Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/480,285

METHOD OF GENERATING MICRO IMAGE AND APPARATUS THEREFOR

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 03, 2023
Priority
Oct 07, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0129045
Examiner
POTTS, RYAN PATRICK
Art Unit
2672
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Inha University Research And Business Foundation
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
198 granted / 249 resolved
+17.5% vs TC avg
Strong +39% interview lift
Without
With
+38.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
271
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
§103
41.2%
+1.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.4%
-21.6% vs TC avg
§112
28.7%
-11.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 249 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks at pages 7-11, filed 22 June 2026, with respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claims 1-3, 8-13 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claims 1 and 11 each recite, “the micro image” (emphasis added). There is no other “micro image” recited in claims 1 and 11 and such an image is not necessarily implied by the context of the remaining claim language. Therefore, “the micro image” lacks an antecedent basis in claims 1 and 11. For purposes of applying prior art, “the micro image” is interpreted as “a micro image”. Dependent claims 2, 3, 8-10, 12, 13 and 18-20 are rejected for inheriting and not curing the deficiencies of claims 1 and 11. Claim 11 recites, “the synthesized image” (emphasis added). Unlike claim 1, there is no antecedent basis for “the synthesized image” in claim 11. For purposes of applying prior art, claim 11 is interpreted as further reciting the at least one processor being configured to, “generate a synthesized image by arranging the plurality of residual images to correspond to different viewpoints at which the plurality of light field images are captured” as similarly recited in claim 1. Dependent claims 12, 13, 18 and 19 are rejected for inheriting and not curing the deficiencies of claim 11. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1 and 11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action. Claims 2, 3, 8-10, 12, 13 and 18-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include 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: U.S. Pat. No. 11,259,005 discloses SAI synthesis from micro images in Figure 3, which is pertinent to the pending claims for disclosing a relationship between the two different representations. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN P POTTS whose telephone number is (571)272-6351. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9am-5pm EST. 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, Sumati Lefkowitz can be reached at 571-272-3638. 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. /RYAN P POTTS/Examiner, Art Unit 2672 /SUMATI LEFKOWITZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2672
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 03, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 30, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jun 22, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 25, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+38.8%)
2y 11m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 249 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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