Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/884,421

OPTICAL SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 13, 2024
Priority
Sep 15, 2023 — provisional 63/583,067
Examiner
CHANG, CHARLES S
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
TDK Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
802 granted / 1024 resolved
+18.3% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
1036
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
64.2%
+24.2% vs TC avg
§102
31.8%
-8.2% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1024 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Weng et al. (US 20200225442). Regarding claim 1, Weng discloses (Figs. 1-267; in particular Fig. 2) an optical system, comprising: a fixed assembly (1-811, 1-820, 1-830, 1-920); a movable part (1-860), configured to be connected to an optical module (1-802), wherein the movable part is movable relative to the fixed assembly (section 0274; “1-890 drives the holder 1-860 of the movable part 1-812 to move a long a third direction relative to the bottom 1-920 of the fixed part 1-811”); and a suspension module (1-840, 1-850, 1-870), wherein the movable part is movable relative to the fixed assembly (1-811) by the suspension module (sections 0270, 0273-0274). Regarding claim 2, Weng discloses (Figs. 1-267; in particular Fig. 2) the suspension module includes a first suspension assembly (1-840) and a second suspension assembly (1-850); the movable part (1-860) is movably connected to the fixed assembly (1-811, 1-820, 1-830, 1-920) via the first suspension assembly (1-840); the first suspension assembly is configured to generate a first restoring force on the movable part (force from elastic material); the second suspension assembly (1-850) is configured to generate a second restoring force on the movable part (electromagnetic force); the suspension module (1-840, 1-850, 1-870) is configured to generate a total force on the movable part; and the total force includes the first restoring force and the second restoring force (section 0270). 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. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art does not disclose or suggest the optical system of claims 3-20, in particular the limitations of when the movable part is in a first position, the first restoring force is a first force; when the movable part is in a second position, the first restoring force is a second force; when the movable part is in a third position, the first restoring force is a third force; the first position is between the second position and the third position; when the movable part is located in the first position, the second restoring force is a fourth force; when the movable part is located in the second position, the second restoring force is a fifth force; when the movable part is located in the third position, the second restoring force is a sixth force; an absolute value of the first force is greater than or equal to an absolute value of the fourth force; an absolute value of the second force is greater than an absolute value of the fifth force; and an absolute value of the third force is greater than an absolute value of the sixth force. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S CHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 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, Michael Caley can be reached at (571) 272-2286. 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. /CHARLES S CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 13, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12704715
AN OPTICAL ILLUMINATION MODULE FOR A DISPLAY SYSTEM
2y 9m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12704742
OPTICAL COMBINER FOR DISPLAYING AUGMENTED REALITY WITH USER'S VISION CORRECTION, METHOD FOR OPERATING THE OPTICAL COMBINER, AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES FOR DISPLAYING AUGMENTED REALITY WITH USER'S VISION CORRECTION
2y 2m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12699276
MONOLITHIC BEAMSPLITTER ARRAY
2y 2m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12692998
LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE, DISPLAY APPARATUS AND LIGHTING APPARATUS
3y 1m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12693568
VARIABLE LIGHT TRANSMISSION DEVICE COMPRISING ELECTROPHORETIC MEDIUM HAVING A COMPINATION OF LIGHT REFLECTIVE AND LIGHT ABSORBING PIGMENT PARTICLES
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 28, 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
78%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+17.7%)
2y 8m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1024 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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