Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics • Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems
47 pending office actions • 13 art units • 20 examiners • 0 of 47 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 118 patents granted in the last 365 days
Otis Elevator Company maintains 46 pending office actions in the Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems technology area. These actions are distributed among 20 distinct examiners and 13 distinct art units. This distribution shows that multiple examiners are handling several cases each, as the number of examiners is less than the number of pending actions. This level of concentration can be beneficial for developing a consistent response strategy across related patent applications.
CHRISTOPHER J UHLIR is the busiest examiner, managing 8 pending office actions. This represents a significant concentration, as he handles a notable portion of the 46 total pending actions. Practitioners can expect a more consistent examination experience in this portfolio compared to others, given the distinct examiners cover the active matters across the distinct art units. The busiest examiner pending count of 8 is high, suggesting that a portion of the company's current success depends on interactions with this specific individual.
The presence of the distinct art units indicates that while there is some concentration, the portfolio still spans a variety of technical groups. However, with the pending office actions and only 20 distinct examiners, the company has a higher number of repeat interactions. This allows the company to build a more detailed profile of examiner preferences than would be possible in a more dispersed portfolio.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 12 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. 12 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 | 1 (2%) |
| §101 + other | 3 (6%) |
| §103 only | 15 (32%) |
| §102 only | 1 (2%) |
| §112 only | 1 (2%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 26 (55%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 8 | 61.9% | +9.7% |
| TRAN, DIEM M | 6 | 80.0% | +13.4% |
| CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 5 | 81.5% | +15.4% |
| DUDA, RINA I | 4 | 80.2% | +10.1% |
| MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 3 | 70.6% | +30.6% |
| RIEGELMAN, MICHAEL A | 3 | 78.2% | +14.7% |
| IACOLETTI, MICHELLE M | 2 | 85.4% | +8.6% |
| GLASS, ERICK DAVID | 2 | 89.6% | +7.0% |
| DONELS, JEFFREY | 2 | 85.7% | +11.2% |
| DHAKAL, BICKEY | 2 | 84.3% | +16.4% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17990844 | SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A LOCATION OF A PERSON IN A HOISTWAY | DONELS, JEFFREY | 28d overdue |
| 17525124 | SMOOTH BRAKING CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR AND ELEVATOR BRAKE | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 10d overdue |
| 17980896 | ELEVATOR BRAKING DEVICE AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM | GLASS, ERICK DAVID | 9d |
| 18645787 | GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM FOR PASSENGERS | DUDA, RINA I | — |
| 18364100 | POWER CONTROL SYSTEM | DUDA, RINA I | — |
| 17752343 | ROBOT-SPECIFIC ELEVATOR SYSTEMS | DHAKAL, BICKEY | — |
| 17394581 | SPATIAL LOCATION POSITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ELEVATOR AND ELEVATOR | DHAKAL, BICKEY | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18088148 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AN ELEVATOR MECHANIC WORKING WITHIN AN ELEVATOR HOISTWAY | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 8d overdue |
| 17513499 | DYNAMIC STOPPER/S IN AN ELEVATOR CAR | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 12d |
| 17400933 | METHOD FOR TRIGGERING AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR CALLS | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 12d |
| 18813948 | CLEANING SYSTEM AND CLEANING METHOD FOR PASSENGER CONVEYOR SYSTEM | BERGNER, ERIN FLANAGAN | 22d |
| 18928549 | CONTROL METHOD FOR A CONVEYOR, CORRESPONDING CONTROL SYSTEM, CONTROL NODE, AND CONTROL END | JORGENSEN, ABBY A | 28d |
| 17977048 | FAULT MONITORING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ELEVATOR MOTOR | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 34d |
| 18333229 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM INCLUDING SENSOR ASSEMBLY FOR DETECTING OBJECT LOADING AND UNLOADING | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 35d |
| 19404701 | MODULAR MACHINE WITH BRAKE COIL INTEGRATED IN MOTOR STAND | TRAN, DIEM M | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17990844 | SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A LOCATION OF A PERSON IN A HOISTWAY | DONELS, JEFFREY | 28d overdue |
