Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/255,501

INERTIAL SENSOR AND FORMATION METHOD THEREFOR

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jun 01, 2023
Priority
Dec 07, 2020 — CN 202011413591.7 +1 more
Examiner
FADUL, PHILIPMARCUS T
Art Unit
2852
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Semiconductor Manufacturing Electronics (Shaoxing) Corporation
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
410 granted / 504 resolved
+13.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
530
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
78.7%
+38.7% vs TC avg
§102
14.0%
-26.0% vs TC avg
§112
5.4%
-34.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 504 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 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 11-13, and 19 are 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. Claims 11-13 and 19 recite the limitations "the thin film layer" and “the trench” in claim 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1, 3-10, 15 and 18 are allowed. Regarding claim 1 and dependents thereof, the prior art does not teach, “a thin film layer is further formed at a bottom of the trench; mutually bonding the second conducting material layer and the first conducting material layer; and etching at least the comb tooth region of the second conducting material layer, and stopping etching at the thin film layer using the thin film layer as an etching stop layer to form a movable comb tooth structure, wherein bottoms of comb teeth in the movable comb tooth structure are all fixed to the thin film layer; and removing the thin film layer, wherein a thickness of the thin film layer is only a half of a depth of the trench, wherein the thin film layer is only located in the trench, and a top surface of the thin film layer is not higher than that of the second conducting material layer.” US 9550668 (herein Xia) remains relevant as presented in Office Action filed 7/31/2025. However, Xia does not teach the claimed depth of trench. US 20200407217 (herein Blackmer) teaches it is known in the art to provide a ratio of a trench and dielectric layer 106/406 and to be 1:2 ([0039], see Fig. 5), it would not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these ratios in Xia. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP FADUL whose telephone number is (571)272-5411. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8pm-6pm. 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, Walter Lindsay can be reached at (571) 272-1674. 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. /WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852 /PHILIP T FADUL/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 01, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 31, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Oct 28, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 23, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Apr 14, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 22, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
May 26, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12681040
Physical Quantity Sensor And Inertial Measurement Unit
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12668461
SYSTEM FOR MEASURING LOAD ON LOWER BOOM BLOCK YOKE OF PIPELAYERS
3y 2m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12669475
QCM Apparatus
2y 4m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12649651
MICRO ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEM SENSOR
3y 9m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12650441
APPLYING A POSITIVE FEEDBACK VOLTAGE TO AN ELECTROMECHANICAL SENSOR UTILIZING A VOLTAGE-TO-VOLTAGE CONVERTER TO FACILITATE A REDUCTION OF CHARGE FLOW IN SUCH SENSOR REPRESENTING SPRING SOFTENING
2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
81%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+11.7%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 504 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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