Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 13, 2026
Application No. 18/897,837

OUTPUT IMAGE ADJUSTMENT DEVICE, PROJECTION DEVICE, AND IMAGE ADJUSTMENT METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 26, 2024
Priority
Sep 29, 2023 — JP 2023-170661
Examiner
CRUZ, MAGDA
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
LAPIS Technology Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
755 granted / 866 resolved
+27.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
875
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
41.0%
+1.0% vs TC avg
§102
38.4%
-1.6% vs TC avg
§112
13.2%
-26.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 866 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 09/26/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. 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 (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 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. Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ishikawa et al. Ishikawa et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0213584 A1) discloses: Regarding claim 1, an output image adjustment device (Figure 1, element 100), comprising: a projection unit (Figure 1, elements 150a, 150b and 150c) that projects, onto a projection target (Figure 3C, element 502), a calibration image including groups of points (i.e. corrected images; Figure 3C, elements 500a, 500b and 500c) representing coordinates (i.e. correction patterns) in a first direction (Figure 3B, element M) and a second direction (Figure 3B, element N) intersecting the first direction, each of the points having a same type of color as a point adjacent in the first direction and a different type of color from a point adjacent in the second direction (page 15, paragraph 0220, lines 2-6); an imaging unit (Figure 2, element 160) that captures the calibration image projected onto the projection target (page 3, paragraph 0054, lines 1-3); and an image adjustment unit (Figure 2, element 130) that adjusts coordinates of a calibrated image (i.e. corrected images) to be projected by the projection unit (Figure 2, element 100) based on captured image data (Figure 2, element 118) captured by the imaging unit (Figure 2, element 170). Regarding claims 2 and 7, a point having the different type of color (i.e. blending coefficients) is a point that is different, by a predetermined threshold or more, in at least one of hue, saturation, or brightness from a point adjacent in the second direction (page 4, paragraph 0071, lines 5-7). Regarding claims 3 and 8, a central side of the calibration image (Figure 4A, element 500b) has lower brightness than an outer side of the calibration image (Figure 4A, elements 500a and 500c). Regarding claims 4 and 9, a projection device (Figure 2, element 100), comprising: an output image adjustment device (Figure 2, elements 116a, 116b and 116c) and an image creation unit (Figure 2, element 120) that creates the calibrated image (i.e. corrected image). Regarding claim 5, an image adjustment method (i.e. DLP method; page 3, paragraph 0049, lines 2-3), comprising, by at least one processor (Figure 2, elements 114a, 114b and 114c): projecting, onto a projection target (Figure 3C, element 502), a calibration image including groups of points (i.e. corrected images; Figure 3C, elements 500a, 500b and 500c) representing coordinates (i.e. correction patterns) in a first direction (Figure 3B, element M) and a second direction (Figure 3B, element N) intersecting the first direction, each of the points having a same type of color as a point adjacent in the first direction and a different type of color from a point adjacent in the second direction (page 15, paragraph 0220, lines 2-6); capturing the calibration image projected onto the projection target (page 3, paragraph 0054, lines 1-3); and adjusting coordinates of a calibrated image (i.e. corrected image) to be projected based on captured image data (Figure 2, element 118) of the captured calibration image (i.e. corrected image). Regarding claim 6, an output image adjustment device (Figure 2, elements 116a, 116b and 116c), comprising: a projection unit (Figure 2, elements 150a, 150b and 150c); an imaging unit (Figure 2, element 170) that captures the calibration image (i.e. corrected image) projected onto the projection target (Figure 3C, element 502); a memory (Figure 2, element 112); and at least one processor (Figure 2, elements 114a, 114b and 114c) coupled to the memory (Figure 2, element 112), wherein the at least one processor (Figure 2, elements 114a, 114b and 114c) is configured to: project, onto a projection target (Figure 3C, element 502) by the projection unit (Figure 2, elements 150a, 150b and 150c), a calibration image (i.e. corrected image) including groups of points (i.e. corrected images; Figure 3C, elements 500a, 500b and 500c) representing coordinates (i.e. correction patterns) in a first direction (Figure 3B, element M) and a second direction (Figure 3B, element N) intersecting the first direction, each of the points having a same type of color as a point adjacent in the first direction and a different type of color from a point adjacent in the second direction (page 15, paragraph 0220, lines 2-6), capture, by the imaging unit (Figure 2, element 160), the calibration image projected onto the projection target (page 3, paragraph 0054, lines 1-3); and adjust coordinates (i.e. correction patterns) of a calibrated image (i.e. corrected image), which is projected by the projection unit (Figure 2, elements 150a, 150b and 150c), based on captured image data (Figure 2, element 118) captured by the imaging unit (Figure 2, element 170). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wu (US Pub. No. 2020/0244934 A1) discloses a projection system including a first projection device and a first image capturing device is provided. The first projection device projects a first projection image. The first projection image includes a plurality of different color lights and has color blocks of different brightnesses formed by the plurality of different color lights. The first image capturing device captures the first projection image to generate a first captured image. The first image capturing device includes a first processor. The first processor converts the first captured image into a first converted image according to a first conversion matrix. A color gradation adjustment operation is performed on the first converted image to output an adjustment signal, and the first projection device adjusts the projected first projection image according to the adjustment signal. An image color correction method is also provided. Helt (US Pub. No. 2016/0165200 A1) teaches method for determining the operation of an image projector for projecting images onto a screen of a projection room. In particular, the method is implemented by computing means and comprises the following steps: driving the projector so as to project onto the screen a test card comprising a distribution of patterns of different hues, acquiring an image of the test card on the screen by a picture taking apparatus, and applying a processing of the image acquired, so as to determine at least one deviation of chrominance of the image acquired with respect to a predefined number of colors. Kobayashi (US Pub. No. 2005/0243286 A1) shows an image processing system which can more exactly correct the distortion in an image by reducing the influence of color in an area onto which the image is projected, a projector is provided with a correction section which corrects image signals to adjust a distortion of an image; an image projection section which projects an image based on the image signals; a sensing section which senses the projected image to generate sensing information; a luminance-distribution analyzing section which generates coordinate information indicating a peak position which is the brightest position in the sensed projected image, based on the total luminance value for each pixel line forming the sensed projected image based on the sensing information; and a correction-amount deriving section which determines the distortion in the projected image and derives the amount of correction for the correcting section, based on the coordinate information. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAGDA CRUZ whose telephone number is (571)272-2114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM to 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, Toan Ton can be reached at 571-272-2303. 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. /MAGDA CRUZ/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 2882 07/16/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12704771
SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR FOR REDUCTION OF CERTAIN ORDER LIGHT
3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12699311
TIMING OF PROJECTION DISPLAY
3y 4m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12687771
PHOSPHOR WHEEL AND PROJECTION IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE
3y 1m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12663701
PROJECTION DEVICE HAVING STOPPER WALL STRUCTURE
3y 10m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12625420
LIGHT SOURCE DEVICE AND PROJECTOR
3y 1m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+9.6%)
2y 3m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 866 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month