Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/614,297

HIGH TORQUE IMPACT TOOL

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Mar 22, 2024
Priority
Dec 21, 2018 — provisional 62/783,673 +4 more
Examiner
SEIF, DARIUSH
Art Unit
3731
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
371 granted / 530 resolved
At TC average
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
565
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
77.6%
+37.6% vs TC avg
§102
9.9%
-30.1% vs TC avg
§112
10.0%
-30.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 530 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. Application Status A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/30/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are currently pending. Information Disclosure Statement The IDS filed 3/30/2026 and 4/24/2026 have been considered. See the attached PTO 1449 forms. 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 1-6, 11-12, 14-16, and 19-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Regarding claims 1, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, and 20: Claim 1 recites “five Amp-hours (Ah)” and “18 Volts (V)”, whereas claim 14 recites “18 V” and claim 15 recites “5 Ah”. Claim 6 recites “80 Amps (A)”, whereas claims 16 and 20 recite “80 A”. Claim 19 recites “between 0.5 kilograms and 1.0 kilograms”, whereas claims 11 and 12 recite “between 0.5 kg and 0.7 kg” and “between 0.5 kg and 0.7 kg”, respectively. Claims 1, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, and 20 are each considered to be indefinite because the inconsistent use of terms for the units throughout the claims renders them indefinite. Consistent units should be used throughout the claims to avoid any clarity issues and questions of interpretation. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7-10, 13, and 17-18 are allowed. Claims 1-6 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. Claims 11-12, 14-16, and 19 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. Applicable Reasons for Allowance can be found in the PTOL-85 dated 3/24/2022 in Application 16/278,382. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARIUSH SEIF whose telephone number is (408) 918-7542. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:00 PM 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, ANNA KINSAUL can be reached on 571-270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DARIUSH SEIF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 2 earlier events
Jan 07, 2025
Response Filed
Jun 26, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 01, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 01, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Dec 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 30, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 22, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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DISPENSER UNIT FOR AEROSOL PRECURSOR
4y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12679062
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2y 9m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12678165
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2y 3m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12679629
Method for manufacturing a dispenser container for pressurized fluids and dispenser container for pressurized fluids as manufactured with this method
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Patent 12678928
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1y 10m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+6.2%)
2y 10m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 530 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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