Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/293,731

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OFDMA MULTI-USER CASCADING SEQUENCE OPTIMIZATION FOR WI-FI SENSING

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 30, 2024
Examiner
AJAYI, JOEL
Art Unit
2646
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Cognitive Systems Corp.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allow Rate
486 granted / 632 resolved
+14.9% vs TC avg
Strong +48% interview lift
Without
With
+47.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
672
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
53.4%
+13.4% vs TC avg
§102
39.5%
-0.5% vs TC avg
§112
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 632 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 . 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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-6, 8, 10, 16-21, 23, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aboul-Magd et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2022/0304051) in view of Da Silva et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2021/0288779). Consider claim 1; Aboul-Magd discloses a method for Wi-Fi sensing carried out by a sensing initiator including a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, and at least one processor configured to execute instructions, the method comprising: generating (par. 59, lines 1-3, 8-10; par. 61, lines 1-4), by the at least one processor (par. 118, lines 10-12), a compound sensing trigger message (par. 59, lines 1-3, 8-10; par. 61, lines 1-4); transmitting (par. 61, lines 1-4), by the transmitting antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)], the compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-4); receiving (par. 99, lines 1-6), via the receiving antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)], a sensing response null data PPDU (NDP) (par. 99, lines 1-6); and generating (par. 43, lines 3-6; par. 77, lines 1-4; par. 101, lines 4-6), by the at least one processor (par. 118, lines 10-12), a sensing measurement on the sensing response NDP (par. 99, lines 1-6). Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: receiving, via the receiving antenna, a sensing response announcement transmitted by a sensing In an analogous art Da Silva discloses receiving (par. 54, lines 1-8), via the receiving antenna (par. 50), a sensing response announcement transmitted by a sensing It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Da Silva’s invention to provide wireless local area network sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a response announcement, as taught by Da Silva, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunication network. Consider claim 2, as applied in claim 1; Da Silva discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes an indication for one or more sensing responders that a response may include two transmissions, the two transmissions including the sensing response announcement and the sensing response NDP (par. 54, lines 1-8). Consider claim 3, as applied in claim 1; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes a requested transmission configuration (par. 61, lines 1-4). Consider claim 4, as applied in claim 3; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes an indication for one or more sensing transmitters responders that a response may include two transmissions if the requested transmission configuration is incompatible with accurate demodulation of data in a sensing transmission [e.g. it is not incompatible (par. 60, lines 1-3; par. 63, lines 2-9)]. Consider claim 5, as applied in claim 3; Aboul-Magd discloses receiving (par. 99, lines 1-8), via the receiving antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)] and from a second sensing responder (par. 99, lines 1-8), a sensing response message having a delivered transmission configuration corresponding to the requested transmission configuration (par. 99, lines 1-8), wherein the sensing response message comprising comprises at least one data packet (par. 99, lines 1-8). Consider claim 6, as applied in claim 1; Aboul-Magd discloses receiving the sensing response NDP approximately one short interframe space (e.g. SIFS) after receiving the sensing response announcement (par. 99, lines 1-8). Consider claim 8, as applied in claim 1; Da Silva discloses receiving a sensing transmission that contains the sensing response announcement and at least one data packet (par. 54, lines 1-8). Consider claim 10, as applied in claim 3; Aboul-Magd discloses processing the sensing response announcement to determine an expected delivered transmission configuration of the sensing response NDP (par. 99, lines 1-8; par. 101, lines 4-8) corresponding to a requested transmission configuration (par. 61, lines 1-4). Consider claim 16; Aboul-Magd discloses a system for Wi-Fi sensing, the system comprising: a sensing receiver initiator including a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, and at least one processor (par. 118, lines 10-12) configured to execute instructions for: generating (par. 59, lines 1-3, 8-10; par. 61, lines 1-4), by the at least one processor (par. 118, lines 10-12), a compound sensing trigger message (par. 59, lines 1-3, 8-10; par. 61, lines 1-4); transmitting (par. 61, lines 1-4), by the transmitting antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)], the compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-4); receiving (par. 99, lines 1-6), via the receiving antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)], a sensing response null data PPDU (NDP) (par. 99, lines 1-6); and generating (par. 43, lines 3-6; par. 77, lines 1-4; par. 101, lines 4-6), by the at least one processor (par. 118, lines 10-12), a sensing measurement on the sensing response NDP (par. 99, lines 1-6). Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: receiving, via the receiving antenna, a sensing response announcement transmitted by a sensing In an analogous art Da Silva discloses receiving (par. 54, lines 1-8), via the receiving antenna (par. 50), a sensing response announcement transmitted by a sensing It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Da Silva’s invention to provide wireless local area network sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a response announcement, as taught by Da Silva, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunication network. Consider claim 17, as applied in claim 16; Da Silva discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes an indication for one or more sensing responders that a response may include two transmissions, the two transmissions including the sensing response announcement and the sensing response NDP (par. 54, lines 1-8). Consider claim 18, as applied in claim 16; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes a requested transmission configuration (par. 61, lines 1-4). Consider claim 19, as applied in claim 18; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message