Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 19/314,314

A CEILING-MOUNTED FAN LIGHT AND ASSEMBLY METHOD THEREFOR

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 29, 2025
Examiner
TON, ANABEL
Art Unit
2875
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Wenbo Wei
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
1086 granted / 1243 resolved
+19.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+2.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
1253
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
30.2%
-9.8% vs TC avg
§102
42.8%
+2.8% vs TC avg
§112
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1243 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the lamp grove 41, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Applicant recites ” The ceiling-mounted fan light according to claim 1, characterized in that a lamp groove is provided on a lower side and/or an upper side of the lamp bracket. The term and/or is objected to since it is unclear which limitations are included or excluded by and/or. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng (12,345,393) in view of Zeng(12,326,235) . Regarding claim 1, Zheng ‘393discloses a ceiling-mounted fan light(Fig. 1), comprising a ceiling box(1) and a fan(“Further, a fan module is further mounted below the mounting base. (not shown, Col. 3 lines 25-26) arranged on the ceiling box(not shown, but inherently mounted on ceiling box (1)), characterized in that a plurality of arms (5)are detachably assembled to the ceiling box(Figs. 1,3,4); an arc-shaped lamp bracket(2,3,4) is provided at an extended end of each t arm(5 Figs.4 and 7); the lamp bracket comprises a head end and a tail end (14,15, Figs, 5-6)), and a connecting member is arranged between the head end of one lamp bracket and the tail end of an adjacent lamp bracket to enable a connection between the lamp bracket and the adjacent lamp bracket(, Figs. 5-6) Col. 4 lines 52-63).; the connection between the lamp bracket and the adjacent lamp bracket forms a ring (Figs. 1 and 4) . Zheng’393 does not teach the arms being a plurality of light arms. Zheng‘235 discloses a spliced lighting fixture with a fan arranged in the ceiling box, and a plurality of light arms detachably assembled to the ceiling box(3). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the plurality of arms of Zheng’393 with the light sources of the plurality of light arms of Zheng ‘235 in order to enhance an esthetic appearance of the arms the modular fan lamp of Zheng’393 with additional lights which would also provide greater illumination to the device. Regarding claim 2, Zheng’393 discloses a lamp groove that is provided on a lower side and/or an upper side of the lamp bracket(see groove that is along 8, and as best seen closer to 7); a light source (7) is disposed within the lamp groove (Fig. 8; and a light-transmitting strip covering the lamp groove is provided at the lamp groove on the lamp bracket, the light-transmitting strip comprises a first flange engaged with the lamp groove (figs.7-8 and Col. 4 lines 11-21). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 11 is allowed. Claims 3-10 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 11, the prior art cited of record does not anticipate individually or teach in combination the limitations of method claim 11, in particular the features as recited in S101 and S104. Regarding claim 3-10, the limitations of claim 3 are not anticipated individually or taught in combination by the prior art cited, in particular, “a plug is provided on an outer sidewall of the ceiling box; a socket engaged with the plug is provided on the light arm; a second flange is provided at an end of the light arm connected to the ceiling box, the second flange is provided with a first threaded hole; and a second threaded hole is provided within the ceiling box to match the first threaded hole.”. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chen (2019/0331122) teaches a fan with illumination (3A); Du (CN113958932) discloses a fan with a light (Fig. 3). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANABEL TON whose telephone number is (571)272-2382. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Friday 9:00pm -6:00pm (EST). 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, ABDULMAJEED AZIZ can be reached at (571)270-5046. 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. /ANABEL TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 29, 2025
Application Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12595904
MODULAR TRACK LIGHTING
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597570
LIGHT-EMITTING KEYBOARD AND BACKLIGHT MODULE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12590690
LIGHTING FIXTURE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12590694
Connecting Assembly for Decorative Light
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12590683
SIMULATED FLAME LAMP
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 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
87%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+2.6%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1243 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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