Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 17, 2026
Application No. 18/973,892

TWO-BODY SEPARATED EXTRATERRESTRIAL BODY DIELECTRIC CONSTANT PROBE AND ITS PROBING METHOD

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 09, 2024
Priority
Nov 29, 2024 — CN 2024117320814
Examiner
PATEL, PARESH H
Art Unit
2858
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Sichuan Aerospace System Engineering Institute
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
757 granted / 952 resolved
+11.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
975
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
41.2%
+1.2% vs TC avg
§102
34.7%
-5.3% vs TC avg
§112
14.8%
-25.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 952 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . 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 2-4 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. Claims 2-4 recites the limitation "The device" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Specification The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1 and 5-8 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: No prior art has been found that meets the limitation of claim1 calling for a two-body separated extraterrestrial body dielectric constant probe, which is characterized in that it comprises: a surface body being on the surface of a penetrated medium after penetration - a surface body control module is set in the surface body, which comprises a first electromagnetic pulse emission source and a first electromagnetic pulse reception source; a penetrating body, connected to the surface body through a cable, being inside the penetrated medium after penetration, as further defined. Claim 5 is allowed because it includes all the limitations of allowed claim 1. Dependent claims 6-8 are also allowed. Claims 2-4 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PARESH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-1968. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am to 4:00pm. 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, Eman Alkafawi can be reached at 571-272-4448. 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. /PARESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 August 25, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 09, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
80%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (-1.2%)
2y 8m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 952 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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