Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/343,160

AUTOMATIC FILE FORMAT CONVERSION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 28, 2023
Priority
Jun 29, 2022 — provisional 63/356,956
Examiner
HALE, BROOKS T
Art Unit
2166
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
OA Round
6 (Non-Final)
49%
Grant Probability
Moderate
6-7
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 49% of resolved cases
49%
Career Allowance Rate
40 granted / 81 resolved
-5.6% vs TC avg
Strong +33% interview lift
Without
With
+33.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
121
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
25.0%
-15.0% vs TC avg
§103
62.9%
+22.9% vs TC avg
§102
8.8%
-31.2% vs TC avg
§112
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 81 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Claim Status Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-19, 21-27 are pending. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 02/19/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the claims have been amended to recite subject matter that was previously indicated to be allowable subject matter. Examiner disagrees because the previous office action identified claim 9 combined with intervening claim 8 as allowable subject matter if brought into the independent claim. However, applicant has only brought claim 9 into the independent claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-5, 7, 8, 10-19, 21-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rosseel et al (US 20160224571 A1) hereafter Rosseel in view of Lockhart et al (US 20130111326 A1) hereafter Lockhart in view of Gauthier et al (US 20220014502 A1) hereafter Gauthier Regarding claim 1, Rosseel teaches a computer-implemented method, comprising: identifying, by at least one processor, configuration data defining parameters of a file conversion job to convert a plurality of source digital files into a plurality of output digital files, the parameters indicating: a source directory that stores the plurality of source digital files (Para 0012, plural input modules, wherein each input module is adapted to handle incoming files), a destination directory in which the plurality of output digital files, corresponding to the plurality of source digital files, is to be stored, and a particular target file format for the plurality of output digital files (Para 0012, transformation module is adapted to transform incoming files in a respective source format into outgoing files in a respective destination format); accessing, by the at least one processor, and during the file conversion job, the plurality of source digital files stored in the source directory defined by the configuration data, wherein: different source digital files, in the plurality of source digital files, are formatted according to different source file formats (Para 0012, the system supporting plural source formats and plural destination formats for the files); determining, by the at least one processor, and during the file conversion job, source file formats of individual source digital files, of the plurality of source digital files, stored in the source directory (Para 0012, transform incoming files in a respective source format into outgoing files in a respective destination format); converting, by the at least one processor, during the file conversion job, and by executing the different file converters that are respectively associated with the source file formats of the individual source digital files, the individual source digital files into corresponding output digital files that are all formatted according to the particular target file format (Para 0012, transform incoming files in a respective source format into outgoing files in a respective destination format); and storing, by the at least one processor, during the file conversion job, the corresponding output digital files in the destination directory defined by the configuration data (Para 0029, a file can be transformed into plural, different destination formats that are stored on different locations). Rosseel does not appear to explicitly teach identifying, by the at least one processor, during the file conversion job, and from among a plurality of file converters, different file converters that: are executable by the at least one processor, are respectively associated with the different source file formats, and are respectively configured to convert digital files formatted according to the different source file formats into the particular target file format defined by the configuration data; and sending, by the at least one processor, a notification to a destination, wherein the notification indicates at least one of: an error log identifying one or more errors that occurred during conversion of the plurality of source digital files into the corresponding output digital files, or a preview of one or more of the records or values in the corresponding output digital files. In analogous art, Lockhart teaches identifying, by the at least one processor, during the file conversion job, and from among a plurality of file converters, different file converters that: are executable by the at least one processor, are respectively associated with the different source file formats, and are respectively configured to convert digital files formatted according to the different source file formats into the particular target file format defined by the configuration data (Para 0048, Some file formats do not need to be converted to any intermediate formats before being converted to the target format. These file formats can be converted in a single step. Other file formats use one or more intermediate steps to convert to intermediate formats before finally being converted to the target format); and sending, by the at least one processor, a notification to a destination, wherein the notification indicates at least one of: an error log identifying one or more errors that occurred during conversion of the plurality of source digital files into the corresponding output digital files, or a preview of one or more of the records or values in the corresponding output digital files (Para 0087, converting a file stored in the web-based content management system with collaboration environment to a target file format suitable for providing a preview of the file). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel to include the teaching of Lockhart in order to optimize a conversion process, as taught by Lockhart (Abs, The present disclosure includes a method of evaluating the available system tools for converting files from an existing format to a target format to determine the optimum tool(s) to use for the conversion process of a file). Rosseel in view of Lockhart does not appear to explicitly teach validating, by the at least one processor, a particular output digital file generated via the converting, by: determining a number indicating how many records or values are included in a particular source digital file, of the plurality of source digital files, that corresponds to the particular output digital file: and determining that the particular output digital file also includes the number of records or values. In analogous art, Gauthier teaches validating, by the at least one processor, a particular output digital file generated via the converting, by: determining a number indicating how many records or values are included in a particular source digital file, of the plurality of source digital files, that corresponds to the particular output digital file: and determining that the particular output digital file also includes the number of records or values (Para 0050, the balance of input tokens matches the value of output tokens, and that the spending user has the private key q.sub.o corresponding to the serial number S.sub.o, the blockchain network 110 accepts the transaction and records the spending of the zk-tokens in the ledge). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel in view of Lockhart to include the teaching of Gauthier. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to implement this modification in order to perform process verification, as taught by Gauthier (Para 0050, the blockchain network 110 accepts the transaction and records the spending of the zk-tokens in the ledger 115). Regarding claim 2, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein converting the particular source digital file into the particular output digital file comprises: determining, by the at least one processor, that a size of the particular source digital file exceeds a file size threshold; dividing, by the at least one processor, the particular source digital file into component digital files that have sizes less than or equal to the file size threshold; converting, by the at least one processor, and using a file converter associated with a source file format of the particular source digital file, the component digital files into converted component digital files formatted according to the particular target file format; and assembling, by the at least one processor, the converted component digital files into the particular output digital file (Rosseel, Para 0021, An input module may for instance specify that all MS Word documents located in a specific map on a network drive, and whose file size is below 5 Megabytes, must be transformed into pdf format). Regarding claim 3, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor converts different component digital files substantially simultaneously via parallel processing (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 4, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor converts the different source digital files substantially simultaneously via parallel processing (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 5, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor comprises different processors of different computing devices, and the different processors of the different computing devices convert the different source digital files substantially simultaneously (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 7, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: the particular source digital file comprises a mainframe file, the mainframe file is associated with a control file separate from the mainframe file, and the at least one processor determines the number, indicating how many records or values are included in the particular source digital file, based on the control file (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 8, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the at least one processor, that all of the plurality of source digital files stored in the source directory have been converted into the corresponding output digital files stored in the destination directory; and sending, by the at least one processor, a notification to at least one destination, the notification indicating that conversion operations associated with the source directory are complete (Rosseel, Para 0072, As a result, the file transformation task will be executed and the path to the location of the transformed file will be released). Regarding claim 10, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor omits the preview of the one or more records or values from the notification, based on the configuration data indicating that the plurality of source digital files contains sensitive data (Lockhart, Para 0087, converting a file stored in the web-based content management system with collaboration environment to a target file format suitable for providing a preview of the file). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel in view of Lockhart to include the teaching of Gauthier. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to implement this modification in order to perform process verification, as taught by Gauthier (Para 0050, the blockchain network 110 accepts the transaction and records the spending of the zk-tokens in the ledger 115). Claim 11 is the computing devices claim corresponding to the method claim 1, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Regarding claim 12, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the one or more computing devices of claim 11, wherein the configuration data defines a file size threshold, and the operations further comprise: identifying one or more large source digital files in the source directory that have first sizes that exceed the file size threshold; converting the one or more large source digital files by individually dividing the one or more large source digital files into component digital files that have second sizes less than or equal to the file size threshold; converting, using one or more file converters, of the plurality of file converters, that are associated with the source file formats of the one or more large source digital files, the component digital files into converted component digital files formatted according to the particular target file format; and assembling the converted component digital files into one or more large output digital files that correspond to the one or more large source digital files (Rosseel, Para 0021, An input module may for instance specify that all MS Word documents located in a specific map on a network drive, and whose file size is below 5 Megabytes, must be transformed into pdf format). Regarding claim 13, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the one or more computing devices of claim 11, wherein: the particular source digital file comprises a mainframe file, the mainframe file is associated with a control file separate from the mainframe file, and the operations further comprise determining the number, indicating how many records or values are included in the particular source digital file, based on the control file (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 14, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the one or more computing devices of claim 11, wherein: the configuration data indicates a destination for a notification, and the operations further comprise sending the notification to the destination upon completion of conversion of the plurality of source digital files into the corresponding output digital files (Rosseel, Para 0012, transformation module is adapted to transform incoming files in a respective source format into outgoing files in a respective destination format). Regarding claim 15, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the one or more computing devices of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise: including, in the notification, the preview based on a first indication in the configuration data that the plurality of source digital files includes sensitive data, or omitting, from the notification, the preview based on a second indication in the configuration data that the plurality of source digital files does not include the sensitive data (Lockhart, Para 0087, converting a file stored in the web-based content management system with collaboration environment to a target file format suitable for providing a preview of the file). