Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
72 pending office actions • 22 art units • 58 examiners • 0 of 72 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 158 patents granted in the last 365 days
Black & Decker Inc. is currently managing 71 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These 71 pending office actions are distributed among 57 distinct examiners, which indicates that the company interacts with a large and diverse group of patent officials. This distribution means that the company prosecution experience is spread across many different individual perspectives.
The busiest examiner for this portfolio is LOPEZ, MICHELLE, who is responsible for 4 pending office actions. While this is the highest individual workload, it represents a small portion of the 71 pending office actions total. The reliance on 57 distinct examiners suggests that the company must maintain a flexible prosecution strategy to address the varying requirements of many different patent officials.
The involvement of 22 distinct art units means that the technical review is conducted across many different specialized groups at the patent office. With 71 pending office actions and 22 distinct art units, the company must navigate a wide range of procedural preferences and technical standards. The company must tailor its responses to the specific requirements of the 22 distinct art units involved in the prosecution of these cases.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 25 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 25 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 only | 1 (1%) |
| §101 + other | 1 (1%) |
| §103 only | 21 (29%) |
| §102 only | 6 (8%) |
| §112 only | 4 (6%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (1%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 38 (53%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 4 | 81.9% | +11.6% |
| FRY, PATRICK B | 2 | 53.9% | +8.0% |
| LEE, LAURA MICHELLE | 2 | 54.9% | +30.9% |
| LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 2 | 72.3% | +20.5% |
| IGBOKWE, NICHOLAS E | 2 | 81.0% | +13.8% |
| SHUTTY, DAVID G | 2 | 69.0% | +12.7% |
| STOUT, RILEY OWEN | 2 | 75.5% | -3.6% |
| EKIERT, TERESA M | 2 | 79.3% | +3.1% |
| MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S | 2 | 54.1% | +21.3% |
| CADUGAN, ERICA E | 2 | 63.1% | +50.5% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 4 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19461413 | POWER TOOL AND A TRANSMISSION THEREFOR | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| 19304228 | HAND-HELD POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| 19254944 | SWITCH MODULE FOR A POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| 18958597 | POWER TOOL WITH A GYRO SENSOR MODULE FOR ERROR CONDITION DETECTION | IGBOKWE, NICHOLAS E | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18384398 | FASTENING TOOL HAVING HOME POSITION SENSING SYSTEM | KOTIS, JOSHUA G | 73d overdue |
| 18407887 | Vacuum Cleaner and Cleaning Accessory for a Vacuum Cleaner | MULLER, BRYAN R | 17d overdue |
| 18365428 | STEP DRILL BIT | DEONAUTH, NIRVANA | 11d overdue |
| 18190174 | MAGNETIC DRILL PRESS | GATES, ERIC ANDREW | 10d overdue |
| 18693729 | POWERED FASTENING TOOL INCLUDING DRIVER RETURN SYSTEM AND DRIVER RETENTION SYSTEM | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 8d overdue |
| 18150262 | ACCESSORIES FOR OSCILLATING POWER TOOLS | MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S | 3d overdue |
| 18447626 | COMPACTING POWER TOOL | ADDIE, RAYMOND W | 1d overdue |
| 18647689 | CIRCULAR SAW | LEE, LAURA MICHELLE | 9d |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19028882 | MULTISPEED POWER TOOL | SHUTTY, DAVID G | 43d overdue |
| 18693729 | POWERED FASTENING TOOL INCLUDING DRIVER RETURN SYSTEM AND DRIVER RETENTION SYSTEM | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 8d overdue |
| 18150262 | ACCESSORIES FOR OSCILLATING POWER TOOLS | MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S | 3d overdue |
| 18647689 | CIRCULAR SAW | LEE, LAURA MICHELLE | 9d |
| 18391927 | POWER TOOL CHUCK | CADUGAN, ERICA E | 34d |
| 19461413 | POWER TOOL AND A TRANSMISSION THEREFOR | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| 19304228 | HAND-HELD POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| 19301300 | REMOTE PROGRAMMING OF A POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3731 | 18 |
| 3724 | 10 |
| 3723 | 6 |
| 3722 | 3 |
| 3726 | 3 |
| 4100 | 2 |
| 3725 | 2 |
| 3671 | 2 |
| 2117 | 2 |
| 1725 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19461413 | POWER TOOL AND A TRANSMISSION THEREFOR | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 27, 2026 |
| 19307478 | INFLATOR HAVING AN OUTLET ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO A HANDLE | DOYLE, BENJAMIN C | 3746 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2025 |
