Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/548,852

ELECTROMAGNETIC-WAVE DETECTION DEVICE AND MOBILE OBJECT

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Sep 01, 2023
Priority
Mar 02, 2021 — JP 2021-032930 +1 more
Examiner
WOLDEMARYAM, ASSRES H
Art Unit
3642
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Kyocera Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
595 granted / 722 resolved
+30.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
746
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
46.1%
+6.1% vs TC avg
§102
22.9%
-17.1% vs TC avg
§112
28.2%
-11.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 722 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . DETAILED ACTION The applicant’s amendment’s remarks dated 06/17/2026 has been received, entered, and fully considered. Claims 1-3, 6-11, and 13-15 are amended. Claim 5 is cancelled. Claims 1-4 and 6-15 are currently pending and are under examination. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-4 and 6-15 are 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. Claim 1 recites “…output an inaccuracy notification for distance information based on a position of the interfering object in image information” in lines 13-14. It is not clear from the recitation or from claim 1 how the ‘distance information’ and ‘image information’ are measured. Are the ‘distance information’ and ‘image information’ measured from a second detection unit and/or the second detection unit? It is not clear how the inaccuracy notification for distance information is based on a position of the interfering object in image information. Therefore, the claim is considered vague and indefinite. Appropriate correctio/clarification required. In claim 2, it is not clear what the difference between the ‘distance information’ and the ‘distance measurement’. How can a distance information is obtained without the ‘distance measurement’ that follows according to claim 2? . Therefore, the claim is considered vague and indefinite. Appropriate correctio/clarification required. Dependent claims 2-4 and 6-12 are rejected under the same rational as the rejection of claim 1 above solely based on their dependency from the rejected parent claim 1. Claim 13 recites “…output an inaccuracy notification for distance information based on a position of the interfering object in image information” in lines 13-14. It is not clear from the recitation or from claim 1 how the ‘distance information’ and ‘image information’ are measured. Are the ‘distance information’ and ‘image information’ measured from a second detection unit and/or the second detection unit? It is not clear how the inaccuracy notification for distance information is based on a position of the interfering object in image information. . Therefore, the claim is considered vague and indefinite. Appropriate correctio/clarification required. Dependent claims 14-15 are rejected under the same rational as the rejection of claim 13 above solely based on their dependency from the rejected parent claim 13. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 06/17/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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 ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM whose telephone number is (571)272-6607. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 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, Joshua Huson can be reached at 571-270-5301. 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. Assres H. Woldemaryam Primary Examiner (Aeronautics and Astronautics) Art Unit 3642 /ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 01, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jun 08, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 08, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jun 17, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12736632
DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENT METHOD
3y 6m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736631
LIGHT PROJECTING APPARATUS, DISTANCE MEASURING APPARATUS, AND LIGHT PROJECTION CONTROL METHOD OF LASER LIGHT
4y 0m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736640
Light Detection and Ranging
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736343
SURVEYING TARGET AND METHOD WITH DISTANCE POWER OPTIMIZATION
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12730202
AUTO-CALIBRATING A TARGET SENSOR USING SCENE MAPPING INFORMATION FROM A REFERENCE SENSOR
4y 5m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
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
82%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+12.8%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 722 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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