includes an indication for one or more sensing transmitters responders that a response may include two transmissions if the requested transmission configuration is incompatible with accurate demodulation of data in a sensing transmission [e.g. it is not incompatible (par. 60, lines 1-3; par. 63, lines 2-9)]. Consider claim 20, as applied in claim 18; Aboul-Magd discloses receiving (par. 99, lines 1-8), via the receiving antenna [e.g. transceiver (par. 118, lines 10-12)] and from a second sensing responder (par. 99, lines 1-8), a sensing response message having a delivered transmission configuration corresponding to the requested transmission configuration (par. 99, lines 1-8), wherein the sensing response message comprising comprises at least one data packet (par. 99, lines 1-8). Consider claim 21, as applied in claim 16; Aboul-Magd discloses receiving the sensing response NDP approximately one short interframe space (e.g. SIFS) after receiving the sensing response announcement (par. 99, lines 1-8). Consider claim 23, as applied in claim 16; Da Silva discloses receiving a sensing transmission that contains the sensing response announcement and at least one data packet (par. 54, lines 1-8). Consider claim 25, as applied in claim 18; Aboul-Magd discloses processing the sensing response announcement to determine an expected delivered transmission configuration of the sensing response NDP (par. 99, lines 1-8; par. 101, lines 4-8) corresponding to the requested transmission configuration (par. 61, lines 1-4). Claims 11, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aboul-Magd et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2022/0304051) in view of Verma et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2020/0404549). Consider claim 11, as applied in claim 1; Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: transmitting, by the transmitting antenna and responsive to generating the sensing measurement, a Multi-Sta BlockAck. In an analogous art, Verma discloses transmitting (par. 111, lines 10-11), by the transmitting antenna (par. 93, lines 9-13) and responsive to generating the sensing measurement (par. 138, lines 11-18), a Multi-Sta BlockAck (par. 111, lines 10-11). It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Verma’s invention to provide sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a Multi-Sta BlockAck, as taught by Verma, for the purpose of effectively managing communication in a data network. Consider claim 26, as applied in claim 16; Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: transmitting, by the transmitting antenna and responsive to generating the sensing measurement, a Multi-Sta BlockAck. In an analogous art, Verma discloses transmitting (par. 111, lines 10-11), by the transmitting antenna (par. 93, lines 9-13) and responsive to generating the sensing measurement (par. 138, lines 11-18), a Multi-Sta BlockAck (par. 111, lines 10-11). It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Verma’s invention to provide sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a Multi-Sta BlockAck, as taught by Verma, for the purpose of effectively managing communication in a data network. Claims 12, 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aboul-Magd et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2022/0304051) in view of Kneckt et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2017/0257888). Consider claim 12, as applied in claim 1; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message is a first compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-4). Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: the method further comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, a second compound sensing trigger message; and transmitting, by the transmitting antenna, the second compound sensing trigger message within a same transmission opportunity period as the first compound sensing trigger message. In an analogous art Kneckt discloses generating (par. 47, lines 1-9), by the at least one processor (par. 110, lines 18-31), a second compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-5); and transmitting, by the transmitting antenna (par. 28, lines 3-7), the second compound sensing trigger message within a same transmission opportunity period as the first compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-5). It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Kneckt’s invention to provide a method for sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a second trigger message, as taught by Kneckt, for the purpose of ensuring communication in a wireless system. Consider claim 27, as applied in claim 16; Aboul-Magd discloses the compound sensing trigger message is a first compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-4). Aboul-Magd discloses the claimed invention except: the method further comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, a second compound sensing trigger message; and transmitting, by the transmitting antenna, the second compound sensing trigger message within a same transmission opportunity period as the first compound sensing trigger message. In an analogous art Kneckt discloses generating (par. 47, lines 1-9), by the at least one processor (par. 110, lines 18-31), a second compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-5); and transmitting, by the transmitting antenna (par. 28, lines 3-7), the second compound sensing trigger message within a same transmission opportunity period as the first compound sensing trigger message (par. 61, lines 1-5). It is an object of Aboul-Magd’s invention to provide a procedure and frame structure for Wi-Fi sensing. It is an object of Kneckt’s invention to provide a method for sensing. 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 teaching of Aboul-Magd by including a second trigger message, as taught by Kneckt, for the purpose of ensuring communication in a wireless system. Sekiya is another reference that discloses the inventive concept. Conclusion Any response to this Office Action should be faxed to (571) 273-8300 or mailed to: Commissioner for Patents P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 Hand-delivered responses should be brought to Customer Service Window Randolph Building 401 Dulany Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Joel Ajayi whose telephone number is (571) 270-1091. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7:30am to 5:00pm. If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Anderson can be reached on (571) 272-4177. 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) or 703-305-3028. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist/customer service whose telephone number is (571) 272-2600. /JOEL AJAYI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 30, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+47.6%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 632 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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