| 19304228 | HAND-HELD POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 3731 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 19, 2025 |
| 19301300 | REMOTE PROGRAMMING OF A POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 3731 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2025 |
| 19281114 | CLUTCH MECHANISM AND POWER TOOL HAVING SAME | FRY, PATRICK B | 3731 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 25, 2025 |
| 19254944 | SWITCH MODULE FOR A POWER TOOL | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 3731 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19244690 | DRIVER BLADE GUIDE FOR A FASTENING TOOL | WITTENSCHLAEGER, THOMAS M | 3731 | §102§112 | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | Jun 20, 2025 |
| 19223159 | MITER SAW | LEE, LAURA MICHELLE | — | §102Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 30, 2025 |
| 19180118 | Dust Cap Accessory for a Power Tool | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 15, 2025 |
| 19027223 | POWER TOOL WITH ERGONOMIC HANDGRIP | IGBOKWE, NICHOLAS E | 3731 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 19028882 | MULTISPEED POWER TOOL | SHUTTY, DAVID G | 3731 | §102§103§112DP | Final Rejection | 43d overdue | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 19017977 | SEALED ELECTRIC MOTOR | STOUT, RILEY OWEN | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 13, 2025 |
| 18876496 | FASTENING TOOL HAVING POSITION BIASED RELEASED VALVE | IMAM, TANZIM | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 18, 2024 |
| 18984690 | IMPACT TOOLS AND CONTROL MODES | SHUTTY, DAVID G | 3731 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 17, 2024 |
| 18958597 | POWER TOOL WITH A GYRO SENSOR MODULE FOR ERROR CONDITION DETECTION | IGBOKWE, NICHOLAS E | 3731 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18946515 | POWER TOOL INCLUDING A CANNED ELECTRIC MOTOR | STOUT, RILEY OWEN | 2834 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 13, 2024 |
| 18941078 | DIELESS CRIMPING TOOL | EKIERT, TERESA M | — | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 08, 2024 |
| 18937683 | TABLE SAW | CROSBY JR, RICHARD D | 3724 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 05, 2024 |
| 18936586 | SWAGE TOOL | SULLIVAN, DEBRA M | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 04, 2024 |
| 18934987 | System for Tracking and Identifying Cast-In Place Anchors | FONSECA, JESSIE T | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 01, 2024 |
| 18911995 | CORDLESS COMPRESSOR | HICKS, ANGELISA | 3753 | §101 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18898988 | PIPE PREPARATION TOOL | CRANDALL, JOEL DILLON | 3723 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 27, 2024 |
| 18891821 | ELECTRIC MOTOR SYSTEM | JOHNSON, ERIC | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 20, 2024 |
| 18888632 | POWER TOOL, A HANDLE FOR A POWER TOOL AND A METHOD OF ASSEMBLY | PALMER, LUCAS E A | 3731 | §102 | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | Sep 18, 2024 |
| 18830137 | POWER TOOL WITH PLANETARY TRANSMISSION | LEEDS, DANIEL JEREMY | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 125d overdue | Pending | Sep 10, 2024 |
| 18822893 | AIR BRUSH | SUTHERLAND, STEVEN M | 3752 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 03, 2024 |
| 18812119 | SWITCH ACTIVATION MECHANISM | JIMENEZ, ANTHONY R | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 18796718 | ROUTER AND CHIP COLLECTOR ACCESSORY THEREFOR | WELDEGIORGIS, LEWIE SAHLE | 4100 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18796782 | ROUTER AND SUB-BASE ADAPTER THEREFOR | RIOS, ORLANDO JESUS | 4100 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18784515 | LIGHTED POWER TOOL | CATTANACH, COLIN J | 2875 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 25, 2024 |
| 18763373 | ACCESSORIES FOR OSCILLATING POWER TOOLS | MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S | 3724 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2024 |
| 18758939 | BATTERY PACK IDENTIFICATION IN POWER TOOL | COOK, CORTEZ M | 2846 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 28, 2024 |
| 18671193 | PORTABLE ELECTRIC POWER TOOL FOR BENDING ELONGATE OBJECTS | EKIERT, TERESA M | 3725 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 22, 2024 |
| 18647676 | CONCRETE SAW | DAVIES, SAMUEL ALLEN | 3724 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 26, 2024 |
| 18647689 | CIRCULAR SAW | LEE, LAURA MICHELLE | 3724 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 9d | Pending | Apr 26, 2024 |
| 18631175 | OSCILLATING TOOL | WEEKS, GLORIA R | 3731 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | Apr 10, 2024 |
| 18631663 | CIRCULAR SAW | MACFARLANE, EVAN H | 3724 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2024 |
| 18611635 | DRAIN CLEANING DEVICE | GUIDOTTI, LAURA COLE | 3723 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 20, 2024 |
