Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/361,389

DETECTING HUMAN PRESENCE, POSTURE, OR GESTURES FOR CONTROLLING AIRCRAFT APPLICATIONS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 28, 2023
Examiner
QIN, ZHIREN
Art Unit
2411
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
B/E Aerospace, Inc.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
424 granted / 494 resolved
+27.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
523
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
85.0%
+45.0% vs TC avg
§102
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
§112
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 494 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 § 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(s) 1-4, 7-10, 11-14 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng (US 20220308195) in view of Colmenares (US 20220363393). With respect to independent claims: Regarding claim(s) 1/11, Zeng teaches A system ([Fig.2 and 0259], “WiCPD system 200”) for controlling a vehicle application ([0259], “WiCPD reports a “child in vehicle”) in a vehicle using channel state information (CSI) ([0259], “the CSIs are processed by the motion target detector 202 to detect if there is a child in motion inside the vehicle.”), the system comprising: a CSI generation device ([0259], “transmitter (TX) 211”) ... a controllable device ([Fig.2], transmitter of a vehicle that can transmit indicator to a UE via a communication network.); and a controller ([Fig.2 and 0259], “The receiver (RX) 212” And [0299 and Fig.9], “The Bot 900 in this example may serve as Bot 211 in FIG. 2 for wireless sensing.”), wherein the controller is configured to: receive CSI data from the CSI generation device ([0259], “The receiver (RX) 212 measures the CSI from the incoming packets transmitted by the transmitter (TX) 211.”); identify one or more classification states from the CSI data associated with one or more of a human presence ([0259], “the CSIs are processed by the motion target detector 202 to detect if there is a child in motion inside the vehicle.”), a posture, or a gesture of the passenger; identify an operation to be executed by the controllable device based on a classification state of the one or more classification states ([0259], “If the decision is YES, WiCPD reports a “child in vehicle”.); and responsive to identifying the operation, send a first command to the controllable device to perform the operation ([0259 and Fig.2], a transmitter located in the vehicle is instructed to report “child in vehicle” indicator to a UE carried by a vehicle owner.). However, Zeng does not specifically disclose controlling an aircraft application in an aircraft ... and wherein the controllable device is at least one of a reading light, a gasper, a flight attendant call signal, a door to the overhead storage bin, or an infotainment system associated with a passenger. In an analogous art, Colmenares discloses A system for controlling an aircraft application in an aircraft using sensing information ([0054], “the sensor processor 112 commands the cabin controller 113 to control the cabin system 114 or device.”), the system comprising: ... a controllable device ([0054], “cabin system 114 or device”), wherein the controllable device ([0017], “The cabin systems may include window shades, entertainment systems, monitors, sound equipment, cabin lights, pocket doors, and other cabin devices.”) is at least one of a reading light ([0017], “cabin lights”), a gasper, a flight attendant call signal, a door to the overhead storage bin, or an infotainment system associated with a passenger ([0034], “increase a size of a displayed map on a cabin monitor when the subject separates two fingers, while a different subject may increase a size of the displayed map on a cabin monitor.”); and a controller ([0054], “the sensor processor 112”), wherein the controller is configured to: ... identify one or more classification states from database ([0034], “The sensor processor 112 or cabin controller 113 may compare the detected motion with a gesture library associated with the sensor processor 112.”) associated with one or more of a human presence, a posture, or a gesture of the passenger ([0053], “Task 322 compares the sensor data with stored gestures to identify a cabin system to control.”); identify an operation to be executed by the controllable device based on a classification state of the one or more classification states ([0037], “complex gestures may be used to manipulate cabin lights.” And [0019], “any gesture command detected by it can be handled for the specific user (i.e., their light, their shade, a movie, etc. And [0034], “increase a size of a displayed map on a cabin monitor when the subject separates two fingers, while a different subject may increase a size of the displayed map on a cabin monitor.”); and responsive to identifying the operation, send a first command to the controllable device to perform the operation ([0036], “the sensor processor 112 may generate a task to increase the size of a map presented on the display.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Zeng to specify controlling aircraft application by sensing operation as taught by Colmenares. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to “provide a control system for aircraft cabins with beneficial ease of use.” With respect to dependent claims: Regarding claim(s) 2/12, Zeng teaches wherein the system further comprises: a Wi-Fi receiver ([Fig.2], receiver 212 and [0259], “The receiver (RX) 212 measures the CSI from the incoming packets transmitted by the transmitter (TX) 211.”), wherein the CSI generation device is the Wi-Fi receiver acting as transceiver ([0305], “the Origin 1000 ... a transceiver 1010 comprising a transmitter 1012 and a receiver 1014.”) and wherein the CSI data is provided to the controller via the Wi-Fi receiver ([0259], “the CSIs are processed by the motion target detector 202 to detect if there is a child in motion inside the vehicle.”). Regarding claim(s) 3/13, Zeng teaches wherein the system further comprises: a Wi-Fi transmitter ([Fig.2], transmitter 211), wherein the CSI generation device is the Wi-Fi transmitter ([Fig.2], receiver 212 and [0259], “The receiver (RX) 212 measures the CSI from the incoming packets transmitted by the transmitter (TX) 211.”) and