Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 19/019,489

LENS DEVICE

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jan 14, 2025
Priority
Jan 16, 2024 — JP 2024-004536
Examiner
MOREHEAD III, JOHN H
Art Unit
2639
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Fujifilm Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
529 granted / 617 resolved
+23.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
644
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
47.3%
+7.3% vs TC avg
§102
23.3%
-16.7% vs TC avg
§112
18.6%
-21.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 617 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
CTNF 19/019,489 CTNF 82505 DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-19 are pending in the application. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 2, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Takeshita et al (US 2017/0199347 A1) . As per claim 1, Takeshita discloses a lens device (fig. 1, lens barrel 12) comprising: a first lens (fig. 1, lens barrel 12, imaging optical system 26); a first operation ring that is provided to be rotatable in a direction around an optical axis (fig. 1, lens barrel 12, zoom ring 31); a cam barrel that is connected to the first operation ring and that moves the first lens along the optical axis (figs. 2 and 6, lens barrel 12, zoom ring 31, operation ring 28, cam barrel 41 inside of operation ring 28 which is connected to zoom ring 31); and a first sensor that is provided at an end part of the cam barrel in an axial direction and that detects a rotation amount of the first operation ring (figs. 2, 6, and 8, lens barrel 12, operation ring 28, sensor 30). As per claim 2, Takeshita further discloses the lens device according to claim 1, wherein the cam barrel has a plurality of grooves (fig. 7, operation ring 28, cam barrel 41, cam groove 44 and edge of cam barrel 41), and the end part is located in a region closer to an image formation side than a groove located closest to the image formation side among the grooves (fig. 7, cam barrel 41, sensor 30 is located on an end part of cam barrel 41, where image is being formed). As per claim 8, Takeshita further discloses the lens device according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a resistive linear position sensor (fig. 7, operation ring 28, sensor 30, resistor substrate 47). As per claim 9, Takeshita further discloses the lens device according to wherein the first lens is a zoom lens, and the first operation ring is a zoom ring (fig. 2, lens barrel 12, zoom ring 31, variable magnification lens 54) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3-7 and 10-19 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 3 , none of the prior art cited alone or in combination provides the motivation to teach the following claimed limitations, with emphasis that it is each claim, taken as a whole, including the interrelationships and interconnections between various claimed elements make them allowable over the prior art of record, the lens device according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor includes a first substrate member that is provided in an arc shape along a circumferential direction of the cam barrel, and a first movable member that is connected to the cam barrel and that is movably attached to the first substrate member. Regarding claims 4-7 , claims depend from claim 3 , and are allowable for the same reasons stated above. Regarding claim 10 , none of the prior art cited alone or in combination provides the motivation to teach the following claimed limitations, with emphasis that it is each claim, taken as a whole, including the interrelationships and interconnections between various claimed elements make them allowable over the prior art of record, the lens device according to claim 1, further comprising: a stop; a second operation ring that is provided to be rotatable around the optical axis and that is connected to the stop; and a second sensor that is provided on a radially outer side of the cam barrel and that detects a rotation amount of the second operation ring. Regarding claims 11-19 , claims depend from claim 10 , and are allowable for the same reasons stated above . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN H MOREHEAD III whose telephone number is (571)270-3845. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 0930-1800 EST. 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, Twyler Haskins can be reached at (571) 272-7406. 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. /JOHN H MOREHEAD III/Examiner, Art Unit 2639 /TWYLER L HASKINS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2639 Application/Control Number: 19/019,489 Page 2 Art Unit: 2639 Application/Control Number: 19/019,489 Page 4 Art Unit: 2639 Application/Control Number: 19/019,489 Page 5 Art Unit: 2639 Application/Control Number: 19/019,489 Page 6 Art Unit: 2639
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 14, 2025
Application Filed
Apr 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 22, 2026
Interview Requested
Jul 01, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 01, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 05, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 19, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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POINT OF VIEW CAMERA HOUSING
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2y 4m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12741591
VEHICLE-MOUNTED CAMERA AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
4y 8m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12744999
ECHO-BASED FOCUS
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12736777
METHODS OF MAKING A LOW-COST MINIATURE ACCOMMODATING OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.1%)
2y 2m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 617 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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