Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/383,920

FLUID MIXING OUTPUT APPARATUS AND FLUID UTILIZATION APPARATUS USING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 26, 2023
Examiner
BHATIA, ANSHU
Art Unit
1774
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Sio Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
783 granted / 926 resolved
+19.6% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
971
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
44.7%
+4.7% vs TC avg
§102
28.1%
-11.9% vs TC avg
§112
21.0%
-19.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 926 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 Interpretation Claims 13-20 are not considered requiring the fluid mixing output apparatus since the claim uses “configured” to supply liquid and gas to the fluid mixing output apparatus. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 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 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ozawa (U.S. Patent 6,386,466). Regarding claim 13, Ozawa teaches a fluid utilization apparatus (see figure 3) configured to supply liquid as the first fluid (item 68 liquid feeding means) and gas as the second fluid (item 64 gas feeding mean) to a fluid mixing output apparatus (item 48 is considered reading on a fluid mixing output apparatus, since the gas and liquid are mixed in item 48) and output the first and second fluids in a state where the gas is mixed in the liquid from the fluid outlet of a housing to use in a gas-liquid mixed state (the materials being worked upon are considered intended use). Regarding claim 14, Ozawa teaches a fluid utilization apparatus (see figure 3) configured to supply liquid as the second fluid (item 68 liquid feeding means) and gas as the first fluid (item 64 gas feeding mean) to a fluid mixing output apparatus (item 48 is considered reading on a fluid mixing output apparatus, since the gas and liquid are mixed in item 48) and output the first and second fluids in a state where the gas is mixed in the liquid from the fluid outlet of a housing to use in a gas-liquid mixed state (the materials being worked upon are considered intended use). Regarding claim 15, the gas is considered intended use, however Ozawa teaches air (table 1) Regarding claim 16, the liquid is considered intended use, however Ozawa teaches water (column 2 line 45-47). Regarding claim 17, the materials being worked upon are considered intended use, however Ozawa teaches both air (table 1) and water (column 2 lines 45-47) and teaches using a liquid to cool (column 4 lines 11-12). Regarding claim 18, the materials being worked upon are considered intended use and the apparatus is considered capable of delivering gasses and liquids since the references teaches air (table 1) and water (column 2 lines 45-47). Regarding claim 19, the gas is considered intended use, however Ozawa teaches air (table 1). Regarding claim 20, the liquid is considered intended use, however Ozawa teaches water (column 2 line 45-47). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-12 are allowed. U.S. Publication 2019/0091820 to Komazawa teaches an internal structure (item 140) with both swirling portions (items 143 and 147) and bubble generating portions (items 145 and 149). However, Komazawa but is silent to a plurality of fluid supply ports, wherein the supply ports corresponding to first and third portions vanes for supplying a first and second fluid as claimed in independent claim 1. U.S. Publication 2017/0291326 to Christiano teaches an internal structure (extruder screw shown in figure 2) with varying thread configuration with cut grooves (items 37c) and helical flights (items 13). However, Christiano is silent to a plurality of fluid supply ports, wherein the supply ports corresponding to first and third portions vanes for supplying a first and second fluid as claimed in independent claim 1. U.S. Patent 5,728,337 A to Yoshikawa teaches an internal structure (figure 1 extruder screw) with threads (proximate items 24 and 27) and protrusions (proximate items 25 and 14). However, Yoshikawa teaches outlets at 21, 17 to prevent backflow of material and silent to inlets being fed to a first portion and third portion as claimed in independent claim 1. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ANSHU BHATIA whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7628 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. . 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 Claire Wang can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1051 . 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. /ANSHU BHATIA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1774
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 26, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12599878
MIXING SEGMENT FOR A STATIC MIXER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12593941
MICRO PUREE MACHINE WITH PARTIAL DEPTH PROCESSING
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12588783
MIXER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12589369
FOAMING APPARATUS AND FOAMING METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12582264
CONTAINER FOR FOOD PROCESSING SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.6%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 926 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