Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/955,835

DETECTING REQUIREMENTS FOR A PRODUCT

Non-Final OA §101
Filed
Nov 21, 2024
Priority
Jan 05, 2021 — provisional 63/133,906 +1 more
Examiner
HOANG, HAN DINH
Art Unit
2661
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
The Boeing Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
132 granted / 178 resolved
+12.2% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
200
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.4%
-32.6% vs TC avg
§103
67.8%
+27.8% vs TC avg
§102
14.4%
-25.6% vs TC avg
§112
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 178 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
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 § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claims can be interpreted as directed to signal per se. The specification fails to provide a clear and explicit definition of a computer-readable storage device is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se. The Examiner proposes the applicant to amend computer-readable storage device to be non-transitory computer-readable storage device. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-16 are allowed. Claims 17-20 would be allowable over prior art if the Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 101 is overcome. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: each of the independent claims 1, 9 and 17 recite, in some variation, displaying paint-related information, part information, and customer information on a graphical user interface (GUI), the paint-related information, the part information, and the customer information relating to production of products that utilize a plurality of parts and a plurality of paint colors, the method comprising: displaying in the GUI a user input region comprising a plurality of user-selectable selectors that each correspond to a criterion of one of the paint-related information, the part information, or the customer information; displaying the paint-related information in a paint region of the GUI; displaying the part information in a part region of the GUI; displaying the customer information in a customer region of the GUI; receiving, in the user input region of the GUI, a selection of one of the user-selectable selectors; in response to the selection, applying the criterion corresponding to the selection to retrieve an information subset of one or more of the paint-related information, the part information, and the customer information; and displaying the subset of the one or more of the paint-related information, the part information, and the customer information in the corresponding paint region, the part region, or the customer region of the GUI. In the closest prior art of record, Afrasiabi et al. US PG-Pub(US 20190311469 A1) teaches automatic paint application quality inspection in ¶[0005], a graphical user interface to allow a user to set values for various parameters in ¶[0031]-¶[0033] and allowing a user to remediate the potential defect, such as removing any foreign material, applying missing paint, or removing and relocating misplaced paint application in ¶[0035]. However, Afrasiabi fails to teach or suggest displaying paint-related information, part information, and customer information on a graphical user interface (GUI), the paint-related information, the part information, and the customer information relating to production of products that utilize a plurality of parts and a plurality of paint colors, the method comprising: displaying in the GUI a user input region comprising a plurality of user-selectable selectors that each correspond to a criterion of one of the paint-related information, the part information, or the customer information; displaying the paint-related information in a paint region of the GUI; displaying the part information in a part region of the GUI; displaying the customer information in a customer region of the GUI, as required by the independent claims. Hochman et al. US PG-Pub(US 20220343292 A1) discloses allowing a user to capture an image of an aircraft part to be repaired and querying the database for the part history in ¶[0017]. However, even if combined with Afrasiabi, Hochman fails to teach or suggest displaying paint-related information, part information, and customer information on a graphical user interface (GUI), the paint-related information, the part information, and the customer information relating to production of products that utilize a plurality of parts and a plurality of paint colors, the method comprising: displaying in the GUI a user input region comprising a plurality of user-selectable selectors that each correspond to a criterion of one of the paint-related information, the part information, or the customer information; displaying the paint-related information in a paint region of the GUI; displaying the part information in a part region of the GUI; displaying the customer information in a customer region of the GUI, as required by the independent claims. The remaining prior art of record does not overcome the above deficiencies. Because the cited art of records does not teach or suggest each and every feature of independent claims 1 and 9, these claims are allowed. The remaining claims are allowed by virtue of their dependency on the independent claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Narang et al. US PG-Pub(US 20220318546 A1) discloses using OCR to determine label data from a document with associated products in ¶0034] Senesac US Patent(US 9110560 B1) discloses a user interface with the order instances for parts within an aircraft in Col 21, Lines 13-22. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAN D HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4344. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5. 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, JOHN M VILLECCO can be reached at 571-272-7319. 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. /HAN HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2661
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 21, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101 (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
74%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+19.0%)
2y 11m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 178 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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