Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 18/108,563

METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS SENSING BASED ON MULTIPLE GROUPS OF WIRELESS DEVICES

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 10, 2023
Examiner
LU, ZHIYU
Art Unit
2665
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
unknown
OA Round
7 (Non-Final)
49%
Grant Probability
Moderate
7-8
OA Rounds
3y 8m
To Grant
63%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 49% of resolved cases
49%
Career Allow Rate
374 granted / 759 resolved
-12.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 8m
Avg Prosecution
57 currently pending
Career history
816
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.9%
-37.1% vs TC avg
§103
66.6%
+26.6% vs TC avg
§102
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
§112
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 759 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION 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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/10/2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 03/10/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding amended claims 1 and 21, applicant argued that prior arts fail to teach using different frequencies for transmissions within tier group and between tier groups. However, examiner respectfully disagrees. Despite of applicant’s argument on Joshi2, Korecki does teach communications between senor and receiver (e.g., within tier group), communications with intermediary gateway device (e.g., across tier groups), communications with data collection device (e.g., across tier groups), almost any wireless protocols and frequencies may be applicable. [0288] For example, in one embodiment, the plurality of probable utilization states are received wirelessly, such via RF, infrared or other wireless medium, from sensors which are attached to the physical elements, such as to the underside of one or more chairs. In particular, the sensors of the present embodiment utilize a wireless point-to-point protocol whereby each sensor communicates with the receiver directly, whether it is an intermediary gateway device or data collection device, at a frequency of 418 MHz. Alternatively, other wireless protocols and frequencies, such as mesh networking protocols, cellular communications, WiMax or WiFi protocols, such as 802.11 protocols, may be used. It will further be appreciated that other communications media may be utilized, including wired communications links where appropriate, and that the selection of a communications medium is implementation dependent. The data may be reported in a packet-based format/protocol where the data values and other information are formatted using protocol-defined fields and values. Each sensor includes an accelerometer or other sensing device which measures and reports the magnitude of movement of the physical element at any given time, such as within a range of 0 to 255 or other suitable range. The sensor may collect several measurements over a period of time, such as 10 minutes at 15 second intervals, aggregate the measurements or otherwise summarize or combine them, such as by averaging the measurements, and then wirelessly report the aggregate/combined measurement. The reporting interval may feature a random variation to minimize collisions between the transmissions of different sensors. The aggregate/combined measurement may represent both the magnitude, based for example on the maximum or average magnitude sensed, and the duration, based for example on the number 15 second interval measurements, consecutive or not, over which movement was detected or where movement exceeded a defined threshold, of the sensed movement. It will be appreciated that there may be many methods of computing an aggregate or combined value based on the measured magnitude values, including averaging, minimum, maximum, or applying other mathematical and/or statistical operations to generate a value which accurately represents the utilization state of the physical element, e.g. whether or not the chair is actually occupied by a human being. Further, while measurement aggregation and periodic reporting may be utilized, such as to conserve available battery power of the sensor and/or avoid transmission collisions or other interference, continuous reporting may also be used particularly where battery power is not a concerned, e.g. self powered sensors, wired sensors, or sensor which may receive energy via wireless transmission means. In embodiments utilizing continuous reporting, raw magnitude measurements may be reported or the sensor may pre-process and report aggregate or combined measurements or otherwise suppress reporting of erroneous measurements, such as measurements which do not exceed a threshold value. Error detection and correction algorithms may be employed to ensure that reported data is received. In one embodiment utilizing sensors with transmission only capabilities, one or more previously reported, i.e. historical, data values may be redundantly reported/transmitted, such as with a timestamp to identify the associated prior reporting time, in concert with present data permitting the receiver to determine any data that was not previously received. Alternatively, the disclosed embodiments may be utilized with sensors having bidirectional communications capabilities, permitting the received to acknowledge or otherwise confirm receipt of transmitted data and the retransmission thereof in cases of receipt failure. Due to being a finite number of communications implementations (e.g., same frequency for within same tier group and across different tier groups; or different frequencies for within same tier group and across different tier groups), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to try implementing different wireless protocols and frequencies on communications within same tier group and across different tier groups. Moreover, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to recognize having different communications frequencies avoids wireless resource conflict. Thus, rejections are proper and maintained. