Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Application No. 18/547,360

DETERMINATION DEVICE

Final Rejection §102§112§Other
Filed
Aug 22, 2023
Priority
Mar 12, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2021010080
Examiner
TRINH, MINH N
Art Unit
3729
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Fuji Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1302 granted / 1520 resolved
+15.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
53 currently pending
Career history
1569
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
36.5%
-3.5% vs TC avg
§102
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
§112
38.6%
-1.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1520 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112 §Other
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 . Response to Amendment That the amendment to the claim languages filed on 6/17/26 has been fully considered and made of record claims 1, 5-6 are now pending of record. Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a processor” (claim 1) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claim1, 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. In this case the claimed feature of “a processor was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Claims 1, 5-6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. This rejection is set forth from the previous OA dated 6/17/26. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Claim(s) 1 and 5 as best understood is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Hunze et al (20200307104). This rejection is retained for same reason of record (see OA dated 4/29/26). As applied to claim 6, appears to meet by the Hunze et al, since the claimed “a processor” was not discloses by the instant application. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed on 6/17/26 has been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Because the applied prior art discloses the invention for reason provided from previous Action dated 4/29/26. The drawing: see new drawing objection to above. The 112: The changes to the claim language do not remove the 112 issues, since the scope of the claims directed to “a determination device” which is “structural “and the newly added limitation does not further limit the claimed device because no further structural element existed in the newly added limitation. Note that the operation of a cited structure (e.g., a processor) does not further limit the claimed device since no further structure feature of the device existed therefrom. See also new formulate 112 1st rejection above. The prior art: As best understood claims 1, 5-6 are discloses by the applied prior art for same reason of record. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINH N TRINH whose telephone number is (571)272-4569. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH ~5:00-3:30. 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, Thomas J Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. 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. /MINH N TRINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729 mt
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 22, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112, §Other
May 12, 2026
Interview Requested
Jun 17, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 31, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112, §Other
Aug 06, 2026
Interview Requested

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+10.1%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1520 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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