Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 17, 2026
Application No. 18/571,779

SPECIMEN CARRIER TURNING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 19, 2023
Priority
Jun 22, 2021 — FI 20215734 +1 more
Examiner
AWAIS, MUHAMMAD SUMRAIZ
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Thermo Fisher Scientific OY
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
167 granted / 204 resolved
+21.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
217
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
48.8%
+8.8% vs TC avg
§102
35.6%
-4.4% vs TC avg
§112
13.3%
-26.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 204 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 . Claim Objections Claims 2, 15, and 17 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 2 recites “a carrier” in line 2, it should be “the carrier”. Claim 15 recites “a carrier”, “a turning device” in line 2, it should be “the carrier”, “the turning device”. Claim 17 recites “a path” in line 3, it should be “the path”. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claim 1 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 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are: It is unclear from the claim how the "turning device (100) for transferring a carrier" is supposed to transfer the carrier, since the claim only defines how the conveying platforms rotates, but not what the rotation of these conveying platforms accomplishes. From Para [0034] “The carrier has a flat horizontal bottom surface so that it may be safely placed on the top surfaces of the conveying platforms 114, 115,116”, which implies that the carrier is placed on top surface of conveying platforms of the turning device. Examiner suggest applicant to use Para [0034-0035] how “turning device” transfer the carrier via conveying platform to provide functional/structural relation between carrier and conveying platform. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-21 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure “See PTO-892”. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD AWAIS whose telephone number is (571)272-4955. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4 pm (EST). 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, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571)272-6911. 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. /MA/Examiner, Art Unit 3651 /GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 19, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12735266
VIBRATING APPARATUS AND CORRESPONDING METHOD FOR CONVEYING OBJECTS
2y 12m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12735264
Material processing device and method for adjusting a conveyor device of a material processing device
2y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12735269
CONVEYOR SYSTEM AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD
2y 3m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12729072
CAPSULE DIRECTION RESTRICTING MECHANISM
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12729068
CONTACTING CLEANING SYSTEM
2y 0m 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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+9.5%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 204 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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