Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/151,434

Drive Control Device, Program, and Display System

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 28, 2025
Priority
Mar 30, 2023 — JP 2023-055726 +1 more
Examiner
LIN, HANG
Art Unit
2626
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 6m
Est. Remaining
67%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allowance Rate
300 granted / 460 resolved
+3.2% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
481
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
83.2%
+43.2% vs TC avg
§102
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§112
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 460 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 19/151,434 CTNF 88158 DETAILED ACTION Status of Application Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-2 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hyeon (US 20180166007 A1), further in view of Eric Young (Don’t Want to Hear It? Avoid the Audio Band with PWM LED Dimming at Frequencies Above 20kHz, 03/01/2009) . Regarding claim 1, Hyeon teaches a drive control device comprising at least one processor to implement a light emission control unit configured to control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off. (Para 118-119. So the display can change the width of the frequency). However Hyeon does not teach control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off. However Young teaches control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off. (Pages 1-2 shows driving of LED above 20kHz) Therefore it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Hyeon with Young to teach control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off in order to enhance viewing experience of the display by avoiding audio annoyance. Regarding claim 2, Hyeon and Young already teach the drive control device according to claim 1, And Young further teaches wherein the light emission control unit is configured to control the frequency of the period in which the LEDs are turned off to be higher than a frequency of a human audible band. (Pages 1-2 shows driving of LED above 20kHz) Regarding claim 19, refer to rejection for claim 1 as claim 19 is a product claim version of claim 1. Regarding claim 20, Hyeon teaches a display system comprising: a display part including a display having light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed in the form of an array and a drive control device configured to control driving of the LEDs; (Para 37, 114. Figs 1 and 5, display pixel in matrix form. Display drive 114 and processor 120 and a distribution device configured to: receive input of video signals, perform predetermined signal processing on the video signals, and distribute the video signals to the display, (Para 47: In addition, the processor 120 may include a graphic processing unit (not illustrated) to perform graphic processing corresponding to the image. The processor 120 may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) including a core (not illustrated) and a GPU (not illustrated). The processor 120 may include a single core, dual core, triple core, quad core, and multiples of cores.) wherein the drive control device includes at least one processor to implement a light emission control unit configured to control a frequency of a period in which the LEDs are turned off. (Para 119. control frequency) However Hyeon does not teach control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off. However Young teaches control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off. (Pages 1-2 shows driving of LED above 20kHz) Therefore it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Hyeon with Young to teach control raising a frequency of a period in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) of an LED array are turned off in order to enhance viewing experience of the display by avoiding audio annoyance . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hyeon (US 20180166007 A1), further in view of Eric Young (Don’t Want to Hear It? Avoid the Audio Band with PWM LED Dimming at Frequencies Above 20kHz, 03/01/2009), further in view of Kim et al. (US 20230217561 A1) . Regarding claim 3, Hyeon and Young already teach the drive control device according to claim 1, However Hyeon and Young do not teach wherein the light emission control unit is configured to control light emission of the LEDs of the LED array using a passive matrix drive method that controls light emission in units of scan lines. However Kim teaches wherein the light emission control unit is configured to control light emission of the LEDs of the LED array using a passive matrix drive method that controls light emission in units of scan lines. (Para 67. Passive matrix driving) Therefore it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Hyeon and Young with Kim to teach wherein the light emission control unit is configured to control light emission of the LEDs of the LED array using a passive matrix drive method that controls light emission in units of scan lines in order to produce the predictable result of image display with the passive matrix driving configuration as taught by Kim . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 4-18 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANG LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7596. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. 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, Temesghen Ghebretinsae can be reached at 571-272-3017. 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. /HANG LIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 2 Art Unit: 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 3 Art Unit: 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 4 Art Unit: 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 5 Art Unit: 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 6 Art Unit: 2626 Application/Control Number: 19/151,434 Page 7 Art Unit: 2626
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 28, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 03, 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
65%
Grant Probability
67%
With Interview (+1.6%)
2y 6m (~1y 6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 460 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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