Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Application No. 18/820,371

DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT INCLUDING AN ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR WITH INTEGRATED WIRE CONNECTION

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 30, 2024
Priority
Sep 18, 2023 — provisional 63/538,865
Examiner
MOK, ALEX W
Art Unit
2834
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
GKN Automotive Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
847 granted / 1141 resolved
+6.2% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1171
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
67.6%
+27.6% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1141 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 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. Claim(s) 1-4, 10, 12, 13, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by York et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2010/0283566 A1). For claim 1, York et al. disclose the claimed invention comprising: a core (reference numerals 60, 62, figure 3) having an interior cavity (see figure 3); a wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110, see figures 3, 11, 12) received within the interior cavity (see figure 3); at least one wire (reference numeral 112, figures 11, 12) via which electricity is provided to the wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110, see figures 11, 12), wherein a connection between the at least one wire (reference numeral 112) and the wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110) is located within the interior cavity (i.e. connection between wire 112 and wire coil 110 is made through overmold 114 in figure 12, the connection being within the interior cavity of core 60, 62 in figure 3). For claim 2, York et al. disclose including a coil housing (reference numeral 114, see figure 12) surrounding the wire coil (reference numeral 110) and received within the interior cavity (i.e. cavity within core 60, 62, see figure 3). For claim 3, York et al. disclose the connection being located within the coil housing (i.e. connection between wire 112 and wire coil 110 is within coil housing 114, see figure 12). For claim 4, York et al. disclose the coil housing (reference numeral 114) including an opening through which at least one of the at least one wires extends and is connected to the wire coil (i.e. coil housing 114 would require an opening in order to have the wire 112 connect to the wire coil 110 shown in figure 12). For claim 10, York et al. disclose the coil housing (reference numeral 114) including a projection adapted to inhibit rotation of the coil housing (i.e. portion of coil housing 114 that projects and is attached to wire 112 can be considered a projection as shown in figure 12, which when in conjunction with the core 60, 62 can be considered to inhibit rotation of the coil housing, see figures 3, 7, 12). For claim 12, York et al. disclose the claimed invention comprising: a core (reference numerals 60, 62, figure 3) having an interior cavity (see figure 3); a wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110, see figures 3, 11, 12) received within the interior cavity (see figure 3); a coil housing (i.e. overmold 114, see figure 12) surrounding the wire coil (reference numeral 110, see figure 12), the coil housing is received within the interior cavity and between the wire coil and the core (i.e. overmold 114 for wire coil 64, 110 being disposed in cavity within core 60, 62 and between wire coil 64, 110 and core 60, 62, see figures 3, 12); at least one wire (reference numeral 112, figures 11, 12) via which electricity is provided to the wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110, see figures 11, 12), wherein a connection between the at least one wire (reference numeral 112) and the wire coil (reference numerals 64, 110) is located within the coil housing (i.e. connection between wire 112 and wire coil 110 is made through overmold 114 in figure 12). For claim 13, York et al. disclose the coil housing (reference numeral 114) including a coil housing opening through which at least one of the at least one wires extends and is connected to the wire coil (i.e. coil housing 114 would require an opening in order to have the wire 112 connect to the wire coil 110 shown in figure 12), and the core (reference numeral 60) includes a core opening (reference numeral 88, see figure 7) aligned with the coil housing opening (i.e. York et al. disclose the wire 112 being fitted through the core opening 88, see paragraph [0047], which would teach the core opening 88 being aligned with the coil housing opening where wire 112 is disposed in figure 12). For claim 18, York et al. disclose the coil housing (reference numeral 114) including a projection at least partly received within a void in the core to inhibit rotation of the coil housing relative to the core (i.e. portion of coil housing 114 that projects and is attached to wire 112 can be considered a projection as shown in figure 12, which when in conjunction with the void component 88 of core 60 in figure 7 can be considered to inhibit rotation of the coil housing, see figures 3, 7, 12). 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) 5-9, 11, 14-17, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over York et al. as applied to claims 1, 2, 12, and 13 above, and further in view of Kurosu et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2011/0048888 A1). For claim 5, York et al. disclose the claimed invention except for also including a bushing engaging the at least one wire and the coil housing. Kurosu et al. disclose a bushing (reference numeral 25, figure 1) engaging the at least one wire (reference numeral 16) and the coil housing (reference numeral 14, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the at least one wire and the coil housing of York et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 6, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the bushing also engaging the core. Kurosu et al. further disclose the bushing (reference numeral 25) also engaging the core (reference numeral 6, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing engaging the core as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the bushing and core of York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 7, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the core including an opening through which at least one of the at least one wire extends, and wherein the bushing is received at least partially within the opening and engages the core within the opening. Kurosu et al. further disclose the core (reference numeral 6, figure 1) including an opening (reference numeral 17) through which at least one of the at least one wire extends (i.e. wire 16 extending through the opening 17, see figure 1), and wherein the bushing (reference numeral 25) is received at least partially within the opening (reference numeral 17) and engages the core within the opening (see figure 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the opening as disclosed by Kurosu et al. in which the wire extends and the bushing is received for York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 8, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the bushing engaging a surface of the core that defines the interior cavity. Kurosu et al. further disclose the bushing (reference numeral 25) engaging a surface of the core (reference numeral 6, figure 1) that defines the interior cavity (i.e. bushing 25 being adjacent to surfaces of core 6 which define the interior cavity, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing engaging the core as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the interior cavity of