Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/564,343

REFLECTOMETRIC SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING VIBRATIONS OR DEFORMATIONS OF OBJECTS/STRUCTURES

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Nov 27, 2023
Priority
May 28, 2021 — IT 102021000014027 +2 more
Examiner
WAHEED, NAZRA NUR
Art Unit
3648
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Eni S P A
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
196 granted / 233 resolved
+32.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
270
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
83.8%
+43.8% vs TC avg
§102
6.7%
-33.3% vs TC avg
§112
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 233 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 Amendment The RCE filed 03/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-12 are pending in the application. Drawings New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because of the informalities described below. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance. The drawings (Figs. 1-3 and 21) are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84 because they depict illegible text. For example, Figs. 1-3 and 21 depict text which is blurry and incomprehensible. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing legibly. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: In reference to claims 1-12, the prior arts made of record individually or in any combination, failed to teach, render obvious, or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the combination of the claimed features of claims 1-12. 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 applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-12 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. Claims 1 and 6 recite the limitation "object/structure". This limitation is indefinite as it is unclear whether “object/structure” means “object and structure” or “object or structure”. The Examiner suggests to amend all instances of “object/structure” or recite just “object”. Claim 5 recites the limitation "receive/send signals from/to". This limitation is indefinite as it is unclear whether “receive/send signal from/to” means “receive and send signals from and to” or “receive or send signals from or to”. The Examiner suggests to amend the limitation to recite “receive and send signals from and to”. All dependent claims are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) due to their dependency on a claim rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAZRA N. WAHEED whose telephone number is (571)272-6713. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8 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, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at (571)270-5144. 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. /NAZRA NUR WAHEED/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 27, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 16, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 07, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Mar 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 24, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 24, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
84%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+11.3%)
2y 9m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 233 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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