Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/116,171

SPECTRUM CONTROLLER FOR MITIGATING CO-SITE INTERFERENCE

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Mar 01, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, THE HY
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
230 granted / 312 resolved
+15.7% vs TC avg
Strong +33% interview lift
Without
With
+33.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
345
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
54.2%
+14.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
§112
13.4%
-26.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 312 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/10/2025 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 11/10/2025 with respect to claim(s) 1, 11, and 18 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by new reference Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 17 recites “wherein the radio output data is received via a dedicated spectrum control output interface of one of the one or more radio elements of the first radio stack.” It is not clear if “the radio output data” is referring to “first radio output data” and/or “second radio output data.” 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 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-6, 10-12, 14, and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1). Regarding claim 1, Truong discloses A radio frequency (RF) communications platform comprising (Fig. 3: mobile device 300): a plurality of co-sited antennas (Fig. 3: antennas); a first group of one or more radio elements coupled to at least a first one of the plurality of co-sited antennas (Fig. 3: WLAN radio 330 connected to a first antenna); a second group of one or more radio elements coupled to at least a second one of the plurality of co-sited antennas (Fig. 3: WiMAX radio 310 connected to a second antenna); and a spectrum controller coupled to at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group, the spectrum controller configured to (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WLAN radio 330 via connections 332 and 334, and WiMAX radio 310 via connections 312 and 314): receive first spectrum usage data indicating parameters to be used by the first group of one or more radio elements to send or receive a first transmission (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections 332 and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 334 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions); receive second spectrum usage data indicating parameters to be used by the second group of one or more radio elements to send or receive a second transmission (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312 and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions); dynamically determine, based on the first and second spectrum usage data, that interference will occur between the first transmission and the second transmission (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312… and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314… to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. [0039]: The time and frequency information aggregator 440 [comprised by the time and frequency mask generator 360 in the coexistence apparatus 350] masks off time and frequencies in the future where at least one interferer is predicted. Thus, while the scheduler 370 masks out all frequencies at times when interference is predicted, and while the AFH sequence generator 380 masks out all times at frequencies where interference is predicted, the time and frequency mask generator 360 can mask out only certain frequencies (not all frequencies) at certain times (not all times) when interference is predicted. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions); in response to dynamically determining that interference will occur between the first transmission and the second transmission, generate spectrum control information indicating parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission (Fig. 3, [0030]: time and frequency mask generator 360 within the coexistence apparatus 350 collects the instantaneous usage patterns from all the input connections 312, 314, 332, 334, the timing-only information from the scheduler 370, and the frequency-only information from the AFH sequence generator 380. The mask generator 360 uses historical and current usage pattern information to predict future usage patterns which are then used to create a time and frequency mask 355. When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference); and send the spectrum control information to the at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group to which the spectrum controller is coupled (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330 and WiMAX radio 310); the at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group to which the spectrum controller is coupled and the at least the first one or the second one of the plurality of co-sited antennas further configured to send or receive at least one of the first transmission or the second transmission in accordance with the spectrum control information sent by the spectrum controller (Fig. 3, [0030]: When one or more of the radios [with their respective antennas] is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Regarding claim(s) 2, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the first group of one or more radio elements is configured to send or receive the first transmission in a first spectral band ([0005]: 2.4 GHz frequency band, such as WLAN radios. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions), and wherein the second group of one or more radio elements is configured to send or receive the second transmission in a second spectral band ([0005]: 2.30-2.39 GHz and 2.5-2.69 GHz, such as WiMAX radios. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions). Regarding claim(s) 4, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Khoshnevisan discloses wherein the first group of one or more radio elements is configured to send or receive the first transmission using a first frequency hopping pattern, and wherein the second group of one or more radio elements is configured to send or receive the second transmission using a second frequency hopping pattern (Fig. 3, [0034]: The input block 410 for collocated-radio usage information receives data from all active collocated radios within the same device as the coexistence apparatus 350, such as through connections 312, 322, 332 … The usage information can generally be classified into frequency usage information 412 [which] can include: (1) an AFH channel map with a particular hopping sequence and (2) an AFH switch instant, which tells the slave the time instant when the master will switch to the new hopping sequence). Regarding claim(s) 5, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 4 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission include one or more of: filtering parameters, attenuation parameters, transmit blanking parameters, receive blanking parameters, channel assignment parameters, interference cancellation parameters, or timing parameters (Fig. 3, [0030]: The mask generator 360 uses historical and current usage pattern information to predict future usage patterns which are then used to create a time and frequency mask 355. When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference. [0031]: the time and frequency mask allows simultaneous transmission/receptions in situations when not all frequency channels are affected by interference [and] allows time-sharing of the wireless medium in situations where all frequency channels are affected by interference. [0039]: The time and frequency information aggregator 440 masks off time and frequencies in the future where at least one interferer is predicted). Regarding claim(s) 6, Truong in view of Khoshnevisan discloses all features of claim(s) 4 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the spectrum controller is configured to send the spectrum control information indicating parameters for mitigating interference directly to the at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330 and WiMAX radio 310. [0030]: When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Regarding claim(s) 10, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above. Truong discloses the spectrum controller configured to receive configuration information from a configuration terminal indicating one or more of: a priority level associated with at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group, channel assignment information, channel restriction information, or hop-set information (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections 312, 332 and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314, 334 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The input block 410 for collocated-radio usage information receives data from all active collocated radios within the same device as the coexistence apparatus 350 … The usage information can generally be classified into frequency usage information 412 … and hardware interface information 416. Frequency usage information 412 can include: (1) an AFH channel map with a particular hopping sequence. Hardware interface information 416 allows the radios to … provide priority information for a given transmission burst. [0054]-[0055]: the mask may be normalized to the time and frequency units of the lowest priority radio [and] the lowest priority radio receives the time and frequency mask and adjusts its scheduling timing and transmission frequencies based on the time and frequency mask). Regarding claim 11, Truong discloses A spectrum controller comprising (Fig. 3: mobile device 300): a processor (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350); a memory device ([0081]: computer-readable storage medium); and one or more data interfaces (Fig. 3: connections 312, 314, 332, 334); the processor configured to receive, via the one or more data interfaces, first radio output data associated with a first radio stack (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WLAN radio 330 via connections 332, 334. Fig. 3, [0027]-[0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the instantaneous collocated-radio usage information from connections 332 and the instantaneous non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 334 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles); the processor configured to receive, via the one or more data interfaces, second radio output data associated with a second radio stack (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WiMAX radio 310 via connections 312, 314. Fig. 3, [0027]-[0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the instantaneous collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312 and the instantaneous non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles); the processor and the memory device configured to store the first radio output data and the second radio output data ([0050]: coexistence apparatus 350 stores the instantaneous information from the collocated radios); the processor configured to determine, based on the first radio output data and the second radio output data, that interference will occur between a first transmission to be sent or received by one or more radio elements of the radio stack and a second transmission to be sent or received by one or more radio elements of the second radio stack (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312… and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314… to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. [0039]: The time and frequency information aggregator 440 [comprised by the time and frequency mask generator 360 in the coexistence apparatus 350] masks off time and frequencies in the future where at least one interferer is predicted. Thus, while the scheduler 370 masks out all frequencies at times when interference is predicted, and while the AFH sequence generator 380 masks out all times at frequencies where interference is predicted, the time and frequency mask generator 360 can mask out only certain frequencies (not all frequencies) at certain times (not all times) when interference is predicted. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions); in response to dynamically determining that interference will occur between the first transmission and the second transmission, generate spectrum control information indicating parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission (Fig. 3, [0030]: time and frequency mask generator 360 within the coexistence apparatus 350 collects the instantaneous usage patterns from all the input connections 312, 314, 332, 334, the timing-only information from the scheduler 370, and the frequency-only information from the AFH sequence generator 380. The mask generator 360 uses historical and current usage pattern information to predict future usage patterns which are then used to create a time and frequency mask 355. When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference); and the processor configured to send, via the one or more data interfaces, the spectrum control information indicating the parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330 and WiMAX radio 310. [0030]: When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Regarding claim(s) 12, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 11 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the spectrum control information indicating parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission is sent, via one of the one or more data interfaces, to the one or more radio elements of the first radio stack (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330. [0030]: When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Regarding claim(s) 14, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 11 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the processor is configured to receive, via the one or more data interfaces, the first radio output data by harvesting data transmitted between at least one of the one or more radio elements of the first radio stack and an external device or a multicoupler (Fig. 1, [0017]: a WiMAX radio communicates with a WiMAX AP. Fig. 2, [0024]: WiMAX transmitter and receiver may interfere with collocated and/or non-collocated radios. [0027]-[0028]: the mobile device includes the WiMAX radio 310 with connections 312, 314, where the coexistence apparatus 300 collects collocated-radio usage information from connections 312 and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connection 314). Regarding claim(s) 17, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 11 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the radio output data is received via a dedicated spectrum control output interface of one of the one or more radio elements of the first radio stack (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WLAN radio 330 via connections 332, 334. Fig. 3, [0027]-[0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the instantaneous collocated-radio usage information from connections 332 and the instantaneous non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 334). Regarding claim(s) 18, Truong discloses A spectrum controller comprising (Fig. 3: mobile device 300): a processor (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350); a memory device coupled to the processor ([0081]: computer-readable storage medium); one or more antennas (Fig. 3: antennas); and one or more data interfaces (Fig. 3: connections 312, 314, 332, 334); the processor configured to receive, via the one or more data interfaces, first spectrum usage data associated with a radio stack (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WLAN radio 330 via connections 332, 334. Fig. 3, [0027]-[0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the instantaneous collocated-radio usage information from connections 332 and the instantaneous non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 334 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles); the processor and the one or more antennas configured to detect radio frequency (RF) energy from at least one external device (Fig. 1, [0017]: a WiMAX radio communicates with a WiMAX AP. Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 connects to WiMAX radio 310 via connections 312, 314. Fig. 3, [0027]-[0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the instantaneous collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312 and the instantaneous non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314 to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. Fig. 4, [0034]: The usage information can generally be classified into … MAC-level timing information 414 [which] allows the radios to share high-granularity timing and frequency usage information about their current and future activity cycles); the processor and the memory device configured to store the first spectrum usage data and to store second spectrum usage data associated with the detected RF energy ([0050]: coexistence apparatus 350 stores the instantaneous information from the collocated radios); the processor configured to determine, based on the first spectrum usage information and the stored second spectrum usage data that interference will occur between a transmission to be sent or received by one or more radio elements of the radio stack and the detected RF energy from the at least one external device (Fig. 3, [0028]: The coexistence apparatus 350 collects and analyses the collocated-radio usage information from connections … 312… and the non-collocated-radio usage information from connections 314… to create historical time and frequency usage information and uses extrapolation to predict future usage patterns with respect to both time and frequency. [0039]: The time and frequency information aggregator 440 [comprised by the time and frequency mask generator 360 in the coexistence apparatus 350] masks off time and frequencies in the future where at least one interferer is predicted. Thus, while the scheduler 370 masks out all frequencies at times when interference is predicted, and while the AFH sequence generator 380 masks out all times at frequencies where interference is predicted, the time and frequency mask generator 360 can mask out only certain frequencies (not all frequencies) at certain times (not all times) when interference is predicted. [0030]: one or more radios is performing/scheduling future scans or