Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/767,977

ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 09, 2024
Priority
Dec 08, 2023 — TW 112147841
Examiner
DINH, PHUONG K
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Acer Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
1054 granted / 1208 resolved
+27.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 9m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
1217
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
42.7%
+2.7% vs TC avg
§102
31.2%
-8.8% vs TC avg
§112
13.4%
-26.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1208 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 102 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a, 1) as being anticipated by Klein (U. S. Patent 1,255,181). Regarding claim 1, Klein, see figures 1-3, discloses an electronic device suitable for connection with a male connector 6, comprising: a body 8 having a lateral opening; a female connector 8 disposed in the body 8 as corresponding to the lateral opening, wherein the male connector 6 is adapted to be inserted into the lateral opening along the first direction and plugged into the female connector 8; and two guiding members 15 disposed in the body 8 as corresponding to the lateral opening and are adapted to slide along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, each of the two guiding members 15 comprises a guiding part 17 located in the lateral opening, and the two guiding parts 17 encircle to form a movable opening (near to the leadline 16), when the male connector 6 is inserted into the lateral opening, the male connector contacts 6 the two guiding parts 17 and pushes the two guiding parts 17 to slide away from each other, and thus the movable opening (near to the leadline 16) expands from a first opening area to a second opening area. Regarding claim 2, Klein discloses the movable opening (near to the leadline 16) has the first opening area 17 when the two guiding parts 17 are in contact, and the movable opening has the second opening area when the two guiding parts 17 are separated from each other. Regarding claim 3, Klein discloses each of the two guiding parts 17 has a recessed opening, and the two recessed openings face each other to define the movable opening. Regarding claim 4, Klein discloses each of the two guiding parts 17 further has a guiding bevel 17 surrounding the recessed opening. Regarding claim 10, Klein discloses the two guiding members 17 are arranged in symmetry. Claims 5-9 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. None of the references discloses the female connector has a connector opening for the male connector inserting thereto, and the connector opening has a first inner diameter in the second direction, the movable opening has a second inner diameter in the second direction when the two guiding parts are in contact, and the second inner diameter is smaller than the first inner diameter, the movable opening has a third inner diameter in the second direction when the two guiding parts are separated from each other, and the third inner diameter is greater than the first inner diameter, each of the two guiding members further comprises a sliding part located in the body and connected to the corresponding guiding part, two positioning parts are provided inside the body, and the two sliding parts are slidably sleeved on the two positioning parts respectively. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUONG K DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-2090. The examiner can normally be reached M-F from 8:30 am - 5:30 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, Riyami A Abdullah can be reached at 571-270-3119. 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. /PHUONG K DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 09, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749857
SUB CONNECTOR, CONNECTOR, AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12749855
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH IMPROVED GROUNDING EFFECT
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12733681
E-VAPOR DEVICE WITH BIMETALLIC ACTUATOR FOR OPENING AND SEALING RESERVOIR
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12738692
CABLE CONNECTOR STRAIN-LIMITING RELEASE MECHANISM(S)
2y 6m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12731941
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SEALS INHIBITING LIQUID INGRESS
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 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
87%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+9.0%)
1y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1208 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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