Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/711,470

A METHOD OF CONFIGURING A STRING OF PULSES

Non-Final OA §101
Filed
May 17, 2024
Priority
Nov 19, 2021 — GB 2116737.4 +1 more
Examiner
SMYTH, ANDREW P
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Waters Technologies Ireland Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
621 granted / 863 resolved
+12.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
875
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
61.6%
+21.6% vs TC avg
§102
23.8%
-16.2% vs TC avg
§112
11.6%
-28.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 863 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
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. Claims 1-14 are 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 claim(s) is/are directed to a signal per se, mere information in the form of data. Claim 1 (and its dependents 2-14) are directed to “configuring a string of pulses for an encoded frequent pulsing (EFP) acquisition”, comprising: (a) “generating a string containing N pulses”, and also “calculating the respective span intervals ∆tn(k) between each pulse and every other pulse in the string” and additional calculations on/of the string of pulses. Claims 1 is directed to information in the form of data that is processed for “configuring a string of pulses for an encoded frequent pulsing (EFP) acquisition”. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Andrew Smyth whose telephone number is 571-270-1746. The examiner can normally be reached between 9:00AM - 6:00PM; Monday thru Friday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Georgia Epps can be reached on (571) 272-2328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ANDREW SMYTH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 17, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101 (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
72%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+14.9%)
2y 10m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 863 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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