Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/958,143

Wire and Cable Pulling Grip

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 30, 2022
Examiner
CHIN, PAUL T
Art Unit
3654
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Klein Tools Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allow Rate
825 granted / 1155 resolved
+19.4% vs TC avg
Strong +15% interview lift
Without
With
+15.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1188
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
38.5%
-1.5% vs TC avg
§102
35.0%
-5.0% vs TC avg
§112
22.1%
-17.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1155 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
CTNF 17/958,143 CTNF 76587 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Drawings 06-21 AIA New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because most of the applicant’s black dark colored provided Figs. 1-49 fail to clearly show the important subject matter of the application . For instance, the provided Figs. 37-39 show darked blacked colored drawings which fail to disclose the important subject matter of the application . Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification 06-16 AIA Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details. The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: it appears that claim 1, line 5, the word – said – or – the -- should be inserted before “ cable ” and also in line 8, the word – said – or – the -- should be inserted before “ cable. ” Note that claim 1 had already recites “a cable” in line 4. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Chen (US 2012/0005863) . RE claims 1 and 6, Chen (US 2012/0005863) discloses a cable pulling grip (see Figs. 1-13) , comprising: a main body (10, 11, 13) (See Figs. 2-11) (See Exhibit A ); a pair of grip jaws (40 and 11, 50) carried on the body and movable relative to each other a clamped position (Fig. 8) wherein a cable (L) located between the jaws will be clamped by the jaws and an open position (see Fig. 7) wherein the cable located between the jaws is not clamped by the jaws, a linkage (20) carried on the body and connected to the jaws to force the jaws into clamped engagement with the cable in response to a pulling force applied to the linkage, the linkage comprising: a pulling arm (30) having a first end connected to a remainder of the linkage, a second end configured to receive the pulling force, and a connection portion (see Figs. 7-13) extending from the first end to the second end to transfer the pulling force from the second end to the first end, the connection portion being substantially tapered from the second end to the first end (see Figs. 7-13). Exhibit A PNG media_image1.png 200 400 media_image1.png Greyscale RE claim 6, Figs. 7-13 of Chen’s cable pulling grip (US 2012/0005863) also teach the connection portion having a cross section (parallel to the paper) that continuously increases from a small cross section adjacent the first end to a large cross section adjacent the second end. RE claims 2 and 7, Figs. 7-13 of Chen’s cable pulling grip (US 2012/0005863) show that the connection portion is substantially curved. RE claims 3 and 8, Figs. 2 and 7-13 of Chen’s cable pulling grip (US 2012/0005863) disclose the linkage further comprises a link having a pivot connection to one of the jaws (70) (see Fig. 8), a pivot connection (23) to the first end, and a pivot connection to the main body, or a lever (20) having a pivot connection (70) to one of the jaws, a pivot connection (23) to the first end, and a pivot connection to the main body (see Figs. 2 and 7-13). RE claims 4 and 9, Figs. 2 and 7-13 of Chen’s cable pulling grip (US 2012/0005863) provide the main body define a slide loop (131) (See Fig. 2) and the connection portion extends through the slide loop. RE claims 5 and 10, Figs. 2 and 7-13 of Chen’s cable pulling grip (US 2012/0005863) employ the second end has an opening (32) (see Fig. 2) to receive a connector that transmits a pulling force to the pulling arm . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The Examiner’s provide references (see PTO-892) disclose various wire and cable pulling gripping devices where each reference show a main body, a pair of gripping jaws and a pulling arm . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL T CHIN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6922. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-4:30 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 Hodge, can be reached on (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /PAUL T CHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654 Application/Control Number: 17/958,143 Page 2 Art Unit: 3654 Application/Control Number: 17/958,143 Page 3 Art Unit: 3654 Application/Control Number: 17/958,143 Page 4 Art Unit: 3654 Application/Control Number: 17/958,143 Page 5 Art Unit: 3654 Application/Control Number: 17/958,143 Page 6 Art Unit: 3654
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 30, 2022
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 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
71%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+15.2%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1155 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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