Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 19/110,931

DUMP TRUCK

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 12, 2025
Examiner
WEBB, TIFFANY L
Art Unit
3614
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 9m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
149 granted / 162 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 9m
Avg Prosecution
11 currently pending
Career history
173
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
35.1%
-4.9% vs TC avg
§102
32.7%
-7.3% vs TC avg
§112
25.6%
-14.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 162 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by AU 2016101719 to He. PNG media_image1.png 329 515 media_image1.png Greyscale Modified Figure 4 Regarding claim 1, He discloses a dump truck (see Figure 1) comprising: a vehicle body frame (1) to which wheels (225) are attached (see at least Figure 1); and a vessel (4) that is tiltably provided with respect to the vehicle body frame for loading to-be-transported materials (see at least Figure 48), and the vehicle body frame (1) including: a left frame ( not shown, but is 113 in Figure 3 only showing right side) disposed on the left side in the lateral direction and extending in the longitudinal direction (see Figure 3); a right frame (113; see Figure 3 only showing right side) disposed on the right side in the lateral direction and extending in the longitudinal direction (see Figure 3); a front frame (112; see Figure 3) connecting the front end of the left frame and the front end of the right frame (see cross piece 1123) and extending in the lateral direction (see Figure 3 and paragraph [0221]); and a front bumper (12) fixed to the front side of the front frame (see Figure 3), provided with a hook (see Modified Figure 4 above) for lifting and mounted with various devices (ladders; see Figure 1), wherein the front bumper includes a base fixing section (see 1209 in Figure 4) where multiple types of device mounting bases (1210, 1211, 1212), corresponding to the types of devices, are selectively fixed (see Figure 4 and paragraph [0222]). Regarding claim 2, He discloses the front bumper (12) includes a front frame section (1201) extending in the lateral direction while facing the front frame (112; see at least Figures 3 and 4) in the longitudinal direction and provided with the hook (see Modified Figure 4), a left frame section (1203) connecting the left end of the front frame section (1201) and the front frame, and a right frame section (1204) connecting the right end of the front frame section (1201) and the front frame, and the base fixing section (1209) is provided on the left frame section and the right frame section, respectively (see at least Figure 4). Regarding claim 3, He discloses the left frame sections (1203) of the front bumper and the left frame (113) are continuous in the longitudinal direction via the front frame (112), and the right frame sections (1204) of the front bumper and the right frame (113) are continuous in the longitudinal direction via the front frame (112; see at least Figures 3 and 4). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited on the PTO-892 all relate to frame structures including bumpers designed for dump type vehicles. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tiffany L. Webb whose telephone number is (571)272-3950. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:30-5. 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, Paul Dickson can be reached at 571-272-7742. 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. /T.L.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3614 /PAUL N DICKSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3614
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 12, 2025
Application Filed
Feb 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
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Patent 12559191
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2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12552468
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2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 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
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+7.1%)
1y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 162 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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