data transmissions); in response to determining that interference will occur between the transmission and the detected RF energy, generate a signal indicating parameters for mitigating the interference between the transmission and the detected RF energy (Fig. 3, [0030]: time and frequency mask generator 360 within the coexistence apparatus 350 collects the instantaneous usage patterns from all the input connections 312, 314, 332, 334, the timing-only information from the scheduler 370, and the frequency-only information from the AFH sequence generator 380. The mask generator 360 uses historical and current usage pattern information to predict future usage patterns which are then used to create a time and frequency mask 355. When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference); and the processor configured to send, via the one or more data interfaces, the signal indicating the parameters for mitigating the interference between the transmission and the detected RF energy (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330 and WiMAX radio 310. [0030]: When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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 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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2007/0252916 A1). Regarding claim(s) 3, Truong in view of Desai discloses all features of claim(s) 2 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Yamamoto discloses wherein the first spectral band is an ultra high frequency (UHF) band, and wherein the second band is a very high frequency (VHF) band ([0023]: a television tuner includes a first band which is a UHF band and a second band which is a VHF band). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to include a first band in UHF and a second band in VHF, as taught by Yamamoto. Doing so allows the television tuner to receive multiple television signals, i.e., in VHF and UHF (Yamamoto: [0005]). Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of Smyth et al. (US 2019/0280763 A1). Regarding claim(s) 7, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Smyth discloses wherein the spectrum controller is coupled to an external device, and wherein the external device is coupled to the at least one of the radio elements of the first group or the second group so as to control the sending or receiving of at least one of the first transmission or the second transmission in accordance with the spectrum control information sent by the spectrum controller ([0090]: radio spectrum sharing could be controlled and/or managed by a central server. [0133]: central server instructs the UE to change its frequency out of the protected band and the UE is instructed to operate in another frequency band when any transmission causes interference). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to communicate with an external spectrum controller, as taught by Smyth. Doing so allows the external spectrum controller to control he spectrum of multiple devices (Smyth: [0133]). Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of Sternowski et al. (US 6,998,908 B1) and Uchida et al. (US 2002/0054028 A1). Regarding claim(s) 8, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Sternowski discloses comprising a multicoupler coupled to at least one of the first or second group of radio elements (col. 3 ll. 42-44: the received signals are passed to a receive multicoupler 35, where they are split and passed to receivers 40), wherein the multicoupler is configured to provide spectrum usage data to the spectrum controller (col. 6 ll. 49-58: a received signal is passed from a multicoupler 35 to the AIC controller 405 that generates cancellation feedback signal to cancel the undesired transmit signal in summing circuit 30. The AIC controller 405 generates cancellation feedback signals to multiple AIC modules 405 by switching between them) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to receive a signal passed from a multicoupler to a AIC controller, as taught by Sternowski. Doing so allows the multicoupler to sample the received signals to measure possible interference and generate cancellation feedback to cancel the undesired transmit signal (Sternowski: col. 6 ll. 49-58). Truong in view of Sternowski does not disclose, but Uchida discloses and wherein the multicoupler is configured to condition signals transmitted by at least one of the first or second group of radio elements (Fig. 2, [0044]: a multicoupler 102 is provided to prevent potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal. The multicoupler receives a predetermined protocol used to effect radio communication between the display apparatus 100 and the base apparatus 200). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to include a multicoupler to prevent potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal, as taught by Uchida. Doing so prevents potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal (Uchida: [0044]).). Regarding claim(s) 9, Truong in view of Sternowski and Uchida discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above. Truong in view of Sternowski does not disclose, but Uchida discloses the multicoupler configured to mitigate co-site interference among the first or second group of radio elements to which the multicoupler is coupled (Fig. 2, [0044]: a multicoupler 102 is provided to prevent potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal, and is coupled to the transmission/reception antenna 101, the transmission processing section 112 and the reception processing section 103. The multicoupler receives a predetermined protocol used to effect radio communication between the display apparatus 100 and the base apparatus 200). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to include a multicoupler, as taught by Uchida. Doing so prevents potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal (Uchida: [0044]). Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of and Uchida et al. (US 2002/0054028 A1). Regarding claim(s) 13, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 11 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the spectrum control information indicating parameters for mitigating the interference between the first transmission and the second transmission is sent, via one of the one or more data interfaces (Fig. 3: co-existence apparatus 350 transmits the time and frequency mask 355 to the WLAN radio 330 and WiMAX radio 310. [0030]: When one or more of the radios is performing scanning or data transmission, the lowest priority radio uses the time and frequency mask 355 when scheduling future scans or data transmissions to reduce interference). Truong does not disclose, but Uchida discloses the spectrum control information is sent to a multicoupler coupled to the one or more radio elements of the first radio stack (Fig. 2, [0044]: a multicoupler 102 is provided to prevent potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal, and is coupled to the transmission/reception antenna 101, the transmission processing section 112 and the reception processing section 103. The multicoupler receives a predetermined protocol used to effect radio communication between the display apparatus 100 and the base apparatus 200). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to include a multicoupler, as taught by Uchida. Doing so prevents potential interference between a transmission signal and a reception signal (Uchida: [0044]). Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of Elshafie et al. (US 2022/0385109 A1). Regarding claim(s) 15, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 14 as outlined above. Truong discloses wherein the harvested data comprises a blanking signal, a transmit (TX) or receive (RX) indicator signal, or a radio status and tune data signal ([0088]: UE 115 receives an indication of one or more characteristics, e.g. power levels, of the energy harvesting circuit 106 in device 103. The UE may attempt to transmit signals having sufficient radio frequency power to ensure that a radio frequency power of signals received by the signal decoding circuit 106 of the device 103 are associated with a desired QoS. [0089]: device 103 may be a base station 105). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to receive an indication of one or more characteristics, e.g. power levels, of the energy harvesting circuit 106 in device 103 so that the UE may attempt to transmit signals having sufficient radio frequency power to ensure that a radio frequency power of signals received by the signal decoding circuit 106 of the device 103 are associated with a desired QoS, as taught by Elshafie. Doing so allows the UE to transmit signals based on the determined radio frequency power which may result in power savings, extended battery life, and reliable communications (Elshafie: [0088]). Regarding claim(s) 16, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 14 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Elshafie discloses wherein the harvested data comprises characteristics that describe radio frequency (RF) transmit or receive signals ([0088]: UE 115 receives an indication of one or more characteristics (e.g., a threshold power parameter, an energy conversion efficiency factor, power levels, or the like) of the energy harvesting circuit 106 in device 103. [0089]: device 103 may be a base station 105). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to receive an indication of one or more characteristics (e.g., a threshold power parameter, an energy conversion efficiency factor, power levels, or the like) of the energy harvesting circuit 106 in a base station, as taught by Elshafie. Doing so allows the UE to determine a radio frequency power for subsequent signaling according to the indicated characteristics (Elshafie: [0088]). Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truong et al. (US 2014/0328331 A1) in view of Dent et al. (US 2020/0067552 A1). Regarding claim(s) 19, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 18 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Dent discloses wherein the at least one external device is an unintentional emitter ([0077]-[0080]: transmission from a base station to an aircraft terminal may include non-predictable pulsed interference emissions from co-sited radio systems. For example, ATC causes issues with pulsed interference in ATG wireless transmissions because its second harmonic transmissions are within the ATG receive band). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to communicate with a base station but also receive non-predictable pulsed interference emissions from an ATC, as taught by Dent. Doing so provides air traffic control (ATC) signals (Dent: [0048]). Regarding claim(s) 20, Truong discloses all features of claim(s) 18 as outlined above. Truong does not disclose, but Dent discloses wherein the at least one external device is a radio detection and ranging (RADAR) or electronic warfare (EW) emitter ([0077]-[0080]: transmission from a base station to an aircraft terminal may include non-predictable pulsed interference emissions from co-sited radio systems, i.e., an ATC relating to an air traffic control radar beacon system). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mobile device 300, as taught by Truong, to communicate with a base station but also receive non-predictable pulsed interference emissions from an ATC, as taught by Dent. Doing so provides air traffic control (ATC) signals (Dent: [0048]). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm. 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, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478 TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 01, 2023
Application Filed
May 15, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112
Aug 06, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 08, 2025
Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112
Nov 10, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 13, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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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
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+33.2%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 312 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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