Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/346,062

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIGITALLY CONTROLLING VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCED BY A LIQUID LAMP

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jun 30, 2023
Examiner
TRAN, THIEN S
Art Unit
3761
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Barava LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allow Rate
955 granted / 1336 resolved
+1.5% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+24.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
59 currently pending
Career history
1395
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
51.1%
+11.1% vs TC avg
§102
20.4%
-19.6% vs TC avg
§112
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1336 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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. Priority In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claim s 1-19 are 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 1, line 11 recites “the two or more liquids”, line 22 recites “the threshold data”; Claim 11, line 14 recites “the heat output” , there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-10 and 12-19 are also rejected because they are dependent upon claims 1 and 11. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1 and 11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Claim 20 is allowed. The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: allowance of the claims is indicated because none of the prior art of record, alone or in combination, appears to teach, or fairly suggest or render obvious the invention of the claims or recited allowable subject matter in clai m 20. Claim 20 recites a computing system implemented method for digitally controlling a heating element of a liquid lamp comprising: providing liquid data to a liquid lamp heater control processor component of a logic board, wherein the liquid data identifies two or more liquids within a liquid vessel of a liquid lamp; utilizing a first thermistor to obtain upper vessel temperature data representing a temperature at an upper portion of the liquid vessel; utilizing a second thermistor to obtain lower vessel temperature data representing a temperature at a lower portion of the liquid vessel; utilizing a third thermistor to obtain ambient temperature data; providing the upper vessel temperature data, the lower vessel temperature data, and the ambient temperature data to the liquid lamp heater control processor; utilizing the liquid lamp heater control processor to calculate a temperature differential between the upper vessel temperature data and the lower vessel temperature data; adjusting the temperature differential based on the ambient temperature data; and if the adjusted temperature differential is outside of a predetermined threshold associated with the liquid data, sending temperature control data to a heating element of the liquid lamp w hich the closest prior art of record of Finkle (US 8, 2 94 , 389), Finkle (US 7,137720), Goldstein (US 6,746,131), Unger (US 6,681,508), Wu (US 2003/0202340) and Zale (US 6,604,835) f ails to disclose or render obvious . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT THIEN S TRAN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7745 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday [8:00-4:00] . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Steven Crabb can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5095 . 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. /THIEN S TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 3/4/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 30, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601499
FOOD PREPARATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12601501
COOKING APPLIANCE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12582167
FLEXIBLE HEATER AND ELECTRONICS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12582260
COFFEE GRINDER APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12588108
CONTROL METHOD FOR AN OVEN
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+24.4%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1336 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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