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 for a 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. Claim(s) 1-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korecki et al. (US2009/0193217) in view of Chen et al. (US2016/0277529), Joshi et al. (US2017/0090026), Joshi et al. (US2019/0057777, hereafter as Joshi2) and Barry et al. (US2016/0364927). To claim 1, Korecki teach a system for wireless sensing (Fig. 1), comprising: a set of heterogeneous wireless devices in a venue, wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless devices is grouped into N+1 groups, each group comprising a respective subset of the set of heterogeneous wireless devices, N is an integer greater than 2, each heterogeneous wireless device is in at least one of the N+1 groups, the N+1 groups are arranged in a multi-tier group structure such that each group is associated with a respective tier, each tier is associated with at least one group, a respective wireless network is associated with each respective group and the respective tier associated with the respective group (Figs. 1-2; paragraphs 0091-0102, 0279-0285, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, N+1 groups do not necessarily equivalent to N+1 tiers despite each tier is associated with at least one group because association may be overlapped, the same interpretation goes for association with a respective wireless network), a respective plurality of pairwise wireless sensing analytics are computed in each group based on raw sensing data obtained in collaborative pairwise wireless sensing measurement performed in the group (paragraphs 0032-0033, gateway controller would be capable of supporting multiple concurrent workplace utilization analysis studies, wherein wireless communications between two devices is considered as pairwise), a respective plurality of Tier-k pairwise wireless sensing analytics are computed in each Tier-k group (paragraphs 0024, 0279-0284, LAN-attached concentrators/receivers at the room-tier aggregate the data from the wireless sensor motes), wherein each Tier-k pairwise wireless sensing analytics associated with a Tier-k transmitter device and a Tier-k receiver device in the Tier-k group is computed by the Tier-k receiver device based on a time series of information generated by the Tier-k receiver device based on received wireless sounding signals transmitted from the Tier-k transmitter device through a wireless channel in a second wireless local area network (WLAN) associated with the Tier-k group (as shown in Fig. 2, pairwise wireless sensing are performed at respective rooms under room-tier; paragraph 0013, the data is periodically determined and automatically reported to an automated collection system which collects the data and forwards it to a central repository for analysis; paragraph 0085, occupancy detection obviously comprises wireless sounding, e.g., infrared for motion detection is considered as wireless sounding), at least one Tier-k combined sensing analytics is generated locally in each Tier-k group based on the respective plurality of Tier-k pairwise wireless sensing analytics and is recursively reported to a respective Tier-(k-1) group towards a Tier-1 group (122/124 of Fig. 1, 112 of Fig. 2; paragraphs 0013, 0065, 0086, 00963, 0288-0289, data collected from different spaces may be anonymized, aggregated, or otherwise combined, and analyzed, wherein the data is periodically determined and automatically reported to an automated collection system which collects the data and forwards it to a central repository for analysis), the Tier-1 group is associated with an entirety of the venue, each device in the Tier-1 group is configured to operate using main radio with a main frequency, the respective Tier-(k-2_ group is associated with a region of the venue, when k is larger than 2, each Tier-k group corresponding to the respective Tier-(k-1) group is associated with a sub-region of the region (Fig. 2, obviously Tier-1 group may be interpreted based on interpretation of the venue; for example, when the venue is the campus, Tier-1 group is associated with campus tier, wherein main radio with a main frequency would be LAN 202); a respective processor associated with the respective Tier-k receiver device in the Tier-k group (any processor may be considered as in association unless specified, i.e., concentrator/gateway controller) and configured for: obtaining the respective time series of information associated with the second WLAN based on the respective received wireless sounding signals from the respective Tier-k transmitter device (paragraphs 0013, 0086, periodically collect); computing the respective Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics based on the respective time series of information, and reporting the respective Tier-k combined sensing analytics to a particular gateway device in the Tier-k group, wherein the particular gateway device in the Tier-k group comprises a first radio for reporting of combined sensing analytics across different tiers between Tier-k and Tier-1 using the main frequencies via the Tier-1 group (120 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3A-B; paragraph 0092, concentrators and gateway controller, such as PointManager, PointRepeater or Soekris Net5501; due to being a finite number of communications implementations, e.g., same frequency for within same tier group and across different tier groups; or different frequencies for within same tier group and across different tier groups, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to try implementing different wireless protocols and frequencies on communications within same tier group and across different tier groups. Moreover, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to recognize having different communications frequencies avoids wireless resource conflict), and a second radio for generating TSCI and for reporting of pairwise sensing analytics within the Tier-k group (motes, concentrators and/or gateway controller in Figs. 1-2; paragraphs 0013, 0065, 0086, 00963, 0288-0289, data collected from different spaces may be anonymized, aggregated, or otherwise combined, and analyzed); and another processor associated with the particular gateway device in the Tier-k group (any processor may be considered as in association unless specified, i.e., concentrator/gateway controller) and configured for: receiving any Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics computed in respective Tier-(k+1) group using the first radio through a first WLAN or the second radio through the second WLAN, computing at least one Tier-k combined sensing analytics locally based on the any Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, and the any Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics, with one Tier-k combined sensing analytics being a fusion of all the Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, reporting the at least one Tier-k combined sensing analytics to another device in a Tier-(k-1) group using the first radio with the main frequency through the first WLAN for a computation of a Tier- (k-1) combined sensing analytics (paragraphs 0086-0093, 0288-0289), wherein each of the first and second WLAN are compliant to one of: a WLAN standard, a Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802 standard, IEEE 802.11 standard, IEEE 802.11bf standard or a mobile communication standard (paragraph 0288). But, Korecki do not expressly disclose said time series of information being a time series of channel information (TSCI) as the raw sensing data for wireless sensing; obtaining the respective TSCI of the wireless channel associated with the second WLAN based on the respective received wireless sounding signals from the respective Tier-k transmitter device, wherein each channel information (CI) comprises at least one of: channel state information (CSI), channel impulse response (CIR) or channel frequency response (CFR), computing the respective Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics based on the respective TSCI, and reporting the respective Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics to a particular gateway device in the Tier-k group, wherein the particular gateway device in the Tier-k group comprises at least two radios including: a first radio for reporting of combined sensing analytics across different tiers using the main frequency, and a second radio for generating TSCI and for reporting of pairwise sensing analytics within the Tier-k group using a frequency different form the main frequency; receiving any Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics computed in respective Tier- (k+1) group using the first radio through a first WLAN or the second radio through the second WLAN, computing at least one Tier-k combined sensing analytics based on the Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, the any other Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, and the any Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics with one Tier-k combined sensing analytics being a fusion of all the Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, reporting the at least one Tier-k combined sensing analytics to another device in a Tier-(k-1) group using the first radio through the first WLAN for a computation of a Tier- (k-1) combined sensing analytics, wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless device is configured to perform a wireless sensing task based on a fusion of any pairwise sensing analytics, and any combined sensing analytics. However, Korecki does teach raw data collected from different spaces may be anonymized, aggregated, or otherwise combined, and analyzed to contextualize a given space's utilization, provide utilization forecasts, etc. (paragraphs 0013, 0065, 0086, 0091-0100), wherein various wireless sensors may be utilized (paragraphs 0086-0088). Chen teach a system for wireless sensing (Fig. 5), comprising: a set of heterogeneous wireless devices in a venue, wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless devices comprise: a respective Tier-k transmitter (510 of Fig. 5), a respective Tier-k receiver (D of Fig. 5), and a particular device (102 of Fig. 5), the particular device comprises a first radio and a second radio (obvious in paragraph 0028, radios switch to different modulation and coding schemes; paragraph 0052, access point communicates with stationary device D and computing system); the particular device is configured to communicate with the respective Tier-k transmitter through a first wireless channel based on a first protocol using the first radio (paragraph 0053, thru data interface 518, a wired or wireless network connection, computing system 510 may connect with access point 102), the particular device is configured to communicate with the respective Tier-k receiver through a second wireless channel based on a second protocol using the second radio (L of Fig. 5, paragraphs 0028, 0052); and a processor configured for: obtaining a time series of channel information (TSCI) of the second wireless channel based on a wireless signal that is communicated between the particular device and the respective Tier-k receiver through the second wireless channel using the second radio of the particular device, wherein each channel information (CI) comprises at least one of: channel state information (CSI), channel impulse response (CIR) or channel frequency response (CFR) (Fig. 1, paragraphs 0026, 0037, 0046, 0050), wherein the particular device is configured to transmit the combined sensing analytics to the respective Tier-k transmitter through the first wireless channel using the first radio of the particular device (paragraph 0053, computing system 510 may be selectively connected with the access point 102 and may receive data samples periodically as requested, or at some other time frequency), wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless devices is configured to perform a wireless sensing task based on a fusion of the combined sensing analytics and an additional combined sensing analytics (abstract, paragraph 0040), which would have been obvious to apply to implementation at any tier of Korecki. In further pairwise sensing analytics, Joshi teach a wireless sensing system (paragraph 0025) comprising a Wi-Fi access point (102 of Fig. 1), computes a pairwise sensing analytics based on the TSCI, and computing a combined sensing analytics based on the pairwise sensing analytics (paragraphs 0063, 0077), such as combining measurements from all transceivers capable of tracing and tracking movement of the moving object (paragraphs 0029, 0086), wherein the data processing system (Fig. 13) has a communication interface that provides an interface to other communication networks and devices for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systems (paragraph 0092), which means said data processing system can be communicating with more than one communication networks. This makes an obvious scenario that measurements for tracing and tracking movement of the moving object can be from transceivers reside in different communication networks, which corresponds to Korecki’s objective in occupancy analysis. In view of Joshi, Joshi2 further teach using different radio frequencies in different regions of a house to measure various objects in the environment (Figs. 8, 10; paragraphs 0036-0039, 0052-0056), which shows that different radio frequencies may be effectively applied in sub-regions/rooms of a venue/house. