Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/970,645

MOTOR

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 05, 2024
Priority
Mar 05, 2024 — JP 2024-033330
Examiner
CHANG, MINKI
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
287 granted / 399 resolved
+11.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
44 currently pending
Career history
438
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
80.1%
+40.1% vs TC avg
§102
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
§112
9.3%
-30.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 399 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Krais et al. (US 2020/0036250 A1). Regarding claim 1, Krais discloses a motor (72) equipped with a shaft center cooling structure (FIG. 1), the motor (72) comprising a rotor shaft (4) that includes, on a shaft center, at least two kinds of coolant channels (14, 20) that are each configured separately along a rotation axis direction (separated by separation element 5). Regarding claim 2/1, Krais was discussed above in claim 1. Krais further discloses in the rotor shaft (4), the at least two kinds of coolant channels (14, 20) include a first coolant channel (14) and a second coolant channel (20); and each of the first coolant channel (14) and the second coolant channel (20) includes a section that overlaps at a portion (see annotation below) extending along the rotation axis direction. PNG media_image1.png 440 774 media_image1.png Greyscale Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINKI CHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0521. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. 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, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270-5112. 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. /MINKI CHANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 05, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12683449
MOTOR APPARATUS
4y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12683450
BUS ASSEMBLY, ELECTRICAL MOTOR, ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM, AND VEHICLE
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12683473
Method for Producing a Single- Or Multi-Layer Coil, Layer Coil, Electric Machine, and Device
2y 4m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12676515
ROTARY ELECTRIC MACHINE
1y 3m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12671291
BUS BAR ASSEMBLY
2y 8m to grant Granted Jun 30, 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
72%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+10.2%)
2y 9m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 399 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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