Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 15, 2026
Application No. 18/721,202

CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GUIDING CLASSIFIED STORAGE AND FEEDING/DISCHARGING TAKEOUT AND PLACEMENT OF LOCK PINS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jun 18, 2024
Priority
Dec 31, 2021 — CN 202111658588.6 +1 more
Examiner
WAGGONER, TIMOTHY R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
988 granted / 1382 resolved
+11.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
1402
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
54.1%
+14.1% vs TC avg
§102
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
§112
10.8%
-29.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1382 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. Claims 1-10 lack consistent use of ‘a’ and ‘the’ when introducing new elements and refering back to previously introduced elements. Claims 1-10 do not clearly refer to the lock pins in a consistent manner making it unclear if all references are to the same lock pins or various different lock pins. Claims 1,2,7,10 lack antecedent basis for “the information transmitted” it is unclear if this refer to the “terminal operation information”, the “information of containers” or the “lock pin information”. Claim 2 lacks antecedent basis for “the source of assembling”, “the destination of disassembling”, and “the disassembled lock pins”. Claim 3 lacks antecedent basis for “the switched lock pins”. Claim 4, it is unclear if “lock pin information provided by the terminal operating system” refers back to the “lock pin information” introduced in claim 1. Claim 6 lacks antecedent basis for “the pin locks”. Claim 6, it is unclear if “information of containers”, “lock pin information”, and “a source and a destination of each type of lock pins” refer back to “information of containers”, “lock pin information” and “a source and a destination of lock pins” introduced in claim 1. Claim 7, it is unclear if “a classified calculation” refers back to the “classified calculation” introduced in claim 6. Claim 7 lacks antecedent basis for “the PC host”, “the quantity of each type of lock pins” and the PLC controller. Claim 8 lacks antecedent basis for “the disassembled lock pins” and “the servo crane”. Claim 9 lacks antecedent basis for “the visual recognition device”, and “the HMI touch screen”. Claim 10, it is unclear if “a type of lock pins” refers back to “each type of lock pins” or “said type of lock pins” introduced in claims 6 and 7. Claim 10 lacks antecedent basis for “the current quantity”. Correcting the claim dependence for the claims will correct some of the antecedent basis issues. The remaining issues are a result of the direct machine translation. Please rewrite the claims to be in line with US practice. Allowable Subject Matter No prior art was found which would support a 102 or 103 rejection. CN 214490596 U is considered to be the closest prior art of record. CN 214490596 U discloses a guiding system, a robot system, a feeding/discharging device, and a stacked storage unit. CN 214490596 U does not disclose the integration with the terminal operating system and the transmitting of container information and lock pin information. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CN 208932130 U and CN 215035038 U disclose a similar lock pin system. US 2022/0194694 is considered to be the closest US prior art of record. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY R WAGGONER whose telephone number is (571)272-8204. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 5am-330pm. 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, Jacob Scott can be reached at 571-270-3415. 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. TIMOTHY R. WAGGONER Primary Examiner Art Unit 3655 B /TIMOTHY R WAGGONER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 18, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
72%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+7.7%)
2y 6m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1382 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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