Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/798,315

Composite Brake Disc Connecting Assembly and Composite Brake Disc

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 09, 2022
Examiner
PULLIAM, CHRISTYANN R
Art Unit
2178
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Yantai Winhere Auto-Part Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
41%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
5y 4m
To Grant
65%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 41% of resolved cases
41%
Career Allow Rate
96 granted / 232 resolved
-13.6% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+23.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
5y 4m
Avg Prosecution
142 currently pending
Career history
374
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
43.5%
+3.5% vs TC avg
§102
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
§112
23.3%
-16.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 232 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 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. Claim(s) 1-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cavagna et l. (US – 004/0182660 A1). As per claim 1, Cavagna discloses Composite Disk for a Disk Brake comprising: a sleeve (15, Fig: 1-3) and a spring member (20, Fig: 1-3); wherein the sleeve comprises an upper pressing plate (15-2, Fig: 1-3), a lower pressing plate (opposite facing 15-2, Fig: 15-2) and a connecting column (15-1, Fig: 1=3) connecting the upper pressing plate and the lower pressing plate (Fig: 1-3); the connecting column is provided with a connecting hole (15-3, Fig: 1-3), and a pair of U-shaped clamping slots (Attached figure and fig: 1) are formed between the upper pressing plate, the lower pressing plate and the connecting column (Attached figure and fig: 1); and the spring member (20) comprises a pair of elastic pieces (20-2, Fig: 1) cooperating with the pair of U-shaped clamping slots (20-1, Fig: 1) and a connecting bridge (Attached figure and fig: 1) connecting the pair of elastic pieces (Attached figure and fig: 1). As per claim 2, Cavagna discloses wherein each of the two U-shaped clamping slots comprises a bottom surface (15-1, Fig: 1-3) for transferring a torque and two side surfaces for transferring an axial force (inside surface of 15-2, Fig: 1). As per claim 3, Cavagna discloses wherein the connecting assembly further comprises a fastener (11, 14, Fig: 1-3) inserted in the connecting hole (15-3, Fig: 1-3). As per claim 4, Cavagna discloses wherein the fastener is a fastening bolt, a riveting or a bolt and nut pair (bolt 11 and nut 14, Fig: 1-3). As per claim 5, Cavagna discloses wherein each of the pair of elastic pieces comprises an upper elastic piece portion and a lower elastic piece portion (two opposite facing 20-2, Fig: 1-3), wherein the upper elastic piece portion and/or the lower elastic piece portion have a curved structure (Fig: 1-3). As per claim 6, Cavagna discloses wherein the connecting bridge (Attached figure and fig: 1) has a sheet, mesh, strip, columnar, cuboid or curved structure (The insert 20 is a shaped element made of wear-resistant sheet-metal such as, for example, spring steel, [0037], Fig: 1-3). As per claim 7, Cavagna discloses wherein the sleeve (15) and the spring member (20) are made of steel, iron, aluminum and aluminum alloy, ceramic or carbon fiber, (Each drive element 15 is constituted by a single block, preferably made of steel, [0034] and the insert 20 is a shaped element made of wear-resistant sheet-metal such as, for example, spring steel, [0037], Fig: 1-3). As per claim 8, Cavagna discloses a brake disc hat (3, Fig: 1-3) and a friction ring (2, Fig: 1-3) mounted on the brake disc hat (Fig: 1-3), wherein the composite brake disc (Title) further comprises a plurality of composite brake disc connecting assemblies (Fig: 1-3) as claimed in any one of claims 1, and the friction ring (20 is connected to the brake disc hat by the plurality of composite brake disc connecting assemblies (the braking band 2 and the bell 3 of a composite disk according to the invention are coupled to one another by connecting means or connecting devices each comprising substantially a screw 11, a nut 14, a drive element 15, a flat spring 16, and an insert 20, [0033], Fig: 1-3). As per claim 9, Cavagna discloses wherein the brake disc hat (3) comprises a hat brim (5, Fig: 1), a plurality of disc hat notches (6, Fig: 1) for mounting the spring members are uniformly distributed in a circumferential direction of an outer edge of the hat brim (Fig: 1-3), disc hat steps are provided between adjacent disc hat notches of the plurality of disc hat notches (Attached figure and fig: 1), the elastic pieces (20-2) of the composite brake disc connecting assemblies are snap-fitted onto the disc hat steps (Fig: 1-3), the lower pressing plates of the composite brake disc connecting assemblies are provided between the brake disc hat and the friction ring (Fig: 1-3), an inner ring (Attached figure and fig: 1) is provided inside the friction ring, mounting holes (9, Fig: 1) cooperating with the disc hat notches are uniformly distributed on the inner ring (Fig: 1), the connecting columns of the composite brake disc connecting assemblies are inserted into the mounting holes, and the friction ring and the brake disc hat are connected by fasteners inserted into the connecting holes (Attached figure and fig: 1-3). As per claim 10, Cavagna discloses wherein an upper surface and a lower surface of each disc hat step (Attached figure and fig: 1-3) are respectively provided with an upper groove and a lower groove for positioning the upper elastic piece portion and the lower elastic piece portion (Attached figure and fig: 1-3). As per claim 11, Cavagna discloses wherein a plurality of friction ring notches (Attached figure and fig: 1-3 ) are uniformly distributed in a circumferential direction of the inner ring, friction ring protrusions (Attached figure and fig: 1-3) are provided between adjacent friction ring notches of the plurality of friction ring notches, and the mounting holes (9) are provided on the friction ring protrusions (Attached figure and fig: 1-3). PNG media_image1.png 742 604 media_image1.png Greyscale Claims 12 and 14 recite all limitations recited in claim 3 and are therefore reject under the same rationale. Claim 13 recite all limitations recited in claim 3 and is therefore rejects under the same rationale. Claim 15 recite all limitations recited in claim 4 and is therefore rejects under the same rationale. Claim 16 recite all limitations recited in claim 5 and is therefore rejects under the same rationale. Claim 17 recite all limitations recited in claim 6 and is therefore rejects under the same rationale. Claim 18 recite all limitations recited in claim 7 and is therefore rejects under the same rationale. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A: Bok (US – 4,465,165), B: HUMBLE et al. (US – 2019/0078633 A1), C: MORIO et al. (US – 2013/0153344 A1), and D: Goller et al. (US – 2007/0144840 A1). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN M AUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-5792. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. 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, Robert Siconolfi can be reached on 571-272-7124. 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. /SAN M AUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 3616 /Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 09, 2022
Application Filed
Oct 24, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Feb 06, 2025
Response Filed

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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
41%
Grant Probability
65%
With Interview (+23.9%)
5y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 232 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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