Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/400,670

OPTICAL MEMBER DRIVING MECHANISM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 29, 2023
Examiner
SAHLE, MAHIDERE S
Art Unit
2872
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
TDK Taiwan Corp.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
883 granted / 1109 resolved
+11.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
59 currently pending
Career history
1168
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
61.9%
+21.9% vs TC avg
§102
29.2%
-10.8% vs TC avg
§112
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1109 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of Invention I, claims 1-10, in the reply filed on 02/27/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that a serious burden is not imposed. This is not found persuasive because the inventions are distinct from one another and require different search strategies and queries. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 02/27/2026. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed 10/01/2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(1), which requires the following: (1) a list of all patents, publications, applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office; (2) U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications listed in a section separately from citations of other documents; (3) the application number of the application in which the information disclosure statement is being submitted on each page of the list; (4) a column that provides a blank space next to each document to be considered, for the examiner’s initials; and (5) a heading that clearly indicates that the list is an information disclosure statement. The information disclosure statement has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. An NPL was submitted that was not listed on the IDS. 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 1-3, 5 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Hsu et al. (USPG Pub No. 2021/0223504), hereinafter “Hsu” . Regarding claim 1, Hsu discloses a n optical member driving mechanism (3-1000) (see Fig. 21) , comprising: a movable portion (3-M 1 ) (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 279, Line 3) , configured to connect an optical member (3-1) ( see Fig. 21, Paragraph 276, Line 1) ; a fixed portion (3-I) , wherein the movable portion (3-M1) is movable relative to the fixed portion (3-I) (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 279, Line 3) ; and a driving assembly (3-D1) , configured to drive the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 279, Line 5) . Regarding claim 2, Hsu discloses wherein the movable portion (3-M1) comprises a holder (3-70) and a frame (3-80) (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 280, Line 3) , and the driving assembly comprises: a first circuit component (3-20) (see Fig. 21) ; a second circuit component (3-30) , disposed on the frame (3-80) and connected to the first circuit component (see Fig. 21) ; a control member (3-140, 3-150) , disposed on the second circuit component (3-30) (see Fig. 21) ; an inner elastic member (3-E) , connected to the holder (3-70) and the frame (3-80) (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 326) ; an outer elastic member (3-E) , connected to the frame (3-80) (see Fig. 21, Paragraph 326 – each elastic member contains inner and outer regions) ; a supporting member (3-H) , connected to the outer elastic member (3-E) and the fixed portion (3-10 ) (see Fig. 21, Paragraphs 280, 286) ; a first electromagnetic element (3-110) , disposed on the holder (3-70) and electrically connected to the control member (3-140, 3-150) through the inner elastic member (3-E) , the first circuit component (3-20) and the second circuit component (3-30) (see Fig. 21, Paragraphs 294, 295) ; and a circuit assembly (3-C1, 3-C2) , embedded in the fixed portion (3-I) and electrically connected to the control member (3-140, 3-150) through the supporting member (3-H) , the outer elastic member (3-E) , the first circuit component (3-20) , and the second circuit component (3-30) (see Figs. 21, 24, Paragraphs 286, 294, 295) . Regarding claim 3 , Hsu discloses wherein the inner elastic member (3-E, 3-60, 3-90) and the outer elastic member (3-E, 3-60, 3-90) are separated from each other (see Fig. 21 , Paragraph 325 ) . Regarding claim 5 , Hsu discloses wherein the frame (3-80) has a first lower surface, a first connecting surface, and a second connecting surface (see Fig s . 2 8 , 31, 37 ) , the inner elastic member (3-E) is connected to the first connecting surface, and the outer elastic member (3-E) is connected to the second connecting surface, wherein a distance between the lower surface and the first connecting surface is different from a distance between the lower surface and the second connecting surface (see Fig s . 21 , 28, Paragraph 326 ) . Regarding claim 7 , Hsu discloses wherein the frame (3-80) has protruding portion, and the outer elastic member (3-E) has a hole, wherein the protruding portion is accommodated in the hole, and dimensions of the hole are greater than dimensions of the protruding portion (see annotated Fig. 31 below, Fig. 37, Paragraph 326) . Regarding claim 8 , Hsu discloses wherein an outline of at least a portion of the hole corresponds to an appearance of the protruding portion (see Figs. 31, 37) . Regarding claim 9 , Hsu discloses wherein the outer elastic member (3-E) comprises a fixed section and a free section (see Fig. 37) , the fixed section is affixed to the frame, and the free section is connected to the fixed section and protrudes from a lateral surface of the frame (see Fig. 37) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu (USPG Pub No. 2021/0223504) in view of Chen et al. (USPG Pub No. 2021/0033818), hereinafter “Chen” . Regarding claim 4 , Hsu discloses the claimed invention, but does not specify wherein a thickness of the inner elastic member along an optical axis of the optical member is different from a thickness of the outer elastic member along the optical axis of the optical member. In the same field of endeavor, Chen discloses wherein a thickness of the inner elastic member (2-260) along an optical axis of the optical member is different from a thickness of the outer elastic member (2-250) along the optical axis of the optical member (see Fig. 9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide driving mechanism of Hsu with wherein a thickness of the inner elastic member along an optical axis of the optical member is different from a thickness of the outer elastic member along the optical axis of the optical member of Chen for the purpose of providing a more compact driving mechanism (Paragraph 4). Claim s 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu (USPG Pub No. 2021/0223504) in view of Park et al. (USPG Pub No. 2020/0050014), hereinafter “Park”. Regarding claim 6 , Hsu discloses the claimed invention, but does not specify wherein a top surface of the inner elastic member is coplanar with a top surface of the outer elastic member. In the same field of endeavor, Park discloses wherein a top surface of the inner elastic member (1150-1) is coplanar with a top surface of the outer elastic member (1150-4) (see Fig. 27). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide driving mechanism of Hsu with wherein a top surface of the inner elastic member is coplanar with a top surface of the outer elastic member of Park for the purpose of providing a miniature low-power module (Paragraph 3). Regarding claim 10 , Hsu discloses the claimed invention, but does not specify wherein the supporting member is connected to the free section. In the same field of endeavor, Park discloses wherein the supporting member (1220) is connected to the free section (see Fig. 27, Paragraph 501). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide driving mechanism of Hsu with wherein the supporting member is connected to the free section of Park for the purpose of providing a miniature low-power module (Paragraph 3). Prior Art Citations Wu et al. (USPG Pub No. 2019/0391361) is being cited herein to show an optical member driving mechanism relevant to the claimed invention . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT MAHIDERE S SAHLE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3329 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Ricky Mack can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571 272-2333 . 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. /MAHIDERE S SAHLE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 3/21/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 29, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §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
80%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+12.9%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1109 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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