Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/007,249

TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 31, 2024
Priority
Jun 08, 2021 — JP 2021-096207 +2 more
Examiner
BIDWELL, JAMES R
Art Unit
3651
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Canon Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
1415 granted / 1578 resolved
+37.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 8m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
1590
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
35.7%
-4.3% vs TC avg
§102
35.9%
-4.1% vs TC avg
§112
10.8%
-29.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1578 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In paragraph [0001] the patent number for the parent application should be included. Appropriate correction is required. The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. 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) 1-9, 11-17, 19 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirohisa et al. (CN 109551219). Hirohisa et al. show transport system 1, a mover 20 on which a workpiece W is mounted, a stator 19 which provides a force which drives the mover 20, a control unit 40 which acquires a position and attitude of the mover in a first direction while it is floating and a second direction, a positioning part 150 best shown in Figure 3 that limits movement of the mover and the control unit 140 controls the mover so as to bring it into contact with the positioning part. Re claim 2, the direction of force of part 150 crosses a direction of movement of the mover 20. Re claim 3, positioning part 150 includes part 151 that limits movement of the mover 20 in a direction of an applied external force. Re claim 4, the control unit 40 moves the mover 20 in a first direction to a point where an external force which intersects the first direction is applied to the mover. Re claim 5, shown is a second part 152. Re claim 6, the second part 152 helps to restrict movement. Re claim 7, the shown cylinder has at least a third part. Re claim 8, the third part also helps to restrict movement. Re claim 9, the positioning part is moveable. Re claim 11, the positioning part 150 is a stopper. Re claim 12, a movable range is shown. Re claim 13, shown are a plurality of permanent magnets. Re claim 14, the position of the mover 20 is controlled in a first direction while floating in a second direction and control is used to bring the mover into contact with the positioning part 150. Re claim 15, movement is restricted by a first part 151. Re claim 16, shown is a second part 152. Re claim 17, the shown cylinder has at least one third part. Re claim 19, processing is carried out in the shown system 1. Re claim 21, inherent in the control system 40 is a computer program that uses storage. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 10, 18 and 20 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. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R BIDWELL whose telephone number is (571)272-6910. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8 to 4. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford, can be reached at telephone number (571)272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/InterviewPractice. /JAMES R BIDWELL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651 07/01/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 31, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12678870
SIDE-MOUNTED DOUBLE-SAW SYNCHRONOUS TRANSMISSION APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12685078
SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESS EQUIPMENT
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12679667
PALLET STOP
1y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12673832
AN AUTOMATIC WOOD SORTING FACILITY
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12677630
Identifying and weighing Carriers in a Substrate Processing System
2y 1m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+8.3%)
1y 8m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1578 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month