Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
7 pending office actions • 2 art units • 4 examiners • 0 of 7 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 8 patents granted in the last 365 days
Willow Innovations Inc. is managing 7 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These 7 actions are distributed among 4 distinct examiners, indicating that some examiners are handling multiple cases for the company. The workload is concentrated within 2 distinct art units, suggesting a high degree of technical focus for the portfolio. FREHE, WILLIAM R is the busiest examiner, currently responsible for 3 pending office actions.
This concentration means that FREHE, WILLIAM R handles nearly half of the 7 pending office actions, making his individual examiner style particularly influential. The remaining pending actions are split among the other 3 distinct examiners. With only 2 distinct art units involved, the 7 pending office actions are likely subject to a consistent set of technical standards. Practitioners should focus on the 3 pending actions under FREHE, WILLIAM R to identify potential trends that could impact the rest of the portfolio.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 5 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. 5 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 (14%) |
| §103 only | 3 (43%) |
| §102 only | 1 (14%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (14%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 1 (14%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREHE, WILLIAM R | 3 | 59.7% | +42.2% |
| MEDWAY, SCOTT J | 2 | 66.6% | +23.0% |
| WEAVER, SUE A | 1 | 62.0% | +28.0% |
| VOKES, KATHLEEN PAIGE | 1 | 56.3% | +27.5% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16773524 | BREAST PUMP SYSTEM AND METHODS | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 103d overdue |
| 16951202 | Container Assemblies For A Breast Pump | VOKES, KATHLEEN PAIGE | 33d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16773524 | BREAST PUMP SYSTEM AND METHODS | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 103d overdue |
| 16934380 | BREAST PUMP ASSEMBLY | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 22d |
| 18082725 | BREAST PUMP SYSTEMS | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 27d |
| 16951202 | Container Assemblies For A Breast Pump | VOKES, KATHLEEN PAIGE | 33d |
| 18386391 | APPARATUS AND METHODS TO CREATE POSTERIOR COMPRESSION AT THE BREAST DURING EXPRESSION OF BREAST MILK | MEDWAY, SCOTT J | 77d |
| 19360165 | COMPLIANT INFANT SUCKLING DEVICE | WEAVER, SUE A | — |
| 18738997 | BREAST PUMP | MEDWAY, SCOTT J | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3783 | 6 |
| 3733 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19360165 | COMPLIANT INFANT SUCKLING DEVICE | WEAVER, SUE A | 3733 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 16, 2025 |
| 18738997 | BREAST PUMP | MEDWAY, SCOTT J | 3783 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 10, 2024 |
| 18386391 | APPARATUS AND METHODS TO CREATE POSTERIOR COMPRESSION AT THE BREAST DURING EXPRESSION OF BREAST MILK | MEDWAY, SCOTT J | 3783 | §102 | Final Rejection | 77d | Pending | Nov 02, 2023 |
| 18082725 | BREAST PUMP SYSTEMS | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 3783 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 27d | Pending | Dec 16, 2022 |
| 16951202 | Container Assemblies For A Breast Pump | VOKES, KATHLEEN PAIGE | 3783 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 33d | Pending | Nov 18, 2020 |
| 16934380 | BREAST PUMP ASSEMBLY | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 3783 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 22d | Pending | Jul 21, 2020 |
| 16773524 | BREAST PUMP SYSTEM AND METHODS | FREHE, WILLIAM R | 3783 | §101DP | Non-Final OA | 103d overdue | Pending | Jan 27, 2020 |
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Start Free TrialWillow Innovations Inc. has 7 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 2 art units and 4 examiners.
William R Frehe has the most, with 3 of Willow Innovations Inc.'s pending office actions.
Mostly Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering (USPTO Tech Center 3700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
