Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/636,168

Emergency Autoland Braking System

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Apr 15, 2024
Examiner
RODRIGUEZ, PAMELA
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Textron Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
853 granted / 970 resolved
+27.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
989
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
42.7%
+2.7% vs TC avg
§102
32.8%
-7.2% vs TC avg
§112
18.2%
-21.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 970 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Claim Objections Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: in the second to last line of the claim, the term “the second braking system” should read –the second braking subsystem—to be consistent with the previous claim terminology for this element. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the left and right braking mechanisms" in lines 7-8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-10 are rejected merely due to their dependency from Claim 1. Regarding Claim 20, the term “the brake cable” in the last line of the claim, is indefinite. It is unclear which brake cable, either the left or the right brake cable previously recited, that applicant is referring to here. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Claims 11-16 are objected to as outlined above or as being dependent upon an objected to base claim but would be allowable if Claim 11 is rewritten to overcome its objection. Claims 17-19 are allowed. Claim 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding independent Claim 1 (and its respective dependent Claims 2-10), while U.S. Patent No. 4,008,868 to Berg disclose an aircraft braking system having a left brake cable assembly operatively coupled to a braking mechanism and a left rudder pedal, and a right brake cable assembly operatively coupled to the braking mechanism and a right rudder pedal and an actuator activating left and right braking mechanisms respectively, Berg does not disclose a slider configured on a slide and mechanically coupled to the left brake cable and the right brake cable, wherein the slider is configured to displace the left and right brake cables when the slider is moved, nor an actuator configured to displace the slider to activate left and right brake mechanisms, respectively, wherein the left and right rudder pedals are configured to displace their respective brake cables independently of the actuator and the slider. Regarding independent Claim 11 (and its respective dependent Claims 12-16), while U.S. Patent No. 4,008,868 to Berg disclose an emergency autoland braking system for an aircraft having a pair of braking mechanisms, a cable means operatively coupled to the pair of braking mechanisms, respectively, a first braking subsystem for activating the pair of braking mechanisms, and a second braking subsystem for activating the pair of braking mechanisms, wherein the first and second braking subsystems operate independently of one another, Berg does not disclose that the first braking subsystem is configured to pull the pair of brake cables to activate the pair of braking mechanisms along with the second braking subsystem configured to also pull the pair of brake cables to activate the pair of braking mechanisms, and wherein the second braking subsystem pulls the brake cables between the first braking subsystem and the pair of braking mechanisms. Regarding independent Claim 17 (and its respective dependent Claims 18-20), while U.S. Patent No. 4,008,868 to Berg discloses an emergency autoland braking system having an actuator configured to displace left and right brake cables when the actuator is driven, wherein displacement of the brake cables engages a set of aircraft brakes and U.S. Patent No. 9,227,608 to Hill et a disclose a control system configured to engage the actuator such that the set of aircraft brakes is engaged based on instructions provided by the control system, neither of these references taken either alone or in combination disclose a calibration mechanism configured to adjust a magnitude of displacement of each brake cable when the actuator is driven. It is for all these reasons that applicant’s invention defines over the prior art of record. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. PG Publication No. 2010/0276988 to Cahill, PG Publication No. 2013/0038118 to Brinkley et al., PG Publication No. 2025/02425910 to Eddy et al., British Patent No. GB 2214257 to Hoyle et al., and WO document no. WO 97/33210 to Boehringer et al all disclose aircraft braking systems/braking systems similar to applicant’s. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAMELA RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7122. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7 AM - 5 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, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at 571-272-7124. 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. PAMELA RODRIGUEZ Primary Examiner Art Unit 3616 /PAMELA RODRIGUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 07/14/26
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 15, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12697846
AIR FILTER FOR AIR SUSPENSION
2y 11m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12692922
BRAKE PAD
4y 4m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12687212
PCR Sensor for Air Suspension System.
3y 4m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12679318
System and Method for Using a Pneumatic Line as a Backup Communication Channel for First and Second Park Brake Controllers
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12669157
Air Disc Brake Tappet and Brake Pad Backing Plate with Interface Features
3y 0m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
88%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+10.4%)
2y 6m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 970 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance 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