Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/160,031

SYSTEM FOR DETECTING OPENING OF A DOOR IN A PRESSURIZED HOSPITAL ROOM BY ANALYZING DISTURBANCE IN THE AIR PRESSURE OF THE ROOM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 26, 2023
Priority
May 03, 2022 — provisional 63/337,809
Examiner
RIVERA VARGAS, MANUEL A
Art Unit
2857
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Aerobiotix LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
516 granted / 637 resolved
+13.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
661
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
22.0%
-18.0% vs TC avg
§103
30.1%
-9.9% vs TC avg
§102
30.9%
-9.1% vs TC avg
§112
13.3%
-26.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 637 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election with traverse of claims 24-33 in the reply filed on 12/02/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-23 and 34-53 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 24-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) & (a)(2) as being anticipated by Chatwin et al. (US 2022/0049870 A1, hereinafter Chat). Regarding claim 24, Chat discloses a door opening tracking system for positive pressure rooms comprising: a continuous barometric pressure sensor (see para. 0028 and 0032); an electronic data processing system comprising a noise reduction means (i.e. filter means) (see para. 0033 and 0034); calculation of a temporally based data packet comprising a moving pressure data baseline and a discrete pressure event or spike, a spike threshold determination (see para. 0011, 0032 and fig. 2A-2B, the system determines a time series data which contains barometric pressure points as graphed in fig. 2A), and a data storage and retrieval means (see para. 0034, 0041 and fig. 8, the system connects to a CPU and network interfaces in order to retrieve sensor information. The sensor information is compared to a threshold and stored as graphed in figures 4, 5 and 7). Regarding claim 25, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 24 wherein the barometric pressure sensor comprises a sensor that detects atmospheres pressure via piezo-resistive, capacitance, deposition, wire, mechanical or equivalent means to generate an electrical signal on a continuous basis (see abstract). Regarding claim 26, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 25 wherein transmitting and/or recording pressure data occurs every 10 seconds or less (see figure 7). Regarding claim 27, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said electronic data processing system comprises data input from said pressure sensor, processing of said data, output of said data to a data storage and retrieval system (see para. 0034, 0041 and fig. 8, systems connects to CPU and network interfaces in order to retrieve sensor information, The sensor information is compared to a threshold and stored as graphed in figures 4, 5 and 7). Regarding claim 28, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said data processing comprising curve flattening and/or noise reduction to remove variations from normal environmental and atmospheric changes in barometric pressure (i.e. filter means) (see para. 0033 and 0034); said processing comprising a denoising means such as filtration, averaging, wave transformation, denoising algorithm or similar process (i.e. filter means) (see para. 0033 and 0034). Regarding claim 29, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said data processing further comprising a moving temporal baseline or moving frame means to isolate discrete, shot term pressure deviation events which occur from door opening from a positive pressure environment to a lower pressure environment; said temporal frame and said deviation comprising a data packet (see para. 0020 and fig. 5). Regarding claim 30, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said data processing comprises an amplification of deviation events and/or packets (see fig. 7, the packets as graphed are amplified for a user). Regarding claim 31, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said data processing system, wherein processed deviation events are transformed into discrete data points representing said door openings (see para. 0036 and fig. 5). Regarding claim 32, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein deviations within said packets are compared to a predetermined threshold level (see para. 0034). Regarding claim 33, Chat discloses the door opening tracking system of claim 26 wherein said events which exceed a predetermined threshold level are recorded in a data storage and retrieval system see para. 0034, 0041 and fig. 8, the system connects to a CPU and network interfaces in order to retrieve sensor information. The sensor information is compared to a threshold and stored as graphed in figures 4, 5 and 7). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL A RIVERA VARGAS whose telephone number is (571)270-7870. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00. 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, Shelby Turner can be reached at 571-272-6334. 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. /MANUEL A RIVERA VARGAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 26, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 12, 2025
Non-Final Rejection (signed) — §102
Jan 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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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
81%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+11.8%)
3y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 637 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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