Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/133,942

UNMANNED VEHICLE WITH MULTIPLE PAYLOAD PLATFORMS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Apr 12, 2023
Examiner
TILLMAN, JR, REGINALD S
Art Unit
3641
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 0m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
1065 granted / 1367 resolved
+25.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1400
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
32.1%
-7.9% vs TC avg
§102
39.1%
-0.9% vs TC avg
§112
20.9%
-19.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1367 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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-13) in the reply filed on 10-13-25 is acknowledged. Claims 14-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10-13-25. 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(s) 1 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Qiu et al. (CN 112027089 A), hereinafter (“Qiu”). Qiu (Fig 3) discloses an unmanned vehicle comprising: a fuselage; at least one thrust device coupled to the fuselage; a first payload module (see below) having an first attachment plate fixedly coupled to the fuselage, the first payload module further having a first control module (Fig 3, 60) removably coupled to the first attachment plate and a first payload (Fig 27, 1; explosive) having a first energetic element; and a second payload module (see below) having an second attachment plate fixedly coupled to the fuselage adjacent the first payload module, the second payload module further having a second control module (Fig 3, other 60) removably coupled to the second attachment plate and a second payload having a second energetic element (Fig 27, 1; explosive). PNG media_image1.png 310 734 media_image1.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-12 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-7010. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 830-530. 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, Troy Chambers can be reached at 571-272-6874. 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. /REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 12, 2023
Application Filed
May 25, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601569
Systems for Projecting High Voltage Electrical Discharges in Air
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12595982
AMBIDEXTROUS BOLT RELEASE MECHANISM FOR FIREARM
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12594901
GAS GENERATOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12595985
CUSTOMER-SERVICEABLE FOREARM ASSEMBLY
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12590788
DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF FOR OPERATING ELECTRONIC DETONATOR HAVING RESPONSE RELAY FUNCTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+11.0%)
2y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1367 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow 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