Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
10 pending office actions • 6 art units • 10 examiners • 0 of 10 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 10 patents granted in the last 365 days
GENTHERM Incorporated currently has 10 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are distributed across 6 distinct art units and 10 distinct examiners. This indicates that the count of pending actions is equal to the count of examiners, meaning every action is assigned to a unique individual at the patent office.
PHAM, CLINT V is identified as the busiest examiner for this portfolio, currently handling 1 pending action. Because there are 10 pending office actions and 10 distinct examiners, the workload is perfectly distributed across the examining corps. The 6 distinct art units involved suggest that while the technology area is consistent, the specific mechanical or medical applications vary across several specialized groups. Practitioners must be prepared to handle 10 separate examiner relationships, as no single individual manages more than 1 of the company's pending office actions across the 6 distinct art units.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 3 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. 3 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 + other | 1 (10%) |
| §102 only | 1 (10%) |
| §112 only | 1 (10%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (10%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 6 (60%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHAM, CLINT V | 1 | 44.0% | +24.2% |
| MA, KUN KAI | 1 | 79.3% | +12.9% |
| GABLER, PHILIP F | 1 | 72.9% | +23.4% |
| BARGERO, JOHN E | 1 | 55.3% | +30.6% |
| CHEN, NING | 1 | 0.0% | +0.0% |
| PAPE, ALYSSA MORGAN | 1 | 28.0% | +43.1% |
| KERN, ASHLEIGH LAUREN | 1 | 32.7% | +8.4% |
| BRAWNER, CHARLES RILEY | 1 | 75.9% | +11.2% |
| ASSANTE, KEITH BRIAN | 1 | 71.4% | +29.4% |
| TSO, EDWARD H | 1 | 87.0% | +6.6% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17957867 | METHOD FOR PROVIDING LOCALIZED THERMAL THERAPY | PAPE, ALYSSA MORGAN | 38d overdue |
| 18308741 | BATTERY MODULE MONITORING CIRCUIT INCLUDING REMOTE WIRELESS TRANSCEIVER | TSO, EDWARD H | 21d |
| 19152222 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING WHETHER TO HEAT OR COOL A SURFACE | PHAM, CLINT V | — |
| 18862067 | CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR THERMAL EFFECTORS | MA, KUN KAI | — |
| 18277504 | AUTOMOTIVE SEAT BASED MICROCLIMATE SYSTEM | BARGERO, JOHN E | — |
| 18266893 | BATTERY COOLING SYSTEM | CHEN, NING | — |
| 18686935 | ELIMINATING OR MINIMIZING INTERFERENCE BETWEEN HANDS ON DETECTION SENSOR AND HEATER IN STEERING WHEELS | ASSANTE, KEITH BRIAN | — |
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 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17957867 | METHOD FOR PROVIDING LOCALIZED THERMAL THERAPY | PAPE, ALYSSA MORGAN | 38d overdue |
| 19152222 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING WHETHER TO HEAT OR COOL A SURFACE | PHAM, CLINT V | — |
| 18862067 | CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR THERMAL EFFECTORS | MA, KUN KAI | — |
| 18913246 | COMFORT ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE SEAT | GABLER, PHILIP F | — |
| 18277504 | AUTOMOTIVE SEAT BASED MICROCLIMATE SYSTEM | BARGERO, JOHN E | — |
| 18693761 | Blower, Ventilation Device, Vehicle Seat or Battery System, Manufacturing Method and Equipment | BRAWNER, CHARLES RILEY | — |
| 18686935 | ELIMINATING OR MINIMIZING INTERFERENCE BETWEEN HANDS ON DETECTION SENSOR AND HEATER IN STEERING WHEELS | ASSANTE, KEITH BRIAN | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3794 | 2 |
| 3663 | 1 |
| 3636 | 1 |
| 3761 | 1 |
| 1723 | 1 |
| 2859 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19152222 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING WHETHER TO HEAT OR COOL A SURFACE | PHAM, CLINT V | 3663 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 30, 2025 |
| 18862067 | CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR THERMAL EFFECTORS | MA, KUN KAI | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 31, 2024 |
| 18913246 | COMFORT ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE SEAT | GABLER, PHILIP F | 3636 | §112Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18277504 | AUTOMOTIVE SEAT BASED MICROCLIMATE SYSTEM | BARGERO, JOHN E | 3761 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 16, 2023 |
| 18266893 | BATTERY COOLING SYSTEM | CHEN, NING | 1723 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2023 |
| 17957867 | METHOD FOR PROVIDING LOCALIZED THERMAL THERAPY | PAPE, ALYSSA MORGAN | 3794 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 38d overdue | Pending | Sep 30, 2022 |
| 17957871 | METHOD FOR PROVIDING THERMAL CONTRAST THERAPY | KERN, ASHLEIGH LAUREN | 3794 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | Pending | Sep 30, 2022 |
| 18693761 | Blower, Ventilation Device, Vehicle Seat or Battery System, Manufacturing Method and Equipment | BRAWNER, CHARLES RILEY | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 20, 2024 |
| 18686935 | ELIMINATING OR MINIMIZING INTERFERENCE BETWEEN HANDS ON DETECTION SENSOR AND HEATER IN STEERING WHEELS | ASSANTE, KEITH BRIAN | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2024 |
| 18308741 | BATTERY MODULE MONITORING CIRCUIT INCLUDING REMOTE WIRELESS TRANSCEIVER | TSO, EDWARD H | 2859 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 21d | Pending | Apr 28, 2023 |
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