Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/059,501

TESTING INSTRUMENT AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL ASSEMBLY THEREOF

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 29, 2022
Priority
Aug 19, 2022 — TW 111131407
Examiner
GIBSON, RANDY W
Art Unit
2855
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Wistron Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
1019 granted / 1347 resolved
+7.6% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
1365
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
72.9%
+32.9% vs TC avg
§102
13.1%
-26.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1347 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 . 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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements filed 21 February 2024 and 29 May 2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a translation of the office actions that are not in the English language 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. Claims 1, 2, 11, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sano et al (US # 2015/0367348). With respect to claims 1 & 11, the Sano reference discloses a temperature control assembly (Fig. 1 & 2), comprising: a turntable (105), a temperature control assembly (a.k.a. “control panel” 120)1, a plurality of heating units (104), arranged in a ring shape (para. # 0020) and each comprising: a bearing hole; (101) and a heating body (102), surrounding the bearing hole (101); and a plurality of temperature sensors (103), respectively arranged on the plurality of heating units (Fig. 5), and an optical sensor (108) arranged on the other side of the turntable (para. # 0020), and a rotatory motor (109) and shaft (110). With respect to claim 2, the computer 120 obviously has an internal motherboard (a.k.a.: a “control panel”); and, as shown in Figure 1, there is an electrical lead (unlabeled) shown between the PC and the turntable apparatus, so claim language in claim 11 that the controller 120 is “fixed” to the turntable 105 is sufficiently broad enough to cover an electrical cable extending between these two elements. Furthermore, the heaters and the temperature sensors disclosed must inherently have electrical leads of some sort to supply them with power, or else they would not be operative. See paragraph # 0035-0036. With respect to claim 20, the Sano reference discloses a fan (para. # 0022 & 0034). Conclusion Claims 3-10 and 12-19 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. With respect to claim 3, the Sano reference does not disclose nor suggest, among other things, the specific details of: “a first circuit, arranged on a surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate and surrounding the bearing hole; and a second circuit, arranged on the surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate, electrically isolated from the first circuit, and electrically connected to the corresponding temperature sensor”. Claims 4-8 are dependent, directly or indirectly, on allowable claim 3. With respect to claim 9, the Sano reference does not disclose nor suggest, among other things, the specific details of: “a thin-film electric heating piece, sandwiched between the thermally insulative fastener and the heating block, wherein the temperature sensor is arranged on the thin-film electric heating piece of the corresponding heating unit, and the bearing hole extends through the thermally insulative fastener, the thin-film electric heating piece, and the heating block of the corresponding heating unit.” With respect to claim 10, the turntable 105 of Sano is described as being thermally conductive, and not thermally insulative (para. # 0043), as using a thermally insulative material would appear to interfere with the intended operation of the disclosed device, so the Sano reference seems to be teaching away from attaching a thermally insulative base to the turntable. With respect to claim 12, the Sano reference does not disclose nor suggest, among other things, the specific details of: “a first circuit, arranged on a surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate and surrounding the bearing hole; and a second circuit, arranged on the surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate, electrically isolated from the first circuit, and electrically connected to the corresponding temperature sensor”. Claims 13-17 are dependent, directly or indirectly, on allowable claim 12. With respect to claim 18, the Sano reference does not disclose nor suggest, among other things, the specific details of: “a first circuit, arranged on a surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate and surrounding the bearing hole; and a second circuit, arranged on the surface of the metal-based heat dissipation plate, electrically isolated from the first circuit, and electrically connected to the corresponding temperature sensor”. Wither respect to claim 19, the turntable 105 of Sano is described as being thermally conductive, and not thermally insulative (para. # 0043), as using a thermally insulative material would appear to interfere with the intended operation of the disclosed device, so the Sano reference seems to be teaching away from attaching a thermally insulative base to the turntable. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY W GIBSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2103. The examiner can normally be reached Tue-Friday 10AM-6PM. 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, Peter Macchiarolo can be reached at 571-272-2375. 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. RANDY W. GIBSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 2856 /RANDY W GIBSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 1 The computer 120 obviously has an internal motherboard (a.k.a.: a “control panel”); and, as shown in Figure 1, there is an electrical lead (unlabeled) shown between the PC and the turntable apparatus, so claim language in claim 11 that the controller 120 is “fixed” to the turntable 105 is sufficiently broad enough to cover an electrical cable extending between these two elements. Furthermore, the heaters and the temperature sensors must inherently have electrical leads of some sort to supply them with power, or else they would not be operative (para. # 0035-0036).
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 29, 2022
Application Filed
Apr 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12636460
TEMPERATURE CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR HEATED BREATHING-CIRCUIT, AND BREATHING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS THEREOF
2y 8m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12631492
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE SENSOR AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
3y 2m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12625017
DUAL HEAT PATH TEMPERATURE SENSOR
2y 10m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12623707
WEIGHT MEASUREMENT ADJUSTMENT AND INHIBITION BASED ON SENSOR MEASUREMENTS
2y 6m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12618720
TEMPERATURE SENSOR AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TEMPERATURE SENSOR
3y 0m to grant Granted May 05, 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
76%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+22.2%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1347 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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