Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/222,965

COOLANT DROP PREVENTION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 17, 2023
Examiner
JENNISON, BRIAN W
Art Unit
3761
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Kyokutoh Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 8m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allow Rate
1023 granted / 1426 resolved
+1.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 8m
Avg Prosecution
56 currently pending
Career history
1482
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
47.1%
+7.1% vs TC avg
§102
24.9%
-15.1% vs TC avg
§112
20.4%
-19.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1426 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Lim (CN 110114183) with references made to US equivalent (US 2021/0162529) Lim discloses, Regarding claim 1, A coolant drop prevention system for preventing, when electrodes are removed from a tip of a welding gun in a spot welder (a welding gun having a coolant blocking system for preventing coolant from leaking when a tip is being replaced. See Abstract) , coolant circulated into the electrodes through a coolant supply passage and a coolant discharge passage from dropping from the tip of the welding gun, (coolant is circulated through coolant supply passage 27 and coolant discharge passage 33, See Paragraph [0035], and Fig 1) the coolant drop prevention system comprising: a first stop valve at an intermediate position along the coolant supply passage to stop supply of the coolant into the electrodes; (a first valve 15 is positioned along the coolant supply passage controlled by blocking the coolant from flowing into the electrodes, See Paragraph [0050] and Fig 2) a second stop valve at an intermediate position along the coolant discharge passage to stop discharge of the coolant from the electrodes; (A second valve 19 is shown as being along the coolant discharge passage to stop discharge of the coolant. See Paragraph [0054] and Figs 3 and 5C) a first pipe having a first end connected to a portion of the coolant supply passage closer to the welding gun than the first stop valve; (main supply pipeline 25 is connected to the coolant supply closer to the welding gun, See Figs 1-4) a second pipe having a first end connected to a portion of the coolant discharge passage closer to the welding gun than the second stop valve; (Main discharge is connected closer than the second valve. See Figs 1-4) a drain pipe having a first end connected to a portion of the coolant discharge passage farther from the welding gun than the second stop valve; (manifold 55 or suction pipeline functions as a drain and would be located further from the welding gun based on the circuit. See Fig 4. Element 55 is located on a separate circuit after the suction device 37. Fig 5A also shows a coolant out passage which could be considered a drain) and a pump unit connected to a second end of each of the first pipe, the second pipe, and the drain pipe to suck in the coolant from the first pipe and the second pipe and discharge the sucked coolant into the drain pipe. (Suction means 35 functions as a pump for sucking the coolant from the first pipe and the second pipe into the discharge pipe 31, See Paragraph [0041]) Allowable Subject Matter Claim 2 is 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT BRIAN W JENNISON whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5930 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-Th 9-5 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5569 . 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. /BRIAN W JENNISON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 3/17/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 17, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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
72%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+22.4%)
3y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1426 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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