Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/503,427

Socket Structure

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 07, 2023
Examiner
PATEL, HARSHAD C
Art Unit
2831
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Dongguan Wontravel Electric Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 12m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
912 granted / 1105 resolved
+14.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 12m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
1133
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
39.8%
-0.2% vs TC avg
§102
38.9%
-1.1% vs TC avg
§112
13.5%
-26.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1105 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 . The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference characters 301, 302 are not mentioned in the description: Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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, 4-6, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a0(1) as being anticipated by Wang (US 7,862,380). Regarding claim 1, Wang, discloses, a socket structure (fig. 1), wherein it includes a shell 10 having a chamber 12, 13, 14 a bracket 13 in the chamber 12-14 that is provided with a cavity 14 to accommodate conductive sheet component 20, and a conductive wire 71 that passes through the shell and bracket in turn (through transforming unit 30), extends into the cavity 14, and is electrically connected to the conductive sheet component 20 (see fig. 7), and the conductive wire is clamped and fixed on the bracket 13. Regarding claim 4, Wang, discloses, wherein the shell 10 includes a housing (body of ) 10 having an opening 15 at one end, and a cover body, 60,40 that is installed at the opening 15, and the bracket is placed in the housing chamber (being an integral) through the opening 15 and fixed through the cover body 60. Regarding claim 5, Wang, discloses, the cover body 60, 40 is provided with a soft tail card 40 having a through hole 42 for conducting wires to pass through, and the soft tail card is integrally formed with the cover body or can be detachably installed. PNG media_image1.png 612 485 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 6, Wang, discloses, the cover body 60 has a pivot hole PH (see annotated fig.), and the soft tail card 60 can be pivotally installed on the pivot hole and clamped to the side wall of the cover body. Regarding claim 9, Wang, discloses, the bracket extends outward with at least one limit convex block, and the housing has a step groove that fits the limit convex block (bracket 13 being an integral part of housing 10). Regarding claim 10, Wang, discloses, the bracket extends backwards with a positioning cavity 14, and is provided with an electrical hole (there is no such thing like electrical hole) for further examination it is just consider a hole (from which wire 71 is entering in to the shell). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 3, 7, 8, 11 and 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. Regarding claim 2, the prior art of record does not disclose or teaches a socket structure discloses a bracket includes an upper bracket and a lower bracket, both are provided with a first positioning part and a second positioning part; the first positioning part and the second positioning part form a clamping hole, and the conductive wire passes through the clamping hole and is clamped between the first positioning part and the second positioning part as required by this claim. Regarding claim 7, the prior art of record does not disclose or teaches a socket structure discloses the soft tail card includes a tube body(, a first positioning seat and a second positioning seat that are disposed on the tube body, a positioning groove which is formed between the first positioning seat and the second positioning seat fits the side wall, the first positioning seat can pass through the pivot hole, the second positioning seat is limited to the side wall of the cover body, and the positioning groove can pivot along the side wall. Regarding claim 11, the prior art of record does not disclose or teaches a socket structure discloses a clearance fit exists between the inner wall of the housing and the outer wall of the bracket )being an integral), the housing has a convex card part, the cover body has a concave groove part that fits the convex card part, and the step groove is disposed on the convex card part, when the cover body and the shell fit, the cover body can fix the limit convex block between the cover body and the housing. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached 892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARSHAD C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-8289. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5.00 pm (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. /HARSHAD C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 07, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12597718
TERMINAL UNIT
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597734
UNIVERSAL ELECTRICAL PLUG
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12573792
RETRACTABLE CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12573790
CONNECTOR-EQUIPPED ELECTRICAL WIRE AND CONNECTOR HOUSING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12573780
TERMINAL MODULE WITH TERMINAL HAVING PAIR OF DISPLACEMENT-RESTRICTING WALLS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
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
82%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+8.7%)
1y 12m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1105 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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