Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 15, 2026
Application No. 18/329,581

COOLANT DISCHARGER, WORKPIECE HOLDER, WORKPIECE ROTATOR, MACHINE TOOL, AND METHOD OF USING COOLANT DISCHARGER

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jun 06, 2023
Priority
May 10, 2021 — continuation of PCTJP2021017664
Examiner
RAMOS, NICOLE N
Art Unit
3722
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Yamazaki Mazak Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
650 granted / 798 resolved
+11.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
822
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
36.1%
-3.9% vs TC avg
§102
29.1%
-10.9% vs TC avg
§112
32.4%
-7.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 798 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 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) 1-2, 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Remillard et al. US 4,322,993 (hereafter—Remillard--). In regards to claim 1, Remillard discloses a coolant discharger (Figures 3-4) comprising: a rotator (13) that is capable of being rotatable about a rotation axis together with a workpiece (14) and that has a through hole extending along the rotation axis; a fluid passage (within 41) provided in the through hole to supply a coolant toward the workpiece (as indicated by fluid directional arrows in Figure 3); and a nozzle (44) connected to the rotator (13) to be connected to the fluid passage to discharge the coolant from the nozzle toward the workpiece in a discharging direction away from the rotation axis, at least a part (44) of the nozzle being movable along the rotation axis (column 3, lines 50-53, since nozzle 44 in its entirety is displaceable along the axis, then it meets the “at least a part” limitaiton) the at least a part (44) of the nozzle having an interior fluid passage (within 44) to supply the coolant from the fluid passage (within 41) toward the workpiece. In regards to claim 2, Remillard discloses the coolant discharger according to claim 1, Remillard also discloses that the nozzle (44) is capable of discharging coolant toward an inner surface of the workpiece having a cylindrical structure (see Figure 3). In regards to claim 10, Remillard discloses a workpiece holder (100) comprising: the coolant discharger of claim 1, wherein the rotator (13) comprises a shaft (15) having the through hole, and a workpiece holding member (jaws of 13) configured to hold the workpiece. In regards to claim 11, Remillard discloses workpiece holder according to claim 10, WO’879 also discloses that the at least a part of the nozzle is movable along the rotation axis relative to the shaft and the workpiece holding member (column 3, lines 50-53, since nozzle 44 is displaceable along the axis). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-4, 6-9, 16-17 and 18 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. The Examiner reasons for indicating allowable subject matter will be given once the Application is in condition to be allowed. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments filed on 06/15/2026 with respect to claims 1-3, 10 and 11 have been carefully and fully considered, and in light of Applicant’s amendments, a new ground(s) of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Remillard et al. US 4,322,993 (hereafter—Remillard--) for claims 1-2, 10 and 11 has been incorporated as aforementioned. 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 NICOLE N RAMOS whose telephone number is (571)272-5134. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 7:00 am -5:00 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, 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, Sunil K Singh can be reached at (571) 272-3460. 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. /NICOLE N RAMOS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 06, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 15, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12703030
END MILL
3y 2m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12707939
SUBSTRATE HOLDER SYSTEMS
2y 3m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12697667
SHELL CUTTER DEPTH STOP
3y 11m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12697663
Mandrel Assembly for Use With a Rotary Tool
3y 2m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12691505
DRILLING DEVICE
4y 1m to grant Granted Jul 28, 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
82%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+9.8%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 798 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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