Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/114,940

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRINTING CIRCUITS USING PRINT PARAMETERS ADJUSTED FOR PRINTING CONDITIONS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Feb 27, 2023
Examiner
KIM, PAUL D
Art Unit
3729
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
BOTFACTORY, INC.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 0m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allow Rate
1346 granted / 1537 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
1589
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
35.2%
-4.8% vs TC avg
§102
29.4%
-10.6% vs TC avg
§112
30.9%
-9.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1537 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 . Claim Objections Claims 1-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: Re. claim 1: The phrase “a conductive material print head containing a conductive material as a conductive material to be printed” as recited in lines 3-4 appear to be --a conductive material print head containing a conductive material to be printed--. The phrase “a nonconductive material print head containing a nonconductive material as a nonconductive material to be printed” as recited in lines 5-6 appear to be --a nonconductive material print head containing a nonconductive material to be printed--. The phrase “said table relative to one another;” as recited in lines 15-16 appear to be --said table relative to one another; and--. The phrase “a controller configured to accept circuit board parameter data defining a printed circuit board” as recited in line 17 appear to be --a controller configured to accept a circuit board parameter data defining the printed circuit board--. The phrase “accept operator input to provide revised circuit board parameter data” as recited in line 30 appear to be --accept operator input to provide a revised circuit board parameter data--. Re. claim 2: The phrase “including material identifying data of said conductive material to be printed” as recited in line 5 appear to be --including a material identifying data of said conductive material to be printed--. Re. claim 4: The phrase “The kit of claim 3 wherein said controller is” as recited in line 1 appear to be --The kit of claim 3 wherein: said controller is--. Appropriate correction is required. 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 1-8 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. Re. claim 1: The phrase “the substrate” as recited in line 8 lacks antecedent basis. Re. claim 2: The phrase “said parameter data base” as recited in line 2 lacks antecedent basis. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-8 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. The Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tseng et al. (PGPub 2013/0008706 A1), Wilkins (US PAT. 9,456,507), and Hamada (US PAT. 5,203,061) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a system for printing a circuit to produce a printed circuit board. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 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, Aneeta Yodichkas can be reached at 571-272-9773. 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. /PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 27, 2023
Application Filed
Aug 20, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (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
88%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+6.6%)
3y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1537 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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