Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/907,656

ENVIRONMENT SENSING USING RADIO FREQUENCIES

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 28, 2022
Examiner
TON, DANG T
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allow Rate
526 granted / 593 resolved
+30.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+0.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
626
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
50.8%
+10.8% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 593 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . The finality of office action mailed by 06/23/2025 is hereby withdrawn. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent fora claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1,7, 8.9,12, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shenzhen ZTE ( CN 102087697, see abstract) in view of Shilov (2020/0382992). For claims 1,7, 8.9,12, and 18 , Shenzhen ZTE ( CN 102087697, see abstract ) discloses: a data transmission method and system for reader and wireless tag( description abstract ). The system be used for environment sensing field . The wireless tags have sensors (the tag corresponding to the UE) ,and the wireless tags can be active tags (tags can transmit the wireless signal) and/or passive tags (the tag produces are signal on the basis of the signal transmitted to the tag);the reader (corresponding to the base station ) activates the tag in the action range ,the reader respectively sets configuring parameters and transmission parameters of the tags; the tags respectively reply the reader confirmation signals; the reader sends instructions of starting to transmit the data to the tags and starts one or more transmission periods ; and the tags respectively sends the set to-be-transmitted data according to the received time parameters. The parameters are set on the basis of the number of the tags, the data to be transmitted, the format of the data ,and the data property( corresponding to the one or more transmission parameters based on one or more factors). There are firstly sends activating signals and receives replying signals of the activated wireless tags, then sets the transmission data the transmission type of each wireless tag, then sets time and time slot of a data transmission phase according to the number and the transmission data of the wireless tags, and preserves an idle phase after the data transmission phase , so the data transmission efficiency of the reader and the wireless tags is high. For claims1,7, 8.9,12, and 18, Shenzhen ZTE ( CN 102087697, see abstract ) discloses all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of an RF signal configured to transmit information on one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols , wherein the environment sensing RF signal is in a 60 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency band, or a terahertz (THz) frequency band and wherein: the one or more transmission parameters are received from a base station, and the environment sensing RF signal is transmitted to the base station during a communication session with the base station in a communication network. Shilov (2020/0382992) from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of the RF signal configured to transmit information on one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols , wherein the environment sensing RF signal is in a 60 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency band, or a terahertz (THz) frequency band and wherein: the one or more transmission parameters are received from a base station, and the environment sensing RF signal is transmitted to the base station during a communication session with the base station OFDM symbols ( See paragraph 0118 lines 1-15, paragraph 0177 lines 1-5, and paragraph 0179 lines 1-4). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective of the filing date of the claimed invention to use the OFDM symbols as taught by Shenzhen ZTE Shanghai INST Microsys & Inf (CN 102438335, see abstract) in the communications of Shilov et al.) for the purpose of using the OFDM in the network. 7. Claims 2-6,10-11,13-17, and 19-20 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. 8. Claims 21-30 are allowed. 9. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANG T TON whose telephone number is (571)272-3171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 5:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. /DANG T TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /D.T.T/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 28, 2022
Application Filed
Mar 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jun 05, 2025
Response Filed
Jun 18, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Aug 13, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 15, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Sep 23, 2025
Notice of Allowance
Sep 23, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 21, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+0.7%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 593 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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