujiwara; because it improves heat dissipation. Conclusion The prior art references cited in PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Patent documents, US 20200159098 A1, US 20200159097 A1, US 20200096852 A1, US 20190179217 A1, US 20090213560 A1, US 20070296929 A1, and US 20060077354 A1, disclose various cooling arrangements for electronical components inside projectors. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-LUAN Q LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday; 9:00AM-5:00PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on (571) 272 230303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. Any response to this action should be mailed to: Commissioner for Patents P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 Or faxed to: (571) 273-8300, (for formal communications intended for entry) Or: (571) 273-7490, (for informal or draft communications, please label “PROPOSED” or “DRAFT”) Hand-delivered responses should be brought to: Customer Service Window Randolph Building 401 Dulany Street Alexandria, VA 22314 /BAO-LUAN Q LE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 13, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12742967
INCORPORATING COMPONENTS INSIDE OPTICAL STACKS OF HEADMOUNTED DEVICES
5y 6m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12736867
PROJECTION SYSTEM AND PROJECTOR
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736866
OPTICAL DIFFUSION ASSEMBLY, OPTICAL DIFFUSION ELEMENT AND PROJECTION DEVICE
2y 4m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12730364
ACTUATING APPARATUS AND PROJECTOR
2y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12724266
WAVEGUIDE DISPLAY SYSTEMS
2y 0m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
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
52%
Grant Probability
69%
With Interview (+16.4%)
3y 1m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 993 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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