Technology area: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems
20 pending office actions • 12 art units • 16 examiners • 0 of 20 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 34 patents granted in the last 365 days
BNSF Railway Company has 19 pending office actions in Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems. These matters involve 15 examiners across 11 art units, showing distribution across both individual examiners and technical groups.
GILLS, KURTIS is the busiest examiner, with 4 pending matters. The identified concentration gives counsel a specific examiner relationship to monitor, while the broader examiner and art-unit spread calls for matter-level review rather than a single uniform response approach.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 only | 3 (15%) |
| §101 + other | 8 (40%) |
| §103 only | 6 (30%) |
| §102 only | 1 (5%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 2 (10%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| GILLS, KURTIS | 4 | 58.0% | +28.8% |
| KUHFUSS, ZACHARY L | 2 | 77.9% | +18.2% |
| MCPHERSON, JAMES M | 1 | 82.3% | +17.3% |
| GURMU, MULUEMEBET | 1 | 80.2% | +17.2% |
| GODBOLD, DAVID GARRISON | 1 | 22.4% | +29.5% |
| LEWANDROSKI, SARA J | 1 | 80.7% | +9.7% |
| CHANG, DANIEL CHEOLJIN | 1 | 88.2% | +14.4% |
| MCCARRY JR, ROBERT J | 1 | 81.7% | +16.9% |
| BARZEGAR, PEGAH | 1 | 73.7% | +42.1% |
| MORFORD, ALEXANDRA ROBYN | 1 | 50.0% | +50.5% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19291451 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA PRUNING VIA DYNAMIC PARTITION MANAGEMENT | GURMU, MULUEMEBET | — |
| 18959518 | LOCKED-AXLE WHEEL CRADLE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD | MCCARRY JR, ROBERT J | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18911983 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC AND LOGICAL INTERMODAL PARKING LOT CLASSIFICATION | GILLS, KURTIS | 7d |
| 19356860 | REMOTE ENGINE SPEED CONTROL | MCPHERSON, JAMES M | — |
| 19285774 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATING DYNAMIC TIME WINDOW FOR LAST-MILE DELIVERY ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL | GODBOLD, DAVID GARRISON | — |
| 19269393 | TIME-SPACE NETWORK BASED MULTI-OBJECTIVE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMAL RAIL CAR STACKING AT A RAILROAD MERCHANDISE YARD | GILLS, KURTIS | — |
| 19219413 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RAILROAD SNAPSHOT AND PLAYBACK | LEWANDROSKI, SARA J | — |
| 19044828 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERMODAL DUAL-STREAM-BASED RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION | GILLS, KURTIS | — |
| 19018708 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RECONSTRUCTING OBJECTS USING TRANSITIONAL IMAGES | CHANG, DANIEL CHEOLJIN | — |
| 18911420 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING UTILIZATION OF CHASSIS RESOURCES OF A HUB BASED ON A DUAL-STREAM RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION | GILLS, KURTIS | — |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18911983 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC AND LOGICAL INTERMODAL PARKING LOT CLASSIFICATION | GILLS, KURTIS | 7d |
| 18658510 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATIC TUNING OF CLASSIFICATION YARD PARAMETERS | MORFORD, ALEXANDRA ROBYN | 34d |
| 19356860 | REMOTE ENGINE SPEED CONTROL | MCPHERSON, JAMES M | — |
| 19291451 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA PRUNING VIA DYNAMIC PARTITION MANAGEMENT | GURMU, MULUEMEBET | — |
| 19285774 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATING DYNAMIC TIME WINDOW FOR LAST-MILE DELIVERY ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL | GODBOLD, DAVID GARRISON | — |
| 19269393 | TIME-SPACE NETWORK BASED MULTI-OBJECTIVE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMAL RAIL CAR STACKING AT A RAILROAD MERCHANDISE YARD | GILLS, KURTIS | — |
| 19044828 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERMODAL DUAL-STREAM-BASED RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION | GILLS, KURTIS | — |
| 19018708 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RECONSTRUCTING OBJECTS USING TRANSITIONAL IMAGES | CHANG, DANIEL CHEOLJIN | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3624 | 4 |
| 3615 | 4 |
| 3661 | 2 |
| 2857 | 2 |
| 2163 | 1 |
| 3628 | 1 |
| 2669 | 1 |
| 3747 | 1 |
| 3658 | 1 |
| 3627 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19356860 | REMOTE ENGINE SPEED CONTROL | MCPHERSON, JAMES M | 3661 | §101 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 13, 2025 |
