Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 26, 2026
Application No. 18/905,840

METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE TEMPERATURE OF A LIGHTING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 03, 2024
Priority
Oct 20, 2023 — EU 23204931.2
Examiner
GIBSON, RANDY W
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Melexis Technologies S.A.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
1035 granted / 1367 resolved
+15.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
1374
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.5%
-34.5% vs TC avg
§103
45.9%
+5.9% vs TC avg
§102
27.4%
-12.6% vs TC avg
§112
14.8%
-25.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1367 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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. 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. Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hoogzaad et al (WO 2009095854 A2). The Hoogzaad reference discloses a method for determining the temperature of a light-emitting device, the method comprising: operating the light-emitting device during an on-interval and during an off-interval (p. 3, ll. 8) measuring, during at least one sensing interval, at least one electrical energy across the light-emitting device, wherein the at least one sensing interval is included in the off- interval and wherein each of the at least one sensing intervals has a duration equal to or less than a duration of the off-interval (p. 3, ll. 9-23); and determining, at least one temperature value of the light-emitting device based on the measured at least one electrical energy (p. 5, ll. 1-20). With respect to claim 2, the sensing interval occurs during the entire off-interval (Fig. 1A). With respect to claim 6, see Figure 1A. With respect to claim 8, see p. 7, ll. 15-19 With respect to claim 12-13, see p. 6, ll. 10-31. With respect to claim 14, see Figure 1D. With respect to claim 15, see Figure 2. Conclusion Claims 3-7 and 9-11 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. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The other references of record show a method and apparatus similar to applicant’s claimed invention. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY W GIBSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2103. The examiner can normally be reached Tue-Friday 10AM-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, Peter Macchiarolo can be reached at 571-272-2375. 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. RANDY W. GIBSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 2856 /RANDY W GIBSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 03, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
76%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+22.2%)
2y 5m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1367 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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