Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/287,075

ROBOT TEACHING SYSTEM, PROGRAM, AND PROGRAM EDITING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 16, 2023
Priority
Apr 30, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2021017276
Examiner
NGUYEN, BAO LONG T
Art Unit
3656
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Fanuc Corporation
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
453 granted / 547 resolved
+30.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
566
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
77.5%
+37.5% vs TC avg
§102
7.4%
-32.6% vs TC avg
§112
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 547 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION This is a non-final office action on the merits in response to communications on 1/9/2025. Claims 7-12, 25 are cancelled. Claims 1-6, 13-24 are pending and addressed below. 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 13-24 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. Claim 13 recites the limitation "the controller". It is not clear if this is referring to the previously introduced processor. In addition, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 14-19 depended on this claim and suffered from the same issues. Claim 20 recites the limitation "the controller". It is not clear if this is referring to the previously introduced processor. In addition, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 21-24 depended on this claim and suffered from the same issues. All depending claims of these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, by virtue of their dependency. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-6 allowed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO LONG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7768. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4:30. 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, Khoi Tran can be reached at (571) 272-6919. 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. BAO LONG T. NGUYEN Examiner Art Unit 3664 /BAO LONG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3656
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 16, 2023
Application Filed
May 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 16, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 11, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 05, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 09, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 12, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12636101
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED DETERMINATION OF ROBOT BASE LOCATION VIA TROCAR'S ACCESSIBILITY MAP
3y 3m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12629841
METHOD FOR DETERMINING A MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN AN OBJECT AND AN APPARATUS SURFACE, SAFETY DEVICE FOR A HANDLING APPARATUS HAVING AN APPARATUS SURFACE, AND HANDLING APPARATUS
2y 8m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12629819
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DEXTEROUS MANIPULATION BY A ROBOT
2y 4m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12629838
METHOD FOR DETECTING OPERATING ANOMALIES OF AN UNCONSTRAINED MASTER DEVICE OF A MASTER-SLAVE ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL OR SURGICAL TELEOPERATION AND RELATED ROBOTIC SYSTEM
2y 9m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12630049
CONTROL SYSTEM
1y 6m to grant Granted May 19, 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
83%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+7.1%)
2y 10m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 547 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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