Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/295,977

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUITS

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Apr 05, 2023
Priority
Apr 05, 2022 — EU 22166851.0
Examiner
TRINH, MINH N
Art Unit
3729
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Nexperia B.V.
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1302 granted / 1520 resolved
+15.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
53 currently pending
Career history
1569
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
36.5%
-3.5% vs TC avg
§102
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
§112
38.6%
-1.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1520 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Response to Amendment That the amendment to the claim languages has been fully considered and made of record (claims 1-20 are now pending). The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 9-10, 12-14, 19-20 as best understood is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Huybers et al (US 20190189478). This rejection is set forth from the previous Action dated 3/18/26. Claim(s) 8, 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huybers et al. This rejection is also retained for same reason provided from the previous Action dated 3/18/26. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed on 6/18/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Because the applied prior art discloses the invention for same reason provided from the OA dated 3/18/26. First, Applicant contends that the Huybers does not teach the feature of "a rotatable transfer assembly actuator for driving the rotatable transfer assembly together with the at least two transfer heads about the axis of rotation" (see under the “Remarks” page 4 bottom portion). This has been carefully noted and not is not found persuasive because clearly the Huybers discloses the claimed a transfer assembly actuator namely 126, and further regarding to the phrase or clause: “for driving the rotatable transfer assembly together with the at least two transfer heads about the axis of rotation” is functionally intended use which is not an inventive feature. Therefore, the rejection of claim 1 retained for reason of record. Note: In response to applicant's argument that (see section under line above), a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. Further, Applicant's arguments do not clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. Further, they do not show how the amendments avoid such references or objections. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4, 11, 17 is/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. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINH N TRINH whose telephone number is (571)272-4569. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH ~5:00-3:30. 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, Thomas J Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. 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. /MINH N TRINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729 mt
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 05, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Jun 18, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 31, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+10.1%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1520 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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