Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/936,577

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING ELASTIC MODULUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 04, 2024
Priority
Feb 21, 2024 — RE 10-2024-0025288
Examiner
BREENE, JOHN E
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Research & Business Foundation Sungkyunkwan University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
52%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
47%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 52% of resolved cases
52%
Career Allowance Rate
52 granted / 100 resolved
-8.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -5% lift
Without
With
+-5.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
5 currently pending
Career history
113
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
§103
43.4%
+3.4% vs TC avg
§102
23.6%
-16.4% vs TC avg
§112
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 100 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Objections Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 9, line 11, “road” is a typo and should be “load”. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fang et al (“Bending Study of Submarine Power Cables based on a Repeated Unit Cell Model”, hereafter Fang). Fang teaches the apparatus (Section 3 and 3.1-3.2, Figs 14-15, 18), the apparatus comprising: a pair of supports supporting at least one of a lower surface of two ends of a specimen or a lateral portion of the two ends (Figs 15, 18); a pressurizer configured to apply a load to an upper surface of the specimen (Figs 15, 18); and a sensor configured to measure a displacement by which the specimen is deformed by the load (Section 3.2, “three displacement sensors” ), wherein the specimen includes: a conductive material; and an insulating material with which a surface of the conductive material is coated (Fig. 1), and the apparatus includes a four-point bending test apparatus (Fig. 14) with two application points in which the road is applied to the upper surface of the specimen (Figs. 14, 15, 18.) The preamble, “for measuring an elastic modulus” is considered intended use and is not given patentable weight. Allowable Subject Matter The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: As per claim 1, prior art of record does not teach a third calculation operation of calculating an elastic modulus of the conductive material and an elastic modulus of the insulating material based on the calculated first bending elastic modulus and the calculated second bending elastic modulus. Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shimizu et al, WO 2022210684 A1, teaches a three-point bending test with a rectangular insulated cable. Finot et al, US Patent 5847283, teaches determined Young’s modulus with multilayered sample in a four-point bending test. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN E BREENE whose telephone number is (571)272-4107. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday. 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, Andrea Wellington can be reached at (571)272-4483. 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. /JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 04, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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PIPELINE MONITORING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
2y 12m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12742675
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3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12734618
WELDING TECHNIQUE MONITORING SYSTEMS WITH SLOPED WORKPIECE CALIBRATIONS
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12736394
WEIGHT MEASURING APPARATUS
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12731508
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2y 8m to grant Granted Sep 08, 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
47%
With Interview (-5.2%)
3y 2m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 100 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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