Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/438,525

CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Feb 12, 2024
Priority
Mar 03, 2023 — CN 202310202519.7
Examiner
LE, THANH TAM T
Art Unit
2831
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Molex LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1238 granted / 1432 resolved
+18.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 9m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1461
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
35.4%
-4.6% vs TC avg
§102
38.9%
-1.1% vs TC avg
§112
21.4%
-18.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1432 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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kumar et al. (11,404,829). Regarding claim 14, Kumar et al. disclose a connector assembly comprising: a guide shielding cage (10, Fig. 2) comprising a top wall (10T), two side walls (10S), a partitioning wall (14) which is positioned between the two side walls, a plurality of mating channels (22) which are arranged side by side and partitioned by the partitioning wall, and a plurality of windows (11) corresponding to the plurality of mating channels; and a heat sink bracket (100, Fig. 1) assembled to the guide shielding cage and comprising a top plate (top surface of 150, Fig. 2), a bottom plate (a bottom surface of 150), two side plates (140), and a plurality of frame openings (openings between 110 and 160) at the bottom plate that correspond to the plurality of windows. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-13 are allowed. Claims 15-20 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. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The claims are allowable over the prior art of record for at least the reason that the prior art fails to teach or suggest the partitioning wall of the guide shielding cage extending into the heat sink bracket to form at least two accommodating cavities in the heat sink bracket which correspond to the at least two mating channels, the partitioning wall having a first wall portion which is positioned in the guide shielding cage and a second wall portion which extends into the heat sink bracket to form the at least two accommodating cavities (claims 1 and 15), as set forth in the claimed combination. 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 with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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 THANH TAM T LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2094. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM. 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, Abdul Riyami can be reached at 571-270-3119. 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. /THANH TAM T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 08/02/026 thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 12, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 26, 2026
Interview Requested
Jul 01, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 01, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 21, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 05, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12695259
FRICTION WELDING CONNECTOR AND ITS METHOD OF PRODUCTION
3y 10m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12665367
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ELECTRONIC COMPONENT AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENT
3y 7m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12665350
Electromagnetic Electrical Connector System
2y 9m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12658641
Lever and Header Gear Tooth Engagement to Prevent Premature Connector Mating
3y 0m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12658643
FIRST CONNECTOR AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH UNLOCKING SLIDER
2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+13.8%)
1y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1432 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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