Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/832,321

LANE KEEPING ASSIST AND A METHOD FOR ASSISTING A LANE KEEPING

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 23, 2024
Examiner
SOLIS, ERICK R
Art Unit
3747
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
670 granted / 780 resolved
+15.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
794
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
31.6%
-8.4% vs TC avg
§102
49.3%
+9.3% vs TC avg
§112
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 780 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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)(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. (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) 11 and 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2020/0255008). Kim teaches: An object-based lane keeping assist for a vehicle (see paragraph 2), the vehicle (1) including a first sensor (120), a second sensor (120,130), and a lane keeping function (312, Figure 5), the first sensor being configured to determine a relative position of the vehicle with respect to a lane (par. 11, 17, 23, 114), the second sensor being configured to detect a position of an object (obj1, obj2) in an adjacent lane (par. 72, 73, 75, 78,79), the lane keeping function being configured to keep the vehicle around a default line in the lane (implicit in lane keeping system), comprising: a control unit (100), including a processor (141) and a memory (142) with stored instructions, executable on the processor, to perform the following: triggering a steering intervention (par. 88) when a distance between a side of the vehicle and a trigger line is below a predetermined threshold indicating an unintended lane departure of the vehicle (par. 24, 25, reference distance); completing the steering intervention, when the default travel line of the lane keeping function has been reached (implicit in lane keeping system); and shifting the trigger line when the second sensor has detected the object in the adjacent lane (see paragraphs 159 and 165). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 12 is 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICK R SOLIS whose telephone number is (571)272-4853. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 -5. 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, Logan Kraft can be reached at (571) 270-5065. 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. /ERICK R SOLIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 23, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12589799
SPEED REDUCER AND INDEPENDENT STEERING SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12589720
BRAKING SYSTEM AND CURRENT DETECTION THEREFOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12583549
ELECTRIC KICK SCOOTER WITH TILTING REAR AXLE WITH TWO WHEELS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12583348
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM WITH TWO STAGE DC CHARGING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12576852
VEHICLE CONTROLLER, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR VEHICLE CONTROL
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
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
86%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+9.6%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 780 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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