Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/033,638

CHLOROPRENE-BASED RUBBER COMPOSITION, VULCANIZED OBJECT OBTAINED FROM SAID CHLOROPRENE-BASED RUBBER COMPOSITION, AND VULCANIZED MOLDED OBJECT OBTAINED FROM CHLOROPRENE-BASED RUBBER COMPOSITION

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Apr 25, 2023
Examiner
BOYLE, ROBERT C
Art Unit
1764
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Denka Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
66%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allow Rate
769 granted / 1109 resolved
+4.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -3% lift
Without
With
+-2.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
1144
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
39.5%
-0.5% vs TC avg
§102
20.8%
-19.2% vs TC avg
§112
28.3%
-11.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1109 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
DETAILED ACTION Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b ) CONCLUSION.— The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the appl icant regards as his invention. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 5 recites the limitation "the unsaturated nitrile monomer". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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. Claim(s) 1, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Su (CN 104004471) . As the CN document is not in English, citations are made to the attached translation. Su provides an example where 100 g chloroprene rubber is added to 1.3 g dilauryl thiodipropionate and 1.3 g benzoyl peroxide, and 8 g zinc oxide (¶ 39). Dilauryl thiodipropionate has the structure has a molecular weight of 514.84 and has a thioether group. See instant specification, ¶ 71. Claim(s) 1, 4 , 6, 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakabayashi (JP H07-145269) . As the JP document is not in English, citations are made to the attached translation. Nakabayashi teaches chloroprene rubber compositions (¶ 1) where chloroprene rubber is blended with a peroxide and an antioxidant (¶ 4). Nakabayashi teaches an example where 100 parts chloroprene rubber is blended with 1.5 parts organic peroxide ( dicumyl peroxide) and 3 parts antioxidant where the antioxidant is dilauryl thiodipropionate (Table 1, ¶ 12, ¶ 18). Dilauryl thiodipropionate has the structure has a molecular weight of 514.84 and has a thioether group. See instant specification, ¶ 71. Nakabayashi teaches a co-crosslinking agent can be present which includes phenylene bismaleimide (¶ 8) where the co-crosslinking agent is present in an amount of 1-4 pbw (¶4). Nakabayashi teaches vulcanizing the rubber and forming sheet of the vulcanizate (¶ 14) which corresponds to the claimed molded body. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 -3, 5-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abe (US 6,495,625) . Abe teaches a chloroprene rubber composition comprising a chloroprene rubber (abstract) and a plasticizer (col. 4, ln. 12-15) where the plasticizer may be Vulkanol OT, an ether/thioether plasticizer used in 25 pbw er 100 parts chloroprene rubber (Table 1, col. 4, ln. 30-49). Abe teaches a peroxide vulcanization agent may be added in an amount of 0.5-5 pbw (col. 4, ln. 8-11) or 3-15 pbw (col. 3, ln. 50-56). Abe teaches acrylonitrile can be polymerized with the chloroprene (col. 1, ln. 51-63). Abe teaches a vulcanization accelerator such as phenylenedimaleimide can be present in an amount of 0.5-5 pbw (col. 4, ln. 1-11) which meets the maleimide amount of claim 6. Abe teaches acetylene black can be present in amounts of 45 pbw (Table 1) and 10-70 pbw (col. 3, ln. 23-47). Abe teaches zinc powder can be present in an amount of 1-30 pbw or 2-20 pbw (col. 3, ln. 38-47). Abe teaches vulcanizing to form a vulcanizate and molded body (col. 4, ln. 50-67). Abe does not provide an example using the peroxide vulcanization agent. However, it would have been obvious to use the peroxide vulcanization agent because Abe teaches to use it (col. 4, ln. 8-11) and because “a reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill the art…” Merck & Co. v. Biocraft Laboratories , 874 F.2d 804, 10 USPQ2d 1843 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975 (1989). See MPEP 2123. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ROBERT C BOYLE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7347 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Thursday, 10am-4pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Arrie (Lanee) Reuther can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7026 . 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. /ROBERT C BOYLE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 25, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 14, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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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
69%
Grant Probability
66%
With Interview (-2.8%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1109 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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