Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/835,907

CAMERA DEVICE AND OPTICAL INSTRUMENT INCLUDING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 28, 2025
Priority
Feb 04, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0014831 +2 more
Examiner
HSU, AMY R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
LG Innotek Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
754 granted / 871 resolved
+26.6% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
881
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.9%
-34.1% vs TC avg
§103
56.1%
+16.1% vs TC avg
§102
31.4%
-8.6% vs TC avg
§112
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 871 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . 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. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0276088 to Wei et al. (Wei), and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0321459 to Kim et al. (“Kim”). Regarding claim 1, Wei teaches a camera device comprising: a moving unit comprising a first board and an image sensor disposed on the first board (reference number 20 substrate with image sensor 21, see Figure 8; paragraph [0174] teaches that the photosensitive chip is driven in the x-axis or y-axis direction). a stationary unit comprising a second board which is spaced apart from the first board (the main board 90); a support board configured to support the moving unit such that the moving unit is movable in a direction perpendicular to an optical-axis direction relative to the stationary unit and to conductively connect the first board to the second board (reference number 26b connects the flexible circuit board 23 which holds the image sensor with the main board and moves perpendicular in the x and y directions, see Figures 16-17 and paragraphs [0170], [0173]); a position sensor disposed on the first board so as to detect displacement of the moving unit (paragraph [0187] teaches the position sensor to detect shaking of the camera module); and Wei is silent on a capacitor conductively connected to first and second output terminals of the position sensor. Kim teaches a capacitor connected to the first and second terminals of a position sensor (see paragraph [0017]). It 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 to modify the teaching of Wei with that of Kim to eliminate noise from an output of the position sensor. Regarding claims 2-4, Wei in view of Kim teach the camera device according to claim 1,but are silent on wherein the capacitor is disposed on the first board, or the second board, or the support board. One of ordinary skill in the art, given the teaching of Kim, would realize that the capacitor and position sensor can be applied to any of the circuit boards depending on which portions is prone to movement and position shift. It 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 to modify the teaching of Wei in view of Kim to apply the capacitor to any of the boards, as similarly discussed with claim 1. Regarding claim 5, Wei in view of Kim teaches the camera device according to claim 1, wherein the capacitor is connected to the first and second output terminals of the position sensor in parallel (see paragraph [0017] of Kim). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6-10 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 AMY R HSU whose telephone number is (571)270-3012. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-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, Lin Ye can be reached at (571)272-7372. 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. AMY R. HSU Examiner Art Unit 2664 /AMY R HSU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 28, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12745009
SYSTEM
2y 0m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739485
IMAGING APPARATUS
1y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12732676
VARIABLE FOCAL LENGTH LENS DEVICE
2y 1m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12732701
CAMERA MODULE AND CONTROL METHOD OF CAMERA MODULE
2y 0m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12732713
COMPUTER SYSTEM, METHOD, AND PROGRAM
1y 12m 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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (-1.2%)
2y 3m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 871 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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