Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 18/484,199

MULTI-CONFIGURATION DEBURRING REAMER

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 10, 2023
Examiner
COZART, JERMIE E
Art Unit
3799
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
unknown
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
754 granted / 904 resolved
+13.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
927
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
31.5%
-8.5% vs TC avg
§102
31.7%
-8.3% vs TC avg
§112
30.5%
-9.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 904 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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. Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-19 in the reply filed on 1/29/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “because the invention of Invention I is basically the same as that of Invention II, any prior art searched for one group is applicable to the other group, Hence, there would not be a serious search and/or examination burden.” This is not found persuasive because Invention I and II represent different statutory classes of inventions and have separate and distinct searches which would place a serious burden upon the examiner. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. 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. Claim(s) 1-3, 6, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Scheffler (DE 20 2007 012 238 U1) . Regarding claim 1 , Scheffler discloses a deburring reamer device ( 1 ) comprising a main body ( 2 ) comprising an angled bend (8) leading to a tip comprising a hole (not shown) ; a blade ( 9 ) disposed within the main body (2 ), extending through the hole; and a rotation component ( 5 ) disposed within the main body ( 2 ), operatively coupled to the blade ( 9 ), configured to rotate the blade ( 9 ) upon actuation. Regarding claim 2 , Scheffler discloses a deburring reamer device ( 1 ) comprising a main body ( 2 ) comprising a right-angle bend (8) leading to a tip comprising a hole (not shown) ; a rotation component ( 5 ) disposed within the main body ( 2 ); a blade ( 9 ) removably coupled to the rotation component ( 5 ), extending through the hole of the main body ( 3 ); and an actuator ( 14 ) disposed on a surface of the main body ( 2 ), operatively coupled to the rotation component ( 5 ); wherein actuating the actuator ( 14 ) causes the rotation component ( 5 ) to rotate the blade ( 9 ). Regarding claim 3 , Scheffler discloses wherein the actuator ( 14 ) comprises a button. Regarding claim 6 , Scheffler discloses wherein the blade ( 9 ) comprises a metal material (i.e., titanium) . Regarding claim 9 , Scheffler discloses a power source comprising a battery pack (3) . Claim(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Kishi (US 5,018,914) . Regarding claim 1 , Kishi discloses a deburring reamer device ( Fig. 1 ) comprising a main body ( 1 ) comprising an angled bend ( see Fig. 1 ) leading to a tip comprising a hole ( not labeled, Fig. 1 ); a blade ( 71 ) disposed within the main body ( 1 ), extending through the hole; and a rotation component ( 35 ) disposed within the main body ( 1 ), operatively coupled to the blade ( 71 ), configured to rotate the blade ( 71 ) upon actuation. See col. 3, lines 25-54 for further clarification. Regarding claim 2 , Kishi discloses a deburring reamer device ( Fig. 1 ) comprising a main body ( 1 ) comprising a right-angle bend ( see Fig. 1 ) leading to a tip comprising a hole ( not labeled, Fig. 1 ); a rotation component ( 35 ) disposed within the main body ( 1 ); a blade ( 71 ) removably coupled to the rotation component ( 35 ), extending through the hole of the main body ( 1 ); and an actuator ( 17 ) disposed on a surface of the main body ( 1 ), operatively coupled to the rotation component ( 35 ); wherein actuating the actuator ( 17 ) causes the rotation component ( 35 ) to rotate the blade ( 71 ). See col. 3, lines 25-54 for further clarification. 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. Claim (s) 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scheffler (DE 20 2007 012 238 U1) . Scheffler discloses all of the claimed subject matter except for the button compris ing a resin material , and the main body compris ing a plastic material. It is conventional and well known to manufacturing a button for a power tool from a resin material and to manufacture the main body from a plastic material. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to manufactur e the button of Scheffler from a resin material and to manufacture the main body of Scheffler from a plastic material , in order to provide a lightweight power tool. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7 and 8 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. Claims 10-19 are allowed. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references listed on the attached PTO-892 are cited to show reamer and deburring tools. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JERMIE E COZART whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-4528 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 8:30am - 7:00pm . 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 Sunil Singh can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-3460 . 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. /JERMIE E COZART/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 April 1, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 10, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
83%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+3.2%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 904 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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