Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/287,008

BIOMETRIC SYSTEM FOR XR HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jul 31, 2025
Priority
Dec 30, 2024 — CIP of 19/004,794
Examiner
ELAHI, TOWFIQ
Art Unit
2625
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Hongquan Shen
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 6m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
581 granted / 732 resolved
+17.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
752
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
§103
87.6%
+47.6% vs TC avg
§102
6.9%
-33.1% vs TC avg
§112
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 732 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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) 1-3, 6-7, 19-20 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lui (US 20160091722). Regarding claim 1 Lui teaches a biometric system for an extended reality head-mounted device ([0029]), comprising: an imaging optical unit (fig. 3-4, [0033] Camera 224 captures an image of eye 190), a illumination optical unit (fig.3-4, IR illumination module 222), and an imaging control unit (fig.4, control module 380), wherein the imaging optical unit is configured to image near-infrared incident light of an eye ([0033] Camera 224 captures an image of eye 190 based upon reflected IR light 276), the illumination optical unit (fig.4, IR illumination module 222) is configured to emit related near-infrared light for illuminating the eye ([0033]), and the imaging control unit (fig.3-4, control module 380) is configured to control the imaging optical unit and the illumination optical unit to generate the eye image in a joint imaging mode (fig. 3-4, fig. 11,[0074][0075] since a joint imaging mode is not defined in the claim therefore examiner interpret fig.11 step 1120 and step 1130 capturing image of the eye by these 2 steps are joint imaging mode). Regarding claim 2 Lui teaches wherein the imaging optical unit includes an image sensor ([0032] Camera 224 may include an IR-sensitive image sensor), an imaging lens ([0108]), and a near-infrared optical filter; the imaging optical unit is configured to directly or indirectly image from a predetermined imaging region of the eye ([0032] IR illumination module 222 may include one or more light-emitting diodes and, optionally, other optical components such as one or more lenses and/or optical filters). Regarding claim 3 Lui teaches wherein the imaging optical unit is configured with an angular conversion optical element to convert an angular range of incidence into corresponding an angular range of emergence within a predetermined imaging field of view; the angular range of incidence and the angular range of emergence is configured with a predetermined angular conversion relation ([0140]). Regarding claim 6 Lui teaches wherein the joint imaging mode is configured with the angular conversion optical element (fig. 17, 1731) and the imaging lens (fig. 17, 1732) in a cascaded arrangement (fig. 17). Regarding claim 7 Lui teaches wherein, the angular range of emergence (fig. 17, the imaging optics unit 1713 is disposed downstream to the illumination optics unit 1712 along the optical axis 1790. Additionally, the eye tracker module 1714 is disposed on a first side of the illumination optics unit 1712, and the visible light source 1711 on a second side of the illumination optics unit 1712 that is opposite to the first side. Moreover, the illumination optics unit 1712 includes a first beamsplitter 1721 that is arranged with an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the optical axis 1790) is configured as a field of view of the imaging lens in the joint imaging mode ([0171]). Regarding claim 19 Lui teaches an XR head-mounted device, being applied to biometrics of at least one of an eye/iris, a retina, subcutaneous tissue of eyes, an ophthalmic artery/vein, and a sclera in the biometric system for an XR head-mounted device ([0029]). Regarding claim 20 Lui teaches an head-mounted device, being multiplexed for eye tracking by the biometric system for an XR head-mounted device (fig.1, [0108]) 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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Lui (US 20160091722) in view of Fan (US 20150331305). Regarding claim 11 Lui is silent on wherein the imaging lens is configured with a metalens or a wafer-level optics imaging lens. However, Fan teaches wherein the imaging lens is configured with a metalens or a wafer-level optics imaging lens ([0043]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art to combine Lui in light of Fan teaching so that it may include wherein the imaging lens is configured with a metalens or a wafer-level optics imaging lens. The motivation is to provide a wafer-level LCOS projection assembly to achieve the precise alignment tolerances. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-5, 8-10, 12-18 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 The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. -US 20160085300 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOWFIQ ELAHI whose telephone number is (571)270-1687. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10AM-3PM. 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, William Boddie can be reached at (571)272-0666. 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. /TOWFIQ ELAHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 31, 2025
Application Filed
Jul 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12681580
SKIN STIMULATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DRIVING SKIN STIMULATION DEVICE
1y 10m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12681691
INPUT DISPLAY DEVICE
1y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12675253
SCREEN PROJECTION METHOD, VIDEOCONFERENCING DEVICE, AND SYSTEM
1y 5m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12670840
Circuit Apparatus And Display System
1y 6m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12656862
METHOD FOR DETECTING GESTURES OF AN EYE
2y 8m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+14.6%)
2y 5m (~1y 6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 732 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month