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teaching of Chen, Joshi and Joshi2 into the system of Korecki, in order to implement device-free activity detection with multi-frequency efficiency. Barry teach a system for wireless sensing comprising a set of heterogenous wireless devices in a venue (Figs. 1-13), wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless devices is grouped into N+1 groups, each group comprising a respective subset of the set of heterogeneous wireless devices, N is an integer greater than 2, each heterogeneous wireless device is in at least one of the N+1 groups, the N+1 groups are arranged in a multi-tier group structure such that each group is associated with a respective tier, each tier is associated with at least one group, a respective wireless network is associated with each respective group and the respective tier associated with the respective group (paragraphs 0009, 0079, 0182-0183, sensors 180, local controllers 70, onsite server 120, web-cloud security subsystem 50 in Fig. 5 are all considered as tiers), wherein at least one combined sensing analytics generated in each Tier-k group is recursively reported to Tier-(k-1) group towards a Tier-1 group (paragraphs 0172, 0177, onboard analytics 150 may be integrated in local sensor or in intermediate controller; paragraphs 0044, 0046, 0137, 0145, 0171-0179, 0183, 0197, resulted analytics based on sensed raw data may be combined and reported cloud based system for further analysis by design preference such as time, space, and/or targeted subject) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teaching of Barry into the system of Korecki, Chen, Joshi and Joshi2, in order to expand wireless sensing network architecture by design preference. To claim 21, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach a method (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 2, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 1. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: heterogeneous wireless devices in the Tier-(k-1) group are configured to perform the wireless sensing task using the first WLAN associated with the Tier-(k-1) group in the venue; heterogeneous wireless devices in the Tier-k group are configured to perform the wireless sensing task using the second WLAN associated with the Tier-k group in the venue (Chen, paragraph 0013). To claim 3, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 2. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the particular gateway device, the respective Tier-k transmitter device and the respective Tier-k receiver device are authenticated and associated in the second WLAN (obvious because network authentication is well-known in the art, which would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed prior art for network security, hence Official Notice is taken). To claim 4, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 3. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the wireless signal is transmitted from the respective Tier-k transmitter to the respective Tier-k receiver based on the protocol; and the TSCI is extracted from the received wireless signal by the respective Tier-k receiver (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 5, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 4. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the wireless signal is transmitted based on a trigger signal received by the respective Tier-k transmitter from an access point (AP) of the second WLAN, based on the protocol (said trigger signal can obviously be any signal, e.g., request, inquiry, command, etc., that the wireless signal responses to). To claim 6, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 4. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the wireless signal is received based on a trigger signal received by the respective Tier-k receiver from an access point (AP) of the second WLAN, based on the protocol (said trigger signal can obviously be any signal, e.g., request, inquiry, command, etc., that the wireless signal responses to). To claim 7, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 6. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein the another processor associated with the particular gateway device in the Tier-k group in further configured for: receiving any additional Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics from any Tier-(k+1) group; and reporting the Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics from the respective Tier-k receiver, the any other Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics from the any device in the Tier-k group, and the any additional Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics by the particular gateway device as additional Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics to the another device in the Tier-(k-1) group (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 8, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 3. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the Tier-k group comprises: a third device and a fourth device that are associated with the second WLAN; the fourth device is configured to obtain a second TSCI of a second wireless channel based on a second wireless signal that is transmitted from the third device to the fourth device through the second wireless channel in the second WLAN; the particular gateway device is configured to obtain a second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics computed based on the second TSCI; and the Tier-k combined sensing analytics is computed further based on the second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics (as explained in response to claim 1 above, wherein Fig. 2 and paragraph 0025 of Joshi, having multiple transceivers communicates with a server). To claim 9, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 8. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein the fourth device is configured to: compute the second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics based on the second TSCI; and transmit the second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics to the particular device (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 10, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 8. