Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/690,941

TARGETS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 11, 2024
Examiner
ACKUN, JACOB K
Art Unit
3736
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
4Gd Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
56%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
58%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 56% of resolved cases
56%
Career Allow Rate
717 granted / 1272 resolved
-13.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
1308
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
70.0%
+30.0% vs TC avg
§102
3.6%
-36.4% vs TC avg
§112
12.9%
-27.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1272 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Herrmann et al (10,527,392). Herrmann discloses a physical target (target 100) having all of the features of the claimed physical target. Thus, the claimed body can be torso 102 and/or head 108. The claimed plurality of sensors can be sensors 105 and/or 106. The claimed processor can be part of, or, is data analyzing apparatus 140. 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) 2, 5-11, 13-15, 18-20 and 22-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herrmann et al (10,527,392). Herrmann may not disclose all of the features of the claims. On the other hand the missing features are all conventional in the art as shown by the prior art of record. For example only, regarding the acoustic wave sensors of claim 2, see Isoz et al. (2009/0102129) cited herein. In another examples of claimed features known in the art, and of the level of skill in the art, see the commentary in the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority cited in the subject application by the applicant. It would have been obvious to provide the apparatus of Herrmann with all of the claimed features not disclosed therein, for the purpose of making the target more useful and effective for its intended purpose. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB K ACKUN whose telephone number is (571)272-4418. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm. 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, Orlando E. Aviles can be reached at (571) 270-5531. 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. /JACOB K ACKUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3736
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 11, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §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
56%
Grant Probability
58%
With Interview (+2.0%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1272 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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