| 18693729 | POWERED FASTENING TOOL INCLUDING DRIVER RETURN SYSTEM AND DRIVER RETENTION SYSTEM | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 8d overdue | Pending | Mar 20, 2024 |
| 18605785 | MULTI-PORT BATTERY PACK CHARGER | VO, TUYEN KIM | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 14, 2024 |
| 18584396 | FASTENER STRIP | BUI, LUAN KIM | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 22, 2024 |
| 18439257 | System for Wireless Retrieval of Measured Component Data | YANG, JAMES J | 2686 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 4d overdue | Pending | Feb 12, 2024 |
| 18431609 | POWER TOOL WITH COMPLIANT SHIFTING MECHANISM | JOYCE, WILLIAM C | 3618 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 02, 2024 |
| 18407887 | Vacuum Cleaner and Cleaning Accessory for a Vacuum Cleaner | MULLER, BRYAN R | 3723 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 17d overdue | Pending | Jan 09, 2024 |
| 18391927 | POWER TOOL CHUCK | CADUGAN, ERICA E | 3722 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Dec 21, 2023 |
| 18525820 | Fastening Tool Nail Stop | FRY, PATRICK B | 3731 | §103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 30, 2023 |
| 18384398 | FASTENING TOOL HAVING HOME POSITION SENSING SYSTEM | KOTIS, JOSHUA G | 3731 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 73d overdue | Pending | Oct 27, 2023 |
| 18381290 | ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGE CONNECTOR | TSO, EDWARD H | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 18, 2023 |
| 18471366 | HOLESAW SYSTEM | AFZALI, SARANG | 3726 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 21, 2023 |
| 18467999 | POWER TOOL | TRAVERS, MATTHEW P | 3726 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 15, 2023 |
| 18236574 | ELECTRIC LAWN MOWER INCLUDING AN ENERGY ABSORBING MODULE | HUTCHINS, CATHLEEN R | 3672 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2023 |
| 18447669 | COMPACTING POWER TOOL | RISIC, ABIGAIL ANNE | 3671 | §103 | Final Rejection | 9d overdue | Pending | Aug 10, 2023 |
| 18447626 | COMPACTING POWER TOOL | ADDIE, RAYMOND W | 3671 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 1d overdue | Pending | Aug 10, 2023 |
| 18365428 | STEP DRILL BIT | DEONAUTH, NIRVANA | 3726 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 11d overdue | Pending | Aug 04, 2023 |
| 18360880 | Reciprocating Saw Blade | AYALA, FERNANDO A | 3724 | §103 | Final Rejection | 15d overdue | Pending | Jul 28, 2023 |
| 18323148 | POWER TOOL GUIDE AND POWER TOOL GUIDE ASSEMBLY | RILEY, JONATHAN G | 3724 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 11d overdue | Pending | May 24, 2023 |
| 18298197 | MULTI-LINK CUTTING PLIER | PRONE, JASON D | 3724 | §102§112 | Final Rejection | 61d | Pending | Apr 10, 2023 |
| 18190174 | MAGNETIC DRILL PRESS | GATES, ERIC ANDREW | 3722 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 10d overdue | Pending | Mar 27, 2023 |
| 18111724 | BATTERY-POWERED BACKPACK BLOWER | CARLSON, MARC | 3723 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 20, 2023 |
| 18109487 | SYSTEM, DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PROGRAMMING POWER TOOLS | DUNN, DARRIN D | 2117 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 54d | Pending | Feb 14, 2023 |
| 18109750 | BATTERY PACK | EFYMOW, JESSE JAMES | 1723 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2023 |
| 18164020 | SYSTEM, DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PROGRAMMING POWER TOOLS | DUNN, DARRIN D | 2117 | §103 | Final Rejection | 27d | Pending | Feb 03, 2023 |
| 18150262 | ACCESSORIES FOR OSCILLATING POWER TOOLS | MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S | 3724 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | Pending | Jan 05, 2023 |
| 17974261 | Power Tool | CADUGAN, ERICA E | 3722 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2022 |
| 17939673 | FOOD PROCESSOR AND POUR SPOUT | BROWN, JARED O | 3725 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Sep 07, 2022 |
| 17817867 | RECIPROCATING SAW BLADE | DONG, LIANG | 3724 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Aug 05, 2022 |
| 17703436 | DISCRETE BATTERY PACK DISCONNECT CIRCUIT | DUNN, DREW A | 2859 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 24, 2022 |
| 17676448 | TILE SAW | ZAWORSKI, JONATHAN R | 3723 | §103 | Final Rejection | 79d overdue | Pending | Feb 21, 2022 |
| 17507541 | BATTERY PACK | HAMMOND, KRISHNA R | 1725 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 21, 2021 |
| 17396207 | BATTERY PACK | HAMMOND, KRISHNA R | 1725 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2021 |
| 16794332 | CAST-IN PLACE ANCHOR WITH MULTI-USE JAWS AND REMOVABLE NOSE-PIECE | MAGAR, DIL KUMAR | 3675 | §103 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Feb 19, 2020 |
| 16666845 | VACUUM CLEANER | FORDJOUR, SARAH AKYAA | 3723 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 29, 2019 |
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