Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 19/091,746

DISPLAY DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 26, 2025
Examiner
LEE, NICHOLAS J
Art Unit
2624
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Seiko Epson Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
779 granted / 951 resolved
+19.9% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
970
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
55.8%
+15.8% vs TC avg
§102
28.7%
-11.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.6%
-33.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 951 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-5 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. 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)(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. Claim(s) 1 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102anticipated as being anticipated by US Patent Pub. 2013/0093737 A1 to Ota et al (“Ota”). As to claim 1, Ota discloses a display device (See Fig. 2) comprising: a plurality of first light emitting elements (110 connected to the first data 14 from the left); a plurality of second light emitting elements (110 connected to the second data 14 from the left); a first data transfer line extending in a first direction (Vd(1), Vd(2), Vd(3)); a second data transfer line coupled to the first data transfer line and extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction (See Fig. 2; Ota discloses a line that extends laterally from VD(1) and runs along the bottom of switching elements 34 and connects to each element 34); a first data line extending in the first direction (The first data line 14 from the left); a second data line extending in the first direction (The second data line 14 from the left); a plurality of first pixel circuits coupled to the first data line and coupled respectively to the plurality of first light emitting elements (The first column of pixels circuits 110 coupled to the first data line 14 from the left.); a plurality of second pixel circuits coupled to the second data line and coupled respectively to the plurality of second light emitting elements (The second column of pixels circuits 110 coupled to the second data line 14 from the left.); a first switching circuit controlling electrical coupling between the first data line and the second data transfer line (See Fig. 2; The first switching element 34 from the left couples the first data line 14 to the output received by Vd(1) by the defined second data transfer line described above.); and a second switching circuit controlling electrical coupling between the second data line and the second data transfer line (See Fig. 2; The second switching element 34 from the left couples the second data line 14 to the output received by Vd(1) by the defined second data transfer line described above.), wherein the first data line is supplied, from the second data transfer line via the first switching circuit, with a signal for causing each of the plurality of first light emitting elements to emit light (See Fig. 2; The first switching element 34 from the left couples the first data line 14 to the output received by Vd(1) by the defined second data transfer line described above.), and the second data line is supplied, from the second data transfer line via the second switching circuit, with a signal for causing each of the plurality of second light emitting elements to emit light (See Fig. 2; The second switching element 34 from the left couples the second data line 14 to the output received by Vd(1) by the defined second data transfer line described above.). As to claim 7, the same rejection or discussion is used as in the rejection of claim 1. 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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Pub. 2013/0093737 A1 to Ota et al (“Ota”) in view of US Patent Pub. 2020/0184900 A1 to Shin et al (“Shin”). As to claim 2, Ota fails to disclose wherein each of the plurality of first light emitting elements and each of the plurality of second light emitting elements are arrayed alternately in the first direction. Shin discloses wherein each of the plurality of first light emitting elements and each of the plurality of second light emitting elements are arrayed alternately in the first direction (See Fig. 1A; Shin discloses an arrangement of pixels wherein first pixels connected to the first data line D1a are alternately arranged with second pixels D1b in the first column of pixels.). Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Ota with the teachings of Shin wherein each of the plurality of first light emitting elements and each of the plurality of second light emitting elements are arrayed alternately in the first direction, as suggested by Shin thereby similarly using known configurations of arranging pixels in the display device of Ota. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7354. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-6PM. 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 Eason can be reached at 571-270-7230. 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. /NICHOLAS J LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 26, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Apr 04, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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FULL DISPLAY MIRROR ASSEMBLY WITH THROUGH BEZEL INFRARED ILLUMINATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
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2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597378
DISPLAY SCREEN
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597286
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 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
82%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+25.6%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 951 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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