Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/349,740

STORAGE PALLET AND AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jul 10, 2023
Examiner
ROMANO, ASHLEY K
Art Unit
3652
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED
OA Round
2 (Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
376 granted / 482 resolved
+26.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
509
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
42.5%
+2.5% vs TC avg
§102
33.0%
-7.0% vs TC avg
§112
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 482 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 21 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hai Robotics (CN 111470242). PNG media_image1.png 718 538 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 21, Hai Robotics discloses a storage pallet, comprising: two bracket arms (b, 2 of, Fig.9, annotated above) spaced apart along a first direction to form an avoidance region between the two bracket arms (Fig.9); wherein: each of the two bracket arms comprises a first end and a second end in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the first ends of the two bracket arms are not connected, so as to form, between the two first ends, an opening communicating with the avoidance region (Fig.9); and a stop member is entirely disposed on a top of one bracket arm of the two bracket arms in a vertical direction.(s1, Fig.9, annotated above). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 1-11, 13-20 allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record fails to disclose or render obvious the claimed invention as set forth in claim 1 and subsequent dependent claims. The prior art of record does not disclose or render obvious a storage pallet, comprising two bracket arms spaced apart along a first direction to form an avoidance region between the two bracket arms and a connecting arm wherein each of the two bracket arms comprises a first end and a second end in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the first ends of the two bracket arms are not connected, so as to form, between the two first ends, an opening communicating with the avoidance region a top surface of each of the two bracket arms is provided with a first stop member and a second stop member, and a distance between the second stop members of the two bracket arms is less than a distance between the first stop members of the two bracket arms, and the first stop members of the two bracket arms extend along the second direction, the connecting arm is connected to the second ends of the two bracket arms and a top surface of the connecting arm is provided with a third stop member, the third stop member extending along the first direction and connecting the first stop members of the two bracket arms. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments filed 11/15/2025 with respect to the 102 and 103 rejection of claims 1-11, 13-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The claims are allowed. Newly filed claim 21 is rejected, above. 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 ASHLEY K ROMANO whose telephone number is (571)272-9318. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday. 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, Saul Rodriguez can be reached on 571-272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652 /ASHLEY K ROMANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 10, 2023
Application Filed
Aug 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 15, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 27, 2026
Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12576374
GRAIN BIN MANAGEMENT DURING LOAD-IN
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12576526
ROBOTIC GRAIN WALK DOWN IN A FLAT STORAGE BULK STORE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12570129
LOADING DOCK AUTOMATED TRAILER DOOR SYSTEMS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12564138
GRAIN BIN MANAGEMENT DURING GRAIN STORAGE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12552604
Multi-Function Inventory Handling Station Assembly
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+8.1%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 482 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