| 17525124 | SMOOTH BRAKING CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR AND ELEVATOR BRAKE | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 10d overdue |
| 17513499 | DYNAMIC STOPPER/S IN AN ELEVATOR CAR | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 12d |
| 18333229 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM INCLUDING SENSOR ASSEMBLY FOR DETECTING OBJECT LOADING AND UNLOADING | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 35d |
| 19404701 | MODULAR MACHINE WITH BRAKE COIL INTEGRATED IN MOTOR STAND | TRAN, DIEM M | — |
| 19395256 | ELEVATOR CAR ROOF PROTECTION DEVICE, ELEVATOR CAR AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | — |
| 19339898 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM WITH A GUIDING STRUCTURE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE GUIDE RAIL BRACKET | TRAN, DIEM M | — |
| 19339955 | ELEVATOR MACHINE SUPPORT STRUCTURE AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM COMPRISING AN ELEVATOR MACHINE SUPPORT STRUCTURE | TRAN, DIEM M | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3654 | 12 |
| 3619 | 8 |
| 2846 | 4 |
| 2896 | 2 |
| 3653 | 1 |
| 3651 | 1 |
| 2444 | 1 |
| 2479 | 1 |
| 1713 | 1 |
| 2837 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19404701 | MODULAR MACHINE WITH BRAKE COIL INTEGRATED IN MOTOR STAND | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 01, 2025 |
| 19395256 | ELEVATOR CAR ROOF PROTECTION DEVICE, ELEVATOR CAR AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 3654 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2025 |
| 19339898 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM WITH A GUIDING STRUCTURE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE GUIDE RAIL BRACKET | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 25, 2025 |
| 19339955 | ELEVATOR MACHINE SUPPORT STRUCTURE AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM COMPRISING AN ELEVATOR MACHINE SUPPORT STRUCTURE | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 25, 2025 |
| 19280783 | ELEVATOR CAR, ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ACCESSING A SPACE IN A HOISTWAY OF AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM | RIEGELMAN, MICHAEL A | 3654 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 25, 2025 |
| 19265220 | ELEVATOR BRAKE DISC ASSEMBLY | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 10, 2025 |
| 19258319 | ELEVATOR SAFETY BRAKE ARRANGEMENT | RIEGELMAN, MICHAEL A | 3654 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19236175 | ELEVATOR CAR AND ELEVATOR ASSEMBLY | RIEGELMAN, MICHAEL A | 3654 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 12, 2025 |
| 19202389 | ELEVATOR CAR WITH RETRACTABLE APRON AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM COMPRISING SUCH AN ELEVATOR CAR | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 3654 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 08, 2025 |
| 19196165 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND COUNTERWEIGHT THEREFOR | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 01, 2025 |
| 19196227 | ELEVATOR SHEAVE LINER, ELEVATOR SHEAVE ASSEMBLY, AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM | TRAN, DIEM M | 3654 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 01, 2025 |
| 18985602 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A CONVEYOR, CONTROLLING DEVICE, AND CONVEYOR | HARP, WILLIAM RAY | 3653 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 18, 2024 |
| 18952249 | AUTOMATIC STEP CLEANING DEVICE FOR PASSENGER CONVEYOR AND PASSENGER CONVEYOR | SINGH, KAVEL | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 19, 2024 |
| 18928549 | CONTROL METHOD FOR A CONVEYOR, CORRESPONDING CONTROL SYSTEM, CONTROL NODE, AND CONTROL END | JORGENSEN, ABBY A | 3651 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | 28d | Pending | Oct 28, 2024 |
| 18903357 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TELEMETRY LOAD TESTING TO CONFIRM CAPABILITIES OF DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM | IBRAHIM, MOHAMED | 2444 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 01, 2024 |
| 18817997 | ELEVATOR DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM | LE, BRIAN T | 2479 | §103Other | Final Rejection | 55d | Pending | Aug 28, 2024 |
| 18813948 | CLEANING SYSTEM AND CLEANING METHOD FOR PASSENGER CONVEYOR SYSTEM | BERGNER, ERIN FLANAGAN | 1713 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 22d | Pending | Aug 23, 2024 |
| 18645787 | GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM FOR PASSENGERS | DUDA, RINA I | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 25, 2024 |
| 18639462 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM TO SELECT AN ELEVATOR CAR OF A BANK OF ELEVATOR CARS FROM AN ELEVATOR HEALTH AND USAGE STATE AND A TRAVEL TIME TO RESPOND TO A SERVICE REQUEST | IACOLETTI, MICHELLE M | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 18, 2024 |
