Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 18/444,715

STOCK SERVOMOTOR STRUCTURE OF INJECTION MOLDING MACHINE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 18, 2024
Examiner
PHAM, LEDA T
Art Unit
2834
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Unknown
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
729 granted / 981 resolved
+6.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
1017
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
50.2%
+10.2% vs TC avg
§102
31.0%
-9.0% vs TC avg
§112
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 981 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiao (TW M647628 U) in view of Chen et al. (CN 205446431 U). Regarding claim 1, Xiao teaches a stock servomotor structure of an injection molding machine, comprising: a shell (2) having an accommodating space (20) inside; a rotor shaft (5) having a convex ring part (50) on one side and an opening (51) on one side end, wherein the opening (51) being sleeved with a threaded rod (A1) of the injection molding machine (A) and tightly secured with the threaded rod (A1); a front cover (4) having roller bearing (6) and a spherical roller thrust bearing (7), wherein an individual side of the roller bearing (6) and the spherical roller thrust bearings (7) being mutually against the convex ring part (50) of the rotor shaft (5), a positioning seat (3) being used to fix the roller bearing (6) and the spherical roller thrust bearing (7), the front cover (4) being tightly secured with the shell (2) via a screw (2a, see examiner annotated fig. 3) and the two sides of the front cover (4) having a through hole (4a); and a rear cover (10) having a rolling bearing (11), wherein the rear cover (10) being tightly secured with the shell (2) via a screw (2b) to enable the rotor shaft (5) to pass through the shell (2), the front cover (4) and the rear cover (10) to be fixed inside the accommodating space (20) of the shell (2) and clamp the rotor shaft (5) via the roller bearing (6), the spherical roller thrust bearing (7) and the rolling bearing (11). However, Xiao does not teach the threaded rod tightly secured via a fixing ring, the roller bearing is a single row tapered roller bearing, and the positioning seat being used to fix the single row tapered roller bearing and the spherical roller thrust bearing inside the front cover. PNG media_image1.png 535 694 media_image1.png Greyscale Chen teaches an electric injection machine having a fixing ring (7) tightly secured a threaded rod, a front cover (2) having a single row tapered roller bearing (4) and a thrust bearing (3), and a positioning seat (9) being used to fix the single row tapered roller bearing (4) and the thrust bearing (3) inside the front cover (2) to reduce the assembling and parts processing difficulty and reduce failure rate of components. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Xiao’s stock servomotor structure with the threaded rod tightly secured via a fixing ring, the roller bearing is a single row tapered roller bearing, and the positioning seat being used to fix the single row tapered roller bearing and the spherical roller thrust bearing inside the front cover as taught by Chen. Doing so would reduce the assembling and parts processing difficulty and reduce failure rate of components. Regarding claim 2, Xiao in view of Chen teaches the claimed invention as set forth in claim 1, Xiao further teaches the through hole (4a) is designed to enable a piston rod of the injection molding machine to be fixed (fig 3). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Van et al. (US 2017/0340494 A1) teaches a caster wheel assembly (1) for a wheelchair, comprising: a caster housing (3), a central body (9) having a radially outwards extending flange (9a), which central body (9) is configured to be received by the caster housing (3), a spindle shaft (23) configured to be rotationally locked relative to the central body (9), a first bearing (11) having an inner bearing race (11b) configured to be rotationally locked relative to the spindle shaft (23), a friction member (13; 11a) configured to be rotationally locked relative to the caster housing (3), and a resilient member (15) configured to be arranged between the flange (9a) and the friction member (13), and configured to provide a force between the flange (9a) and the friction member (13) to thereby create friction torque between the caster housing (3) and the spindle shaft (23). Neumann et al. (US 2023/0258532 A1) teaches An inertia wheel may be disposed on the shaft. The inertia wheel or the shaft is rotated. A first rotational speed is measured at a first time. The inertia wheel may decelerate over time to achieve a second rotational speed measured at a second time. The second speed is less than first speed. The change in time between the first time and the second time is measured. The bearing setting may be adjusted if the change in time is outside a predetermined time range. The bearing setting may remain unchanged if the change in time is within a predetermined time range. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEDA T PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-5806. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00. 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, Christopher M Koehler can be reached at (571) 272-3560. 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. /LEDA T PHAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 18, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Apr 04, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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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
74%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+11.4%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 981 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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