Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/648,957

ALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR NON-CONTACT TRANSPORT AND ALIGNMENT METHOD FOR NON-CONTACT TRANSPORT

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Apr 29, 2024
Priority
May 02, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0056847
Examiner
MYERS, GLENN F
Art Unit
3652
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
802 granted / 1031 resolved
+25.8% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+18.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
1037
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
48.1%
+8.1% vs TC avg
§102
24.0%
-16.0% vs TC avg
§112
25.4%
-14.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1031 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. 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 – (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. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Juko Win Tek (Song) KR 10-2325380, provided by Applicant. In Re Claim 15, Juko Win Tek teaches an alignment method for non-contact transport for aligning an exit of a first product transport device with an entrance of a second product transport device when linearly moving a product from the first product transport device to the second product transport device, which are positioned to be apart from each other, wherein each of the first product transport device and the second product transport device linearly moves the product, the alignment method for non-contact transport comprising: performing a position sensing operation by identifying a position of the second product transport device (W); (Paragraph 139) and performing a transport position aligning operation by linearly aligning the first product transport device (30) with the second product transport device, by adjusting a position of the first product transport device after the performing the position sensing operation. (Paragraph 77 and 143) Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-14 are allowed. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 7/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s remarks concerning claim 15, Juko Win TeK (Song) teaches performing the sensing operation and performing the transport position as discussed above. Absent further details in the body of the claim and beyond the preamble of the claim the Second transport device is, “W” in Juko Win Tek and the first transport device is (30) in Juko Win Tek. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 GLENN F MYERS whose telephone number is (571)270-1160. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 PM. 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, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at 571-272-7097. 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. GLENN F. MYERS Examiner Art Unit 3652 /GLENN F MYERS/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 29, 2024
Application Filed
May 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jul 16, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 19, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Sep 30, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12747145
EQUIPMENT PLATFORM
3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12748423
ASSET DELIVERY SYSTEM
2y 11m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12741833
TUGGER DOCKING PLATE FOR ONE TOUCH DELIVERY
4y 1m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12740361
SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12735251
REFUSE COLLECTION DRONE
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 15, 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
78%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+18.8%)
2y 10m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1031 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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