| 18635584 | SAFE TORQUE OFF USING DIGITAL ISOLATOR | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 15, 2024 |
| 18631906 | EARTHQUAKE PORTFOILIO MANAGEMENT | DUDA, RINA I | — | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2024 |
| 18584522 | ORTHOGONALLY ALIGNED SAFETY NET FOR ELEVATOR SYSTEM | GLASS, ERICK DAVID | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 22, 2024 |
| 18404240 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM CONFIGURED TO PROVIDE CAR TONE BASED ON USER FEEDBACK | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 04, 2024 |
| 18397704 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MONITORING AN ELEVATOR BELT FOR WEAR | DUDA, RINA I | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 27, 2023 |
| 18513049 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF AUTHENTICATING A COMPUTING DEVICE TO A SAFETY CONTROLLER OF AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | — | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 17, 2023 |
| 18388429 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REALIZING ELEVATOR SAFETY FUNCTIONS | DONELS, JEFFREY | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 09, 2023 |
| 18498456 | AUDIBLE FEEDBACK DEVICE | CHAN, KAWING | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 31, 2023 |
| 18468383 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PROVIDING PIT ACCESS PROTECTION | SCHREIBER, CHRISTINA MARIE | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 15, 2023 |
| 18364100 | POWER CONTROL SYSTEM | DUDA, RINA I | 2846 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 02, 2023 |
| 18333229 | ELEVATOR SYSTEM INCLUDING SENSOR ASSEMBLY FOR DETECTING OBJECT LOADING AND UNLOADING | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 2846 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 35d | Pending | Jun 12, 2023 |
| 18088148 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AN ELEVATOR MECHANIC WORKING WITHIN AN ELEVATOR HOISTWAY | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 8d overdue | Pending | Dec 23, 2022 |
| 17990844 | SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A LOCATION OF A PERSON IN A HOISTWAY | DONELS, JEFFREY | 2837 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | Pending | Nov 21, 2022 |
| 17980896 | ELEVATOR BRAKING DEVICE AND ELEVATOR SYSTEM | GLASS, ERICK DAVID | 2846 | §103 | Final Rejection | 9d | Pending | Nov 04, 2022 |
| 17977048 | FAULT MONITORING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ELEVATOR MOTOR | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Oct 31, 2022 |
| 17973671 | ELEVATOR SYSTEMS WITH IMPROVED MONITORING | ELARABI, TAREK A | 3661 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2022 |
| 17752343 | ROBOT-SPECIFIC ELEVATOR SYSTEMS | DHAKAL, BICKEY | 2896 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 24, 2022 |
| 17525124 | SMOOTH BRAKING CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR AND ELEVATOR BRAKE | CARRASQUILLO, JORGE L | 2846 | §103 | Final Rejection | 10d overdue | Pending | Nov 12, 2021 |
| 17513499 | DYNAMIC STOPPER/S IN AN ELEVATOR CAR | MUDWILDER, MICHELLE MARIE PETERS | 3654 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 12d | Pending | Oct 28, 2021 |
| 17407511 | ELEVATOR MONITORING SYSTEM | IACOLETTI, MICHELLE M | 2877 | §101 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 20, 2021 |
| 17400933 | METHOD FOR TRIGGERING AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR CALLS | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 12d | Pending | Aug 12, 2021 |
| 17398715 | ELEVATOR POSITION REFERENCE SYSTEMS | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 10, 2021 |
| 17396096 | METHOD OF PREVENTING GRAVITY JUMP AT EMERGENCY STOP IN ELEVATOR SYSTEMS | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2021 |
| 17394581 | SPATIAL LOCATION POSITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ELEVATOR AND ELEVATOR | DHAKAL, BICKEY | 2896 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 05, 2021 |
| 17373995 | ELEVATOR SAFETY CIRCUIT | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 13, 2021 |
| 16995047 | ELEVATOR CAR MOVER PROVIDING INTELLIGENT CONTROL BASED ON BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 17, 2020 |
| 16943007 | MULTI-CAR ELEVATOR SYSTEM WITH AUTONOMOUS CAR MOVERS CONFIGURED FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE | UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J | 3619 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 30, 2020 |
| 16819576 | ELEVATOR INSPECTION SYSTEM WITH ROBOTIC PLATFORM CONFIGURED TO INSPECT OPERATIONAL AND ALIGNMENT CONDITIONS OF COMPONENTS IN A HOISTWAY | O'MALLEY, JOHN MARTIN | 3658 | §103 | Final Rejection | 9d | Pending | Mar 16, 2020 |
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