Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/767,668

REMOTE SUPPORT MACHINE ATTRIBUTE MONITORING DURING AN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 09, 2024
Examiner
SHAAWAT, MUSSA A
Art Unit
3669
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Deere & Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
693 granted / 906 resolved
+24.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 12m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
915
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
19.8%
-20.2% vs TC avg
§103
30.5%
-9.5% vs TC avg
§102
34.6%
-5.4% vs TC avg
§112
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 906 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Christiansen et al., US pg. Pub. No. (2025/0270056) referred to hereinafter as Christiansen. As per claim 1, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system comprising: a sensor system communicably coupled to and remotely positionable from a first agricultural work machine at a worksite, the sensor system configured to detect one or more attributes in a measurement area associated with a second agricultural work machine and to generate sensor data indicative of the detected one or more attributes in the measurement area associated with the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87); one or more processors; and memory storing instructions, executable by the one or more processors, that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: obtain the sensor data indicative of the detected one or more attributes in the measurement area associated with the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87); identify the one or more attributes in the measurement area associated with the second agricultural work machine based on the sensor data indicative of the detected one or more attributes in the measurement area associated with the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87); and generate a control signal based on the identified one or more attributes in the measurement area associated with the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 2, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 1, wherein the control signal controls a controllable subsystem of the the first agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 3, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 1, wherein the control signal controls a controllable subsystem of the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 4, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 1, wherein the measurement area includes one or more of: at least a portion of the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87); an area of the worksite ahead of the second agricultural work machine, relative to a travel direction of the second agricultural work machine; or an area of the worksite behind the second agricultural work machine relative to the travel direction of the second agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 5, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 1, wherein the first agricultural work machine comprises a harvester and wherein the second agricultural work machine comprises a material receiving machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 6, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 1, wherein the sensor system is disposed on a drone, communicably coupled to, at least, the first agricultural work machine (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 7, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: generate a travel plan for the drone, the travel plan including at least one monitoring location, the at least one monitoring location defining a location to position the drone to have the sensor system, disposed on the drone, detect the one or more attributes in the measurement area corresponding to the second agricultural work machine; and control the drone based on the travel plan (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claim 8, Christinasen teaches an agricultural system of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: identify one or more characteristics of an obstruction at the worksite, the one or more characteristics comprising one or more of a location of the obstruction or a future location of the obstruction (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87); and generate the travel plan based, at least in part, on the identified one or more characteristics of the obstruction (see at least Abstract, summary, Para 27, 31, 61, 67, 73, 74, 81, 84-87). As per claims 9-20, claims 9-20 are similar to the limitations of claims 1-8, therefore they are rejected based on the same rationale. Conclusion Please refer to form 892 for cited references. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUSSA A SHAAWAT whose telephone number is (313)446-6592. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-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, Erin Piateski can be reached at 571-270-7429. 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. /MUSSA A SHAAWAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3669
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 09, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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
82%
With Interview (+5.7%)
2y 12m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 906 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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