Last updated: July 17, 2026

Application No. 18/671,302

INSPECTION APPARATUS, INSPECTION SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FOR INSPECTION APPARATUS

Non-Final OA

Filed

May 22, 2024

Priority

May 26, 2023 — JP 2023-086633

Examiner

HON, MING Y

Art Unit

2666

Tech Center

2600 — Communications

Assignee

Canon Inc.

OA Round

1 (Non-Final)

Interview Optional

— +13.0% interview lift. Interview lift (+13.0%) is below the 15.0% threshold. A written response is recommended.

Based on 774 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Examiner Intelligence

HON, MING Y View full profile →

Grants 82% — above average

Career Allowance Rate

637 granted / 774 resolved

+20.3% vs TC avg

Moderate +13% lift

Without

With

+13.0%

Interview Lift

resolved cases with interview

Typical timeline

2y 9m

Avg Prosecution

24 currently pending

Career history

790

Total Applications

across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101

2.4%

-37.6% vs TC avg

§103

90.0%

+50.0% vs TC avg

§102

0.7%

-39.3% vs TC avg

§112

3.6%

-36.4% vs TC avg

Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 774 resolved cases

Prosecution Timeline

May 22, 2024

Application Filed

Apr 27, 2026

Non-Final Rejection mailed (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

18/405,557

Patent 12682614

Microscopy System and Method for Calculating a Result Image Using an Ordinal Classification Model

2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026

18/027,656

Patent 12670721

Determining Correctness of Image Data of Camera System

3y 3m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026

18/380,591

Patent 12670740

IMAGE ANALYSIS USING NEURAL NETWORKS FOR POSE AND ACTION IDENTIFICATION

2y 8m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026

17/858,051

Patent 12664821

AUTOMATIC BODY MOVEMENT RECOGNITION AND ASSOCIATION SYSTEM INCLUDING SMOOTHING, SEGMENTATION, SIMILARITY, POOLING, AND DYNAMIC MODELING

3y 11m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026

18/235,508

Patent 12664767

Microscopy System and Method for Testing a Sensitivity of an Image Processing Model

2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026

Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2

Expected OA Rounds

82%

Grant Probability

95%

With Interview (+13.0%)

2y 9m (~7m remaining)

Median Time to Grant

Low

PTA Risk

Based on 774 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.