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the fourth device is configured to transmit the second TSCI to the particular gateway device; and the particular gateway device is configured to compute the second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics based on the second TSCI (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 11, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 8. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein the particular gateway device is configured to: obtain a Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics associated with a third WLAN associated with a Tier-(k+1) group, wherein the Tier-k combined sensing analytics is computed based on the Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics (as explained in response to claim 1 above). To claim 12, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 11. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: heterogeneous wireless devices in the Tier-(k+1) group are configured to perform the wireless sensing task using the third WLAN associated with the Tier-(k+1) group in the venue; the Tier-(k+1) group comprises: a fifth device and a sixth device that are associated with the third WLAN, and a second particular gateway device; the sixth device is configured to obtain a third TSCI of a third wireless channel based on a third wireless signal that is transmitted from the fifth device to the sixth device through the third wireless channel in the third WLAN; the second particular gateway device of the Tier-(k+1) group is configured to obtain a Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics computed based on the third TSCI, and compute the Tier- (k+1) combined sensing analytics based on the Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics; and the particular gateway device is configured to obtain the Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics from the second particular gateway device (as explained in responses to claims 1 and 8 above, wherein multiple access points or gateways are communicated with one server, and pluralities of wireless transceivers are utilized to connect to respective access points, which may provide measurements for analytics). To claim 13, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 12. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein the particular gateway device is configured to: obtain a second Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics associated with a fourth WLAN associated with a second Tier-(k+1) group, wherein the Tier-k combined sensing analytics is computed further based on the second Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics (obvious as explained in response to claim 11 above). To claim 14, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 13. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: heterogeneous wireless devices in the second Tier-(k+1) group are configured to perform the wireless sensing task using the fourth WLAN associated with the second Tier-(k+1) group in the venue; the second Tier-(k+1) group comprises: a seventh device and an eighth device that are associated with the fourth WLAN, and a third particular gateway device; the eighth device is configured to obtain a fourth TSCI of a fourth wireless channel based on a fourth wireless signal that is transmitted from the seventh device to the eighth device through the fourth wireless channel in the fourth WLAN; the third particular gateway device is configured to obtain a second Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics computed based on the fourth TSCI, and compute the second Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics based on the second Tier-(k+1) pairwise sensing analytics; and the particular gateway device is configured to obtain the second Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics from the third particular gateway device (obvious as explained in response to claim 12 above). To claim 15, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 14. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: heterogeneous wireless devices of a second Tier-k group are configured to perform the wireless sensing task using a fifth WLAN associated with the second Tier-k group in the venue; the second Tier-k group comprises: a ninth device and a tenth device that are associated with the fifth WLAN, and a fourth particular gateway device; the tenth device is configured to obtain a fifth TSCI of a fifth wireless channel based on a fifth wireless signal that is transmitted from the ninth device to the tenth device through the fifth wireless channel in the fifth WLAN; the fourth particular gateway device is configured to obtain a second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics computed based on the fifth TSCI, compute a second Tier-k combined sensing analytics based on the second Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics, and report the second Tier-k combined sensing analytics to the another device in the Tier-(k- 1) group for the computation of the Tier-(k-1) combined sensing analytics (obvious as explained in response to claim 12 above). To claim 16, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 15. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the wireless sensing task is performed by the set of heterogeneous wireless devices using the multiple WLANs associated with the N+1 groups in the venue, with at least two of the set of heterogeneous wireless devices assigned to each of the multiple WLANs; the multiple WLANs have a multi-tier network structure associated with the multi-tier group structure of the N+1 groups, the multi-tier network structure comprising at least two tiers; the first WLAN is a Tier-1 network among the multiple WLANs associated with the Tier-1 group and comprises at least: the particular gateway device and the another device in the Tier-(k-1) group; the second WLAN is a Tier-k network among the multiple WLANs associated with the Tier-k group and comprises at least: the particular gateway device, the respective Tier-k transmitter, the respective Tier-k receiver, the third device and the fourth device; the particular gateway device serves as a gateway device between the first WLAN and the second WLAN, such that sensing results of the wireless sensing task are transmitted from the particular gateway device via the first WLAN to the another device in the Tier-(k-1) group; heterogeneous wireless devices in any Tier-K network of the multiple WLANs are configured to report sensing results obtained in the Tier-K network to a respective heterogeneous wireless device in a Tier-(K-1) network of the multiple WLANs via a gateway device between the Tier-K network and the Tier-(K-1) network, wherein K is an integer greater than one, wherein the reported sensing results comprise at least one of: a combined sensing analytics, a pairwise sensing analytics or TSCI (obvious as explained in response to claim 12 above). To claim 17, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 16. