Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/683,350

Hydrocarbyl tetralin polyethersulfonate, preparation method therefor and use thereof

Non-Final OA §101§112
Filed
Feb 13, 2024
Priority
Aug 23, 2021 — CN 202110967009.X +1 more
Examiner
YOON, TAE H
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Shanghai Research Institute Of Petrochemical Technology Sinopec
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
66%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 66% — above average
66%
Career Allowance Rate
975 granted / 1467 resolved
+6.5% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+24.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
1487
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§103
41.5%
+1.5% vs TC avg
§102
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
§112
29.9%
-10.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1467 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §112
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 . DETAILED ACTION Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the recited “Use of” is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The examiner suggests “A method of using” instead. 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 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 are 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. The recited “preferably ---” in claims 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and “more preferably ---” in claim 15 are indefinite since they would be an expression of a range within a range. Either deletion or separate dependent claims reciting narrower ranges is suggested. The recited “.” after S100, S200, S300 and S400 of claim 10 and S401 and S402 of claim 13 are improper since the “.” can be present at the end of claim only. The examiner suggests “;” instead. The recited “-(Polyoxyalkylene)1-” and “-(Polyoxyalkylene)2-” of claim 5 would lack an antecedent basis and they should be “-(Polyoxyalkylene1)-” and “-(Polyoxyalkylene2)-” recited in formula (I). EXAMINERS’ COMMENT CN 113881418 A published on January 4, 2022 having coinventors different from the instant coinventors would be a valid prior art at this time since applicant failed to submit a certified English translation of the Chinese Priority documents, CN 20210967009.X filed on August 23, 2021. Thus, the effective filing date of the instant application would be August 19, 2022 for PCT/CN2022/113592. Further, there is no evidence that the instant application would be qualified under 35 U.S.C. 102(b) Exceptions. The front page of CN 113881418 A shows that it was published as WO 20220022264 A1 (Jan. 6, 2022). Machine translated WO teaches that R1 and R2 of formula (1) are independently selected from H or C1-C40 hydrocarbyl in lines 4-5 of page 3. Although the C1-C40 hydrocarbyl would encompass the instant cyclohexyl group of the recited formula (I-0) of claim 1, WO does not fairly teach or suggest the instantly recited limitation (i.e., at least one of R1, R2, R5 and R6 is not H) of claim 1 and thus the examiner does not see any motivation further to introduce C1-C30 hydrocarbyl to the cyclohexyl group falling within scope of the C1-C40 hydrocarbyl taught by WO. CLAIM ALLOWANCE Claims 1, 4, 8, 9 and 14 are allowed. EXAMINER’S COMMENT Claims 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101 and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Machine translated RU 2666163 C1 (Sep. 6, 2018) listed in the IDS of December 30, 2025 is enclosed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAE H YOON whose telephone number is (571)272-1128. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 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, Robert Jones can be reached at (571)270-7733. 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. /TAE H YOON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 13, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12698360
AMPHIPHILIC ALKOXYLATED POLYALKYLENE IMINES OR ALKOXYLATED POLYAMINES
3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12692348
SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL POLY(ESTER UREA)S FOR DRUG DELIVERY
3y 3m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12679932
POLYAMIDE COMPOSITION AND ARTICLE MADE THEREFROM WITH IMPROVED MOLD SHRINKAGE
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677591
ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICE
3y 10m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12674062
METHOD FOR FORMING RADIATION SHIELD AND RELATED INORGANIC STRUCTURAL COLOR PAINT PIGMENTS WITH DIFFERENT NANOPARTICLE SIZES AND LAYER THICKNESSES
3y 2m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
66%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+24.7%)
2y 10m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1467 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month