Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/613,253

TRANSPORT CASTER ASSEMBLY FOR A DATA CENTER CABINET

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 22, 2024
Priority
Jun 30, 2021 — divisional of 11/968,798
Examiner
PHAN, HAU VAN
Art Unit
3613
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Panduit Corp.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
1209 granted / 1500 resolved
+28.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
1512
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
53.4%
+13.4% vs TC avg
§102
32.4%
-7.6% vs TC avg
§112
9.8%
-30.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1500 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/22/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (2013/0212834) in view of Lee (5,115,539). Chen (2013/0212834) in figures 1-9, disclose a removable transport caster assembly than can used for positioning a cabinet in a data center. The removable transport caster assembly comprises a transport caster having a mounting plate (1), a mounting bracket extending from the mounting plate, a lifting plate (8) pivotally connected to the mounting plate, a lifting lever (13) pivotally connected to the mounting bracket and a wheel assembly (15). Chen fail to show a transport caster bracket secured to the transport caster, whereby the transport caster bracket secures the transport caster to the cabinet. Lee (5,115,539), in figures 1-6, disclose a braking and wheel orienting mechanism comprising a transport caster bracket (21), which is secured to a transport cast (22). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Lee by further comprising the transport caster bracket disclosed by Chen in order to mount mounting bracket to the cabinet. Regarding claim 2, Lee disclose the transport caster bracket having an offset portion with a mounting hole (see figure 2A) adjacent the offset portion for receiving a fastener to secure the transport caster bracket. Regarding claim 3, Lee disclose the transport caster bracket having threaded inserts extending from a front of the transport caster bracket and extending through holes in the mounting plate of the transport caster. Regarding claim 4, Lee in figure 4A, disclose the transport caster bracket having a cutout area for providing a passageway to route cables. Regarding claim 5, Lee disclose the transport caster bracket having a lifting flange (the bracket has a recess that can be considered a flange) extending from the bottom rear of the transport caster bracket, whereby the lifting flange is positioned under the cabinet for supporting the cabinet when lifted to be relocated. Regarding claim 6, Lee disclose a backing plate for increasing the rigidness of the transport caster assembly, wherein the backing plate having a main member with an offset portion complementing the offset portion of the transport caster bracket and a mounting hole for receiving a fastener to secure the backing plate to the cabinet. Regarding claim 7, Lee disclose the backing plate having buttresses extending from sides of the main member and a tab, wherein the buttresses and the tab extend backward away from the backing plate, whereby the buttresses transfer load to the cabinet and the tab prevents the backing plate from rotating when under load. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 8-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record don’t disclose a removable transport caster comprising a transport caster bracket having threaded inserts extending from a front of the transport caster bracket and extending through holes in the mounting plate of the transport caster and formed hooks extending from the rear of the transport caster bracket for engaging cage nut holes in a front to back beam in the cabinet. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAU VAN PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6696. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 8:00 to 4:00 PST. 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, Marc Jimenez can be reached at 571-272-4530. 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. /HAU V PHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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
81%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+13.6%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1500 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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