Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Application No. 18/694,450

ELEVATOR PUSH BUTTON DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 22, 2024
Priority
Sep 30, 2021 — EU 21200370.1 +1 more
Examiner
GLASS, ERICK DAVID
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Inventio AG
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
640 granted / 715 resolved
+29.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
731
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
41.8%
+1.8% vs TC avg
§102
42.8%
+2.8% vs TC avg
§112
12.7%
-27.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 715 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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) 14-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klaus (EP 3,518,264). With respect to claim 14, Klaus teaches an elevator pushbutton device comprising: a guide housing (fig. 2, 3); an actuating element (fig. 2, 2) disposed within the guide housing; wherein the guide housing has fastening wings adapted (fig. 2; 4 winds extending out) to attach a switch device (paragraph 0058); and element are each formed of a metal material (paragraph 0058) and the guide housing is a monolithic one-piece metal. Klaus does not teach metal being injected molded component. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to guide/part be made through injection molding, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. With respect to claim 15, Klaus teaches wherein the guide housing has an annular upper end portion (fig. 2, 3). With respect to claim 16, Klaus does not teach wherein an outer diameter of the upper end portion of the guide housing is 3.429 cm +/- 0.034 cm and a height of the guide housing extending in a direction of a central axis of the upper end portion of the guide housing is 1.905 cm +/- 0.019 cm. With respect to claim 17, Klaus does not teach wherein a length of the fastening wings extending parallel to a central axis of the upper end portion of the guide housing is 0.863 cm +/- 0.009 cm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for length of fastening wings, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 18, Klaus does not teach wherein a free length of the fastening wings extending parallel to a central axis of the upper end portion of the guide housing and being between a lower end of a central body of the guide housing and a lower end of the guide housing is 0.558 cm +/- 0.006 cm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for length of fastening wings, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 19, Klaus does not teach wherein a thickness of the fastening wings extending perpendicular to a central axis of the upper end portion of the guide housing is 0.076 cm +/- 0.001 cm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for thickness of fastening wings, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 20, Klaus does not teach wherein the fastening wings are flat in a direction parallel to a central axis of the upper end portion of the guide housing and each of the fastening wings has a width of 0.762 cm +/-.0.008 cm, wherein the width extends in a direction perpendicular to the central axis. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for length of fastening wings, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 21, Klaus does not teach wherein a ratio of a length of the fastening wings to a width of the fastening wings is in a range of 1.100 to 1.150. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for ratio of fastening length, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 22, Klaus does not teach wherein a ratio of a free length of the fastening wings to a width of the fastening wings is in a range of 0.700 to 0.770. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for ratio of fastening length, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 23, Klaus does not teach wherein a ratio of a length of the fastening wings to a thickness of the fastening wings is in a range of 11.000 to 11.700. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for ratio of fastening length, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 24, Klaus does not teach wherein a ratio of a free length of the fastening wings to a thickness of the fastening wings is in a range of 7.000 to 7.700. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for ratio of fastening length, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 25, Klaus does not teach wherein a ratio of a length of the fastening wings to a free length of the fastening wings is in a range of 1.500 to 1.600. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to for ratio of fastening length, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). With respect to claim 26, Klaus teaches an elevator comprising: an operating panel (paragraph 0032); and at least one of the elevator pushbutton device according to Claim 14 assembled in the operating panel. With respect to claim 27, Klaus teaches an elevator pushbutton device comprising: a guide housing (fig. 2, 3) having an annular upper end portion, a central portion (paragraph 0043; seat of pressel) extending from the upper end portion and a pair of fastening wings extending (fig. 2; 4 winds extending out) from the central portion, the fastening wings being adapted to attach a switch device (paragraph 0060) to the guide housing; an actuating element (fig. 2, 2) disposed within the upper end portion of the guide housing; and wherein the guide housing (paragraph 0058) and the actuating element are each formed of at least one metal material and the guide housing is a monolithic one-piece metal. Klaus does not teach metal being injected molded component. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to guide/part be made through injection molding, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICK DAVID GLASS whose telephone number is (571)272-8395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri_8-5pm. 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, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. 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. /ERICK D GLASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §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
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+7.0%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 715 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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