Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/578,942

EPOXY RESIN CURING AGENT, EPOXY RESIN COMPOSITION AND CURED PRODUCT THEREOF, FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE, AND WIND POWER GENERATION BLADE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 12, 2024
Priority
Jul 29, 2021 — JP 2021-124280 +1 more
Examiner
BERRO, ADAM JOSEPH
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
52%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 52% of resolved cases
52%
Career Allowance Rate
26 granted / 50 resolved
-8.0% vs TC avg
Strong +50% interview lift
Without
With
+49.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
48 currently pending
Career history
104
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
90.2%
+50.2% vs TC avg
§102
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§112
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 50 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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wada (JP 2012-219115, Reference b from IDS dated 2/6/2024). Regarding Claims 1-4, Wada teaches an epoxy resin curing agent that preferably contains a polyoxypropylene diamine (polyether polyamine) and two alicyclic polyamino compounds (Paragraph 21) and demonstrates in example 1 a composition that includes Jeffamine D-230 (polyether polyamine), isophoronediamine (Paragraph 39), and a modified amine which consists of xylylene diamine and styrene-functionalized xylylene diamine (Paragraph 37), meeting the requirements of the instant claims. Regarding Claim 5, Wada teaches in example 1 that the polyether polyamine (equivalent to a1) represents 63% by mass of the curing agent and the summation of the other curing agents to be 37% by mass (Paragraph 39). Regarding Claim 6, Wada teaches that the xylylene diamine/styrene-modified xylylene diamine curing agent (a3) comprises 10% by mass of the curing agent (Paragraph 39), which would represent a ratio of 0.27 relative to the combined amount of a2 + a3 (37% by mass, Paragraph 39). Regarding Claims 7 and 8, Wada teaches a composition that includes epoxy resin and resin curing agent (Paragraph 39) and further teaches that the amount of epoxy resin is 73% by mass epoxy resins and the remaining 26% by mass is curing agents (Paragraph 39). Regarding Claims 9 and 12, Wada teaches that the composition is used to generate a fiber-reinforced composite used to make wind turbine blades (Paragraphs 1 and 32). Regarding Claims 10 and 11, Wada teaches that the resin and curing agent composition is reinforced with carbon or glass fiber (Paragraph 30). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wittenbecher (US 20110190419) teaches an epoxy resin composition used to generate rotor blades for wind turbines (Paragraph 3) that contains a polyether polyamine such as Jeffamine D-230 (Paragraph 27) and additionally amine compounds such as isophoronediamine and xylylenediamine (Paragraph 28). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM J BERRO whose telephone number is (703)756-1283. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5. 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, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571-270-1831. 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. /A.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 1765 /JOHN M COONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 12, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
52%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+49.9%)
3y 5m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 50 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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