Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 08, 2026
Application No. 18/818,023

SENSOR FUSION FOR FIRE DETECTION & AIR QUALITY MONITORING

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Aug 28, 2024
Priority
Jan 29, 2021 — provisional 63/143,639 +3 more
Examiner
NGUYEN, TAI T
Art Unit
2685
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Saam Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
937 granted / 1106 resolved
+22.7% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
1125
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
29.5%
-10.5% vs TC avg
§102
25.1%
-14.9% vs TC avg
§112
28.2%
-11.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1106 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. Claim(s) 1, 12 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Guttmann (US 2019/0294999). As per claim 1, Guttmann discloses a system (figures 1) comprising: a sensor module (200a, 200b, figure 1, paragraph 0050) comprising a plurality of sensors (250, 260, 265, 270 and 275) paragraph 0054) configured to produce measurements of discrete characteristics of an environment in which the sensor module is located (paragraphs 0057-0064), and wherein the sensor module includes an audio indicator (paragraphs 0071-0072) and a module processor (220, figure 2B); and wherein the module processor (220) configured to receive a set of sensor data produced by the plurality of sensors and being configured to: in response to the set of sensor data produced by the plurality of sensors over a period of time, perform a local analysis of the set of sensor data to determine whether an emergency scenario exists prior to or in parallel with providing the set of sensor data to the one or more processors (paragraphs 0058-0062); and where the emergency scenario exists based on the local analysis, provide a local emergency notification via the audio indicator (paragraphs 0071-0072). As per claim 12, The method of claim 12 is essentially the same in scope as system claim 1 above and is rejected similarly. As per claim 18, refer to claim 1 above. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guttmann in view of Morehead (US 10,403,126). As per claim 19, Guttmann further discloses a power source (240, figure 2B) but fails to disclose the power source being selected from a group consisting of replaceable batteries, rechargeable batteries, solar power sources, or a combination thereof. Morehead discloses a security alarm system (10, figure 1) being operated under electrical power which can come from a standard plug being supplied AC (i.e., 110 V, 60 Hz; 220 V, 50 Hz, among others). Morehead further disclose the system may be powered by a battery or may include a standby batter that can supply power to the system in the event that AC power has been disrupted. In other embodiments, the battery may be the only source, wherein the battery is recharged through any number of different means, including, but not limited to generators, wind towers and solar cells, among others (col 6, lines 47-63). Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize the rechargeable or solar batteries as taught by Morehead in a system as disclosed by Guttmann for the purpose of providing alternative power to the sensor module in order to minimize successful sabotage. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-11 and 13-17 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. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed April 15, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Guttmann fails to disclose “the module processor configured to receive the set of sensor data”. Examiner does not agree. Guttmann clearly disclose the processor (220) receive sensor data from the audio sensor (250), the image sensor (260), the motion sensor (270) and the position sensor (275, paragraphs 0056-0058). Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAI T. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2961. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm. 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, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. 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. /TAI T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685 May 21, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 28, 2024
Application Filed
Dec 16, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Apr 15, 2026
Response Filed
May 27, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+17.2%)
2y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1106 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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