Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Application No. 18/387,187

METHOD AND A CONTROLLER FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 06, 2023
Priority
Jun 01, 2021 — continuation of PCTEP2021064689
Examiner
GLASS, ERICK DAVID
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
KONE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
640 granted / 715 resolved
+29.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
731
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
41.8%
+1.8% vs TC avg
§102
42.8%
+2.8% vs TC avg
§112
12.7%
-27.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 715 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 § 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) 1-5, 7-11, 13, 14, 16, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being taught by Pahlke (PGPUB 2020/0122963). With respect to claim 1, Pahlke teaches a method comprising: obtaining, by a controller (fig. 3, 302) of an elevator system (fig. 1, 101), a sensor event associated with a location in a building (paragraph 0046); and changing, by the controller, the state of at least one elevator associated with the location from an idle state to an active state (paragraph 0045). With respect to claim 2, Pahlke teaches wherein obtaining, by a controller of an elevator system, a sensor event associated with a location in a building, comprises: obtaining, by the controller, the sensor event associated with the location in the building from an elevator system node, the sensor event indicating an event detected by the elevator system node (paragraph 0046). With respect to claim 3, Pahlke teaches wherein the event detected by the elevator system node comprises at least one of increased brightness, a motion event or a proximity event (paragraph 0045; wakeup/move). With respect to claim 4, Pahlke teaches wherein the elevator system node comprises a destination operating panel, a destination guide, an intelligent landing call station or a sensor node (fig. 1, 113). With respect to claim 5, Pahlke teaches wherein obtaining, by a controller of an elevator system, a sensor event associated with a location in a building, comprises: obtaining, by the controller, the sensor event associated with the location in the building from a building system, the sensor event indicating an increased power consumption of at least one system node at the location (paragraph 0045; out of low power, increased). With respect to claim 7, Pahlke teaches controller of an elevator system, the controller comprising: means for obtaining (fig. 3, 310/302) a sensor event associated with a location in a building (paragraph 0046); and means for changing, (fig. 3, 310/302) the state of at least one elevator associated with the location from an idle state to an active state (paragraph 0045). With respect to claim 8, Pahlke teaches wherein the means for obtaining are configured to obtain the sensor event associated with the location in the building from an elevator system node, the sensor event indicating an event detected by the elevator system node (paragraph 0046). With respect to claim 9, Pahlke teaches wherein the event detected by the elevator system node comprises at least one of increased brightness, a motion event or a proximity event (paragraph 0045; wakeup/move). With respect to claim 10, Pahlke teaches wherein the elevator system node comprises a destination operating panel a destination guide, an intelligent landing call station or a sensor node (113). With respect to claim 11, Pahlke teaches wherein the means for obtaining are configured to obtain the sensor event associated with the location in the building from a building system, the sensor event indicating an increased power consumption of at least one system node at the location (paragraph 0045; out of low power, increased). With respect to claim 13, Pahlke teaches elevator system comprising: at least one elevator (103); and the controller of any of claims 7. With respect to claim 14, Pahlke teaches a computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium (fig. 2, 34/22 contain code) and comprising program code, which when executed by at least one processing unit, causes a controller of any of claims the method of any of claims 1. With respect to claim 16, Pahlke teaches wherein the elevator system node comprises a destination operating panel, a destination guide, an intelligent landing call station or a sensor node (113). With respect to claim 21, Pahlke teaches wherein the elevator system node comprises a destination operating panel a destination guide, an intelligent landing call station or a sensor node (113). 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) 6, 12, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pahlke (PGPUB 2020/0122963). With respect to claim 6, Pahlke does not teach wherein changing, by the controller, the state of at least one elevator associated with the location from an idle state to an active state, comprises: changing, by the controller, the state of an elevator closest to the location. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to detection of closest elevator would account for its change, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. With respect to claim 12, Pahlke does not teach wherein the means for changing are configured to change the state of an elevator closest to the location. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to detection of closest elevator would account for its change, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. With respect to claims 17-20, Pahlke does not teach wherein changing, by the controller, the state of at least one elevator associated with the location from an idle state to an active state, comprises: changing, by the controller, the state of an elevator closest to the location. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to detection of closest elevator would account for its change, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICK DAVID GLASS whose telephone number is (571)272-8395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri_8-5pm. 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, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. 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. /ERICK D GLASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 06, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (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
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+7.0%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 715 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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