Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/523,009

SCREW

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 29, 2023
Examiner
SAN, JASON W
Art Unit
3677
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Taiwan Shan Yin International Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allow Rate
384 granted / 588 resolved
+13.3% vs TC avg
Strong +32% interview lift
Without
With
+31.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
11 currently pending
Career history
599
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
33.0%
-7.0% vs TC avg
§102
39.2%
-0.8% vs TC avg
§112
25.2%
-14.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 588 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. 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 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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated over McCauley et al. (U.S. 4,645,396 ) [ 396 ]. Regarding Claim 1 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses a screw (10) comprising: a head (12) ; a shank (14) extending longitudinally from said head and defining a central axis, wherein an outer periphery of said shank defines an outer diameter; a thread unit (18) spirally disposed on said shank; and a drill portion (28) connected to said shank, wherein said drill portion includes a drill body connected to said shank, two opposite groove regions ( 36, 38 ) recessed into said drill body, and two opposite drilling regions (42a, 44a) formed on said drill body, said drill body including an end portion located in opposing relationship to said shank, each of said groove regions including at least one groove wall, each of said drilling regions including a cutting unit (30, 32) formed on a first side of one of said groove regions, a first join wall ( part of 14b ) connected to a second side of said one groove region, and a second join wall ( portion between 14b and 38 on bottom near 34 ) formed between said first join wall and another one of said groove regions, said cutting unit including a connecting section ( 42 ) extending outwards from said first side of said one groove region and a cutting edge section (30, 32) connected to said connecting section and extending inclinedly in an extension direction opposite to said shank, with said cutting edge section of one cutting unit and another cutting edge section of another cutting unit converging at said end portion, said connecting section and said cutting edge section of said one cutting unit converging at one junction (top of 4 2 ) , another connecting section ( 44 ) and said other cutting edge section of said other cutting unit converging at another junction (top of 4 4 ) , a first distance being defined from said one junction to said other junction, said first distance being greater than said outer diameter of said shank, each said first join wall having a slanted surface inclined to said central axis, and a thickness of said drill body thereby being gradually reduced towards said end portion when viewed from said cutting edge section. Regarding Claim 2 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses wherein each of said groove regions includes a first groove wall (72) joined to an outer periphery of said drill body and a second groove wall connected to said first groove wall, with said first side defined by said first groove wall, said second side defined by said second groove wall, said connecting section of said cutting unit extending outwards from said first groove wall, and said first join wall being connected to said second groove wall. Regarding Claim 3 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses wherein said connecting section is curved in shape . Regarding Claim 4 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses wherein said cutting edge section including a cutting edge extending inclinedly in said extension direction and a trailing wall (74) joined to said cutting edge and extending in a direction opposite to said one groove region, with said cutting edge of said cutting edge section and another cutting edge of said other cutting edge section converging at said end portion. Regarding Claim 5 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses wherein said second join wall is inclined to said central axis. Regarding Claim 6 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses wherein said thread unit is connected to sai d one groove region. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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 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. Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McCauley et al. (U.S. 4,645,396 ) [ 396 ] in view of Hu (U.S. 2021/0102571 ) [ 571 ]. Regarding Claim 7 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses the claimed invention, but does not explicitly disclose a plurality of curved recesses are formed on an underside of said head, a connecting edge being formed between two adjacent recesses. Nevertheless, Reference [ 571 ] teaches curved recesses (11). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the head of screw assembly of Reference [ 396 ] with positioning threads on the bottom of the screw head as taught by Reference [ 571 ] in order to stably lock the upper article and limit the screwing depth of the head. Regarding Claim 8 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses the claimed invention, but does not explicitly disclose wherein an auxiliary portion is spirally disposed on said shank and located between said thread unit and said head, a spiral angle defined by said auxiliary portion being different from a spiral angle defined by said thread unit. Nevertheless, Reference [ 571 ] teaches an auxiliary portion (5). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the screw assembly of Reference [ 396 ] with the reamer thread 5 as taught by Reference [ 571 ] in order to lock the upper article during attachment for firmer locking. Regarding Claim 9 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses the claimed invention, but does not explicitly disclose a plurality of ribs being located between said threads and formed by protruding outwards from said outer periphery of said shank. Nevertheless, Reference [ 571 ] teaches a plurality of ribs (4) being located between said threads and formed by protruding outwards from said outer periphery of said shank. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the screw assembly of Reference [ 396 ] with the screw threads, bevel cutting section, and arc cutting section as taught by Reference [ 571 ] in order to have a cooperating thread structure that enhances cutting action and achieving rapid insertion of the screw. Regarding Claim 10 , Reference [ 396 ] discloses the claimed invention, but does not explicitly disclose wherein said thread unit includes a plurality of threads spirally winding around said outer periphery of said shank, a plurality of notches being formed on said threads. Nevertheless, Reference [ 571 ] teaches a plurality of notches (notches of 33) being formed on said threads . It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the screw assembly of Reference [ 396 ] with the cutting units on the thread with notches as taught by Reference [ 571 ] in order to have a to enhance cutting action and achieving rapid insertion of the screw. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JASON W SAN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6531 . The examiner can normally be reached on FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 8AM-5PM . 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, Namrata Boveja can be reached on FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272- 8105 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JASON W SAN/ SPE, Art Unit 3677
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 29, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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LIQUID STORAGE DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF
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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
65%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+31.8%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 588 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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