Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/684,256

POWER SUPPLY FILM, AND USER FINGERPRINT REGISTRATION METHOD OF FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION CARD USING THE POWER SUPPLY FILM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 16, 2024
Examiner
MAI, THIEN T
Art Unit
2876
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
E-Tunnel Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
59%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 3m
To Grant
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 59% of resolved cases
59%
Career Allow Rate
397 granted / 678 resolved
-9.4% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
41 currently pending
Career history
719
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.0%
-32.0% vs TC avg
§103
52.5%
+12.5% vs TC avg
§102
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.2%
-24.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 678 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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) 1-3, 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Antebi (US 7334735) in view of Onuki (US 20220045532) Antebi discloses 1. A power supply film attached to a fingerprint recognition card 40 and configured to supply power to the fingerprint recognition card, the power supply film comprising: a battery 38 configured to supply power (Fig. 3c, c17: 47-65: a thin battery 38 attached onto fingerprint card 40 using an adhesive coating); Antebi is silent to battery 38 is a paper battery. Onuki discloses a flexible film 11, 910 onto which a secondary battery 15, 913 is mounted (par. 76, 127, 131) and can be used for cards and RFID tags (par. 53). The secondary battery preferably includes a separator. As the separator, for example, fiber containing cellulose such as paper (par. 124). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Onuki so that desirable characteristics exhibited by the known paper battery can be achieved. Re Claim 2.1, further comprising a current sensor configured to be activated when the power supply film is attached to the fingerprint recognition card so that the power of the paper battery is supplied (Onuki discloses a control circuit 914 (same function as sensor circuit 10) on a battery pack that includes flat battery 913; the control circuit 10, 914 monitors the behavior of the voltage, the current, and the like of the terminals 12, 13, and when abnormality (i.e. short circuit) is detected, the second transmission path and the third transmission path are blocked and charging/discharging for the electronic device 17, i.e. mobile, card, RFID tag, stops (par. 53, 82, 106-108, 126-128). The control circuit 10, 914 may have a function of a protection circuit for protecting the secondary battery 913 from overcharge, overdischarge, and an overcurrent (par. 127)) Claim 3.2, further comprising a CPU configured to receive the power from the paper battery through an output signal resulting from activation of the current sensor, and configured to perform control so that the power is supplied to the fingerprint recognition card (Onuki, Fig. 4, par. 11, 87: the protection control circuit can be mounted as an IC chip to power the electronic device via a transmission path). Claim 5.1, wherein the power supply film is attached to supply the power to the fingerprint recognition card, and removed from the fingerprint recognition card when the fingerprint recognition card completes user fingerprint registration (Antebi, Fig. 3c, c17: 47-65: a thin battery 38 attached onto fingerprint card 40 using an adhesive coating and is removable; thus it would have also been obvious that the battery can be removed any time including when the user completes the registration or when replacement is needed). Claim 6.1, further comprising: a current sensor configured to be activated when the power supply film is attached to the fingerprint recognition card so that the power of the paper battery is supplied; and a CPU configured to receive the power from the paper battery through an output signal resulting from activation of the current sensor, and configured to perform control so that the power is supplied to the fingerprint recognition card, wherein the current sensor is configured to allow the power of the paper battery to be supplied to the CPU through a signal resulting from activation of the current sensor when the power supply film is connected to the fingerprint recognition card by attachment (see discussion regarding claims above; Onuki, par. 87, 11: the control circuit 10 as the current sensor is powered by the battery and is part of the chip CPU; thus, when the current sensor 10 is activated by the battery, the chip CPU is also allowed to have power). Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Antebi (US 7334735)/ Onuki (US 20220045532) in view of Levanon (US 20050118464) Claim 7.1, further comprising: a current sensor configured to be activated when the power supply film is attached to the fingerprint recognition card so that the power of the paper battery is supplied; and a CPU configured to receive the power from the paper battery through an output signal resulting from activation of the current sensor, and configured to perform control so that the power is supplied to the fingerprint recognition card (see discussion regarding claims above.) Antebi is silent to wherein the current sensor is configured to remain deactivated to prevent power consumption when the power supply film is in a standby state of not being attached to the fingerprint recognition card, so that the power of the paper battery is not supplied to the CPU Levanon discloses a battery comprising cell 10 including terminals 26, 28 connected to a chip 60 that includes a CPU 68 and a sensor as transformer 64 that senses and transforms Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) or vice versa (par. 78-79). According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electronic chip device serves to allow selection of an operational mode from among at least two operational modes. One of the at least two operational modes may be, for example, a sleep mode for low battery drain. Selection is via a user interface 70 which is in indirect communication with transformer 64 and an analog/digital converter 62 via a control mechanism 68 (par. 81). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Levanon by including a control mechanism to enable a sleep mode to deactivate the current sensor to minimize power supply to the CPU thereby conserving the battery. Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Antebi (US 7334735)/ Onuki (US 20220045532) in view of Jenson (US 6906436) Claim 8.1, Antebi is silent to wherein a protective film is provided on one surface of the power supply film, and when the power is supplied to the fingerprint recognition card for user fingerprint registration, the protective film is removed and the power supply film is attached to the fingerprint recognition card. Jenson discloses that it is well known for an energy storage device 50 to have a release film 156 to be peeled off; Fig. 1b, c6-7: 62-15; it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Jenson so that the thin film battery can be protected from other unwanted materials including dirt, oil, … Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) 9-13 is/are allowed. Claim(s) 4 is 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not disclose a power supply film as set forth in parent claims 1-3, further comprising an IC connector configured to be connected to the fingerprint recognition card so that the CPU transmits a command signal for user fingerprint template registration to the fingerprint recognition card. The prior art of record does not disclose as set forth in independent claim 9, a method comprising, in conjunction with other limitations, supplying, in a third step after the second step, the power to a CPU inside the power supply film; transmitting, by the CPU in a fourth step after the third step, a command signal for user fingerprint registration by the fingerprint recognition card to a security CPU of the fingerprint recognition card; and extracting, by the security CPU inside the fingerprint recognition card in a fifth step after the fourth step, a user fingerprint template when a user fingerprint is input to a fingerprint recognition sensor of the fingerprint recognition card. As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN MAI whose telephone number is (571)272-8283. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm. 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, Steven Paik can be reached at 571-272-2404. 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. /THIEN T MAI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 16, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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
59%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+21.4%)
3y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 678 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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