Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/186,892

VEHICLE CONTROLLER, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR VEHICLE CONTROL

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Apr 23, 2025
Priority
Jul 30, 2024 — JP 2024-123542
Examiner
TRIVEDI, ATUL
Art Unit
3661
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Denso Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allowance Rate
791 granted / 869 resolved
+39.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
888
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
76.3%
+36.3% vs TC avg
§102
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
§112
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 869 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 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim, US 2024/0246554 A1. As per Claim 1, Kim teaches a vehicle controller (¶¶ 40-41; driving controller 180 of Figure 2) comprising: a processor configured to: determine, when operation for terminating execution of emergency stop mode in which a vehicle makes an emergency stop (¶¶ 60-61) in response to sensing of abnormality of a driver of the vehicle is performed during execution of the emergency stop mode, who is an operator of the operation (¶ 66; “in the absence of driver operation”), based on an interior sensor signal generated by a vehicle interior sensor for sensing conditions in the interior of the vehicle (¶ 63; as “confirmed by the interior camera 130” in Figure 2); continue control of the vehicle according to the emergency stop mode when the operator is an occupant of the vehicle other than the driver (¶ 62); and terminate execution of the emergency stop mode when the operator is the driver (¶ 81; ”when the device operation by the driver or occupant occurs”). As per Claim 2, Kim teaches that when the operator is an occupant of the vehicle other than the driver, the processor cancels a control command corresponding to the operation and given to the vehicle (¶ 62; “because there is less need to call the driver's attention, brake jerk is not applied”). As per Claim 3, Kim teaches that the processor is further configured to determine whether the driver's state has recovered to normal during execution of the emergency stop mode, wherein when the driver's state has recovered to normal at the time of the operation (¶ 70), the processor terminates execution of the emergency stop mode even if the operator is an occupant of the vehicle other than the driver (¶ 82). As per Claim 4, Kim teaches a method for vehicle control (¶¶ 41-43), comprising: determining, when operation for terminating execution of emergency stop mode in which a vehicle makes an emergency stop (¶¶ 60-61) in response to sensing of abnormality of a driver of the vehicle is performed during execution of the emergency stop mode, who is an operator of the operation (¶ 66; “in the absence of driver operation”), based on an interior sensor signal generated by a vehicle interior sensor for sensing conditions in the interior of the vehicle (¶ 63; as “confirmed by the interior camera 130” in Figure 2); continuing control of the vehicle according to the emergency stop mode when the operator is an occupant of the vehicle other than the driver (¶ 62); and terminating execution of the emergency stop mode when the operator is the driver (¶ 81; ”when the device operation by the driver or occupant occurs”). As per Claim 5, Kim teaches a non-transitory recording medium that stores a computer program for vehicle control (¶ 40; I/O device 150 of Figure 2), the computer program causing a processor mounted on a vehicle to execute a process comprising: determining, when operation for terminating execution of emergency stop mode in which the vehicle makes an emergency stop (¶¶ 60-61) in response to sensing of abnormality of a driver of the vehicle is performed during execution of the emergency stop mode, who is an operator of the operation (¶ 66; “in the absence of driver operation”), based on an interior sensor signal generated by a vehicle interior sensor for sensing conditions in the interior of the vehicle (¶ 63; as “confirmed by the interior camera 130” in Figure 2); continuing control of the vehicle according to the emergency stop mode when the operator is an occupant of the vehicle other than the driver (¶ 62); and terminating execution of the emergency stop mode when the operator is the driver (¶ 81; ”when the device operation by the driver or occupant occurs”). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ATUL TRIVEDI whose telephone number is (313)446-4908. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri; 9:00 AM-5:00 PM EST. 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, Peter Nolan can be reached at (571) 270-7016. 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. ATUL TRIVEDI Primary Examiner Art Unit 3661 /ATUL TRIVEDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 23, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12673656
PREDICTION DEVICE AND PREDICTION METHOD FOR AT LEAST ONE BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENT OF A BRAKE SYSTEM OF AN EGO VEHICLE
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12673643
Vehicle Guidance System and Method for Controlling an Emergency Stop Assistance Function of a Motor Vehicle
2y 3m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12673673
LANE CHANGE PREDICTION ON HIGHWAYS
1y 9m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12658042
HANDLING EMERGENCY VEHICLE ALERTS IN CELLULAR-VEHICLE-TO-EVERYTHING
2y 2m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12643362
SHOCK SERVICE ADVISORY ALGORITHM
2y 3m to grant Granted Jun 02, 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
91%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+8.7%)
1y 11m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 869 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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