Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/863,803

PISTON AND ENGINE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 07, 2024
Priority
May 10, 2022 — CN 202210505523.6 +1 more
Examiner
MO, XIAO EN
Art Unit
3747
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Baudouin (Weifang) Power Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
296 granted / 367 resolved
+10.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
379
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
§103
66.0%
+26.0% vs TC avg
§102
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
§112
10.1%
-29.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 367 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to the communication(s) filed on 11/07/2024. 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 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, 7, 10-13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 101593543. Regarding claim 1, KR 101593543 discloses a piston (fig. 1), comprising a throat (fig. 1), a first annular groove (G), an internal oil cooling channel (20), a first annular protrusion (31), and a second annular protrusion (32); wherein the throat is provided at a top of the piston (fig. 1), the first annular groove (G) is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the piston (fig. 1), the internal oil cooling channel (20) is annular and provided between the throat and the first annular groove (G) (see fig. 1), the first annular protrusion (31) protrudes from an inner annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20), a guide contour is provided on a upper part of the first annular protrusion (figs. 4-6), the guide contour is disposed obliquely downward from the inner annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20) to an outer annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20) (Figs. 4-6), the second annular protrusion (32) protrudes from the outer annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20), the second annular protrusion (32) is located below the first annular protrusion (31), the first annular protrusion (31) is located on the inner annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20) and below the throat (figs. 4-6), the second annular protrusion (32) is located on the outer annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (20), and the first annular protrusion (31) is provided at a position corresponding to the first annular groove (G) (see at least figs. 1, 4-6) (additionally, see also figs. 7-11). Regarding claims 2 and 11, KR 101593543 further discloses wherein an upper contour of the second annular protrusion is a cut-off contour, and the cut-off contour is flush with a groove bottom of the first annular groove (figs. 4-6). Regarding claims 3 and 12, KR 101593543 further discloses wherein the cut-off contour is a plane (figs. 4-6). Regarding claims 4 and 13, KR 101593543 further discloses wherein a bottom of the internal oil channel is provided with an oil inlet in communication with the internal oil cooling channel, the second annular protrusion has a notch, and the oil inlet is located below the notch (at least implicitly). Regarding claims 7 and 16, KR 101593543 further discloses wherein a flow guide contour is provided on a lower part of the first annular protrusion and the flow guide contour is disposed obliquely upward from the inner annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel to the outer annular wall of the internal oil cooling channel (figs. 4-6). Regarding claim 10, see rejection to claim 1. 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. Claims 5-6, 8-9, 14-15 and 17-18are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 101593543. Regarding claims 5 and 14, KR 101593543 discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the central angle of the second annular protrusion is 315 degree to 345 degree. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to having the central angle of the second annular protrusion to be 315 degree to 345 degree, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Regarding claims 6 and 15, KR 101593543 discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the central angle of the first annular protrusion is 360 degree. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the first central angle of the first annular protrusion as 360 degree, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). Regarding claims 8 and 17, KR 101593543 discloses the claimed invention except for wherein an included angle between the guide contour and the flow guide contour is 15 degree to 40 degree. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to having the included angle between the guide contour and the flow guide contour to be 15 degree to 40 degree, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Regarding claims 9 and 18, KR 101593543 discloses the claimed invention except for wherein protrusion lengths of the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion are 3 mm to 4 mm, a height difference between the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion in a vertical direction is 8 mm to 9 mm, and a lateral spacing between the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion is 9 mm to 11 mm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to having protrusion lengths of the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion to be 3 mm to 4 mm, a height difference between the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion in a vertical direction to be 8 mm to 9 mm, and a lateral spacing between the first annular protrusion and the second annular protrusion to be 9 mm to 11 mm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XIAO EN MO whose telephone number is (571)272-9970. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5:30 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, Logan Kraft can be reached at 571-270-5065. 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. /XIAO EN MO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 07, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12673653
BRAKE APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME
1y 7m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12662982
FUEL PUMP
2y 0m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12650090
HOUSING COMPONENT FOR A PRECHAMBER COMPONENT OF A COMBUSTION ENGINE
2y 2m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12649512
STEERING CONTROL DEVICE AND STEERING CONTROL METHOD
1y 10m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12647053
BRAKE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMPENSATING FOR POSITION DATA ERROR OF MOTOR OF THE SAME
1y 8m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
81%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+6.0%)
2y 1m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 367 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month