Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 19/337,938

LIVING BODY INFORMATION MEASURING APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 24, 2025
Priority
Sep 27, 2024 — JP 2024-168289
Examiner
IP, JASON M
Art Unit
3797
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Seiko Epson Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
55%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 55% of resolved cases
55%
Career Allowance Rate
384 granted / 699 resolved
-15.1% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+25.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 10m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
727
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
§103
55.4%
+15.4% vs TC avg
§102
12.7%
-27.3% vs TC avg
§112
26.7%
-13.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 699 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of 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 . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5 and 6 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. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-4 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by anticipated by Fei (US 2014/0361147). Regarding claim 1, Fei discloses a living body information measuring apparatus (Abstract: physiological monitoring devices worn by a user), comprising: an enclosure having an enclosure surface that comes into contact with an object under inspection in a measurement state in which living body information on the object under inspection is measured (Figs. 2 and 3 show an enclosure); a light measurement portion disposed in the enclosure and configured to radiate measurement light to the object under inspection and receive reflected light (Figs 2 and 3 show light measurement sections) ; and a light transmissive member configured to transmit the measurement light and the reflected light, having a contact surface that comes into contact with the object under inspection in the measurement state ([0041]: “optical detector 240 may comprise a photodiode 242 that may be contained iby a lens 244; Fig. 2: “photodiode 242”), and including at least one protrusion and a recess at least a part of which is surrounded by the at least one protrusion, the at least one protrusion and the recess being located at the contact surface (Fig. 3 shows “raised portion 260” as a protrusion and “opening 320” and “opening 350” as recesses). Regarding claim 2, Fei discloses that the light measurement portion includes a light radiator configured to radiate the measurement light (Fig. 2: “Light sources 230”), and a light receiver configured to receive the reflected light (Fig. 2: “photodiode 242”), the at least one protrusion comprises a plurality of protrusions (Fig. 3 shows two protrusions “250” and “260”), and at least the light radiator out of the light radiator and the light receiver is disposed at a position where the light radiator overlaps with any one of the plurality of protrusions when viewed in a facing direction in which the contact surface and the object under inspection face each other (Fig. 3 shows this overlap between light elements and the two protrusions “250” and “260”). Regarding claim 3, Fei discloses that the at least one protrusion comprises a plurality of protrusions, and both the light radiator and the light receiver are disposed at positions where the light radiator and the light receiver each overlap with any one of the plurality of protrusions when viewed in the facing direction (Fig. 3 shows the light elements overlap the two protrusions “250” and “260”). Regarding claim 4, Fei discloses that the at least one protrusion comprises a plurality of protrusions, at least two protrusions out of the plurality of protrusions are arranged side by side in a first direction (Fig. 3: the two protrusions “250” and “260” are side by side in a direction), and the enclosure includes a direction indicator configured to indicate a mounting direction of the living body information measuring apparatus in such a way that the first direction is parallel to a widthwise direction of the object under inspection (Fig. 3: the enclosure is curved in a particular direction that is parallel to what can be considered to be the width of a person’s arm). Regarding claim 7, Fei discloses that the at least one protrusion comprises an annular protrusion in which the recess is provided (Fig. 3 shows an annular shape for the protrusion). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason Ip whose telephone number is (571) 270-5387. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-5p PST. 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, Christopher Koharski can be reached on (571) 272-7230. 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. /JASON M IP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3793
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 24, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 10, 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
55%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+25.1%)
3y 10m (~2y 11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 699 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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