Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/692,134

AGRICULTURAL LOCALIZED SPRAYING SYSTEM WITH INTEGRATED ILLUMINATION SOURCE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 28, 2024
Priority
Sep 16, 2021 — FR FR2109744 +1 more
Examiner
MANCHO, RONNIE M
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Excel Industries
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
742 granted / 977 resolved
+15.9% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1020
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
27.9%
-12.1% vs TC avg
§102
31.5%
-8.5% vs TC avg
§112
33.4%
-6.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 977 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 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 13-24 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 13 recites, “ an optical head comprising a camera and an illumination source, the camera being arranged to generate a sequence of images of the plot at acquisition times separated two by two by a predetermined acquisition period, the illumination source being arranged to emit a light beam in the direction of the plot with a variable light intensity, a spray control unit configured to process a sub-set of the sequence of images and individually control the spray sections as a function of the processing of the sub-set of images, the images of the sub-set being considered at processing times separated two by two by a predetermined processing period, the processing period being equal to P times the acquisition period, where P is an integer greater than or equal to two, and an illumination control unit arranged to determine the light intensity of the light beam to be emitted by the illumination source at each processing time, said light intensity for a given processing time being determined as a function of at least one image of the sequence of images taken at an acquisition time comprised between the considered processing time and the previous processing time.” It is not clear what all is meant and encompassed by the phrase, “…..acquisition times separated two by two by a predetermined acquisition period,…” what is separated two by two. Why not two by four or 1 by three of six by one, etc. That is the claim already recites, “generating a sequence of images”, then again the claim recites, “…acquisition times”. Is it not clear what is been acquired or who is acquiring what. Again the phrase, “processing times separated two by two by a predetermined processing period,” is similarly not clear as the first rejected phrase. Applicant is advised to amend the claims to clarify what is being claimed. Applicant is also advised to follow the example provided to make corrections if any in the rest of the claims. The rest of the claims are rejected for depending on a rejected claim or for having similar deficiencies as the rejected claim. Conclusion The prior art, Gall (US Pub 2017/0223947) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Communication Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RONNIE MANCHO whose telephone number is (571)272-6984. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs. 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, Adam Mott can be reached at 571 270 5376. 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. /RONNIE M MANCHO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 28, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
76%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (+2.1%)
3y 5m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 977 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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