Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 19/337,775

STATE-BASED OPERATION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 23, 2025
Priority
Sep 26, 2024 — provisional 63/699,755
Examiner
LIN, HANG
Art Unit
2626
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
67%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allowance Rate
303 granted / 463 resolved
+3.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
482
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§103
61.6%
+21.6% vs TC avg
§102
25.3%
-14.7% vs TC avg
§112
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 463 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Status of Application Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application. 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 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. 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Johnson et al. (US 20170160394 A1). Regarding claim 1, Johnson teaches a method of operating a head-mountable device, comprising: identifying a current device state of the head-mountable device; selecting, (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state, propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state) in response to identifying that the current device state is a body-worn state of a plurality of candidate body-worn states, an operating mode corresponding to the body-worn state as a current operating mode; and operating the head-mountable device according to the current operating mode. (Para 86-89, operating on different power which are the current operating mode depending on worn state) Regarding claim 2, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 1, and Johnson further teaches wherein the plurality of candidate body-worn states comprises a face-mounted state. (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state which is the face-mounted state, propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state) Regarding claim 3, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 2, and Johnson further teaches wherein the plurality of candidate body-worn states comprises a forehead-mounted state. (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state, propped up on the wearer's head state is the forehead-mounted state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state) Regarding claim 4, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 2, and Johnson further teaches wherein the plurality of candidate body-worn states comprises a torso-mounted state. (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state, propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state is the torso-mounted state) Regarding claim 5, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 1, and Johnson further teaches wherein identifying the current device state of the head-mountable device comprises determining an orientation of the head-mountable device. (Fig. 3, Fig. 6. Para 71-81. Different orientation of the HMD is determined) Regarding claim 6, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 1, and Johnson further teaches wherein identifying the current device state of the head-mountable device comprises determining a current device configuration of the head-mountable device. (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state, propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state) Regarding claim 7, Jonson already teaches the method of claim 1, and Johnson further teaches comprising: determining that the current device state of the head-mountable device has changed from the body-worn state to an additional body-worn state of the plurality of candidate body-worn states;. (Figs 5A-5C. Para 75-76. different state such as “proper” worn state, propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state is the torso-mounted state, and hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state is the torso-mounted state is the additional body-worn state of the plurality of candidate body-worn states, and propped up on the wearer's head state, hanging from a shirt collar of the wearer state are the plurality of candidate body-worn states) changing the current operating mode to a different operating mode corresponding to the additional body-worn state. (Para 86-89, operating on different power which are the current operating mode depending on worn state) Regarding claim 8, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 1, and Johnson further teaches comprising: determining that the current device state of the head-mountable device has changed from the body-worn state; and changing the current operating mode to a transition operating mode. (Para 87. Less power state when the HMD is on desk). Regarding claim 9, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 8, and Johnson further teaches wherein changing the current operating mode to the transition operating mode comprises: changing the current operating mode to the transition operating mode in response to determining that a set of transition criteria has been met. (Para 77. The criteria pertaining to classified 60-604) Regarding claim 10, Johnson already teaches the method of claim 9, and Johnson further teaches wherein the set of transition criteria is selected based on the body-worn state. (Para 79. the set of transition criteria is selected based on the body-worn state of different users) Regarding claim 11, refer to claim 1 as claim 11 is a production claim version of claim 1. Regarding claim 12, refer to claim 1 as claim 11 is an apparatus claim version of method claim 1. (Para 35 shows processor and memory) Regarding claim 13-17, refer to rejections for claims 2-6 respectively. Regarding claim 18, Johnson already teaches the system of claim 12, and Johnson further teaches wherein: the head-mountable device comprises an eye tracker; and the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions causing the one or more processors to identify the current device state of the head-mountable device using information from the eye tracker. (Para 85) Regarding claim 19, refer to rejection for claim 7. Regarding claim 20, refer to rejection for claim 8. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANG LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7596. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-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, Temesghen Ghebretinsae can be reached at 571-272-3017. 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. /HANG LIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 23, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12704901
BENDING-ASSISTED CALIBRATION FOR EXTENDED REALITY TRACKING
1y 5m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12699452
Method and Device for Carrying Out Eye Tracking
2y 0m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12699271
RETINAL PROJECTION DEVICE AND NEAR EYE WEARABLE DEVICE
1y 5m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12700366
DISPLAY APPARATUS, METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME
1y 5m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12700369
DISPLAY SUBSTRATE AND DISPLAY DEVICE
1y 3m to grant Granted Aug 04, 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
65%
Grant Probability
67%
With Interview (+1.8%)
2y 6m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 463 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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