Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/565,520

METHOD FOR IMPROVING CURVILINEAR RUNNING SPEED OF RAILWAY VEHICLE AND SMALL TILTING SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Nov 30, 2023
Examiner
MCCARRY JR, ROBERT J
Art Unit
3615
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
1236 granted / 1508 resolved
+30.0% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
1550
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
34.3%
-5.7% vs TC avg
§102
43.0%
+3.0% vs TC avg
§112
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1508 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
CTNF 18/565,520 CTNF 76104 DETAILED ACTION The Information Disclosure Statement filed on November 30, 2023 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 10-12 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 10-12 appear to be apparatus claims written to depend from method claims. Method claims and apparatus claims, while they may be related should be written in the own respective claim sets . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-12 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. 07-34-07 AIA The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. 07-34-03 AIA The term “ small ” in claim s 1-4 and 10-12 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “ small ” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. What is deemed a small tilt of a railcar may not be considered a small tilt to another analyzing the movement of the car . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Sehata (JP 2007176400 A) . Sehata discloses a tilting system for a railway vehicle, and method of operating the tilting system. The system is comprised of an air cylinder 19, a left air spring and a right air spring, both generally numbered 2, and a control assembly 12 is also arranged in the system to control compressed air to enter the left air spring or the right air spring through the control assembly; or to be exhausted from the left air spring or the right air spring so that a height difference is generated between the left air spring and the right air spring to enable the railway vehicle to form a tilting angle to the inner side of the curve relative to a rail surface. The background section states that this type of system is used to move air so as to incline the vehicle body toward the inside of a curve, and then returns to the original volume when exiting the curve section . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5 and 6 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sehata (JP 2007176400 A) in view of Negoro (JP 2008254577 A) . Sehata discloses the railcar tilting system as described above. However, Sehata does not disclose the use of torsion bars in communication with the controller and the left and right air springs to move and regulate the movement of the car through curves. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied torsion bars, like those of Negoro, to a system like that of Sehata, with the expected result of adding an additional layer of stability and control to the tilting movements of the railcars through curves . Allowable Subject Matter 07-43-02 AIA Claim s 7-9, 11 and 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00. 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, S. Joseph Morano can be reached at 571-272-6684. 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. /Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615 RJMMarch 17, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/565,520 Page 2 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/565,520 Page 3 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/565,520 Page 4 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/565,520 Page 5 Art Unit: 3615
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 30, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
82%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+16.5%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1508 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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