Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 19/048,785

AIR CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 07, 2025
Priority
Feb 15, 2024 — RE 10-2024-0021987
Examiner
MCKINNON, TERRELL L
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Hanon Systems
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
30%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
51%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 30% of cases
30%
Career Allowance Rate
24 granted / 79 resolved
-29.6% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
11 currently pending
Career history
85
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
54.7%
+14.7% vs TC avg
§102
27.9%
-12.1% vs TC avg
§112
13.4%
-26.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 79 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 . 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. (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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gu et al. (CN 116729071). Reg. Cl. 1, Gu et al. discloses; An air conditioner for a vehicle comprising: an air conditioning case in which an air passage and a plurality of air discharge ports are formed; and a cooling heat exchanger (40) and a heating heat exchanger (30) sequentially arranged in the air passage of the air conditioning case in an airflow direction, wherein the air conditioning case is formed by assembling a plurality of cases, and includes a condensate guide part (62) provided at a joint part of the cases to guide the condensate generated inside the air conditioning case toward the interior of the air conditioning case (Figs. 1-3). Reg. Cl. 2, Gu et al. discloses; wherein the condensate guide part includes a drainage hole (64) formed at the bottom of the joint part to communicate with the interior of the air conditioning case (Fig. 2). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-18 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. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is advised to review all the prior art list on the PTO-892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRELL L MCKINNON whose telephone number is (571)272-4797. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00 am to 4:30 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, Namrata Boveja can be reached at 571-272-8105. 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. /TERRELL L MCKINNON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3632
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 07, 2025
Application Filed
Jul 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12702214
SURFACE-MOUNTABLE RAZOR HOLDER
2y 8m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12663216
HEAT EXCHANGER
2y 0m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12660129
HEAT SINK
2y 3m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12570022
HYBRID SAWHORSE
4y 4m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12569871
MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH PAINTING
2y 3m to grant Granted Mar 10, 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
30%
Grant Probability
51%
With Interview (+20.3%)
2y 7m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 79 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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