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the first WLAN further comprises: the second particular gateway device and the third particular gateway device; the third WLAN is a Tier-(k+1) network among the multiple WLANs and comprises at least: the second particular gateway device that is a gateway device, the fifth device, and the sixth device, the second particular gateway device is a gateway device, such that sensing results obtained in the third WLAN are transmitted from the second particular gateway device via the first WLAN to the particular gateway device; the fourth WLAN is a Tier-(k+1) network among the multiple WLANs and comprises at least: the third particular gateway device that is a gateway device, the seventh device, and the eighth device; and the third particular gateway device is a gateway device, such that sensing results obtained in the fourth WLAN are transmitted from the third particular gateway device via the first WLAN to the particular gateway device (obvious as explained in response to claim 12 above). To claim 18, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 17. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the first WLAN further comprises the fourth particular gateway device; the fifth WLAN is a Tier-k network of the multiple WLANs and comprises at least: the fourth particular gateway device, the ninth device, and the tenth device; and the fourth particular gateway device is a gateway device, such that sensing results obtained in the fifth WLAN are transmitted from the fourth particular gateway device via the first WLAN to the another device in the Tier-(k-1) group (obvious as explained in response to claim 12 above). To claim 19, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 18. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein: the first WLAN is associated with a zone of the venue; the second WLAN is associated with a first sub-zone of the zone; the third WLAN is associated with a first sub-sub-zone of the first sub-zone; and the fourth WLAN is associated with a second sub-sub-zone of the first sub- zone (as explained in response to claim 16 above, wherein sub-network may be interpreted as a sub-zone by network design preference, hence Official Notice is taken). To claim 20, Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach claim 19. Korecki, Chen, Joshi, Joshi2 and Barry teach wherein the set of heterogeneous wireless devices is configured to: perform the wireless sensing task for the zone based on at least one of: any Tier-(k-1) pairwise sensing analytics associated with the Tier-(k-1) group, the Tier-k combined sensing analytics associated with the second WLAN, or the second Tier-k combined sensing analytics associated with the fifth WLAN; perform the wireless sensing task for the first sub-zone based on at least one of: any Tier-k pairwise sensing analytics associated with the second WLAN, the Tier-k combined sensing analytics associated with the second WLAN, the Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics associated with the third WLAN, or the second Tier-(k+1) combined sensing analytics associated with the fourth WLAN; associate the third WLAN with the first sub-zone of the zone; perform a wireless sensing subtask associated with the first sub-zone based on the third WLAN and another combined sensing analytics; and associate the fourth WLAN with a second sub-zone of the zone (obvious as explained in responses to claims 12 and 18 above). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIYU LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2837. The examiner can normally be reached Weekdays: 8:30AM - 5:00PM. 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, Stephen R Koziol can be reached at (408) 918-7630. 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. ZHIYU . LU Primary Examiner Art Unit 2669 /ZHIYU LU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2665 March 15, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 10, 2023
Application Filed
May 06, 2023
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Aug 11, 2023
Response Filed
Sep 07, 2023
Final Rejection — §103
Jan 21, 2024
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 25, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
May 10, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Nov 14, 2024
Response Filed
Jan 02, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Apr 07, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 08, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 13, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Nov 17, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 05, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Mar 10, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 13, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601695
METHOD FOR MEASURING THE DETECTION SENSITIVITY OF AN X-RAY DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597268
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING LANE OF TRAVELING VEHICLE BY USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK, AND NAVIGATION DEVICE INCLUDING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12596187
METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS SENSING MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592052
INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12581142
APPROACHES FOR COMPRESSING AND DISTRIBUTING IMAGE DATA
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

7-8
Expected OA Rounds
49%
Grant Probability
63%
With Interview (+13.9%)
3y 8m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 759 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in for Full Analysis

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month