Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/546,038

COMPUTER MODELING FOR DETECTION OF DISCONTINUITIES IN WELDED STRUCTURES

Non-Final OA §101§102
Filed
Aug 10, 2023
Examiner
LEE JR, WOODY A
Art Unit
3761
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Newfrey LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
543 granted / 641 resolved
+14.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
681
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
41.3%
+1.3% vs TC avg
§102
29.2%
-10.8% vs TC avg
§112
25.7%
-14.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 641 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §102
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 § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1- 8 and 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) the abstract idea of a first/second artificial intelligence model trained on weldments, which amounts to the storage manipulation and comparison of data . This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the data is not used to affect the physical structure or process beyond the manipulation of data and display of said data . The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements amount only to a generic processor and display which are well known components for computing and displaying data . As claims 9-10 and 19-20 include an instruction signal that modifies the welding process a rejection under 35 USC §101 is not applicable. 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) xxx is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0163172 to Daniel, et al. Regarding claims 1 and 11 Daniel teaches a system/method comprising: a processor( 220/320) associated with a non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations (see operations flow charts Figs. 9 and 10) receive a plurality of attributes corresponding to a weldment (1010) execute a first artificial intelligence model to identify one or more attributes associated with at least one discontinuity of the weldment (¶ [0033], [0044]-[0045] , [0054] and [0060] “e.g. by the central controller applying a cmachine learning technique”) to execute a first artificial intelligence model to identify one or more attributes associated with at least one discontinuity of the weldment (¶ [0060] -[0062] “welds that is experiencing degredation ”) wherein the first artificial intelligence model was trained based on one or more attributes corresponding to previous weldments having at least one discontinuity (“e.g. a model previously generated ”) ; wherein the one or more attributes associated with the at least one discontinuity of the weldment correspond to a type or location of the discontinuity ( ¶ [0062] “e.g. an incorrect weld position”) present the attributes for display (¶ [0065]) Regarding claims 2 and 12 Daniel further teaches the processor receiving the plurality of attributes from a welding machine (¶s [0060] -[ 0065] establishing the welding machine and process and Figs. 9/10 establishing the workflow). Regarding claims 5 and 15 Daniel further teaches the plurality of attributes comprise at least changes associated with the weldment of at least one of travel speed, voltage, wire speed, tilt attributes, target, direction and oscillation width/rates and wire consumption (¶ [0062] all either directly disclosed or a property of those attributes directly disclosed in ¶ [0062 ] ) . Regarding claims 6, 8, 16 and 18 Daniel further teaches at least one attribute within the attributes associated with a discontinuity size and depth (¶ [0033] note that data from a camera and laser would send attributes “associated” with discontinuity size and depth). Regarding claims 7 and 17 Daniel further teaches that the first artificial intelligence model calculates a likelihood of discontinuity being present within the weldment (¶ [0060] flagging a weldment as having a discontinuity meets this limitation as it is indicating that a defect is likely, there is no requirement in the claim of a specific percentage or odds based threshold). Regarding claims 9-10 and 19-20 Daniel further teaches to transmit an instruction to a welding machine to modify a welding process responsible for re-calibration or autocorrection of the welding machine or indicating a problematic area of the weldment (see loop in Figs. 9/10 in view of ¶ [0064] -[ 0066]). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT WOODY A LEE JR whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1051 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 0800-1630 . 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 Edward "Ned" Landrum can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-5567 . 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. /WOODY A LEE JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 10, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §102 (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
85%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+13.1%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 641 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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