Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/891,860

DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING IMAGE SIGNAL THEREOF

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 20, 2024
Priority
Feb 21, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0021762 +1 more
Examiner
ASHBAHIAN, ERIC K
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
73%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
338 granted / 497 resolved
+8.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
540
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
55.9%
+15.9% vs TC avg
§102
18.6%
-21.4% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 497 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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan (US 2021/0020664) hereinafter “Tan” in view of and Hsieh et al. (US 2019/0206953) hereinafter “Hsieh” and in further view of Jia (US 2019/0373166) hereinafter “Jia”. Regarding claim 1, Figs. 1 and 16 of Tan teach an image signal processing method of a display device (Paragraph 0002) including a main display area (Item H), a first component area (Left Item 4), a second component area (Right Item 4), the method comprising: obtaining a first image signal from light receiving pixels of an image sensor (Paragraph 0049 where Left Item 4 is a camera) disposed corresponding to the first component area (Left Item 4) of the display device; obtaining a second image signal from the light receiving pixels of an image sensor (Paragraph 0049 where Right Item 4 is a camera) disposed corresponding to the second component area (Right Item 4) of the display device. However, should the Applicant disagree with the Examiner’s understanding that the Tan reference teaches two cameras the Examiner turns to the teaching in Hsieh. Hsieh et al teaches where more than one camera (Paragraph 0057) may be present in an image acquiring region (Item B). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a first camera corresponding to the first component area and a second camera corresponding to the second component area because the number of cameras can be set according to the design requirements of the display to achieve full camera function (Hsieh Paragraph 0057). Tan does not explicitly teach generating a synthesis image signal by synthesizing the first image signal and the second image signal from the second camera. Jia teaches a driver that generates a synthesis image signal by synthesizing a first image signal from a first camera position and a second image signal from a second camera position (Paragraph 0086). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to generate a synthesis image signal by synthesizing the first image signal and a second image signal because this results in the acquisition of a clear and complete picture (Jia Paragraph 0086). Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan (US 2021/0020664) hereinafter “Tan” in view of and Hsieh et al. (US 2019/0206953) hereinafter “Hsieh” and Jia (US 2019/0373166) hereinafter “Jia” and in further view of Tsujio (US 2021/0134868) hereinafter “Tsujio”. Regarding claim 2, the combination of Tan, Hsieh and Jia teaches all of the elements of the claimed invention as stated above. Tan further teaches where wherein the obtaining of the first image signal includes obtaining an image signal from a first camera (Left Item 4) corresponding to the first component area (Left Item 4), and the obtaining of the second image signal includes obtaining an image signal from a second camera (Right Item 4) corresponding to the second component area (Right Item 4). Tan does not explicitly teach where the first camera and the second camera each comprise light receiving pixels. Tsujio teaches where a camera module 1D comprises light receiving pixels (Paragraph 0196). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the first camera and the second camera comprise light receiving pixels because this allows the respective cameras to capture images (Tsujio Paragraph 0196). Regarding claim 3, the combination of Tan, Hsieh and Jia teaches all of the elements of the claimed invention as stated above. Tan does not teach where the obtaining of the second image signal includes moving a camera comprising light receiving pixels disposed corresponding to the first component area to the second component area. Jia further teaches where a second image signal is obtained by moving an image sensor from a first position to a second position (Paragraph 0006). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the obtaining of the second image signal include moving a camera corresponding to the first component area to the second component area because this allows for the synthesizing of a target picture free from the pixels of the first display region (Jia Paragraph 0006). Tan does not explicitly teach where the camera comprises light receiving pixels. Tsujio teaches where a camera module 1D comprises light receiving pixels (Paragraph 0196). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the camera comprise light receiving pixels because this allows the camera to capture images (Tsujio Paragraph 0196). Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan (US 2021/0020664) hereinafter “Tan” in view of Hsieh et al. (US 2019/0206953) hereinafter “Hsieh” and Jia (US 2019/0373166) hereinafter “Jia” and in further view of Kobayashi et al. (US 2007/0223900) hereinafter “Kobayashi”. Regarding claim 4, the combination of Tan, Hsieh and Jia teaches all of the elements of the claimed invention as stated above except where the generating of the synthesis image signal includes replacing deterioration data of the first image signal with pixel data of a corresponding location in the second image signal. Kobayashi teaches where missing portions (having no brightness) of a first image are compensated for by a second image (having brightness in locations that in the first image have no brightness) captured separate from the first captured image (Paragraph 0027) as compared to a reference brightness value (brightness of captured pixels in the first image). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the generating of the synthesis image signal include replacing deterioration data of the first image signal with pixel data of a corresponding location in the second image signal because this allows for a composition intended by the user to be obtained while definition is maintained (Kobayashi Paragraph 0027). Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan (US 2021/0020664) hereinafter “Tan” in view of Hsieh et al. (US 2019/0206953) hereinafter “Hsieh” and Jia (US 2019/0373166) hereinafter “Jia” and in further view of Jeffrey (US 2007/0040849) hereinafter “Jeffrey”. Regarding claim 5, the combination of Tan, Hsieh and Jia teaches all of the elements of the claimed invention as stated above except where the generating of the synthesis image signal includes synthesizing pixel data corresponding to a foreground of the first image signal and pixel data corresponding to a background of the second image signal. Jeffrey teaches generating of a synthesis image signal includes synthesizing pixel data corresponding to a foreground of the first image signal and pixel data corresponding to a background of the second image signal (Paragraph 0036). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the generating of the synthesis image signal includes synthesizing pixel data corresponding to a foreground of the first image signal and pixel data corresponding to a background of the second image signal because the combination of the background and the foreground results in a complete frame [image] (Jeffrey Paragraph 0036). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC K ASHBAHIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5187. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5:30 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, Matthew Landau can be reached at 571-272-1731. 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. /ERIC K ASHBAHIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2891
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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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
68%
Grant Probability
73%
With Interview (+4.7%)
2y 9m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 497 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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