Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/888,539

OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 18, 2024
Priority
Sep 14, 2018 — RE 10-2018-0110440 +5 more
Examiner
VU, PHU
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
858 granted / 1006 resolved
+25.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1032
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
82.3%
+42.3% vs TC avg
§102
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
§112
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1006 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 § 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. Claim(s) 1, 10-12, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin US 2018/0059376). Regarding claim 1, Jo teaches an optical imaging system comprising: a first lens having positive refractive power (fig. 15 first lens 810), a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a convex image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof; a second lens (second lens 820) having negative refractive power; a third lens (third lens 830) having positive refractive power; a fourth lens (fourth lens 840) having refractive power, a concave object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a convex image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof; and a fifth lens having refractive power, wherein the first to fifth lenses are arranged sequentially from an object side along an optical axis of the optical imaging system, wherein the optical imaging system has a total of five lenses, wherein 0.8<TTL/f<1.2 (calculated from table 15 TTL =10.467 f= 10.01 TTL/F= 1.045) is satisfied, where TTL is a distance on the optical axis from the object-side surface of the first lens to an imaging surface, and f is a total focal length of the optical imaging system, and wherein 1.3<TTL/BFL<3.3 (5.45 / (TTL = calculated at 10.467 from table 15 bfl calculated at 3.247 TTL/BFL = 3.247) is satisfied, where BFL is a distance on the optical axis from an image-side surface of the fifth lens to the imaging surface. Regarding claim 10, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the second lens (fig. 15 second lens 820) has a concave image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof. Regarding claim 11, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the third lens (fig. 15 third lens 830) has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof. Regarding claim 12, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the fourth lens (fig. 4 fourth lens 840) has positive refractive power. Regarding claim 18, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a reflecting member (fig. 33B prism 1580) disposed in front of the first lens (first lens 1510), wherein the reflecting member has a reflective surface for changing an optical path. Regarding claim 19, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 18, wherein the reflecting member is a mirror or a prism (see fig. 33B prism 1580). Regarding claim 20, Lin teaches the optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein object-side surfaces and image-side surfaces of the first lens to the fifth lens (fig. 15 1st to 5th lenses 820 820 830 840 850) are aspherical surfaces). 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) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin US 2018/0059376 in view of Yang US 2019/00346650. Regarding claim 13, Yang teaches at least one of the first lens (fig. 2 sixth L6 which is analogous to a first lens) and the second lens has a noncircular shape when viewed in the optical axis direction to miniaturize the size of the overall lens assembly [0074]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lin in view of Yang to miniaturize the overall lens assembly. Regarding claim 14, Yang further teaches the optical imaging system of claim 13, wherein the at least one of the first lens (sixth lens L6 see fig. 2) and the second lens having a noncircular shape comprises a first edge and a second edge having an arc shape, and a third edge and a fourth edge connecting the first edge and the second edge to each other, and a length of a virtual straight line connecting the first edge and the second edge, while passing through the optical axis, is greater than a length of a virtual straight line connecting the third edge and the fourth edge, while passing through the optical axis. Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lin in view of Yang to miniaturize the overall lens assembly. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-9 and 15-17 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 PHU VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1562. The examiner can normally be reached 11:00 - 7:00 M-F. 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. /PHU VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 18, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+9.3%)
2y 2m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1006 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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