Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 05, 2026
Application No. 18/964,118

OPTICAL ELEMENT DRIVING MECHANISM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 29, 2024
Priority
Dec 01, 2023 — provisional 63/605,197
Examiner
HSU, AMY R
Art Unit
2638
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
TDK Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
747 granted / 864 resolved
+24.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
877
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
81.8%
+41.8% vs TC avg
§102
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
§112
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 864 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. Claim 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0249424 to Ho et al. (“Ho”). Regarding claim 1, Ho teaches an optical element driving mechanism, comprising: a movable portion connected to an optical element having an optical axis (reference number 1-200, see paragraph [0064]); a fixed portion, wherein the movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion (reference number 1-100); and a driving component configured to drive the movable portion to move in a first dimension relative to the fixed portion (reference number 1-400 driving assembly). Regarding claim 2, Ho teaches the optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving component comprises a first driving portion and a second driving portion, and the first driving portion and the second driving portion are electrically independent of each other, to drive the movable portion to move in the first dimension relative to the fixed portion (the first driving assembly 1-400 includes two first driving coils 1-410, see paragraph [0068] to drive the lens portion with respect to the fixed portion). Regarding claim 3, Ho teaches the optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a control component, wherein the control component comprises a connection component, and the connection component is at least partially embedded in the fixed portion (the rectangular base which is the fixed portion includes a metal piece embedded into the base and serves to electrically connect terminals of the metal piece and the coils, see paragraph [0089]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-20 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: While the cited prior art including Ho teach a similar device with a first and second driving mechanism to drive a movable lens relative to a fixed portion, the prior art of record does not teach all of the limitations of the above listed dependent 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
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 29, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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
86%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (-1.2%)
2y 3m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 864 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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