Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/904,792

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURABLE ENERGETIC MATERIAL, ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 02, 2024
Priority
Oct 03, 2023 — provisional 63/542,161
Examiner
FELTON, AILEEN BAKER
Art Unit
1734
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
52%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
Est. Remaining
68%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 52% of resolved cases
52%
Career Allowance Rate
233 granted / 449 resolved
-13.1% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 5m
Avg Prosecution
51 currently pending
Career history
497
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
64.8%
+24.8% vs TC avg
§102
15.8%
-24.2% vs TC avg
§112
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 449 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Election/Restrictions Claims 7-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species and invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/30/2026. 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. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Latkas (10766832). Regarding claims 1, 3-5, Laktas discloses a mixture of PETN (meets energetic material) with UV curable silicone(meets liquid optically curable binder) (claims 10 and 15). Regarding claim 2, the composition meets the claim limitation plastic bonded since the explosive is bound with the same claimed binder. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable as applied above and further in view of Johannes (4293351). Regarding claim 6, Johannes discloses an explosive that includes 80 % PETN with 20 % silicone binder (claim 1). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made and/or filed to use the amount of PETN as taught by Johannes with the composition of Latkas since both composition relate to explosive that use silicone as the binder and since Johannes discloses this amount of PETN to be used as an explosive material. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AILEEN BAKER FELTON whose telephone number is (571)272-6875. The examiner can normally be reached Monday 9-5:30, Thursday 11-3, Friday 9-5:30. 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, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at 571-272-1177. 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. /AILEEN B FELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 02, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12735368
Thruster Propellants
3y 9m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12723009
PROPELLANT CHARGE
1y 9m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12715821
METAL HYDRIDE NANOPARTICLES
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12709586
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLABLE SYNTHESIS OF ENERGETIC NANOCOMPOSITES
1y 12m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12692208
REDUCED VAPOR-TOXICITY HYDRAZINE COMPOSITION
5y 1m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
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
68%
With Interview (+16.5%)
4y 5m (~2y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 449 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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