Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/973,235

SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER TESTING APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 09, 2024
Priority
Mar 19, 2024 — JP 2024-044187
Examiner
AURORA, REENA
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
KIOXIA Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
1026 granted / 1179 resolved
+27.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -14% lift
Without
With
+-13.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
1204
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
34.0%
-6.0% vs TC avg
§102
30.9%
-9.1% vs TC avg
§112
19.1%
-20.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1179 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 . Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the driver must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. 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. As to claim 1, it is unclear how the driver is moving the probe card toward the stage? As to claim 3, the term "larger" is a relative term which renders the claims indefinite. Claims 2 - 11 are rejected by virtue of their dependency on claim 1. Due to the presence of rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), a thorough search and consideration of the prior art could not be reasonably made by the Examiner. As such, no prior art rejections could be reasonably made by the Examiner, and is not an indication of allowable subject matter. Once the Applicant has resolved the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), another search and consideration of the prior art will be made by the Examiner. Prior Art of Record The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant s disclosure. Sasaki et al. (8190086) is cited for its disclosure of a transmission method, interface circuit, semiconductor device, semiconductor package, semiconductor module and memory module. Sawai et al. (20070037516) is cited for its disclosure of a communication system, transmitting device, transmitting method, receiving device, and receiving method. Hidaka et al. (20010047496) is cited for its disclosure of a semiconductor test device for conducting an operation test in parallel on many chips in a wafer test and semiconductor test method. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REENA AURORA whose telephone number is (571)272-2263. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:00AM-5:00PM. 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, Lee Rodak can be reached at 5712705628. 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. /REENA AURORA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 09, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12681107
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2y 3m to grant Granted Jul 07, 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
87%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (-13.5%)
2y 5m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1179 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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