Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Application No. 18/914,054

HANDHELD GIMBAL AND HANDHELD GIMBAL CONTROL METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 11, 2024
Priority
Jan 04, 2019 — continuation of PCTCN2019070502 +1 more
Examiner
MAHONEY, CHRISTOPHER E
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
904 granted / 1087 resolved
+23.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
30 currently pending
Career history
1103
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
42.2%
+2.2% vs TC avg
§102
33.3%
-6.7% vs TC avg
§112
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1087 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 . 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. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lan (CN105090695). Regarding claims 1, 12, 18 and 20, Lan teaches in response to a gimbal of the gimbal device entering a movement status (a posture acquisition element, abstract) obtaining an attitude of a support member (abstract, posture acquisition element is used to obtain posture information of the handle), the gimbal being arranged at the support member (see figures); and in response to the attitude of the support member being an attitude corresponding to an expected photograph mode, controlling the gimbal to enter the expected photograph mode (claim 38 “controlling the load to automatically enter a mode corresponding to the posture of the handle”), the expected photograph mode being one of a first mode and a second mode different from the first mode (compare figures 2 and 4-11), and controlling the gimbal to enter the expected photograph mode including: controlling the gimbal to rotate (claim 38, “the handle of the handle pan/tilt is rotated by a preset angle relative to the position of the handle in the first use mode and/or the position of the stabilization component is relative to the first use mode, the handle pan/tilt is controlled to enter other positions”), to cause a specific plane in a coordinate system of an imaging device carried by the gimbal and a vertical direction to satisfy a position relationship, the specific plane being formed based on a first axis direction and a second axis direction in the coordinate system of the imaging device, and in response to the imaging device being positioned substantially upright, the first axis direction and the second axis direction being substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction; wherein in response to the expected photograph mode being the first mode, the position relationship is that the specific plane is substantially parallel to the vertical direction. See fig. 1. Regarding claims 4-5 and 15-16, the gimbal includes an outer frame 33 connected to the handle 20, the outer frame being configured to rotate around a predetermined direction; and controlling the gimbal to rotate to cause the imaging device to satisfy the position relationship includes: determining a target joint angle of the outer frame according to the expected photograph mode; controlling the outer frame to rotate to the target joint angle; and controlling the gimbal to rotate to an expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode to cause the imaging device to satisfy the position relationship (“Each of the brackets 31, 32, or 33 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise in response to the received control command, so as to achieve adjustment in a corresponding direction, thereby achieving directional control of the load 200, so that the load 200 obtains a corresponding viewing angle.” and “usage mode of the handle platform 100 to switch between multiple usage modes according to the posture information”). Regarding claims 6 and 17, the position relationship is a first position relationship, the specific plane is a first specific plane, and determining the target joint angle of the outer frame according to the expected photograph mode includes: determining a second position relationship between the vertical direction and a second specific plane in a coordinate system of the outer frame, the second specific plane being formed based on a third axis direction and a fourth axis direction in a coordinate system of the outer frame, and the third axis direction and the fourth axis direction being orthogonal to the vertical direction in response to the handheld gimbal being positioned upright; and determining the target joint angle of the outer frame according to the second position relationship. The applicant is directed to compare figures 4-5 and 10 with figures 6 and 11. Regarding claim 8, predetermined direction is a first predetermined direction; and at least one of: the gimbal further includes: a middle frame 32 connected to the outer frame 35, the middle frame being configured to rotate around a second predetermined direction; and a first inner frame 34 connected to the middle frame, the first inner frame being configured to carry the imaging device and rotate around a third predetermined direction (see fig. 2 for example); and the method further comprises, while controlling the outer frame to rotate to the target joint angle: controlling a joint angle of the middle frame to be a first predetermined angle and a joint angle of the first inner frame to be a second predetermined angle; or the gimbal further includes: a second inner frame connected to the outer frame, the second inner frame being configured to carry the imaging device and rotate around the second predetermined direction or the third predetermined direction; and the method further comprises, while controlling the outer frame to rotate to the target joint angle: controlling a joint angle of the second inner frame to be a third predetermined angle. See fig. 5. Regarding claim 9, in response to the expected photograph mode being the first mode, the gimbal is configured to rotate around a roll axis (see figs. 6-7), and controlling the gimbal to rotate to the expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode includes: determining an attitude component of the gimbal corresponding to the roll axis according to the expected photograph mode; and controlling the gimbal according to the attitude component corresponding to the roll axis to cause the gimbal to rotate to the expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode; or in response to the expected photograph mode being the second mode, the gimbal is configured to rotate around a pitch axis (see figs. 4-5), and controlling the gimbal to rotate to the expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode includes: determining an attitude component of the gimbal corresponding to the pitch axis according to the expected photograph mode; and controlling the gimbal according to the attitude component corresponding to the pitch axis to cause the gimbal to rotate to the expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode; or in response to the expected photograph mode being the second mode, controlling the gimbal to rotate to the expected attitude corresponding to the expected photograph mode includes: controlling a joint angle of a frame of the gimbal to be a predetermined joint angel, the frame being configured to rotate around the pitch axis. Regarding claim 10, in response to the expected photograph mode being the second mode, the position relationship is that the specific plane is substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction. See figs 3, 7 and 9-10. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-3, 7, 11, 13-14 and 19 are 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER E MAHONEY whose telephone number is (571)272-2122. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5:30. 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, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at 571-272-3555. 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. /CHRISTOPHER E MAHONEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 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
83%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+11.6%)
1y 11m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1087 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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