Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/381,768

SELF-CONFIGURATION OF BUS NODES IN A BUS SYSTEM OF AN AIRCRAFT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 19, 2023
Examiner
DALEY, CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY
Art Unit
2184
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Lilium Eaircraft GmbH
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allow Rate
680 granted / 814 resolved
+28.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+10.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
833
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
54.9%
+14.9% vs TC avg
§102
32.2%
-7.8% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 814 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claims 1-5, 7-19 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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, 2, 10, 11, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Teles et al (US20220269291) hereinafter Teles. As to claim 1, Teles discloses a distributed system for an aircraft (Fig. 1) , comprising: an electronic or optoelectronic bus system (Fig. 7) comprising a first bus sub-system (Fig. 7, and 22a) and a second bus sub-system (Fig. 7, and 22b) , wherein the first and second bus sub-systems are independent and redundant (para. 0107); a plurality of device bus nodes controllers configured to control aircraft devices comprising propulsion units or control surfaces of the aircraft (Fig. 1 with node controllers such as 12a); wherein each of the plurality of controllers is communicatively connected to a unique combination of a first bus in the first bus sub-system and a second bus in the second bus sub-system (Fig. 7 with nodes connected to both 22a, and 22b); and wherein each of the plurality of controllers is configured to determine its identification based on receiving communications from the unique combination of buses (Fig. 7, with the unique couples of the plurality of independent busses and para. 0109). As to claim 10, Teles discloses a device bus node, comprising: a controller configured to control at least one of a propulsion unit or a control surface (Fig. 3 with a plurality of possibilities such as 274, 276), wherein the controller comprises: a plurality of communication ports configured to connect to a unique combination of a first bus in a first bus sub-system and a second bus in a second bus sub-system (Fig. 8, where ports have unique bus coupling from the independent busses, para. 0117) , wherein the controller is configured to determine its identification based on receiving communications from the unique combination of buses (Fig. 7, with the unique couples of the plurality of independent busses, para. 0109). As to claim 17, Teles discloses a method of configuring a device bus node of associated or belonging to an aircraft device, (Fig. 2, and para. 0102) comprising: receiving, by each of a plurality of controllers, communication from a unique combination of a first bus in a first bus sub-system and a second bus in a second bus sub-system (Fig. 7, and para. 0109); and determining, by each of the plurality of controllers, its identification based on the received communication from the unique combination of buses, wherein the plurality of controllers are configured to control aircraft devices comprising propulsion units or control surfaces of the aircraft (The bus module as detailed in Fig. 8 is used to give the dynamic, and unique redundancy, para. 0117). As to claims 2, and 11, Teles discloses the distributed system, wherein each of the plurality of controllers is configured to derive its identification based on a predefined allocation of busses of the electronic or optoelectronic bus system to the device bus nodes that is reflected in a bus allocation data (Fig. 8, and para. 0115). As to claim 16, Teles discloses an aircraft device, wherein the aircraft device has a device bus node (Fig. 2, and para. 0102). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-5, 7-9, 12-15, 18, and 19 are 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 CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY DALEY whose telephone number is (571)272-3625. The examiner can normally be reached 7 - 3:30 pm. 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, Dr. Henry Tsai can be reached at 571 2724176. 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. /C.A.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2184 /HENRY TSAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 19, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 19, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 17, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 18, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 21, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 25, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+10.7%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 814 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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