Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/518,745

APPARATUS FOR CORRECTING DYE MIXING RATIO AND METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 24, 2023
Examiner
MCKINNON, LASHAWNDA T
Art Unit
1789
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
53%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
84%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 53% of resolved cases
53%
Career Allow Rate
388 granted / 734 resolved
-12.1% vs TC avg
Strong +31% interview lift
Without
With
+31.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
80 currently pending
Career history
814
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
53.8%
+13.8% vs TC avg
§102
21.8%
-18.2% vs TC avg
§112
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 734 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-7, 9-14 and 16-19 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. 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 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. ( CN110287623 ) . Regarding claim s 1 and 15 , Li et al. teach an apparatus for correcting a dye mixing ratio with the apparatus comprising a memory (memory is taught) and a processor connected to the memory wherein upon receiving a dyeing order including a first computer color matching (CCM) colorimetric value by a client (t he standard Lab value may be standard color data obtained from customer-supplied sample measurements, and is not limited herein. ), the processor uses at least one of the first CCM colorimeteric value, a currently selected dye mixing ratio, a second CCM colorimetric value in a dyeing process, fabric characteristic data and dye characteristic data and corrects the dye mixing ratio so that deviation between the first CCM colorimetric and the second colorimetric value is minimized [ 0058-0073 and 0119-0122 ]. 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 8 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. ( CN110287623 ) . Regarding claim s 8 and 20 , Li et al. teaches fabric weight as an example of the fabric characteristic data , but is silent regarding the other claimed fabric characteristics. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use fabric thickness, cotton count or any of the other claimed fabric characteristics because they affect the dyeing process and arrive at the claimed invention. Prior Art Not Used but Relevant KR 20010113484 teaches a CCM calculation system. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT SHAWN MCKINNON whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6116 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday thru Friday generally 8:00am-5:00pm 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Marla McConnell can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-7692 . 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. /Shawn Mckinnon/ Examiner, Art Unit 1789
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 24, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (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
53%
Grant Probability
84%
With Interview (+31.3%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 734 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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