Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/475,734

ELECTRONIC COMPONENT

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Sep 27, 2023
Examiner
LEE, KYUNG S
Art Unit
2831
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 2m
To Grant
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
984 granted / 1129 resolved
+19.2% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1162
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
39.2%
-0.8% vs TC avg
§102
41.4%
+1.4% vs TC avg
§112
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1129 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b ) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the thick film portion" in line 9 after defining multiple “thick film portions” on line 6 . Note that “the thick film portion” is also found in claims 4 and 5. . 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 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshida et al. (US Pat. 10,575,404) . Regarding claim s 1 and 7-8 , a n electronic component (NTC thermistor 1; see under the heading of “Detailed Description” and figs. 3-5) comprising: a base body (element body 2) ; and an insulating film (thin film layer 10 composed of silica glass; col. 3, lines 45-52) covering at least part of an outer surface of the base body, wherein the insulating film (10) includes a film main body and a plurality of thick film portions buried in the film main body (The integrated film shown in fig. 5 surrounds the base body 2. The film main body has a thickness T1 and the thick film portion has a thickness T2, which differ. That is, the side surfaces of the body are covered in thickness T1 and at least the top and bottom surfaces of the body are cover in thickness T2. See col. 3, lines 45-64. ) , a material of the film main body includes a glass (silica glass) , a material of the thick film portion is the same as the glass of the film main body (the film main body and the thick film portion are formed integrally) , and a thickness of the thick film portion (as an example Yoshida teaches T2 being 80 nm and T1 being 50 nm) is larger than an average thickness of the film main body (T1) . Regarding claim 2, Yoshida teaches external electrode (side electrodes with plating layers 30-33; see fig. 2) covering a surface of the insulating film (10) . Regarding claim 3, Yoshida teaches the average thickness of the film main body is 30 nm to 1,000 nm (average thickness of T1 is between 50 nm to 300 nm; see col. 3, lines 53-63) . Regarding claim 4, Yoshida teaches t he electronic component, wherein the average thickness of the film main body is 0.15 times to 0.91 times an average value of a maximum thickness of the thick film portion ( T1=50 nm and T2=80 nm. 80 X 0.7 = 56 nm.) . Regarding claim 5 , Yoshida teaches t he electronic component, wherein, in a section of the insulating film orthogonal to the outer surface of the base body, a maximum width of the thick film portion is 0.7 times to 4.0 times a maximum thickness of the thick film portion (T1= 50 nm and T2=80 nm. 50 X 1.6 = 80 nm.) . Regarding claim 9, Yoshida teaches the electronic component, wherein a maximum thickness of at least some of the plurality of thick film portions being less than 6.5 times the average thickness of the film main body (T1= 50 nm and T2=80 nm. 50 X 1.6 = 80 nm.). Regarding claim 10 , Yoshida teaches t he electronic component, wherein a maximum thickness of all of the plurality of thick film portions being less than 6.5 times the average thickness of the film main body (T1= 50 nm and T2=80 nm. 50 X 1.6 = 80 nm.). Regarding claim 11 , Yoshida teaches t he electronic component, wherein the glass is selected from multicomponent oxides containing Si (the insulation thin film layer 10 is composed of silica glass with Al and Li; see col. 3, lines 43-52). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 6 is 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 , and to overcome the 112 rejection above . Regarding claim 6, the prior art does not teach or suggest t he electronic component having a section orthogonal of the insulating film to the first surface and the second surface, a first average thickness of the insulating film covering the boundary surface being larger than a second average thickness of the insulating film covering the first surface. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Okai et al. Yoshida (US Pat. ‘867) and Kanazawa et al. teach the insulating film, but fails to teach the value of the thickness for the insulating film and the curves edge/corner of the base body. Kajino teaches the insulating film, but fails to teach the corner being covered by the insulating film. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT KYUNG S LEE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1994 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 7AM-3PM M-F . 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 Renee Luebke can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-2009 . 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. /KYUNG S LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 27, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §112 (current)

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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
87%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+4.8%)
2y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1129 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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