Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Application No. 18/463,258

ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Sep 07, 2023
Examiner
ALHAWAMDEH, NADER J
Art Unit
2831
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Acer Incorporated
OA Round
2 (Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 10m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
569 granted / 620 resolved
+23.8% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+5.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 10m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
644
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
39.5%
-0.5% vs TC avg
§102
52.1%
+12.1% vs TC avg
§112
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 620 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 . Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-14 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant Argument: Senatori does not disclosed all limitations of claim 1 and claim 3 as it recited in the argument in page 8. Claim 1 Senatori does disclosed “a body having an opening and a positioning structure disposed corresponding to the opening; and a female connector disposed in the body corresponding to the opening and pivotally connected to the positioning structure, a male connector adapted to pass through the opening and plugged into the female connector, and the female connector adapted to be driven by the male connector to rotate around a rotation axis passing through the positioning structure.” Claim 3 with new added limitation Senatori does not disclosed “The electronic device according to claim 1 further comprising: a circuit board disposed in the body, wherein the female connector is fixed on the circuit board and the circuit board is pivotally connected to the positioning structure, wherein the female connector and the circuit board are adapted to be driven by the male connector to rotate around the rotation axis simultaneously.” Examiner’s response: Examiner does not agree with the applicant argument Senatori still teach the limitations of claims 1 and 3 as it recited in the rejection. In regards to claim 1, Applicant hasn’t specified or provide more details about the invention in claim 1. The argument is very general, which describe male connector is inserted into an opening of a female connector that has positioning structure pivotally connected “that undefined what kind of structure in claim 1” Senatori still has this feature when male connector inserted into female connector opening connected to a pivot arm 130 pivotally rotate when male connector is inserted. In regards to claim 3, same issue that applied on claim 1, Applicant has not defined what’s the positioning structure is and how female connector and the circuit board are adapted to be driven by the male connector to rotate. For this reason rejection is still maintained. 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. Claims 1-5 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Senatori (US. 2017/0264041 A1). In Regards to Claim 1: Senatori teaches an electronic device (Fig. 2) comprising: a body (104) having an opening (118) and a positioning structure (130) disposed corresponding to the opening (118); and a female connector (100) disposed in the body (104) corresponding to the opening (118) and pivotally connected to the positioning structure (130), a male connector (150) adapted to pass through the opening (118) and plugged into the female connector (100), and the female connector (100) adapted to be driven by the male connector (150) to rotate around a rotation axis passing through the positioning structure (130). In Regards to Claim 2: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the body (104) further has a first surface (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and a second surface (See Reproduced Drawing 1) connected to the first surface (See Reproduced Drawing 1), the rotation axis is perpendicular to the first surface (See Reproduced Drawing 1), and the opening (118) is located on the second surface (See Reproduced Drawing 1). In Regards to Claim 3: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 1 further comprising: a circuit board (102) disposed in the body (104), wherein the female connector (100) is fixed on the circuit board (102) and the circuit board (102) is pivotally connected to the positioning structure (130), wherein the female connector (100) and the circuit board (102) are adapted to be driven by the male connector (150) to rotate around the rotation axis simultaneously. In Regards to Claim 4: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the circuit board (102) has a positioning through hole (228), the rotation axis passes through the positioning through hole (228), and the positioning through hole (228) is sleeved on the positioning structure (130). In Regards to Claim 5: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the body (104) comprises a first casing (See Reproduced Drawing 2) and a second casing (See Reproduced Drawing 2) installed on the first casing (See Reproduced Drawing 2), the positioning structure (130) comprises a first positioning post (236) on the first casing (See Reproduced Drawing 2) and a second positioning post (232/234) on the second casing (See Reproduced Drawing 2), and the positioning through hole (228) is sleeved on the first positioning post (236), wherein the first positioning post (236) is disposed in alignment with the second positioning post (232/234), and the circuit board (102) is positioned between the first positioning post (236) and the second positioning post (232/234). In Regards to Claim 13: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the female connector (100) is adapted to be driven by the male connector (150) to rotate around the rotation axis within a first angle (Figs. 8-9 position of the connector) in a first rotational direction or within a second angle (Figs. 8-9 position of the connector) in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction. In Regards to Claim 14: Senatori teaches the electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the first angle is equal to the second angle (Refer to Figs. 8-9). PNG media_image1.png 596 746 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 425 691 media_image2.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6-12 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 prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest these limitation as substantially described in claims 6-12, these limitations, in combination with remaining limitations of claims 6-12, are neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 NADER J ALHAWAMDEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9Am - 6Pm EST. 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, Abdullah A 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. /NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 07, 2023
Application Filed
Aug 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 12, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Final Rejection — §102
Mar 30, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603448
CARD CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597745
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592518
Hands-Free Connectors
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12592503
CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12586958
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH IMPROVED SHIELDING FEATURES
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 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
92%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+5.0%)
1y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 620 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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