Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 18/273,281

METHOD OF INJECTING POLYURETHANE IN PRE-INSULATED PIPES AT THE POINTS OF JOINING WITH FITTINGS

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jul 20, 2023
Examiner
CHEYNEY, CHARLES
Art Unit
3754
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
unknown
OA Round
2 (Final)
56%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 56% of resolved cases
56%
Career Allow Rate
436 granted / 777 resolved
-13.9% vs TC avg
Strong +43% interview lift
Without
With
+43.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
60 currently pending
Career history
837
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
53.9%
+13.9% vs TC avg
§102
26.4%
-13.6% vs TC avg
§112
14.6%
-25.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 777 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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 Ohara et al. (US 2022/0017678 A1). Re: Claim 1, Ohara teaches a device capable of performing the claimed method of creating a mixture of polyurethane, comprising: mixing an equal amount of polyol and isocyanate to form the polyurethane (Para. 174, 210, equal parts polyol and isocyanate); wherein a gun (20) having two cylinders (12, 14) and a static mixer (18) is used to mix the polyol and the isocyanate (Fig. 1), a first cylinder of the two cylinders containing the polyol and a second cylinder of the two cylinders containing the isocyanate, wherein the gun is configured to dispense polyurethane after mixing the polyol and the isocyanate (Fig. 1, Para. 174, 192, cylinders of polyol and isocyanate). Re: Claim 2, Ohara teaches a device capable of performing the claimed method of before the mixing step, placing the equal amount of the polyol and the isocyanate in the first cylinder and the second cylinder respectively (Para. 174, 210, equal parts polyol and isocyanate). Re: Claim 3, Ohara teaches a device capable of performing the claimed method of the polyurethane is fast-expanding polyurethane or slow-expanding polyurethane (Para. 13, slow expanding foam due to slow foam rotation for higher density and flame retardancy). Re: Claim 4, Ohara teaches a device capable of performing the claimed method of the equal amount of polyol and the isocyanate are dispensed from the two cylinders into the static mixer, then mixed to form the polyurethane, then dispensed from the gun to be applied to a surface (Para. 196, 210-211, equals parts mixed and dispensed). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. PTO-892 provides additional references of dispenser having mixers for polyurethane. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES P. CHEYNEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. 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, Paul Durand can be reached at 571-272-4459. 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. /CHARLES P. CHEYNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 20, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Sep 15, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 14, 2025
Final Rejection — §102 (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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
56%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+43.4%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 777 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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