Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/203,946

DAMPING INSERT LOCATOR FOR A ROTOR CORE TOOL AND A BRAKE ROTOR EMPLOYING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 31, 2023
Examiner
MORRIS, DAVID R.
Art Unit
3616
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Ford Global Technologies LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 2m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
417 granted / 508 resolved
+30.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
545
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
31.8%
-8.2% vs TC avg
§102
35.0%
-5.0% vs TC avg
§112
29.9%
-10.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 508 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) has been considered. 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 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. Claims 1, 3-4, and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karpenko et al. (U.S. 2016/0341269). Regarding claim 1, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) A brake component for a motor vehicle, the brake component comprising: a body (101) having an axis (central axis along 5-5, see fig. 4); at least one cable (110) comprising a plurality of wires (see fig. 7), each of the plurality of wires having a surface in sliding contact with surfaces of adjacent wires of the plurality of wires (see pgh. 0085 at least), wherein the at least one cable is embedded within the body concentric with the body about the axis (see figs. 3 and 6 at least); and a plurality of damping insert locators (109) extending radially away from the axis (as shown) such that a first instance of the damping insert locators constrains movement of the at least one cable in a first direction, and a second instance of the damping insert locators constrains movement of the at least one cable in a second direction, opposite the first direction (each locator 109 constrains movement of the cable in both axial directions and both radial directions, which includes constraining movement in a first direction and a second direction opposite thereof, at least). Regarding claim 3, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) the body of the rotor is elongated in a first plane (see fig. 6, elongated in a plate left to right on the page) between a first friction surface on one side of the body and a second friction surface on an opposite side of the body (top and bottom surfaces respectively), and wherein the first and second instances of the damping insert locators are arranged in a second plane substantially perpendicular to the first plane (see fig. 3, pairs of inserts 109 directly across one another arranged in a plane coming out of the page, which is perpendicular to the plane along the page) Regarding claim 4, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) the first and second instances of the damping insert locators are identical in structure, but reversed in orientation relative to the at least one cable by rotation of the second instance of the damping insert 180 degrees in the second plane relative to the first instance of the damping insert locator (see fig. 3, tail sticks out to one side in one instance, but the second instance the tail sticks out pointing the other way, thus the insert is “rotated 180 degrees”). Regarding claim 6, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) the at least one cable comprises a first friction damping ring having a first diameter, and a second friction damping ring having a second diameter larger than the first diameter, the first and second damping rings being concentric about the axis. (see fig. 19) Regarding claim 7, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) the first instance of the damping insert locators is disposed proximate to a bottom side of both the first and second damping rings, and the second instance of the damping insert locators is disposed proximate to a top side of both the first and second damping rings (both instances are “disposed proximate” to both the top and bottom side of both rings, as shown). Regarding claim 8, Karpenko discloses (figs. 1-6, 8, 19) a series of additional damping insert locators provided in sequence to alternate between being proximate to the top side and the bottom side of both the first and second damping rings (as shown in fig. 3, 8 total locators are shown, each of which are proximate to both the top and bottom side). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 5 and 9 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, and if rewritten to overcome any 112(b) rejections, as appropriate. Reasons for allowance, if applicable, will be the subject of a separate communication to the Applicant or patent owner, pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.104 and MPEP § 1302.14. Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. Karpenko ‘433 is a related document to the applied reference. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID MORRIS whose telephone number is (571)270-3595. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 8:30 AM - 5:00 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, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at (571) 272-7124. 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. /DAVID MORRIS/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 3616 /DAVID R MORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 31, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12597546
SOLENOID, SOLENOID VALVE, AND SHOCK ABSORBER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12595021
BRAKE DEVICE FOR HUMAN-POWERED VEHICLE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12594919
Trailer Brake Control System
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12578004
SHOCK ABSORBER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12571440
BRAKE APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+13.7%)
2y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 508 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month