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel to include the teaching of Lockhart in order to optimize a conversion process, as taught by Lockhart (Abs, The present disclosure includes a method of evaluating the available system tools for converting files from an existing format to a target format to determine the optimum tool(s) to use for the conversion process of a file). Claim 16 is the media claim corresponding to the method claim 1, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Claim 17 is the media claim corresponding to the method claim 12, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Regarding claim 18, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein: the particular source digital file comprises a mainframe file, the mainframe file is associated with a control file separate from the mainframe file, and the operations further comprise determining the number, indicating how many records or values are included in the particular source digital file, based on the control file (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Claim 19 is the media claim corresponding to the method claim 14, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Claim 21 is the computing system claim corresponding to the method claim 1, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Claim 22 is the system claim corresponding to the media claim 17, and is analyzed and rejected accordingly. Regarding claim 23, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computing system of claim 21, wherein: the particular source digital file comprises a mainframe file, the mainframe file is associated with a control file separate from the mainframe file, and the number, indicating how many records or values are included in the particular source digital file, is determined based on the control file (Rosseel, Para 0065, More complex workflows contain a chain of plural transformation modules and plural release modules enabling to transform incoming files having a specific source format to outgoing files having multiple, different destination formats that can be stored on multiple, different locations). Regarding claim 24, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computing system of claim 21, wherein the notification is sent as an indication that conversions of the plurality of source digital files into the corresponding output digital files are complete (Lockhart, the host server 100 and notification server 150 provide notifications of activities that occur in the online collaboration environment in real time or near real time to users 108). Regarding claim 25, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the validating comprises determining that the particular output digital file includes the number of records or values following assembly of the converted component digital files into the particular output digital file (Gauthier, Para 0050, the balance of input tokens matches the value of output tokens, and that the spending user has the private key q.sub.o corresponding to the serial number S.sub.o, the blockchain network 110 accepts the transaction and records the spending of the zk-tokens in the ledge). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel in view of Lockhart to include the teaching of Gauthier. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to implement this modification in order to perform process verification, as taught by Gauthier (Para 0050, the blockchain network 110 accepts the transaction and records the spending of the zk-tokens in the ledger 115). Regarding claim 26, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing, via at least one analytics tool executed by the at least one processor, the corresponding output digital files in the destination directory, wherein the at least one analytics tool is configured to analyze a set of digital files formatted according to the particular target file format (Lockhart, Para 0087, converting a file stored in the web-based content management system with collaboration environment to a target file format suitable for providing a preview of the file). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel to include the teaching of Lockhart in order to optimize a conversion process, as taught by Lockhart (Abs, The present disclosure includes a method of evaluating the available system tools for converting files from an existing format to a target format to determine the optimum tool(s) to use for the conversion process of a file). Regarding claim 27, Rosseel in view of Lockhart in view of Gauthier further teaches The one or more computing devices of claim 11, wherein: the operations further comprise causing analysis, via at least one analytics tool, of the corresponding output digital files in the destination directory, and the at least one analytics tool is configured to analyze a set of digital files formatted according to the particular target file format (Lockhart, Para 0087, converting a file stored in the web-based content management system with collaboration environment to a target file format suitable for providing a preview of the file). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Rosseel to include the teaching of Lockhart in order to optimize a conversion process, as taught by Lockhart (Abs, The present disclosure includes a method of evaluating the available system tools for converting files from an existing format to a target format to determine the optimum tool(s) to use for the conversion process of a file). 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 Brooks Hale whose telephone number is 571-272-0160. The examiner can normally be reached 9am to 5pm est. 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, Sanjiv Shah can be reached on (571) 272-4098. 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. /B.T.H./Examiner, Art Unit 2166 /SANJIV SHAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2166
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 15 earlier events
Oct 31, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 06, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Nov 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Feb 19, 2026
Response Filed
May 27, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 09, 2026
Interview Requested
Jul 21, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 27, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

6-7
Expected OA Rounds
49%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+33.0%)
3y 1m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 81 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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