Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/702,406

DART WITH POWDER-FILLED CAP AND BOTTLE FOR FILLING A DART CAP WITH POWDER

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 18, 2024
Priority
May 05, 2023 — nonprovisional of PCTSG2023050305
Examiner
WEISS, NICHOLAS J
Art Unit
3711
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Easebon Services Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
60%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 60% of resolved cases
60%
Career Allowance Rate
274 granted / 456 resolved
-9.9% vs TC avg
Strong +43% interview lift
Without
With
+42.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
44 currently pending
Career history
494
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
45.8%
+5.8% vs TC avg
§102
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
§112
31.1%
-8.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 456 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 . 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) 1, 2, 8, 9, & 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over China patent 203053328 in view of Davids 532,770. China 203053328 shows a toy dart, with a main body 2; a cap connected to the main body, with a side wall 1, a plug received in the main body, and a front wall with openings 1a around the edge (figure 4); a hollow chamber in the cap, which contains powder to be dispensed through the openings. China shows the front wall rounded, but some targets may be better struck with a flat tip. For example, Davids shows that a dart may include a cap a with a chamber to receive chalk, and a substantially flat front wall d with openings to dispense chalk onto a target. This substantially flat front wall would be an obvious variation of the dart of China 203053328. Claims 3-7, & 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claims 12-23 are allowed. We are not aware of any prior art dart kit, which includes a dart, with a main body; a cap with a side wall and a flat front wall which define a chamber to hold powder; an opening in the front wall; and a bottle for storing powder and placing the powder into the dart, which includes a container, with a lid and a nozzle configured to insert powder through the opening; and a wall surrounds the nozzle, as claimed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN A RICCI whose telephone number is (571)272-4429. The examiner can normally be reached Mon to Fri. 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, Nicholas Weiss can be reached at 571-270-1775. 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. /JOHN A RICCI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 18, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12697556
Attachable Handheld Fidget Spinner
2y 7m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12691387
FLYING DISC
2y 4m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12685944
TOY
2y 9m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12643025
PORTABLE BASKETBALL GAME WITH DUNK MODE
2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12612931
METERING MODULE
2y 6m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026
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
60%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+42.6%)
2y 7m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 456 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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