Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/912,779

VEHICLE VIBRATION EXTRACTION SYSTEM, VEHICLE VIBRATION EXTRACTION APPARATUS, AND VEHICLE VIBRATION EXTRACTION METHOD

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 11, 2024
Priority
Oct 27, 2023 — JP 2023-184499
Examiner
FOXX, CHICO A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
NEC Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
611 granted / 778 resolved
+18.5% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+29.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
796
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
60.4%
+20.4% vs TC avg
§102
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
§112
18.5%
-21.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 778 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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(s) Status Claims 1-15 are currently pending. Claim Objections Applicant is advised that should claim(s) 1 be found allowable, claim 14 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim(s) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. In particular, claim 1: 1) recites “acquire measurement data of vibration generated on a road from a sensing apparatus that measures vibration generated on the road by using an optical fiber buried in the road”, however it is unclear how the measurement data is acquired by the processor from the sensing apparatus, and it is further unclear how the sensing apparatus uses the optical fiber to enable measurements of vibration generated on the road. Claims 2-13 have the same issues due to dependency.Furthermore, claims 14-15 have similar issues as claim 1 and therefore are indefinite. 2) Recites “extract a vehicle vibration component from the measurement data by performing frequency filtering on the measurement data by using a band limiting filter having a passband associated to the road and a road surface state of the road” however it is unclear how the passband is associated with the road and road surface state of the road, and it is further unclear what a road surface state of the road entails, Claims 2-13 have the same issues due to dependency.Furthermore, claims 14-15 have similar issues as claim 1 and therefore are indefinite. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CN 111811637 A, system extracting vehicle vibration signals using optical fibers embedded in a road. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHICO A FOXX whose telephone number is (571)272-5530. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 6:00 M-F. 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, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. 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. CHICO A. FOXX Primary Examiner Art Unit 2685 /CHICO A FOXX/Examiner, Art Unit 2685
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
78%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+29.9%)
2y 0m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 778 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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