Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/757,892

CURTAIN MOTOR

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 28, 2024
Examiner
ELNAKIB, AHMED
Art Unit
2834
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Ningbo Sunfree Motor Technology Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
447 granted / 568 resolved
+10.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
596
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
49.2%
+9.2% vs TC avg
§102
23.9%
-16.1% vs TC avg
§112
24.4%
-15.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 568 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-10 of U.S. Application No. 18/757892 filed on 06/28/2024 are presented for examination. 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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. 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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng Xiao-Ke (CN 219229584; Hereinafter, “Cheng”) in view of Xie Wei-Qun (CN 113285547; Hereinafter, “Xie”). Regarding claim 1: Cheng discloses a curtain motor (title), comprising: a housing (1, 2, 5) and a motor core (31), a speed reducer (32) and a circuit board (6, 7) are disposed in the housing (1,2,5); the motor core (31) is fixedly connected (fig. 2) to the speed reducer (32), and also electrically connected to the circuit board (6), wherein a through hole (21, from which 331 extends; fig. 3, 8) used for an output end of the speed reducer to transmit power (since 331 is an output shaft) is opened at an end of the housing (fig. 4); a support in communication with the through hole is integrally formed inside this end of the housing (the ring surround hole 21 in fig. 8); the support is connected with the output end (fig. 8) of the speed reducer (32); a bracket (8) is further disposed in the housing (1), and the other end of the bracket is connected with the circuit board (6, and 7). PNG media_image1.png 374 541 media_image1.png Greyscale Cheng does not clearly show one end of the bracket is connected with the motor core. Xie discloses (see fig. 4) one end of the bracket (162) is connected with the motor core (130) and the other end is connected with the circuit board (140). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the motor of Cheng with one end of the bracket is connected with the motor core as disclosed by Xie, to provide mechanical support in the axial direction, increasing the robustness of the curtain motor internal components. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-10 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. Regarding claim 2/1: the limitations of claim 2, “…reinforcing ribs integrally formed with the support are disposed at an inner side of the end of the front housing away from the rear cover; the reinforcing ribs are disposed along a periphery of the support” in the combination as claimed are neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior arts in record. Claims 3-10 are also objected-to for depending on claim 2. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED ELNAKIB whose telephone number is (571)270-0638. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-4:00PM. 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, Tulsidas Patel can be reached at 571-272-2098. 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. /AHMED ELNAKIB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 28, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601373
REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR INCLUDING GROOVED AUXILIARY BEARING INTERFACE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597816
ROTOR, PERMANENT MAGNET MOTOR AND POWERTRAIN
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12584521
HYBRID AIRFOIL BEARING WITH ACTIVE DAMPING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587064
ELECTRIC MOTOR SYSTEM, TURBO COMPRESSOR, AND REFRIGERATION DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587071
DRIVE DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 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
79%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+8.7%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 568 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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