Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/924,057

CIRCUIT BOARD STRUCTURE

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Oct 23, 2024
Priority
Oct 24, 2023 — CN 202322864291.6
Examiner
BURNS, TREMESHA WILLIS
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Tripod (Wuxi) Electronic Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
673 granted / 867 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
54 currently pending
Career history
887
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
47.2%
+7.2% vs TC avg
§102
49.9%
+9.9% vs TC avg
§112
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 867 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Specification The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the following: on line 4 of the abstract, the phrase “opposite two each other” should be “opposite to each other.” A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). 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. Claim 5 is 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. Claim 5 recites the limitation "the inner side wall" on line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (CN 116887536). Regarding claim 1, in Figure 13, Chen discloses a circuit board structure, comprising: a core substrate (1, middle core plate 1) having two side surfaces opposite to each other; two inner substrates (upper and lower core plates 1) laminated on the two side surfaces of the core substrate; at least one groove structure (301) formed between the core substrate and one of the two inner substrates, wherein the at least one groove structure includes two lateral grooves facing toward each other (Figure 13); at least one thru-hole (4) penetrating through the two inner substrates and the core substrate, wherein the two lateral grooves of the at least one groove structure are arranged at two sides of the at least one thru-hole (Figure 13); and a plating layer (7, the inner through hole 4 is plated with layers of deposited copper; pg. 6, last paragraph) formed on an inner wall of the at least one thru-hole, wherein the plating layer has a plurality of plating gaps (areas where no copper layer is deposited on the inner wall of the through hole 4 between the two cavities 301 on the inner wall of the through hole 4; pg. 6, last paragraph). Regarding claim 2, Chen discloses wherein, in the at least one groove structure, a distance between the two lateral grooves is between 125 µm and 400 µm (pg. 7, 3rd paragraph). Regarding claim 3, Chen discloses wherein, in the at least one groove structure, a depth of each of the lateral grooves along a horizontal direction is between 4 mil and 8 mil (pg. 7, 3rd paragraph). Regarding claim 4, Chen discloses wherein a distance of each of the plating gaps along a vertical direction is between 20 µm and 80 µm (pg. 7, 3rd paragraph). Regarding claim 5, Chen discloses wherein the plating layer is not formed on positions of the inner side wall of the at least one thru-hole corresponding to the two lateral grooves (Figure 13). Regarding claim 6, Chen discloses wherein two groove structures are respectively formed between the core substrate and the two inner substrates, the two groove structures are respectively arranged at the two side surfaces of the core substrate, and each of the groove structures includes two lateral grooves facing toward each other (Figure 13). Regarding claim 7, Chen discloses wherein a quantity of the thru-hole is two, and each of the thru-holes is arranged between the two lateral grooves of corresponding one of the groove structures (Figure 13). Regarding claim 8, Chen discloses wherein, in the at least one groove structure, the two lateral grooves are formed by removing an ink layer in the two lateral grooves, and ink remains in each of the lateral grooves (claim 5, Figure 13). Regarding claim 9, Chen discloses wherein the ink undergoes no qualitative change in an environment having a temperature of between 75℃ and 95℃ and a sodium hydroxide concentration of between 35 g/L and 55 g/L (pages 5 – 6). Regarding claim 10, Chen discloses wherein the ink undergoes no qualitative change in an environment having a temperature of between 20℃ and 40℃ and a sulfuric acid concentration of between 10 ml/L and 30 ml/L (pages 5 – 6). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TREMESHA W BURNS whose telephone number is (571)270-3391. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am - 4:30 pm 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, Timothy Thompson can be reached at (571) 272-2342. 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. TREMESHA W. BURNS Primary Examiner Art Unit 2847 /TREMESHA W BURNS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 23, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §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
95%
With Interview (+17.7%)
2y 6m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 867 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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