Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/994,900

Sound-Pickup Device and Display Device

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 15, 2025
Priority
May 30, 2023 — CN 202310633087.5 +1 more
Examiner
MEI, XU
Art Unit
2695
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 6m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
723 granted / 847 resolved
+23.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
856
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.7%
-34.3% vs TC avg
§103
40.3%
+0.3% vs TC avg
§102
26.7%
-13.3% vs TC avg
§112
17.3%
-22.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 847 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 . Status of Application This communication is responsive to the applicant's preliminary amendment filed 01/15/2025. Claims 1-15 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. Claim(s) 1-7, and 10-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hisense visual Tech (CN217590951, cited in IDS of 07/15/2025, hereinafter, Hisense). Regarding claim 1, Hisense discloses a sound-pickup device (see Figs. 1-5, 8, 12), comprising: a bracket (10) comprising a first lateral plate (12), wherein the first lateral plate has at least one first through hole (sound pick11); a circuit board (20) comprising a board body (22) and at least one sound-pickup element (221) arranged on the board body; a first sealing assembly (sealant 30) located between the first lateral plate and the board body (see Fig.3), and having at least one second through hole (sound reception hole of sealant 30), wherein an orthographic projection of the at least one second through hole on a surface of the first lateral plate at least partially coincides with an orthographic projection of the at least one first through hole on the surface of the first lateral plate (see Fig. 3 where the sound pickup hole 11 is orthographically coincides with the sound reception hole of sealant 30); and a fixing assembly (elastic support member 40) at least partially located on one side of the circuit board away from the first lateral plate, and configured to press the circuit board against the first sealing assembly, so that the first sealing assembly seals a sound-pickup channel from the at least one first through hole to the circuit board via the at least one second through hole (see Fig. 3). Regarding claim 2, see Fig. 3, para [0062], and fix plate 50 that is detachably connected with a second lateral plate or second surface 212 of the housing 10. Regarding claims 3-5, see Fig. 12, para [0076], [0077], wherein the fixing assembly comprises a connecting frame (42) and a pressing member (41), the connecting frame is detachably connected with the second lateral plate through a connector, and the pressing member is fixedly connected or integrally formed with the connecting frame and presses the circuit board against the first sealing assembly. Regarding claim 6, see Fig. 13, and para [0078] including connecting frame with a screwed hole for connection. Regarding claim 7, electronic component 22 in Fig. 6 is a positioning structure provided between the first lateral plate and the board body. Regarding claim 10, see Figs. 6 and 7 with at least a third through hole. Regarding claims 11-12, see Fig. 1 and para [0039]. Regarding claims 13-14, see shell 10 in Fig. 1, and para [0047], [0048], [0049] for covering at least a fifth through hole, and is located on a display side of the display device. Regarding claim 15, see Fig. 6, where at least a forth through hole on the surface of the first lateral plate is shown. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 8-9 are 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. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wang et al, Park et al, Kim et al, Seo et al, Ryu et al, and Maki disclose various sound pick up devices or microphone mounting devices that is pertinent to the instant application. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XU MEI whose telephone number is (571)272-7523. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10-6:30 est. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivian Chin can be reached on 571-272-7848. 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. /XU MEI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695 09/04/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 15, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12738913
CONTENT-AWARE AUDIO LEVEL MANAGEMENT
2y 4m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12730606
NOISE CLASSIFICATION FOR EVENT DETECTION
2y 0m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12726779
Apparatus, Methods and Computer Programs for Enabling Rendering of Spatial Audio
2y 2m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12712509
TRANSIENTS MINIMIZATION OF DIGITAL SYSTEMS DUE TO MEMORY UPDATE
2y 6m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12713183
ESTIMATION OF AUDIO DEVICE AND SOUND SOURCE LOCATIONS
2y 3m to grant Granted Aug 18, 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
85%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+6.0%)
3y 3m (~1y 6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 847 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