Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/954,555

HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 21, 2024
Priority
Jan 08, 2024 — provisional 63/618,398
Examiner
JONES, JAMES
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
HTC Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
1176 granted / 1329 resolved
+28.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
1343
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§102
75.4%
+35.4% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1329 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2024 and 8/4/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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) 1-3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Franklin (20200096775) hereafter Franklin. Regarding claim 1, Franklin discloses a head-mounted display device (abstract), comprising: a body (fig. 10A and 11A) having a first lens holder (see fig. 2, 3A, 10A, 11A) and a second lens holder (see fig. 2, 3A, 10A, 11A) respectively used to accommodate a first lens (330) and a second lens (330) corresponding to both eyes, wherein an inner wall of the first lens holder has at least two first combining portions (fig. 10A 11A, elements 1046, 1044, 1016f, 1016e, 1116e, 1116d are all combining portions), and an inner wall of the second lens holder (fig. 10A, 11A) has at least two second combining portions (elements 1046, 1044, 1016f, 1016e, 1116e, 1116d are combining portions); a first optical lens group (316b), installed in the body and corresponding to the first lens holder (fig. 10A, 11A); and a second optical lens group (316b), installed in the body and corresponding to the second lens holder (10A, 11A), wherein when the first lens is accommodated in the first lens holder, two third combining portions of the first lens are combined with the first combining portions (par. [0064]-[0070], and a gap is maintained between the first lens and the first optical lens group (fig. 10A, 11A), when the second lens is accommodated in the second lens holder, two fourth combining portions of the second lens are combined with the second combining portions, and a gap is maintained between the second lens and the second optical lens group (see fig. 2, 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, par. [0038][0045][0064]-[0070], note that one or more interchangeable lenses can be used to for corrective vision purposes when using the head mounted display. Also, when the lenses 330 are combined with lens 316b, using the plurality of combining portions a gap is maintained between them) . Regarding claim 2, Franklin discloses the head-mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein the first lens holder, the second lens holder, and the body are integrally formed (see fig. 10B and 11B). Regarding claim 3, Franklin discloses the head-mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein a number of the first combining portions is greater than or equal to three, and a number of the second combining portions is greater than or equal to three (see fig. 10B and 11B combining portions 1046, 1044, 1016f, 1016e). Regarding claim 5, Franklin discloses the head-mounted display device according to claim 1, further comprising a fastener for fixing the first lens to the first lens holder (fig. 11A, 11B, par. [0064]-[0070]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4 and 6-8 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not disclose the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 35 USC 102 or 103. Regarding claim 4, the prior art does not disclose the claimed head-mounted display specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein a number of the third combining portions is greater than or equal to three, a number of the fourth combining portions is greater than or equal to three, the first lens and the second lens are circular, the first combining portions are asymmetrically distributed, and the second combining portions are asymmetrically distributed.” Regarding claim 6 (and its dependents), the prior art does not disclose the claimed head-mounted display specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein when a third lens is accommodated in the first lens holder, two seventh combining portions of the third lens are combined with the fifth combining portions, a gap is maintained between the third lens and the first optical lens group, and optical properties of the third lens are different from optical properties of the first lens, when a fourth lens is accommodated in the second lens holder, two eighth combining portions of the fourth lens are combined with the sixth combining portions, a gap is maintained between the fourth lens and the second optical lens group, and optical properties of the fourth lens are different from optical properties of the second lens.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-1278. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 am - 4:00 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, Pinping Sun can be reached at (571) 270-1284. 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. /JAMES C. JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 21, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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3y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12681307
Near-eye Display Device and Construction Method for Metasurface Lens
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12674972
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3y 0m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12665482
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3y 12m to grant Granted Jun 23, 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
88%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+4.3%)
2y 1m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1329 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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