Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/305,090

NOTCH FILTER

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Apr 21, 2023
Examiner
GLENN, KIMBERLY E
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes Of Natural Sciences
OA Round
3 (Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
949 granted / 1057 resolved
+21.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1095
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
24.6%
-15.4% vs TC avg
§102
38.0%
-2.0% vs TC avg
§112
30.9%
-9.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1057 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jachowski et al US Patent 5,065,119. Jachowski et al discloses a narrow-band bandstop filter 70 (figure 6) , for removing an electromagnetic wave of a specific frequency ( The filter 70 provides a -18dB deep, 200 KHz wide wide notch in a frequency band 849.8 to 850.0 MHz with less than 0.3 dB insertion loss at 849 MHz (column 6; lines 52-54), the filter comprising: an outer metal housing 82 having a square shape (figure 7) (a square is a special type of rectangle because it meets all the definition requirements of a rectangle (four sides, four right angles, opposite sides parallel and equal) but with the added condition that all four sides must be of equal length) the outer metal housing having a square cross-section and configured to allow a predetermined frequency band to pass therethrough, the square cross-section having equals sides wherein one set of opposing sides forming an E plane; and a resonator 28a (i.e. at least one cavity) formed in dimensions according to the specific frequency (The resonators can be implemented with cylindrical conducting housings containing dielectric resonators and have adjustable characteristic resonant frequencies for purposes of setting up and tuning the filter. column 3; lines 1-3 ) and provided along an axis direction of the outer metal housing , the resonator protruding in a direction perpendicular to the E plane, wherein the sides of the square cross-section at an opening of the outer metal housing have respective lengths in accordance with the predetermined frequency band, and wherein the outer metal housing includes: a narrow path portion at which side of the square cross-section have a length smaller than that of a corresponding side of the square cross-section at the opening of the outer metal housing , the resonator being provided to the narrow path portion. (column 4; line 54-59; column 6; line 36-column 7; line 2) [AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow] PNG media_image1.png 390 791 media_image1.png Greyscale Wide path portion Narrow path portion Stepwise connection [AltContent: arrow] PNG media_image2.png 318 544 media_image2.png Greyscale Opening With regards to claim 8, a wide path portion which had dimension identical to that of the opening of the outer metal housing , the narrow path portion and the wide path portion being coupled by a stepwise connection. With regards to claim 9, the resonator has a circular shape in plain view from a direction of one of the opposing sides of the outer metal housing. PNG media_image3.png 488 641 media_image3.png Greyscale With regards to claims 10 and 11, the cylindrical shape has an axis parallel to one of the opposing the sides of square outer metal housing. PNG media_image1.png 390 791 media_image1.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 3, and 5-7 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. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 KIMBERLY E GLENN whose telephone number is (571)272-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 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, Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at 571-272-5918. 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. February 18, 2026 /K.E.G/Examiner, Art Unit 2843 /ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 21, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Apr 15, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 06, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 18, 2026
Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603407
COMPACT FEED SYSTEM WITH DEVELOPABLE WAVEGUIDE H-PLANE DIRECTIONAL COUPLER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597904
SINGLE ANTENNA INDUCTOR TO MATCH ALL BANDS IN A FRONT-END MODULE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597689
SUPERCONDUCTING MICROWAVE FILTERS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592466
DEFORMABLE CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR FABRICATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12580544
PHASE NOISE REDUCTION IN A VARIABLE ANALOGUE RF RESONATOR WITH SWITCHED CAPACITORS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 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

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.4%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1057 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