Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/920,170

LOCAL GAS PATH DRIVEN PASSIVE PURGE FOR OPTICAL PROBE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 18, 2024
Examiner
KO, JASON Y
Art Unit
1711
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
RTX Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
825 granted / 1092 resolved
+10.5% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
1111
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
47.2%
+7.2% vs TC avg
§102
21.9%
-18.1% vs TC avg
§112
23.8%
-16.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1092 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 . Election/Restrictions Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/29/26. 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. Claims 1-11 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. Re Claim 1, it is unclear what the metes and bounds of “having optical components” therein is. It is unclear what an optical component is, and what reads on optical components. It is also unclear what the metes and bound of a “gas path router” is. This is further unclear because in Claim 3, the gas path router further comprises structure, but it is unclear what structure was being claimed, pre- further comprising a housing. Claims 2-11 are rejected as they depend from Claim 1 without curing the deficiency. Further examination on the merits is precluded in light of the unascertainable claim scope. It is presumed that applicants did not intend to claim an optical probe and a pipe as their invention. BR112021012943 for example, the first reference cited by Applicants teaches an optical probe a vent for gas path. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON Y KO whose telephone number is (571)270-7451. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00-6:00. 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, Michael Barr can be reached at 571-270-1414. 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. JASON Y. KO Primary Examiner Art Unit 1711 /JASON Y KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 18, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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1y 8m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
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2y 5m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
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
92%
With Interview (+16.7%)
2y 11m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1092 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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