Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/291,032

METHOD OF JOINT USER ACTIVITY DETECTION AND CHANNEL INFORMATION ESTIMATION IN EXTRA-LARGE MIMO (XL-MIMO) SYSTEMS WITH NON-STATIONARITIES

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jan 22, 2024
Examiner
WANG, HANNAH S
Art Unit
2631
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
50%
Grant Probability
Moderate
2-3
OA Rounds
3y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 50% of resolved cases
50%
Career Allow Rate
56 granted / 112 resolved
-12.0% vs TC avg
Strong +52% interview lift
Without
With
+52.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 8m
Avg Prosecution
4 currently pending
Career history
116
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.4%
-22.6% vs TC avg
§103
45.2%
+5.2% vs TC avg
§102
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
§112
26.6%
-13.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 112 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . The Preliminary Amendment filed 1/22/2024 has been considered and entered. Claims 1-7 and 10-14 are still pending in this Office action. 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 6 recites the limitations "the greedy detections" in line 2, “the index vectors" in line 3, “the confirmed values" in line 4, “the greedy selection" in line 5, and “the currently decoded indices" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Comments: "the greedy detections", “the index vectors", “the confirmed values", “the greedy selection", and “the currently decoded indices" are not mentioned previously. Claim 14 recites the limitations "the greedy detections" in lines 1-2, “the index vectors" in line 2, “the confirmed values" in line 4, “the greedy selection" in line 5, and “the currently decoded indices" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Comments: "the greedy detections", “the index vectors", “the confirmed values", “the greedy selection", and “the currently decoded indices" are not mentioned previously. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-5 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 1, WANG et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0327757 A1, either singularly or in combination cannot teach or suggest the following underlined uniquely distinct features used in combination with other claimed elements cited in the application claim “whereby if the soft interference cancel check result is negative the calculation of residual mean and variance is performed; and whereby if the soft interference cancel check result is positive the extrinsic mean and variance is calculated directly; calculating the extrinsic mean and variance, whereby, if the soft interference and cancel check result is negative, the calculation of residual mean and variance is used, calculating of tentative estimates, whereby the calculation of tentative estimation includes activity factors calculation, determining whether a condition of reaching a maximum is fulfilled, whereby if the condition of reaching the maximum fulfilled check result is negative, soft interference cancel check is performed, and whereby, if the condition of reaching the maximum fulfilled check result is positive the proceeding ends”. Claims 7 and 10-13 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 7, WANG et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0327757 A1, either singularly or in combination cannot teach or suggest the following underlined uniquely distinct features used in combination with other claimed elements cited in the application claim “whereby if the soft interference cancel check result is negative the calculation of residual mean and variance is performed; and whereby if the soft interference cancel check result is positive the extrinsic mean and variance is calculated directly; calculating the extrinsic mean and variance, whereby, if the soft interference and cancel check result is negative, the calculation of residual mean and variance is used, calculating of tentative estimates, whereby the calculation of tentative estimation includes activity factors calculation, determining whether a condition of reaching a maximum is fulfilled, whereby if the condition of reaching the maximum fulfilled check result is negative, soft interference cancel check is performed, and whereby, if the condition of reaching the maximum fulfilled check result is positive the proceeding ends”. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. WANG et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0327757 A1 discloses “Detection Method and Apparatus for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Single-Carrier Block Transmission System”. Kim et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0327757 A1 discloses “Iterative Estimator and Method of Channel and Noise Variance for Multiple Input Multiple Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing System”. Horn et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0327757 A1 discloses “Orbital Angular Momentum Signaling”. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHANH C TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3007. The examiner can normally be reached Full Time Increase Flex Program. 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, Hannah S. Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. 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. KCT /KHANH C TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 22, 2024
Application Filed
May 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Nov 20, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
50%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+52.2%)
3y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 112 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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