Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/013,049

REMOVAL ASSEMBLY, FIXING FRAME AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 08, 2025
Priority
Oct 25, 2024 — TW 113140733
Examiner
WU, JERRY
Art Unit
2841
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
WISTRON Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allowance Rate
682 granted / 994 resolved
+0.6% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1028
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
58.5%
+18.5% vs TC avg
§102
22.6%
-17.4% vs TC avg
§112
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 994 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 . DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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 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. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of election of species in the reply filed on 7/20/26 is acknowledged. Therefore, Examiner will exam elected claims and species (Fig 1-16). 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 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-2, 4-6, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Yang (US 20230284406). With regard claim 1, Yang discloses A removal assembly configured to remove an interface card which is slidably placed into a guiding element, the removal assembly (abstract, see also fig 1-9) comprising: a sliding element configured to be movably disposed on the guiding element along a first direction (at least fig 4-5, Examiner consider any elements can slide left/right, 1st direction, is the sliding element including 110 and associated parts; Examiner consider the structure contact or support or housing the sliding elements is the guiding element; see also paragraph [22-27]-[ 30-31]); a lifted element movably disposed on the sliding element along a second direction different from the first direction (at least fig 4-5, the structure, including 124 and associated parts, can move into the recess of the interface card); and a pushing element movably disposed in the sliding element along the first direction so as to selectively move the lifted element into a recess of the interface card (at least compare fig 4-5, at least 112 and associated part discussed below which can move the lifted element into a recess; see also paragraph [20-23]-[26-30]). Regarding claim 5, Yang further disclosed A fixing frame configured to fix an interface card, the fixing frame (abstract, see also fig 1-9) comprising: a guiding element configured for the interface card to be slidably placed into the guiding element (at least fig 4-5, the structure, no label, configured for the interface card, at least fig 3, 20, to be slidably placed into the guiding element is the guiding element; see also paragraph [22-27]-[ 30-31]); and a removal assembly comprising: a sliding element movably disposed on the guiding element along a first direction (at least fig 4-5, Examiner consider any elements can slide left/right, 1st direction, is the sliding element including 110 and associated parts; Examiner consider the structure contact or support or housing the sliding elements is the guiding element); a lifted element movably disposed on the sliding element along a second direction different from the first direction (at least fig 4-5, the structure, including 124 and associated parts, can move into the recess of the interface card); and a pushing element movably disposed in the sliding element along the first direction so as to selectively move the lifted element into a recess of the interface card (at least compare fig 4-5, at least 112 and associated part discussed below which can move the lifted element into a recess; see also paragraph [20-23]-[26-30]). Regarding claims 2, 6, Yang further disclosed the sliding element comprises a plurality of first side walls surrounding a horizontal passage (at least fig 4-5, any walls structure, no label, formed a horizontal passage; see also paragraph [20-23]-[26-30]), the pushing element is movably disposed in the horizontal passage (compare fig 4-5), and the pushing element selectively pushes one of the plurality of first side walls along the first direction (compare fig 4-5, any structures, no label, which can pushes one of the plurality of first side walls along the first direction; Examiner consider as a part of pushing element with the parts discussed above claims; see also paragraph [20-23]-[26-30]). Regarding claims 4, 11, Yang further disclosed a first return element connected to the guiding element and the sliding element (compare fig 4-5, any elements which can be moved and return to the position, Examiner consider as a 1st return element; no label; see also paragraph [20-23]-[26-30]). Regarding claim 12, Yang further disclosed a blocking element movably disposed on the guiding element along the second direction (at least fig 4-5, the structure faces the 112, no label, Examiner consider as a blocking element), wherein the blocking element has a blocking surface and an inclined abutted surface, a normal direction of the blocking surface is opposite to the first direction, and the inclined abutted surface faces away from the blocking surface. Allowable Subject Matter Dependent claims 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 following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: With respect to claims 3, 7, the allowability resides in the overall structure of the device as recited in this independent claim and at least in part because the prior art does not teach or suggest a structure comprising: the sliding element further comprises a plurality of second side walls protruded from at least one of the plurality of first side walls along the second direction, the plurality of second side walls surround a vertical passage, the lifted element is movably disposed in the vertical passage, the lifted element or the pushing element has at least one inclined guiding surface, and the lifted element moves along the second direction within the vertical passage through guiding of the at least one inclined guiding surface and restriction of the plurality of second side walls during movement of the pushing element along the first direction, as set forth in the combination of the independent claims. The aforementioned limitations in combination with all remaining limitations of independent claim are believed to render said independent claims and all claims dependent therefrom patentable over the art of record. The closest prior art, Yang (US 20230284406), discloses a similar structure but does not configure to have the above limitations. The above prior art thus fails to anticipate or render the above portions obvious, either singularly or in combination with other references. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY WU whose telephone number is (571)270-5420. The examiner can normally be reached on PHP: M-Th: 8:30-12:30; 2:30-8:30pm. 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, Imani Hayman can be reached on 571.270.5528. 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 the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JERRY WU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 08, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Electronic Device
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Patent 12745361
ELECTRICAL DEVICE, IN PARTICULAR CONVERTER OR CONVERTER MOTOR, HAVING A COVER PART AND SIGNAL ELECTRONICS
4y 1m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
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1y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
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3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
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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
69%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+20.3%)
2y 5m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 994 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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