Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/296,974

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODEL DELIVERY VIA RADIO DATA PLANE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 06, 2023
Examiner
ASRES, HERMON
Art Unit
2449
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
DELL PRODUCTS, L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
294 granted / 368 resolved
+21.9% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+19.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
388
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.9%
-29.1% vs TC avg
§103
52.1%
+12.1% vs TC avg
§102
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
§112
9.1%
-30.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 368 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/03/2024, and 01/16/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 7-13, 15-17, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 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. Claims 1, 3-6, 14, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (USPGPub 2021/0168646) in view of Shen (US PGPub 2023/0038071). As per claim 1, Luo teaches a method, comprising: determining, by a radio access network node comprising a processor, information to be transmitted to a user equipment; (Chen, see paragraph [0007], provide the radio access function for a UE) transmitting, by the radio access network node to a control entity, a data radio bearer establishment request (Chen, see paragraph [0012], transmitting a data radio bearer (DRB) setup request message to each of at least one second wireless communication node, wherein the DRB setup request message contains the identity of a plurality of DRBs and at least one of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow) receiving, by the radio access network node from the control entity, a data radio bearer configuration, wherein the control entity transmitted the data radio bearer configuration to the radio access network node responsive to the data radio bearer establishment request (Chen, see paragraph [0012], receiving a DRB setup response from each of the at least one second wireless communication node, wherein each DRB setup response contains a first list of at least one of QoS flows and UE data bearers failed to be setup by a respective one of the at least one second wireless communication node and a second list of at least one of QoS flows and UE data bearers successfully setup by the respective one of the at least one second wireless communication node) transmitting, by the radio access network node to the user equipment via a data radio bearer established according to the data radio bearer configuration, information (Chen, see paragraph [0036], aware of the potential data forwarding path and then transmits the UE context setup/modify request message to the donor DU 208 as well as each DU part of intermediate IAB node 204 and 206 along the path) and transmitting, by the radio access network node to a user plane function, a data volume report corresponding to the updated information (Chen, see paragraph [0050], UE bearer ID might be the UL UP TEID, DL UP TED, DRB ID, LCD, or a combination of UE ID and DRB ID/LCID. The UE ID might be a gNB-DU UE F1APID, a gNB-CU UE F1APID, a C-RNTI, a STMSI, a IMSI or a UE ID assigned by donor CU 210. For the routing configuration, the destination ID might be DU ID, UE ID or UE bearer ID… used for the user plane data forwarding). Chen doesn’t explicitly teach the information to be transmitted is updated artificial intelligence model information. In analogous art Shen teaches updated artificial intelligence model information (Shen, see paragraph [0007], The first-type resource configuration information indicates a radio resource configuration, and the second-type resource configuration information indicates an Artificial Intelligence (AI) resource configuration). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the teaching of Shen and apply them on the teaching of Chen as doing so would ensure proper transmission of AI resources by the terminal device (Shen, see paragraph [0005]). As per claim 3, Chen-Shen teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the data volume report comprises at least one of: a data radio bearer identifier corresponding to the data radio bearer; or one or more user equipment identifiers corresponding to one or more user equipment, comprising the user equipment, to which the radio access network node transmitted the updated artificial intelligence model information (Chen, see paragraph [0085], routing table might also contain the IAB bearer ID, which can be used to identify the different weight of IAB bearers over different paths). As per claim 4, Chen-Shen teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the data radio bearer is established between the radio access network node and the user equipment (Chen, see paragraph [0014], wherein the DRB setup request message contains the identity of a plurality of DRBs and at least one of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a User Equipment (UE) bearer mapped to each of the plurality of DRBs). As per claim 5, Chen-Shen teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the control entity or the user plane function are implemented by a computing component of a core network communicatively coupled to the radio access network node. (Chen, see paragraph [0050], UE bearer ID might be the UL UP TEID, DL UP TED, DRB ID, LCD, or a combination of UE ID and DRB ID/LCID. The UE ID might be a gNB-DU UE F1APID, a gNB-CU UE F1APID, a C-RNTI, a STMSI, a IMSI or a UE ID assigned by donor CU 210. For the routing configuration, the destination ID might be DU ID, UE ID or UE bearer ID… used for the user plane data forwarding). As per claim 6, Chen-Shen teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the updated artificial intelligence model information is via a wireless link between the radio access network node and the user equipment (Chen, see paragraph [0012], QoS flow mapped to the at least one DRB supported by each of the at least one second wireless communication node) As per claim 14, Chen teaches a radio access node, (Chen, see paragraph [0012], first wireless communication node) comprising: a processor (Chen, see paragraph [0014], at least one processor) configured to: transmit to a control entity, a data radio bearer establishment request; (Chen, see paragraph [0012], transmitting a data radio bearer (DRB) setup request message to each of at least one second wireless communication node, wherein the DRB setup request message contains the identity of a plurality of DRBs and at least one of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow) responsive to the data radio bearer establishment request, receive from the control entity, a data radio bearer configuration; (Chen, see paragraph [0012], receiving a DRB setup response from each of the at least one second wireless communication node, wherein each DRB setup response contains a first list of at least one of QoS flows and UE data bearers failed to be setup by a respective one of the at least one second wireless communication node and a second list of at least one of QoS flows and UE data bearers successfully setup by the respective one of the at least one second wireless communication node) and transmit, to the user equipment via a data radio bearer established between the radio access network node and the user equipment according to the data radio bearer configuration, the data. (Chen, see paragraph [0036], aware of the potential data forwarding path and then transmits the UE context setup/modify request message to the donor DU 208 as well as each DU part of intermediate IAB node 204 and 206 along the path) Chen doesn’t explicitly teach determine data to be transmitted to user equipment. In analogous art Shen teaches determine data to be transmitted to user equipment (Shen, see paragraph [0007], The first-type resource configuration information indicates a radio resource configuration, and the second-type resource configuration information indicates an Artificial Intelligence (AI) resource configuration). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the teaching of Shen and apply them on the teaching of Chen as doing so would ensure proper transmission of AI resources by the terminal device (Shen, see paragraph [0005]). As per claim 18, Chen-Shen teaches the radio access network node of claim 14 wherein the control entity comprises at least one of a session management function or an access and mobility function. (Chen, see paragraph [0031], a PDU session establishment/modify request. At step 1, in order to setup new QoS flows to support the PDU session for the access UE 202). As per claim 19, [Rejection rational for claim 1 is applicable]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HERMON ASRES whose telephone number is (571)272-4257. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9AM to 5PM. 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, Vivek Srivastava can be reached at (571)272-7304. 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. /HERMON ASRES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2449
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 06, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 07, 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
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+19.5%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 368 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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