Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/741,550

AUTOMATIC GUIDANCE OF AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jun 12, 2024
Examiner
CHEN, SHELLEY
Art Unit
3665
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
CNH Industrial N.V.
OA Round
2 (Final)
66%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 66% — above average
66%
Career Allowance Rate
359 granted / 542 resolved
+14.2% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
561
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.0%
-36.0% vs TC avg
§103
67.0%
+27.0% vs TC avg
§102
17.1%
-22.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.4%
-28.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 542 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 . Response to Amendments/Arguments 1. Applicant's arguments filed 05 June 2026 have been fully considered but are not persuasive. The amended claims are not allowable at least because they introduce new matter not originally disclosed in the specification. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 2. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 3. Claims 1-9 and 21-29 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The original specification fails to disclose the following limitations of the newly amended claims: “generate, responsive to detection of the deviation, one or more second signals to… (ii) awaken the first controller”. Allowable Subject Matter 4. Claims 1-9 and 21-29 would be allowable except for the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112. None of the prior art of record either taken alone or taken in any possible combination would anticipate or would tend to render obvious Applicants' claimed invention as set forth in independent claims 1 and 21. The dependent claims are allowable over the prior art for at least the reasons for which the independent claims are allowable. 5. As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a). Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHELLEY CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1330. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays through Fridays. Examiner interviews are available via telephone. 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, Erin Bishop can be reached at (571) 270-3713. 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. /Shelley Chen/ Patent Examiner Art Unit 3665 August 22, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 12, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 25, 2026
Interview Requested
Jun 02, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 02, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jun 05, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749404
DRIVE ASSIST APPARATUS
1y 9m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12741855
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATION BASED ON MONITORING OF A LOADING DOCK
1y 7m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12721251
Mobile Field Robot and Method for Steering a Mobile Field Robot
1y 6m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12702127
WEED CONTROL WITH AN AUTONOMOUS WORK DEVICE
2y 7m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12694171
METHOD OF DETERMINING TOOLPATHS FOR AN INFILL STRUCTURE FOR A DIGITAL 3D MODEL
4y 1m to grant Granted Jul 28, 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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
66%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+20.4%)
3y 4m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 542 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