Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/265,988

SATELLITE TERMINAL RECEIVER AND MODEM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION METHOD USING SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 08, 2023
Priority
Dec 08, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0170378 +1 more
Examiner
PAN, YUWEN
Art Unit
2649
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Defense Agency For Technology And Quality
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
50%
Grant Probability
Moderate
2-3
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
72%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 50% of resolved cases
50%
Career Allowance Rate
116 granted / 234 resolved
-12.4% vs TC avg
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+22.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 10m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
241
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
83.1%
+43.1% vs TC avg
§102
9.7%
-30.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 234 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cho (An Artificial Noise Generation Method for MODEM Performance Testing Satellite Communication System", The Journal of The Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication, IIBC,20(4):59-64,31 August 2020). In regards to claim 1, Cho discloses a satellite receiver comprising: an antenna unit configured to receive a satellite signal (Cho Fig. 1); a transmission line unit including a bandpass filter for selecting a reception band of the satellite signal (Cho Fig. 3, Fig. 4) and a variable attenuator (Cho Abstract Fig. 4, Fig. 5) for generating artificial noise in the satellite signal which passes through the bandpass filter; a low-noise block (Cho Fig. 3, Fig. 4) configured to perform low noise amplification and frequency conversion of the satellite signal in which the artificial noise is generated; and a modem (Cho Abstract Fig. 3, Fig. 4) configured to receive a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (Cho Abstract Fig. 5) of the satellite signal from the low-noise block. In regards to claim 2, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses the low-noise block includes a low noise amplification device that performs low noise amplification and a frequency conversion device that performs frequency conversion, and the low noise amplification device and the frequency conversion device are integrally formed or are formed separately (Cho Fig. 3, Fig. 4 note: this reads on the amplifier and the mixer). In regards to claim 3, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses the SNR of the satellite signal is adjusted based on an intensity of the artificial noise generated by the variable attenuator (Cho Abstract Fig. 5). In regards to claim 4, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses the intensity of the artificial noise generated by the variable attenuator is increased, the SNR of the satellite signal is adjusted to be reduced (Cho Abstract Fig. 5). In regards to claim 5, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses a noise intensity (No) of the satellite signal is calculated using General Equation 1 below: [General Equation 1]No = kB[T +(LFi-~1)Trom+(LAT-1)Troom+LF1LATTLNB]GsYs in General Equation 1 above, k denotes the Boltzmann constant, B denotes a bandwidth of the satellite receiver, TA denotes a noise temperature of the antenna unit, Troom denotes an ambient temperature, LFI denotes a loss value of the bandpass filter, LA'r denotes a loss value of the variable attenuator, TNI3 denotes a noise temperature of the low-noise block, and Gsys denotes an overall gain value of the satellite receiver (Cho equation 6). In regards to claim 6, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses the SNR of the satellite signal is calculated using General Equation 2 below: [General Equation 2j SNR =in General Equation 2 above, Si denotes a strength of the satellite signal which passes through the antenna unit, k denotes the Boltzmann constant, B denotes the bandwidth of the satellite receiver, Trooi denotes the ambient temperature, LF1 denotes the loss value of the bandpass filter, LAT denotes the loss value of the variable attenuator, and TLNB denotes the noise temperature of the low-noise block (Cho equation 10). In regards to claim 7, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses adjusting a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a satellite signal to a specification value for evaluating the performance of the modem based on an intensity of artificial noise generated by a variable attenuator; and when the SNR adjusted to the standard value is input to the modem, evaluating the performance of the modem using a bit error rate (BER) value (Cho section I page 60). In regards to claim 8, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses calculating a noise intensity (No) of the satellite signal using General Equation 1 below:[General Equation 1] No = kB[TA + (LI-1)Troom1+(LAT-TTLNB]Gs in General Equation I above, k denotes the Boltzmann constant, B denotes a bandwidth of the satellite receiver, TA denotes a noise temperature of an antenna, denotes an ambient temperature, LF1 denotes a loss value of the bandpass filter, LAT denotes a loss value of the variable attenuator, TLNB denotes a noise temperature of the low-noise block, and Gsys denotes an overall gain value of the satellite-receiver (Cho equation 6). In regards to claim 9, Cho discloses a satellite receiver as described above. Cho further discloses calculating the SNR of the satellite signal using General Equation 2 below: [General Equation 2] SNR =in General Equation 2 above, Si denotes a strength of the satellite signal which passes through the antenna, k denotes the Boltzmann constant, B denotes a bandwidth of the satellite receiver, Troom denotes an ambient temperature, Lrt denotes a loss valueof the bandpass filter, LAr denotes a loss value of the variable attenuator, anddenotes a noise temperature of the low-noise block (Cho equation 10). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HSINCHUN LIAO whose telephone number is (571)270-7701. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 8:00AM-4:00PM. 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, Charles Appiah can be reached at (571)272-7904. 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. /HSINCHUN LIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 08, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 14, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Oct 14, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
50%
Grant Probability
72%
With Interview (+22.8%)
3y 10m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 234 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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