Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/391,172

EMERGENCY COOLING-WATER VACUUM SYSTEM AND METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 20, 2023
Examiner
WILSON, GREGORY A
Art Unit
3762
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Safe Flow LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
965 granted / 1181 resolved
+11.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1210
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
34.8%
-5.2% vs TC avg
§102
39.9%
-0.1% vs TC avg
§112
22.1%
-17.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1181 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. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In [0047], line 1, add –is—between “122 a”, In [0059], change eductors (121) to –122--. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Objections Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 4, change “Opening” to –opening--, In line 7, change “Directing” to –directing--, In line 9, change “Inducing” to –inducing--. Appropriate correction is required. 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(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by CN113028830 (CN ‘830) . CN ‘830 discloses an emergency cooling water vacuum system (SEE Figure 1) for a pressurized water cooled furnace (1) having an emergency shut off preventing pressurized cooling fluid from moving to the cooling components (3) in the furnace, the system includes at least one vacuum inducing unit (9, 91, 92), a diversion inlet line of pressurized cooling fluid to the at least one vacuum inducing unit configured to be open when the emergency shut off is activated to prevent pressurized cooling fluid from moving to the cooling components in the furnace (interpretation: second valve 6 blocks water when the temperature of the furnace body is greater than a preset, valve 7 is closed preventing cooling water from moving to the cooling component 3 in the furnace 1, a diversion inlet line of pressurized cooling fluid is opened via second valve 6 which diverts cooling fluid from line 4 to a vacuum line 8 extending from the cooling components in the furnace to the at least one vacuum inducing unit, wherein the vacuum induced in the vacuum line 8 when pressurized cooling fluid is directed through the at least one vacuum inducing unit. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-10 and 12-20 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT GREGORY A WILSON whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-4882 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F; 7:00am-4:30pm . 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 Steve McAllister can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-6785 . 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. /GREGORY A WILSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 March 7, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 20, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12595965
CHILLING UNIT, HEAT TREATMENT APPARATUS INCLUDING SAME, AND HEAT TREATMENT METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12595962
CATHODE MATERIAL DRYING DEVICE AND CATHODE MATERIAL DRYING PRODUCTION LINE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12595906
THERMAL REGENERATIVE FLUID PROCESSING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12584655
Pressure Water Heater
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12578743
COOLING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DECOATERS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 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
82%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+6.7%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1181 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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