wherein the CSI data is provided to the controller via the Wi-Fi transmitter ([0259], “the CSIs are processed by the motion target detector 202 to detect if there is a child in motion inside the vehicle.”). Regarding claim(s) 4/14, Zeng teaches a Wi-Fi receiver ([Fig.2], receiver 212); and a Wi-Fi transmitter ([Fig.2], transmitter 211), wherein the CSI generation device is the Wi-Fi receiver and the Wi-Fi transmitter both acting as transceivers ([0305]) and wherein the CSI data is provided to the controller via the Wi-Fi receiver and the Wi-Fi transmitter ([0259], “the CSIs are processed by the motion target detector 202 to detect if there is a child in motion inside the vehicle.”). Regarding claim(s) 7/17, Zeng teaches wherein the controller is configured to utilize a trained model to identify the one or more classification states associated with the one or more of the human presence ([Fig.2], child in car), the posture, or the gesture, wherein the trained model is trained utilizing the CSI data associated with sensitive subcarriers within a communication channel of the CSI generation device, and wherein the sensitive subcarriers are a subset of subcarriers of the communication channel of the CSI generation device interfered with by a passenger ([0262], “To detect a stationary child, the system may first leverage the motion statistics on each subcarrier to select those subcarriers which are sensitive to motions since the breathing motion corresponds a child's chest movement is subtle and easily to be submerged by the noise.”). Regarding claim(s) 8/18, Zeng teaches wherein the controller is configured to utilize interference data to identify the operation ([0259], “If the decision is YES, WiCPD reports a “child in vehicle”.) that should be executed based on the classification state ([0262], “To detect a stationary child, the system may first leverage the motion statistics on each subcarrier to select those subcarriers which are sensitive to motions since the breathing motion corresponds a child's chest movement is subtle and easily to be submerged by the noise.”). Regarding claim(s) 9/19, Colmenares teaches wherein the operation is at least one of turning on a reading light, turning off the reading light ([0017], “controlling aircraft cabin system equipment by providing passengers and crew members a simple way to use touchless gestures ... The cabin systems may include window shades, entertainment systems, monitors, sound equipment, cabin lights, pocket doors, and other cabin devices.”), turning on air, turning off the air, turning on a flight attendant call signal, opening a door to a storage bin, or closing the door to the storage bin. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Zeng to specify controlling aircraft application by sensing operation as taught by Colmenares. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to " provide a control system for aircraft cabins with beneficial ease of use.” Regarding claim(s) 10/20, Colmenares teaches wherein the operation is controlling an infotainment system ([0017], “controlling aircraft cabin system equipment by providing passengers and crew members a simple way to use touchless gestures ... The cabin systems may include window shades, entertainment systems, monitors, sound equipment, cabin lights, pocket doors, and other cabin devices.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Zeng to specify controlling aircraft application by sensing operation as taught by Colmenares. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to " provide a control system for aircraft cabins with beneficial ease of use.” Claim(s) 5-6 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng in view of Colmenares, and further in view of Jayaweera (US 20250138176). Regarding claim(s) 5/15, Jayaweera teaches wherein a location of the Wi-Fi receiver and the Wi-Fi transmitter are optimized by obtaining and processing the CSI data at all possible discrete locations within the vehicle ([0310 and Fig.2], “one is located towards a front-left corner of the space, a second one towards a front-right corner of the space, a third one towards a back-left corner of the space and a fourth one towards a back-right corner of the space.”). However, Zeng and Jayaweera does not teach aircraft. In an analogous art, Colmenares discloses aircraft ([Fig.2], sensors in are located near an aircraft passenger ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Zeng to specify sensors locations in an aircraft as taught by Colmenares. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to detector passenger gestures. Regarding claim(s) 6/16, Jayaweera teaches wherein an optimized location of the Wi-Fi receiver and the Wi-Fi transmitter is used to integrate the Wi-Fi receiver and the Wi-Fi transmitter into the vehicle ([0310 and Fig.2], “one is located towards a front-left corner of the space, a second one towards a front-right corner of the space, a third one towards a back-left corner of the space and a fourth one towards a back-right corner of the space.”). However, Zeng and Jayaweera does not teach aircraft. In an analogous art, Colmenares discloses aircraft ([Fig.2], sensors in are located near an aircraft passenger ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Zeng to specify sensors locations in an aircraft as taught by Colmenares. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to detector passenger gestures. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed on 12/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See updated mapping in claim 1. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIREN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5444. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9-6PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. 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. /ZHIREN QIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 28, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 23, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Dec 11, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 13, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 03, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+10.4%)
2y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 494 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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