Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 18/719,269

WIRELESS SENSOR AND RAISING/LOWERING DEVICE INFORMATION COLLECTION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 13, 2024
Priority
Feb 10, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2022005444
Examiner
DHAKAL, BICKEY
Art Unit
3654
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
645 granted / 766 resolved
+32.2% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
808
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
§103
44.2%
+4.2% vs TC avg
§102
25.5%
-14.5% vs TC avg
§112
24.9%
-15.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 766 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the term “to operates” in line 8 should be re-written as “to operate”. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claims 1, 2, 9-11, 13, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gozzo et al. US 6,467,585 B1 in a view of Lee et al. US 10,008,351 B2. Regarding claim 1, Gozzo et al. disclose a wireless sensor (fig. 2) that measures a condition of a first contact (item 22) included in a safety circuit in which a plurality of contacts (items 22, 24 and 26) are connected in series in a raising/lowering device (elevator) (column 2, lines 33-54) Gozzo does not disclose but Lee et. al. disclose comprising: a signal detection circuitry (figs. 2 and 3, item 24) to detect an electrical signal indicating a condition of a voltage of the first contact (item SW) (column 3, lines 24-57); a power acquisition circuitry (item 24 also acts as a power acquisition circuitry) to obtain power from the safety circuit when the first contact is open (column 3, lines 24-57); and a transmission circuitry (item 26) to operates by the power obtained by the power acquisition circuitry, and to transmit a radio wave indicating the electrical signal detected by the signal detection circuitry (column 5, lines 4-13). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a signal detection circuitry along with a power acquisition circuitry as disclosed by Lee in Gozzo’s teachings to control the switch wirelessly. Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses wherein the power acquisition circuitry includes an acquisition circuit (item 243) that is connected in parallel with the first contact, to the safety circuit, and obtains power from the safety circuit when the first contact is open (column 4, lines 50-67). Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses, wherein the acquisition circuit includes a power storage capacitor (item 242 inherently has a capacitor) connected in parallel with the first contact to the safety circuit (column 4, lines 7-16). Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses ,wherein the signal detection circuitry detects an electrical signal indicating whether the first contact is in an open condition or a closed condition, as a condition of a voltage of the first contact (column 3, lines 24-57). Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses ,wherein the signal detection circuitry detects an electrical signal indicating change in voltage values at both ends of the first contact at a time when the first contact is closed from an open condition as a condition of a voltage of the first contact (column 3, lines 24-57). Regarding claim 13, Gozzo et al. disclose A raising/lowering device information collection system (fig. 2), comprising: a wireless sensor (item 22) in which a plurality of contacts (items 22, 24 and 26) are connected in series opens in a raising/lowering device (elevator) (column 2, lines 33-54). Gozzo does not disclose but Lee discloses the contact that operates by power obtained from a safety circuit (LINE wire) when a first contact (SW) included in the safety circuit (column 3, lines 24-57), transmits a radio wave indicating an electrical signal indicating a condition of a voltage of the first contact during operation and a gateway device (item 26) that creates information on the first contact based on the radio wave received from the wireless sensor, and transmits the information on the first contact to a remote communication device (column 5, lines 4-13). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a safety circuit along with a gateway device as disclosed by Lee in Gozzo’s teachings to control the switch wirelessly. Regarding claim 16, Lee discloses wherein the gateway device diagnoses soundness of the first contact based on the radio wave, and transmits a diagnosis result in association with the information on the first contact (column 5, lines 4-13). Regarding claim 17, Lee discloses: an information center device (via item 26) that receives the information on the first contact via the remote communication device from the gateway device, and diagnoses soundness of the first contact based on the information on the first contact (column 5, lines 4-13). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-8, 12, 14 and 15 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. Claim 3 discloses a charging capacitor, claim 12 discloses the details about the signal detection circuitry and claim 14 discloses connections among the wireless sensor, the safety circuit and the plurality of contacts. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KURISHU (CN114156135A) discloses a communication unit of a circuit breaker. VAGHASIYA et al. (US 2022/0328273 A1) disclose a remote load switching circuit breaker. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BICKEY DHAKAL whose telephone number is (571)272-3577. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-4:30 PM. 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. /BICKEY DHAKAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 13, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 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
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.5%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 766 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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