Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/683,778

HOLDER FOR AN INDIVIDUAL CAPILLARY TUBE, AND COLLECTING DEVICE FOR A PLURALITY OF HOLDERS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 15, 2024
Examiner
WILSON, LEE D
Art Unit
3723
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
1458 granted / 1824 resolved
+9.9% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+18.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
1858
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
25.7%
-14.3% vs TC avg
§102
48.9%
+8.9% vs TC avg
§112
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1824 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Specification Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details. The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided. The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because Two abstracts which are different from each other one being a prelimanry amendment and the other being a National Phase Pct which has the term “means” recited. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). 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(s) 1, 3-8, and 10-12 and is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Suzuki 5666709. Suzuki discloses the claimed invention as recited in the claims as shown below: Claim 1 (Currently Amended): A holder for a single capillary tube,8 which at thereo4 at a distance from each other configured to receive one endthereof a handl(this is outside of housing 8) with an elongated planar areis-beingconnected to the elongated carriewherein_the elongated carriecomprisess a planar area diameter of tube the elongated carrier has an elongated sli 5 orming two opposite arms 4 wherein comprises a marking field(this is any available space to stick a label)configured for applying informationandwherein the marking field elongated carrie Claim 2 (Currently Amended): The holderThe holderwherein_an inscribed label Claim 3 (Currently Amended): The holderwherein the elongated carrierandwherein the slitSee Fig.1 Claim 4 (Currently Amended): The holderwhereinon their opposite inner sides thereof, the arms (12, 13) have grooves (20), and wherein a width of the grooves 5 a diameter of the capillary tube Claim 5 (Currently Amended): The holderwherein_the slitandwherein 4-the slit tapers toward one endelongated carrieThe applicant does not show a true trapezoidal and therefore the taper shown by applicant is a taper shown in the prior art. Claim 6 (Currently Amended): The holderan end thereoelongated carriethe sli1000 with a main ar PNG media_image1.png 726 736 media_image1.png Greyscale Claim 7 (Currently Amended): The holderwherein the armselongated carrie2000 on thereo PNG media_image2.png 726 736 media_image2.png Greyscale Claim 8 (Currently Amended): The holderwhereinof the holder are such that P-the holder is insertableThis is true of object because of dimension and size can be anything. Claim 9 (Currently Amended): The holderwherein_the carriecomprises a plastic that is processable with 3D printing. Claim 10 (Currently Amended): A collecting devicetheclaim 1. comprising:aving arranged therein a plurality of receiving slits(are going to be the sides around opening 6) re placeable in the through openings Claim 11 (Currently Amended): he collecting devic02The two slits at the top of opening 6 are in two different rows Claim 12 (Currently Amended): he collecting devics storable in a boxThe object of rejection is a 3D object and is storable in a box. Claim 13 (Currently Amended): he collecting devicclaim 10comprises a plastic that processable with 3D printing. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki 5666709 in view of Levine et al 6581973. Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except a label. Levine et al discloses device for marking such as a label (Col. 4, line 54-58) and It would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the Suzuki device by providing a label which marks the device to identifiy it how ever you want which would yield the predictable result of marking for identication. KSR Claim(s) 9 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki 5666709 . Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except the process of making the device using a 3D printer. This is a product by process claim which states if you have a device then a known process such as using a manufacture device would be known such as a 3-D printer and this is obvious based on product by process. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The 892 form discloses prior art being made of record. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEE D WILSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4499. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 6;30-4;30. 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, BRIAN KELLER can be reached at 571-272-8548. 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. LEE D. WILSON Examiner Art Unit 3723 Ldw /LEE D WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 March 26, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 15, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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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
80%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+18.6%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1824 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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