Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/824,754

INSERT UNDERCUT

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Sep 04, 2024
Priority
Nov 20, 2020 — provisional 63/116,614 +1 more
Examiner
JOHNSON, VICKY A
Art Unit
3617
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Fox Factory Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
857 granted / 1074 resolved
+27.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
1112
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
25.0%
-15.0% vs TC avg
§102
57.9%
+17.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.9%
-24.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1074 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 § 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) 1-3, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foley (US 2014/0157949) in view of Bain et al (CN 102570230). Foley discloses an insert for a hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly, a metallic component (165) having a bore (see Fig 3) formed therethrough, said insert (165) configured to provide compression to a portion of a composite component (75) of said bicycle crank arm assembly when said insert (165) is coupled with said composite component (75) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly (see Fig 3). Foley does not disclose said metallic component comprising: a retention shape having an outer wall; and a hooked undercut formed exterior to said outer wall of said retention shape, said hooked undercut having a portion which extends outwardly from in a direction substantially parallel to said outer wall of said retention shape. Bain teaches the use of a metallic component comprising: a retention shape having an outer wall (see Fig 3); and a hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) formed exterior to said outer wall of said retention shape (see Fig 3), said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) having a portion which extends outwardly from in a direction substantially parallel to said outer wall of said retention shape (see Fig 3). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. was made to modify the device of Foley to include a metallic component as taught by Bain et al in order to simplify installation. Bain shows and renders obvious said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) is directionally configured to inhibit rotation of said insert about an insert axis when said insert is coupled with said composite component (see ¶5) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly. Re claim 3, Bain shows and renders obvious said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) extends from at least a portion of said metallic component (see ¶28) to provide resistance to a torsional load when said insert is coupled with said composite component (see ¶5) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly (see Fig 3). Re claim 7, Foley discloses said insert is a pedal insert. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-6 and 8-20 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. 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 VICKY A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7106. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday. 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, John R Olszewski can be reached at 571-272-2706. 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. /VICKY A JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 04, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Dec 22, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 08, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Apr 29, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
May 06, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12637173
DRIVE UNIT FOR MEANS OF LOCOMOTION SIMULTANEOUSLY DRIVABLE BY HUMAN MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND ELECTRIC MOTORS
3y 0m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12637167
LEVER ACTUATOR
1y 9m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12637037
BRAKE PEDAL MOVEMENT DEVICE
1y 6m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12632078
PEDAL SIMULATOR OF VEHICLE
1y 4m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12623640
Actuation Device for a Motor Vehicle, Motor Vehicle
2y 5m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
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
80%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+12.2%)
2y 4m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1074 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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