| 19291451 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA PRUNING VIA DYNAMIC PARTITION MANAGEMENT | GURMU, MULUEMEBET | 2163 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 05, 2025 |
| 19285774 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATING DYNAMIC TIME WINDOW FOR LAST-MILE DELIVERY ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL | GODBOLD, DAVID GARRISON | 3628 | §101 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 30, 2025 |
| 19269393 | TIME-SPACE NETWORK BASED MULTI-OBJECTIVE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMAL RAIL CAR STACKING AT A RAILROAD MERCHANDISE YARD | GILLS, KURTIS | 3624 | §101Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 15, 2025 |
| 19219413 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RAILROAD SNAPSHOT AND PLAYBACK | LEWANDROSKI, SARA J | 3661 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 27, 2025 |
| 19044828 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERMODAL DUAL-STREAM-BASED RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION | GILLS, KURTIS | 3624 | §101§103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 04, 2025 |
| 19018708 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RECONSTRUCTING OBJECTS USING TRANSITIONAL IMAGES | CHANG, DANIEL CHEOLJIN | 2669 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 13, 2025 |
| 18959518 | LOCKED-AXLE WHEEL CRADLE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD | MCCARRY JR, ROBERT J | 3615 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18911983 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC AND LOGICAL INTERMODAL PARKING LOT CLASSIFICATION | GILLS, KURTIS | 3624 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 7d | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18911420 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING UTILIZATION OF CHASSIS RESOURCES OF A HUB BASED ON A DUAL-STREAM RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION | GILLS, KURTIS | 3747 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18797137 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REMOTE ACTIVATION OF RAILROAD CROSSING SIGNALS | BARZEGAR, PEGAH | 3615 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18658510 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATIC TUNING OF CLASSIFICATION YARD PARAMETERS | MORFORD, ALEXANDRA ROBYN | 3658 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18658760 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING AND VALIDATING STATUS OF SWITCH DEVICES | KUHFUSS, ZACHARY L | 3615 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18658386 | SYSTEMS OF METHODS FOR MANAGING OPERATIONS OF A CLASSIFICATION YARD | KUHFUSS, ZACHARY L | 3615 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18658732 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR ESTIMATING TUNING COEFFICIENTS OF A CLASSIFICATION YARD | KUAN, JOHN CHUNYANG | 2857 | §101§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18435831 | INTERMODAL INVENTORY VISUALIZATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS | CHAMPAGNE, LUNA | 3627 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 33d | Pending | Feb 07, 2024 |
| 18394046 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SCHEDULING TRACK MAINTENANCE | EL-BATHY, MOHAMED N | 3624 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 37d overdue | Pending | Dec 22, 2023 |
| 18391182 | AUTOMATED POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL EVENT DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS ENGINE FOR PERFORMING ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF UNSTRUCTURED DATA | SITIRICHE, LUIS A | 2126 | §101§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2023 |
| 18497156 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS WELDED RAIL RISK MODELING | SUN, XIUQIN | 2857 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 30, 2023 |
| 18167656 | MOBILE WORK REPORTING SYSTEMS AND METHODS | XIE, THEODORE L | 3623 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 10, 2023 |
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Start Free TrialBNSF Railway Company has 20 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 12 art units and 16 examiners.
Kurtis Gills has the most, with 4 of BNSF Railway Company's pending office actions.
Mostly Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems (USPTO Tech Center 3600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