York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 9, York et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the at least one wire being part of a wiring harness having multiple wires connected to a connector body at a first end of the wires, and wherein a second end of at least one of the at least one wire extends into an opening in the core. Kurosu et al. disclose the at least one wire being part of a wiring harness (i.e. harness shown in figure 2 having wires 16) having multiple wires (reference numeral 16) connected to a connector body at a first end of the wires (i.e. wires 16 attached to a connector at one end of the wires, see figure 2), and wherein a second end of at least one of the at least one wire (reference numeral 16) extends into an opening in the core (i.e. wires 16 extending into opening 17 of core 6, see figures 1, 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the wiring harness as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the multiple wires of York et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the electrical connection for the wires in the device. For claim 11, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the bushing engaging a surface of the core to inhibit rotation of the coil housing. Kurosu et al. further disclose the bushing (reference numeral 25) engaging a surface of the core (reference numeral 6) to inhibit rotation of the coil housing (i.e. bushing 25 being fixed to the core 6 and coil housing 14 which would inhibit rotation of the coil housing, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing engaging the core and coil housing as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the core of York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 14, York et al. disclose the claimed invention except for also including a bushing received at least partially in the coil housing opening and engaging the at least one wire and the coil housing. Kurosu et al. disclose a bushing (reference numeral 25, figure 1) received at least partially in the coil housing opening (i.e. bushing 25 adjacent to the coil housing 14, see figure 1) and engaging the at least one wire (reference numeral 16) and the coil housing (reference numeral 14, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the at least one wire and the coil housing of York et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 15, York et al. disclose the claimed invention except for also including a bushing engaged with the coil housing and received at least partially within the core opening and engaging the core within the core opening. Kurosu et al. disclose a bushing (reference numeral 25, figure 1) engaged with the coil housing (reference numeral 14) and received at least partially within the core opening (reference numeral 17, figure 1) and engaging the core within the core opening (see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for engaging with the coil housing and core of York et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 16, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the bushing engaging a surface of the core that defines the interior cavity. Kurosu et al. further disclose the bushing (reference numeral 25) engaging a surface of the core (reference numeral 6, figure 1) that defines the interior cavity (i.e. bushing 25 being adjacent to surfaces of core 6 which define the interior cavity, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing engaging the core as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the interior cavity of York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. For claim 17, York et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the at least one wire being part of a wiring harness having multiple wires connected to a connector body at a first end of the wires, and wherein a second end of at least one of the at least one wire extends into an opening in the core. Kurosu et al. disclose the at least one wire being part of a wiring harness (i.e. harness shown in figure 2 having wires 16) having multiple wires (reference numeral 16) connected to a connector body at a first end of the wires (i.e. wires 16 attached to a connector at one end of the wires, see figure 2), and wherein a second end of at least one of the at least one wire (reference numeral 16) extends into an opening in the core (i.e. wires 16 extending into opening 17 of core 6, see figures 1, 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the wiring harness as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the multiple wires of York et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the electrical connection for the wires in the device. For claim 19, York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the bushing engaging a surface of the core to inhibit rotation of the coil housing. Kurosu et al. further disclose the bushing (reference numeral 25) engaging a surface of the core (reference numeral 6) to inhibit rotation of the coil housing (i.e. bushing 25 being fixed to the core 6 and coil housing 14 which would inhibit rotation of the coil housing, see figure 1), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bushing engaging the core and coil housing as disclosed by Kurosu et al. for the core of York et al. in view of Kurosu et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper assembly of the device. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references disclose embodiments of coil assembly configuration: US 11346439 B1 (Langenfeld; Thomas J. et al.), US 10566132 B2 (Suzuki; Yoshiaki), US 10495158 B1 (Creech; Michael Z. et al.), US 10323738 B2 (Komatsu; Toshiaki), US 10227001 B2 (Yoshisaka; Tadashi et al.), US 9576719 B2 (Piascik; James et al.), US 9422988 B2 (Beesley; Peter A. et al.), US 9396860 B1 (Wright; Robert A), US 9343853 B2 (Okada; Keita et al.), US 9038799 B2 (Mevissen; Pierre A. et al.), US 7876186 B2 (York; Todd Michael et al.), US 7825759 B2 (York; Todd M. et al.), US 7785224 B2 (York; Todd M. et al.), US 7764154 B2 (York; Todd Michael et al.), US 7682279 B2 (Donofrio; Gregory M et al.), US 7602271 B2 (York; Todd M et al.), US 7534187 B2 (Donofrio; Gregory M. et al.), US 7425185 B2 (Donofrio; Gregory M et al.), US 7289012 B2 (Tran-Ngoc; Truc et al.), US 6443023 B1 (Kajino; Sadayoshi et al.), US 6419064 B1 (Krammer; Raimund), US 6201311 B1 (Kamei; Koichiro et al.), US 5631613 A (Niimi; Masami et al.), US 5511643 A (Brown; Richard J.), US 5504468 A (Hattori; Masaichi et al.), US 5423117 A (Okada; Yoichiro et al.), US 5307038 A (Ishimaru; Takashi), US 20190368556 A1 (CREECH; MICHAEL Z. et al.), US 20190355502 A1 (Cayton; Robert Donald et al.), US 20130313068 A1 (Mevissen; Pierre A. et al.), US 20100013582 A1 (York; Todd Michael et al.), US 20090261931 A1 (York; Todd Michael et al.), US 20090264243 A1 (York; Todd Michael et al.), US 20090156346 A1 (Donofrio; Gregory M. et al.), US 20090011889 A1 (DONOFRIO; Gregory M. et al.), EP 3478980 B1 (HENNESSY DAVID R et al.), WO 2018004833 A1 (HENNESSY DAVID R et al.), JP 2006313017 A (POY ALFRED L), GB 2325567 A (LINDNER JUERGEN). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX W MOK whose telephone number is (571)272-9084. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4pm. 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, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270-5112. 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. /ALEX W MOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 30, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 16, 2026
Non-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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+20.7%)
2y 8m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1141 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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