Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/997,072

DRIVING DEVICE AND WATER VALVE

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Jan 18, 2025
Priority
Dec 31, 2022 — CN 202211735013.4 +1 more
Examiner
CHAUDRY, ATIF H
Art Unit
3753
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co. Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allowance Rate
774 granted / 1095 resolved
+0.7% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
1122
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
55.6%
+15.6% vs TC avg
§102
21.7%
-18.3% vs TC avg
§112
16.3%
-23.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1095 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Status of the claims Claim(s) 1 is/are amended. Currently claims 1-15 are pending in this application. 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. Claim(s) 1, 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Keck (4851725). Regarding claim 1, Keck discloses a driving device 10, comprising a lower housing 54 (housing portion 54 is below 55) and an insert 60-62, wherein the insert is configured to be electrically connected to a terminal (electrical connection to the stator) of a motor, the lower housing is provided with an insert positioning portion 40, which comprises a first insert stuck portion (right side portion of 40 in Fig 7,8) and a second insert stuck portion (left side portion of 40 in Fig 7,8) with a preset included angle (with respect to center of cross-section of motor housing) therebetween, and the insert 60-62 is stuck (fixedly held) with the first insert stuck portion and the second insert stuck portion for positioning and limiting. As to claim 2, the insert positioning portion 40 comprises two plate-shaped parts (50, 46 of each side) with a preset included angle (with respect to center of cross-section of motor housing) therebetween, and grooves 48 are defined on the plate-shaped parts so as to form the first insert stuck portion and the second insert stuck portion. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 1, 2, 8, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura (4832311) in view of Keck (4851725). Kimura, Fig 1, discloses a water valve, comprising a valve body 13, a connecting seat (in 5 at 13), a driving device 1’,3 and a core assembly 4-9, wherein the driving device. Kimura discloses driving device as a motor 3 with housing having an upper housing (distal end cover of 1’) and lower housing (cylindrical wall of 1’) with a motor 3 inside but fails to disclose details of the deriving device. Keck teaches a driving device 10, comprising a lower housing 54 (housing portion 54 is below 55) and an insert 60-62, wherein the insert is configured to be electrically connected to a terminal (electrical connection to the stator) of a motor, the lower housing is provided with an insert positioning portion 40, which comprises a first insert stuck portion (right side portion of 40 in Fig 7,8) and a second insert stuck portion (left side portion of 40 in Fig 7,8) with a preset included angle (with respect to center of cross-section of motor housing) therebetween, and the insert 60-62 is stuck (fixedly held) with the first insert stuck portion and the second insert stuck portion for positioning and limiting. Keck teaches the insert positioning portion 40 comprises two plate-shaped parts (50, 46 of each side) with a preset included angle (with respect to center of cross-section of motor housing) therebetween, and grooves 48 are defined on the plate-shaped parts so as to form the first insert stuck portion and the second insert stuck portion. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the device disclosed by Kimura with a motor and motor housing/connection details as taught by Keck described above in order to provide a secure wiring connection from the motor to external power supply. Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) 3-7, 9, 11-15 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Response to Arguments Applicant’s amendment has overcome the rejection of record. However, a new ground of rejection is applied to the amended claims. Keck is cited to show prior art teaching/incorporation of insert electrically connected to a terminal of a motor. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Atif Chaudry at phone number 571-270-3768. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:30AM-6:00PM EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881, or Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. 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. /ATIF H CHAUDRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 18, 2025
Application Filed
Apr 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Jul 08, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 22, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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CONTROL VALVE AND THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
1y 10m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12741070
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1y 10m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12735950
ROCK STRAINING SYSTEM
1y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12729780
SOLENOID VALVE WITH IMPROVED DAMPING AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME
1y 10m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12729777
SOLENOID VALVE
1y 4m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
71%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+16.5%)
2y 9m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1095 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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