Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/296,107

HOT-START SUSPENSION TUNE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 11, 2025
Priority
Aug 25, 2023 — provisional 63/534,717 +1 more
Examiner
TO, TOAN C
Art Unit
3614
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Fox Factory Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
916 granted / 1000 resolved
+39.6% vs TC avg
Minimal -4% lift
Without
With
+-3.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 12m
Avg Prosecution
11 currently pending
Career history
1011
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
21.0%
-19.0% vs TC avg
§102
48.4%
+8.4% vs TC avg
§112
13.7%
-26.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1000 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 . 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 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Anderson (U.S. 2018/0134106). Anderson discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium (4-1000) having instructions (see paragraph 1139) stored thereon, said instructions, when executed by one or more processors (4-1001), cause said one or more processors (4-1001) to: initiate a starting suspension tune for a shock assembly (1-100); automatically modify at least one suspension characteristic (damping force) of said starting suspension tune (adjusting suspension) when a predefined threshold (see paragraph 0518) has been reached, wherein said predefined threshold is comprised of a value or a combination of two or more of said values selected from the group consisting of: an amount of time (see paragraph 0361), a vehicle speed (target speed), wherein said starting suspension tune is based upon a user selection or a combination of two or more of said user selections which are selected from the group consisting of: a user selecting to manipulate a user input speed (input speed from driver), location (driver input destination), wherein a determination said predefined threshold is based upon a sensor input, said sensor input received from one sensor or a combination of two or more of said sensors selected from the group consisting of: accelerometer (acceleration sensor), location sensor (GPS receiver), wheel sensor (speed sensor). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-12 and 17-20 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Regarding claim 1-12, the closest prior art as to Anderson (U.S. 2018/0134106) fails to disclose a hot-start system comprising: at least one shock assembly; a starting mode initiator configured to set said at least one shock assembly to a starting tune; an input receiver configured to receive an input indicating that a predefined threshold has been reached; and a controller to: receive an indication that said input receiver has received said input indicating that said predefined threshold has been reached; and communicate an adjustment command to said electronic valve to change said at least one shock assembly to a different mode. Regarding claim 17-20, the closest prior art as to Anderson (U.S. 2018/0134106) fails to disclose a hot-start system comprising: at least one shock assembly; a starting mode initiator; an input receiver configured to receive an input indicating that a predefined threshold has been reached, wherein said input receiver is a user manipulatable feature; and a controller to: receive an indication that said input receiver has received said input indicating that said predefined threshold has been reached; and communicate an adjustment command to said at least one shock assembly to modify at least one suspension characteristic of said starting tune. 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOAN C TO whose telephone number is (571)272-6677. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5, Monday-Friday. 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, JASON D SHANSKE can be reached at (571)270-5985. 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. /TOAN C TO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614 May 27, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 11, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12679159
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VEHICLE CONTROL USING TERRAIN-BASED LOCALIZATION
3y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12679161
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING VEHICLES INCLUDING CONTINUOUSLY CONTROLLED DAMPING SYSTEMS
1y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12654505
SUSPENSION ACTUATOR SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE
2y 3m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12654507
APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING VEHICLE HEIGHT
1y 1m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12650166
VEHICLE DRIVE DEVICE
1y 3m to grant Granted Jun 09, 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
92%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (-3.6%)
1y 12m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1000 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