Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/775,991

BUILDING SYSTEM WITH STRING MAPPING BASED ON CLUSTERING

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Jul 17, 2024
Priority
May 28, 2020 — continuation of 11/693,374 +1 more
Examiner
COLLINS, GARY
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Tyco Fire & Security GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
415 granted / 500 resolved
+23.0% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
518
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.9%
-35.1% vs TC avg
§103
62.1%
+22.1% vs TC avg
§102
18.1%
-21.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 500 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 . Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,222,689. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant claim set broaden those of the parent by removing certain limitations and broadening the language of others. App. 18/775,991 US Patent No. 12,222,689 1. A building system, comprising: one or more memory devices configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a plurality of acronym strings for a building, the plurality of acronym strings including a plurality of acronyms that represent entities of the building; extract features from the plurality of acronym strings; group, using the features from the plurality of acronym strings, the plurality of acronym strings into a plurality of clusters; provide representative acronym strings for the plurality of clusters; train an artificial intelligence model based on the representative acronym strings; and execute, using an acronym string of the plurality of acronym strings, the artificial intelligence model to output a tag string comprising a plurality of tags that provide a translation of acronyms of the acronym string. 1. A building system comprising one or more memory devices configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive training data comprising a plurality of tag strings, wherein a tag string of the plurality of tag strings is a translation of an acronym string of a plurality of acronym strings, and wherein the plurality of acronym strings include a plurality of acronyms that represent a plurality of entities of a building; train a sequence to sequence neural network based on the training data; receive an acronym string comprising a particular plurality of acronyms; and output, using the sequence to sequence neural network, a tag of a tag string for one acronym of the particular plurality of acronyms based on a placement of the one acronym within the acronym string. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY COLLINS whose telephone number is (571)270-0473. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 1-930PM EST. 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, Kamini Shah can be reached at (571) 272-2279. 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. /GARY COLLINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 17, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (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
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+15.8%)
2y 5m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 500 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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