Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/912,584

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 11, 2024
Priority
Dec 18, 2023 — JP 2023-212959
Examiner
GORDON, MATHEW FRANKLIN
Art Unit
3665
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
214 granted / 295 resolved
+20.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
302
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.1%
-36.9% vs TC avg
§103
57.1%
+17.1% vs TC avg
§102
25.4%
-14.6% vs TC avg
§112
14.0%
-26.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 295 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 Status This action is in response to the notice to withdraw from issue filed on 07/27/2026. Claims 1-8 are pending and examined below. 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 – 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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20160370800 A1 (“Chau”). Regarding claim 1, Chau discloses a management system, comprising: one or more processors (in at least paragraph [0059], 2420); and one or more storage devices (in at least paragraph [0059], 2421) configured to store a remote operation request list including one or more remote operation requests (transition condition 221) to remotely operate a movable object (UA100a), the one or more remote operation requests being from one or more entities (in at least paragraph [0072], wherein the UA100a may determine the transition condition) other than an external operator (260a-c), the one or more processors (in at least paragraph [0059], 2420) are configured to: determine a licensing aspect of each of the one or more operation requests, the licensing aspect including licensing information of a required operating license for operating the movable object (in at least paragraph [0072] the server in response to the transition condition determined, determines pilot criteria such as a pilot qualification and certification status, (equates to instant specification paragraph [0037], licenses (qualifications, permits))); determine a specification aspect of each of the one or more operation requests, the specification aspect including specification information specifying a required terminal specification for operating the movable object (in at least paragraph [0072], the server in response to the transition condition determined, determines a quality of a network connection of the pilot (pilot station)); acquire operator license information of the external operator indicating a movable object operation license held by the external operator (in at least paragraph [0081], the pilot stations 260a-260c may register with a service including providing experience levels and qualifications of the corresponding pilots); acquire terminal specification information of the external operator indicating a specification of an external operator terminal to be used by the external operator for operating the movable object (in at least paragraph [0081], the pilot stations 260a-260c may register with a service providing pilot station functionality (e.g. software modules, software versions), performance (connection speed, processing speed, display resolution), and hardware capabilities (control device characteristics, control input speed, button configuration)); determine one or more requestable candidates as a requestable candidate list, each requestable candidate being a remote operation request from the remote operation request list that satisfies the licensing aspect and the specification aspect of the remote operation request (in at least paragraph [0080], the server may determine or learn of a determination of the transition condition 221 that requires piloted flight and based on the criteria (qualifications and pilot station functionality), present an offer to the one or more pilots); transmit the requestable candidate list to the external operator terminal (in at least paragraph [0080], the server may determine or learn of a determination of the transition condition 221 that requires piloted flight and based on the criteria (qualifications and pilot station functionality), present an offer to the one or more pilots); and assign to the external operator terminal one or more of the remote operation requests that correspond to the one or more requestable candidates (in at least paragraphs [0082-0083], wherein the pilot stations 260a-260c may accept missions offered by the server and once mission acceptance is received, the control system selects a single pilot to perform the piloting mission and the selected pilot takes over control of the UA by establishing a communication link); and the requestable candidate list is transmitted to the external operator terminal before the external operator is assigned to any of the one or more remote operation requests (in at least paragraph [0080], the server may determine or learn of a determination of the transition condition 221 that requires piloted flight and based on the criteria (qualifications and pilot station functionality), present an offer to the one or more pilots, (occurring prior to the pilot accepting the offer and being assigned)). Regarding claim 2, Chau teaches receive, from the external operator terminal, information on a selected remote operation request selected by the external operator from among the one or more requestable candidates, and assign the external operator and the external operator terminal to the selected remote operation request (see at least [0049]). Regarding claim 3, Chau teaches apply identification information to the external operator terminal, transmit the identification information along with the information on the one or more requestable candidates to the external operator terminal, receive the identification information along with the information on the selected remote operation request from the external operator terminal authenticate the external operator terminal based on the identification information received from the external operator terminal, and assign the external operator and the external operator (see at least [0050]). Regarding claim 4, Chau teaches extract, as the requestable candidate, a remote operation request such that the requested terminal specification is satisfied by the specification of the external operator terminal (see at least [0111]), the one or more processors are further configured to recognize a requested terminal specification requested for each of the remote operation requests based on at least one of the kind of the target mobility and the content of the remote operation of the target mobility (see at least [0073]). Regarding claim 5, Chau discloses extract, as the requestable candidate, a remote operation request such that the requested license is included in the license of the external operator (see at least [0073]) each of the one or more remote operation requests includes at least a kind of a target mobility; and the one or more processors are further configured to recognize a requested license requested for each of the remote operation requests based on the kind of the target mobility (see at least [0073]). Regarding claim 6 Chau discloses assign one or more of the remote operation requests after receiving the information on the selected remote operation request selected by the external operator (see at least [0035]). Regarding claim 7 Chau discloses a government body is configured to set regulations of the required operating license for operating the movable object (see at least [0002]). Regarding claim 8, Chau discloses the movable object is configured to move to different physical locations under its own power and based on remote operation inputs from the external operator terminal (see at least [0044]). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATHEW FRANKLIN GORDON whose telephone number is (408)918-7612. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:00 - 5:00 PST. 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, Christian Chace can be reached at (571) 272-4190. 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. /MATHEW FRANKLIN GORDON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3665
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Apr 14, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12662114
DRIVING ASSISTANCE DEVICE, DRIVING ASSISTANCE METHOD, AND PROGRAM
1y 9m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12649558
MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM, VESSEL, AND CONTROL METHOD
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12650703
PLATOONING TELEOPERATED VEHICLES
1y 12m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12619264
SYSTEM AND METHOD
1y 10m to grant Granted May 05, 2026
Patent 12608931
Generating Aerial Paths Based on Properties of Aerial Image Data
2y 0m to grant Granted Apr 21, 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

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+12.1%)
2y 8m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 295 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