Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 17/669,433

Optical Imaging System

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 11, 2022
Examiner
PULLIAM, CHRISTYANN R
Art Unit
2178
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Zhejiang Sunny Optics Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
41%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
5y 4m
To Grant
65%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 41% of resolved cases
41%
Career Allow Rate
96 granted / 232 resolved
-13.6% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+23.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
5y 4m
Avg Prosecution
142 currently pending
Career history
374
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
43.5%
+3.5% vs TC avg
§102
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
§112
23.3%
-16.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 232 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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Drawings The originally filed drawings were received on 2/11/2022. These drawings are acceptable. Specification The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. 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. Claim(s) 1, 9, 12, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuo (U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2020/0393652 A1). Kuo discloses an optical imaging system (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-27; and in particular Figure 1), sequentially comprising, from an object side to an image side along an optical axis, a diaphragm (See for example 100 in Figure 1); a first lens (See for example 110 in Figure 1; Lens 1 in Table 1 with Focal Length +5.38, positive power) with a refractive power, an image-side surface thereof being a convex surface (See for example 112 in Figure 1; surface 3 in Table 1 with radius of curvature -60.625, convex); a second lens (See for example 120 in Figure 1; Lens 2 in Table 1 with Focal Length -9.76, negative power) with a refractive power; a third lens (See for example 130 in Figure 1; Lens 3 in Table 1 with Focal Length -30.86, negative power) with a negative refractive power; a fourth lens (See for example 150 in Figure 1; Lens 5 in Table 1 with Focal Length +25.45, positive power) with a refractive power, an image-side surface thereof being a convex surface (See for example 152 in Figure 1; surface 12 in Table 1 with radius of curvature -13.297, convex); a fifth lens (See for example 160 in Figure 1; Lens 6 in Table 1 with Focal Length +13.87, positive power) with a refractive power, an object-side surface thereof being a concave surface (See for example 161 in Figure 1; surface 13 in Table 1 with radius of curvature -13.576, concave); a sixth lens (See for example 180 in Figure 1; Lens 8 in Table 1 with Focal Length +7.65, positive power) with a refractive power; and a seventh lens (See for example 190 in Figure 1; Lens 9 in Table 1 with Focal Length -7.28, negative power) with a refractive power, wherein EPD is an entrance pupil diameter of the optical imaging system, and a total effective focal length f of the optical imaging system and EPD satisfy: f/EPD≤1.5 (See for example Paragraph 0129, wherein f/EPD=1.48); and at least one of an object-side surface of the first lens to an image-side surface of the seventh lens is an aspheric surface (See each of surfaces 2-5, 7-20 in Table 1, each of which are aspheres, as designated by (ASP); See also Table 2). Kuo further discloses a curvature radius R12 of an image-side surface of the sixth lens, a curvature radius R13 of an object-side surface of the seventh lens and a curvature radius R14 of the image-side surface of the seventh lens satisfy: 3.0<(R12+R13)/R14<4.5 (In the instant case, R12=2.372, R13=1.774. R14=1.119, and (R12+R13)/R14=3.705); a combined focal length f34 of the third lens and the fourth lens and a combined focal length f12 of the first lens and the second lens satisfy: 1.0<f34/f12<2.0 (In the instant case, f34=-30.86+25.45=-5.41, f12=5.38-9.76=-4.38, and f34/f12=1.235); and an Abbe number V2 of the second lens and an Abbe number V3 of the third lens satisfy: V2+V3<40 (In the instant case, V2=15.8, V3=15.8, and V2+V3=31.6). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 16-20 are allowed. Claims 2-8, 10-11, 13, 15 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 ARNEL C LAVARIAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2315. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM-7 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, Stephone Allen can be reached on 571-272-2434. 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. ARNEL C. LAVARIAS Primary Examiner Group Art Unit 2872 8/2/2024 /ARNEL C LAVARIAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 11, 2022
Application Filed
Aug 02, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 05, 2024
Response Filed

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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
41%
Grant Probability
65%
With Interview (+23.9%)
5y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 232 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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