Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/202,222

WAIST STRUCTURE OF ROBOT, AND ROBOT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 25, 2023
Priority
Jan 04, 2022 — CN 202210003032.1 +1 more
Examiner
JOHNSON, VICKY A
Art Unit
3617
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
857 granted / 1074 resolved
+27.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
1112
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
25.0%
-15.0% vs TC avg
§102
57.9%
+17.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.9%
-24.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1074 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 . 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. Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xie et al (CN 114603594). Xie et al disclose a waist structure of a robot, comprising: a fixed platform (1); a load-carrying bearing (103) arranged on the fixed platform (1); a connector (304) comprising a first end (302) and a second end (305) facing away from each other (see Fig 7), the first end (302) being provided with a yaw shaft, the yaw shaft being connected to the load-carrying bearing (103), and the second end (305) being provided with a pitch shaft; a movable platform (10) rotatably connected to the pitch shaft; one or more motors (2) arranged on the fixed platform (1); and one or more drive assemblies (4, 5, 6), each drive assembly being connected to the movable platform (10) and a corresponding motor (2); and a pull wire module (7, 8, 9), configured to compensate the gravity of the movable platform (10) in response to a movement of the movable platform (10) relative to the fixed platform (1); wherein the motors (2) are configured to actuate the drive assemblies (4, 5, 6) to drive the movable platform (10) to, independently, rotate relative to the connector (304) in an axial direction of the pitch shaft and rotate relative to the fixed platform (1) in an axial direction of the yaw shaft. Re claim 2, the one or more motors are two motors (2, 2) that respectively and independently actuate two corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to move; the two motors (2, 2) are configured to actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to drive the movable platform (10) to rotate relative to the connector (304) in the axial direction of the pitch shaft by synchronously rotating in a same direction; and the two motors (2, 2) are configured to actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (6, 6) to drive the movable platform (10) and the connector (304) to rotate relative to the fixed platform (1) in the axial direction of the yaw shaft by having different rotation directions (see Fig 1). Re claim 3, the two motors (2, 2) are configured to actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to drive the movable platform (10) to rotate relative to the connector (304) in the axial direction of the pitch shaft and actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to drive the movable platform (10) and the connector (304) to rotate relative to the fixed platform (1) in the axial direction of the yaw shaft by having different rotation speeds (see Fig 1). Re claim 4, the two motors (2, 2) are configured to actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to drive the movable platform (10) to rotate relative to the connector (304) in the axial direction of the pitch shaft and actuate the corresponding drive assemblies (4, 5) to drive the movable platform (10) and the connector (304) to rotate relative to the fixed platform (1) in the axial direction of the yaw shaft by having a same rotation direction and different rotation speeds (see Fig 1). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-8 and 10-14 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. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed December9, 2025 have been fully considered. Claims 1-4 stand rejected as being anticipated by Xie et al. Applicant’s remarks have been accorded due consideration, however, they are not fully persuasive. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICKY A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7106. 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, John R Olszewski can be reached at 571-272-2706. 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. /VICKY A JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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Prosecution Timeline

May 25, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 11, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Dec 09, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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DRIVE UNIT FOR MEANS OF LOCOMOTION SIMULTANEOUSLY DRIVABLE BY HUMAN MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND ELECTRIC MOTORS
3y 0m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12637167
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Patent 12637037
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Patent 12632078
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Patent 12623640
Actuation Device for a Motor Vehicle, Motor Vehicle
2y 5m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+12.2%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1074 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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