Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/866,173

CRYOGENIC PUMP

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 15, 2024
Priority
May 23, 2022 — FR FR2204904 +1 more
Examiner
AYALA DELGADO, ANTHONY
Art Unit
3746
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Fives Cryomec AG
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
563 granted / 708 resolved
+9.5% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
736
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.7%
-37.3% vs TC avg
§103
59.4%
+19.4% vs TC avg
§102
25.2%
-14.8% vs TC avg
§112
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 708 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) 1-8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0293067 to Bonvilain. In Reference to Claim 1 Bonvilain discloses: PNG media_image1.png 348 675 media_image1.png Greyscale A piston pump (Fig.2) suitable for pumping a fluid at very low temperature, for example hydrogen, said pump (Fig.2) having a suction side and a compression side, the suction side comprising an inlet (16) provided for the liquid and intended to connected connect a liquid supply reservoir external to the pump (Fig.2), a suction chamber (31) for receiving the fluid and a first fluid degassing duct (14) communicating with the suction chamber (31), the compression side comprising a pump cylinder (fig.2) carrying an assembly for compression and delivery of the liquid, said cylinder comprising a second chamber (60) which communicates with the suction chamber 31 and wherein the fluid at very low temperature circulates in order to cool the compression and delivery assembly (26). In Reference to Claim 2 Bonvilain discloses: wherein the cylinder comprises a first casing (48) and an internal cylinder body (48) carrying the compression and delivery assembly (26), said first casing (48) being attached to the cylinder body, said cylinder body having a recessed shape allowing the circulation of fluid in the second chamber (60). In Reference to Claim 3 Bonvilain discloses: [AltContent: textbox (A)][AltContent: connector] PNG media_image1.png 348 675 media_image1.png Greyscale a second degassing duct A communicating with the second chamber (60) and configured to allow degassing of the fluid circulating in the second chamber (60). In Reference to Claim 4 Bonvilain discloses: a pump liner (8) and a cylinder head (see paragraph [0052]) that are integral and coaxial, a piston (26) that is axially movable in the liner (8) forming a fluid compression chamber with the cylinder head (84), said cylinder head (pump head) connecting the liner (8) to the suction chamber, and a delivery opening (40, where discharge valve opens) arranged in the liner. In Reference to Claim 5 Bonvilain discloses: [AltContent: textbox (B)][AltContent: connector] PNG media_image1.png 348 675 media_image1.png Greyscale the cylinder head (pumping head) comprises a pre-compression chamber (B) communicating with the suction chamber (31). In Reference to Claim 6 Bonvilain discloses: wherein the cylinder head (pumping head) comprises an exhaust port (22) configured to allow the pressure in the compression chamber to be adjusted. In Reference to Claim 7 Bonvilain discloses: a second casing (56) that is external with respect to the first casing (48) and forming with the latter a space intended to be evacuated. In Reference to Claim 8 Bonvilain discloses: wherein an insulating material 8 is arranged between the first casing and the second casing, see paragraph [0047]-[0052]. In Reference to Claim 11 Bonvilain discloses: PNG media_image1.png 348 675 media_image1.png Greyscale A piston pump suitable for pumping a liquid at a very low temperature, comprising: a suction side, comprising: an inlet 16 provided for the liquid and intended to connect a liquid supply reservoir to the pump; a suction chamber 31 for receiving the liquid; and a liquid degassing duct 14 in communication with the suction chamber; and a compression side, comprising: a pump cylinder 26 30 carrying an assembly for compression and delivery of the liquid, said pump cylinder comprising a second chamber 60 which communicates with the suction chamber, wherein the liquid at very low temperature circulates in order to cool the compression and delivery assembly, see Fig.2 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) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0293067 to Bonvilain in view RU 2715072 to Klyunin Oleg Stanislavovich (Oleg). In Reference to Claim 9-10 Bonvilain does not disclose: wherein the insulating material is multi-layer insulation herein the multi-layer insulation comprises alternating layers of aluminum and layers of fiberglass. Oleg discloses a liner 11 being made of multiple materials such as aluminum wrapped in a fiberglass plastic sheath 12 for a cyrogenic liquid and pressure. At the time claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill to include multiple layers such as aluminum and layers of fiberglass, combine the teachings of Oleg with Bonvilan, since this would enable the practitioner of the primary reference to practice the advantage of handling pressure and low temperature environment that the cryogenic pump operates. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 12/30/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant Argues: contends that there are two chambers, i.e. the elements demarcated with reference characters 50 and 60. Examiner Response: The Argument is fully considered but its not persuasive the prior art discloses two chambers, the office action had a typographical error the 2 chambers are 60 and 31. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO whose telephone number is (571)270-3452. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00. 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, Mark III Laurenzi can be reached on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 15, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Dec 30, 2025
Response Filed
May 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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EXHAUST-GAS TREATMENT ARRANGEMENT
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Patent 12674458
FIXED SCROLL ASSEMBLY AND SCROLL COMPRESSOR
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Patent 12674447
DIAPHRAGM FASTENING TO THE DRIVE OF METERING PUMPS
1y 7m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12669125
SCROLL COMPRESSOR AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR
1y 9m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+17.2%)
2y 6m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 708 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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