Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/482,747

AUTOMATED SEMI-TRAILER CONNECTION AND REMOTE CONTROL

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 06, 2023
Examiner
LEE, TYLER J
Art Unit
3663
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Rtld Solutions LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
863 granted / 938 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
963
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.2%
-29.8% vs TC avg
§103
38.6%
-1.4% vs TC avg
§102
30.0%
-10.0% vs TC avg
§112
16.4%
-23.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 938 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
CTNF 18/482,747 CTNF 88359 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 3, 4 and 7 - 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Grossman (Pub. No.: US 2019/0367105 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Grossman disclose a system for controlling a trailer, the system comprising: a transceiver (Similarly, wireless links, RF band, Bluetooth®, near field communication, which is considered to inherently use transceivers as part of the module, per Google AI ¶ 73) ; an electronic controller (trailer ECU 614, ¶ 73) coupled to the trailer and the transceiver (ECU may be alternatively connected wirelessly ¶ 73) , and configured to: determine that a tractor has entered an area proximate to the trailer (Based on sensor coverage and assisting with couple of fifth wheel to kingpin ¶ 82 and see 906, FIG. 9B) ; determine that the tractor has mechanically coupled to the trailer (tractor unit properly connect the fifth-wheel and kingpin ¶ 83 and once the trailer is connected to the tractor unit, control system may signal to the trailer ECU to retract landing gear ¶ 86) ; receive, via the transceiver, a command related to a component of the trailer (¶ 86) ; and operate the component based on the command (once the trailer is connected to the tractor unit, control system may signal to the trailer ECU to retract landing gear ¶ 86) . Regarding claim 3, Grossman discloses the control system, wherein the electronic controller is configured to: determine that a tractor has entered the area proximate to the trailer by receiving a command signal via the transceiver (once the trailer is connected to the tractor unit, control system may signal to the trailer ECU to retract landing gear ¶ 86) . Regarding claim 4, Grossman discloses the control system, further comprising: a sensor positioned on the trailer for sensing conditions associated with a kingpin of the trailer (Sensors mounted on trailer ¶ 74) ; wherein the sensor is coupled to the electronic controller and the electronic controller is configured to: determine that the tractor has mechanically coupled to the trailer by receiving a signal from the sensor and determining that the signal indicates a coupling of the kingpin of the trailer to a fifth wheel of the tractor (once the trailer is connected to the tractor unit, control system may signal to the trailer ECU to retract landing gear ¶ 86) . Regarding claim 7, Grossman discloses the control system, wherein the component is one selected from the group consisting of a parking brake, a service brake, a light, an air compressor, a camera, a tire pressure monitoring system, a lift gate motor, a trailer door switch, and a landing gear motor (landing gear ¶ 86) . Regarding claim 8, Grossman discloses the control system, wherein the electronic controller is configured to: prior to receiving the command related to the component of the trailer, transmit, via the transceiver, a unique identifier for the trailer (indicate trailer with unique reference number ¶ 87) . Regarding claim 9, Grossman discloses the control system, wherein the only mechanical connection between the tractor and the trailer is by a hitching system (Coupling System 266, FIG. 2B) . Regarding claim 10, Grossman discloses the control system, wherein the electronic controller is coupled to a controllable air supply for actuating one or both of an emergency brake system of the trailer and a service brake system of the trailer (provide air pressure to a braking system of the trailer ¶¶ 4, 11, 35, 44, 46) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grossman (Pub. No.: US 2019/0367105 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Knoll et al. (Pub. No.: US 2007/0152802 A1) . Regarding claim 2, Grossman teaches the control system, further comprising: a sensor positioned on the trailer (Sensors mounted on trailer ¶ 74) ; wherein the sensor is coupled to the electronic controller and the electronic controller (¶ 74). Grossman is silent to the electronic controller is further configured to: determine that a tractor has entered the area proximate to the trailer by receiving a signal from the sensor . However, in the same field of endeavor, Knoll teaches a sensor for detecting whether a tractor and a trailer of a truck are connected. More specifically, a sensor is provided in proximity to a kingpin 18 of a trailer 14 to sense when the tractor 12 is connected to the trailer (¶ 16). Said sensor determines a first state if said hitch is within a first distance from said sensor and having a second state if said tractor hitch is not within said first distance (See claim 17). It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the trailer sensor taught by Grossman to determine that a tractor has entered the area proximate to the trailer by receiving a signal from the sensor as taught by Knoll to enhance asset tracking to a monitoring location (¶ 3). Regarding claim 6, Grossman teaches the control system, further comprising: a trailer lighting system coupled to the electronic controller (Signaling System 254, FIG. 2B) ; and activate the trailer lighting system (lights of trailer ¶ 35) . Grossmann is silent to a geolocation system for the trailer coupled to the electronic controller wherein the electronic controller is further configured to: responsive to determining that the tractor has mechanically coupled to the trailer, control the geolocation system to active geolocation services for the trailer. However, in the same field of endeavor, Knoll teaches a connection status of the tractor trailer at a location being communicated to a remote monitoring location (¶¶ 3, 24). It would have been obvious to modify Grossman to have geolocation system for the trailer coupled to the electronic controller wherein the electronic controller is further configured to: responsive to determining that the tractor has mechanically coupled to the trailer, control the geolocation system to active geolocation services for the trailer as taught by Knoll to enhance asset tracking to a monitoring location (¶ 3) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grossman (Pub. No.: US 2019/0367105 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Vikstrom et al. (Pat. No.: US 12,409,900 B2) . Regarding claim 11, Vikstrom teaches the control system, wherein the electronic controller is communicatively coupled to a remote server and configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, to the remote server telematics for the trailer; and receive, via the transceiver, from the remote server, control commands for the trailer ( “The remote server 250 may be configured to receive and store a coupling verification result from the pre-trip inspection vehicle 510, wherein the coupling verification result indicates a couple function associated with a stationary trailer 520 in a fleet of trailers.” col. 8, lines 54-60) . It would have been obvious to modify Grossman to wherein the electronic controller is communicatively coupled to a remote server and configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, to the remote server telematics for the trailer; and receive, via the transceiver, from the remote server, control commands for the trailer as taught by Vikstrom to enhance service quality by determining any faults in real-time alleviating or avoiding any unnecessary service interruptions (col. 3, lines 21-26) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim 5 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 TYLER J LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-9727. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00. 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, Abby Flynn can be reached at 571-272-9855. 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. /TYLER J LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 2 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 3 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 4 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 5 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 6 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/482,747 Page 7 Art Unit: 3663
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 06, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §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
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+6.8%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 938 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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