Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/777,191

OPTICAL ELEMENT DRIVING MECHANISM

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jul 18, 2024
Priority
Jul 21, 2023 — provisional 63/514,958
Examiner
LAU, EDMOND C
Art Unit
2871
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Actutek Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
467 granted / 651 resolved
+3.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
685
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
57.9%
+17.9% vs TC avg
§102
24.7%
-15.3% vs TC avg
§112
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 651 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 . Response to Amendment Claims 1 and 3-20 are currently pending. In response to the Office Action mailed 4/08/2026 Applicant amended claims 1, 3 and 20 and canceled claim 2 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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20200336639 A1 to Hu et al. Regarding Claim 1. Hu discloses an optical element driving mechanism, comprising: a fixed assembly (Fig. 2 fixed assembly 1-10); a movable assembly (Fig. 2 movable assembly 1-20), configured to be connected to an optical element (Fig. 2 the photosensitive element 1-122), wherein the movable assembly is movable relative to the fixed assembly; and a driving module, configured to drive the movable assembly to move relative to the fixed assembly (Fig. 2 first driving assembly 1-30 para 64 “configured to drive the first movable assembly 1-20 to move relative to the fixed assembly 1-10”), wherein the fixed assembly includes a casing (Fig. 2 frame 1-102) and a base (Fig. 2 base plate 1-120); the casing and the base are arranged along a main axis (as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4); the optical element driving mechanism further includes a first circuit assembly (See Fig. 4 circuit member body 1-1141); the first circuit assembly has a body portion (as shown in Fig. 4), and the optical element is disposed on the body portion (See Fig. 4 photosensitive element 1-122); the body portion is connected to the movable assembly (See Fig. 2 and Fig. 3); and the first circuit assembly further has a cantilever which is connected between the body portion and the casing (See Fig. 2-3 cantilevers 1-1143). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-20 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. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 6/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the prior art of record fails to disclose that “the first circuit assembly has a body portion; the body portion is connected to the movable assembly. the first circuit assembly further has a cantilever which is connect between the body portion and the casing”. Applicant arguments are not persuasive, as seen in the prior art of record, both Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 shows a body portion of circuit 1-1141, connected to other components of the movable assembly. The circuit being a component of the movably assembly among a plurality of components does not disqualify the body portion from being connected to the moveable assembly. Further it is clear from the prior art of record that the cantilever which is connected between the body portion and the casing. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDMOND C LAU whose telephone number is (571)272-5859. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8am-6pm 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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached at (571) 272-9791. 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. /EDMOND C LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 18, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 23, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12748310
AMBIENT LIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WEARABLE DEVICES
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12742975
OPTICAL SYSTEM AND VIRTUAL REALITY DEVICE
3y 11m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12736818
ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND CONTROLLING METHOD OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736921
DISPLAY DEVICE AND WATCH
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12730329
DEVICE FOR GENERATING AND SPLITTING POLARIZED LIGHT
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
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
72%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+8.5%)
2y 3m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 651 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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