Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/873,487

METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 10, 2024
Examiner
NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
Art Unit
3661
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
1025 granted / 1132 resolved
+38.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
1151
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
§103
35.4%
-4.6% vs TC avg
§102
43.7%
+3.7% vs TC avg
§112
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1132 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . DETAIL ACTION Notice to Applicant(s) This application has been examined. Claims 1-13 and 15-21 are pending. The prior art submitted on December 10, 2024 has been considered. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. § 119, which have been placed of record in the file. 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. Claims 1-13 and 15-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aggoune et al. (2023/0068356). As per claim 1, Aggoune et al. disclose a method for controlling a vehicle which includes the steps of receiving at least one environment-related information from an environment-related source (see at least figure 2; paragraph 0045); receiving a driver input from a driver input interface (see at least paragraphs 0071, 0078); generating a target parameter for controlling a longitudinal movement according to the environment-related information (see at least at least figures 5A-6; paragraph 0039, 0049, 0059, 0061, 0062, 0066-0068, 0071); and providing a target parameter when the driver input fulfils a predetermined input condition (see at least paragraphs 0071, 0072, 0079, 0238). As per claim 2, Aggoune et al. disclose that the target parameter comprise; a target vehicle speed (see at least figure 2; paragraph 0039). As per claim 3, Aggoune et al. disclose that the environment-related information comprises information about at least one object the vehicle approaches (see at least paragraph 0045). As per claim 4, Aggoune et al. further disclose the step of performing a recognition of the at least one object; and/or performing a classification of the at least one object (see at least paragraph 0045, 0070, 0135-0139). As per claim 5, Aggoune et al. disclose that in the target parameter is generated to adjust a speed between the vehicle and the object (see at least paragraph 0044). As per claim 6, Aggoune et al. further includes a step of controlling the longitudinal movement of the vehicle according to the target parameter by using at least one movement control system of the vehicle (see at least paragraphs 0044, 0067). As per claim 7, Aggoune et al. disclose the limitations of this claim in at least paragraphs 0036, 0040, 0046, 0048, 0064, 0078, 0081, 0109, 0120, 0132, 0137, 0180. As per claim 8, Aggoune et al. disclose that the environment-related source comprises at least one of an environment detection means and stored environment data (see at least figure 2, item 108; paragraphs 0044, 0045, 0048, 0070). As per claim 9, Aggoune et al. further disclose a step of receiving a control parameter from a control parameter source, wherein the method is carried out according to the control parameter (see at least figure 2). As per claim 10, Aggoune et al. further disclose a step of receiving a stop control parameter from a stop control parameter source, wherein providing the target parameter is interrupted; or setting at least one movement control system to a non-influence state (see at least figures 5A-6). As per claim 11, Aggoune et al. further disclose a step of sending at least one output information to an output device, wherein the at least one output information comprises a notification (see at least paragraphs 0120, 0156, 0179, 0230, 0245). With respect to claims 12, 13 and 15-21, the limitations of these claims have been noted in the rejections above. They are therefore considered rejected as set forth above. Conclusion All claims are rejected. The following references are cited as being of general interest: Suzuki et al. (2020/0254983), Herbach (2021/00018930), Ito et al. (2022/0032883) and Naserian et al. (2022/0105925). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAN QUANG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6966. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday from 7:00am to 5:30pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Nolan, can be reached at 570-270-7016. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions about access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 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. February 19, 2026 /TAN Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 10, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 19, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
90%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+7.1%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1132 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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