Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 17/946,280

NAVIGATION INFORMATION DEVICE AND METHOD

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Sep 16, 2022
Priority
Mar 27, 2020 — JP 2020-056954 +1 more
Examiner
NGUYEN, MISA H
Art Unit
3666
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.
OA Round
4 (Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allowance Rate
47 granted / 70 resolved
+15.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 12m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
97
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.6%
-35.4% vs TC avg
§103
78.9%
+38.9% vs TC avg
§102
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.2%
-28.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 70 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Status of Claims This Final Office Action is in response to the applicant’s amendment/response of 26 January 2026. Claims 1, 9-10, and 16-27 are currently pending and addressed below. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) presented in the Office Action of October 29, 2025 has been withdrawn. However, new rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is presented below based on the amendments to the claims presented in the Amendment of 26 January 2026. Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 101 presented in the Office Action of October 29, 2025 has been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 presented in the Office Action of October 29, 2025 has been withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1, 9-10, and 16-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. As to claim 1, the claim recites “the display settings for each waypoint”. It appears to the Examiner that the claim only requires one waypoint on the planned route. Therefore, it is unclear to the Examiner what “each waypoint” is referring to since “each…” would appear to imply a plurality of waypoints. As to claim 18, the claim is rejected for the same reasons as mentioned in the rejection of claim 1. As to claim 19, the claim is rejected for the same reasons as mentioned in the rejection of claim 1. Dependent claims inherit the defect of the claims from which the depend. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1, 9-10, and 16-27 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MISA HUYNH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5604. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday. 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, Anne Antonucci can be reached at (313) 446-6519. 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. /MISA H NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3666 /ANNE MARIE ANTONUCCI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Dec 13, 2024
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Mar 07, 2025
Response Filed
Jun 25, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Sep 05, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Sep 17, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jan 26, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 15, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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1y 11m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 12m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 70 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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