Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/313,224

PROACTIVE JAMMER PROTECTION OF RECEIVER FROM TRANSMIT SIGNAL OF INTEGRATED TRANSMITTER

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 05, 2023
Examiner
FERGUSON, KEITH
Art Unit
2648
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
655 granted / 759 resolved
+24.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
774
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
§103
78.3%
+38.3% vs TC avg
§102
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
§112
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 759 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 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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) 22-24 and 26-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beaudin et al. (US 2023/0077767) in view of Meng (CN 108365863 A), newly recited reference. Regarding claims 22 and 26, Beaudin et al. discloses a method (fig. 15 and P:0137), comprising: scheduling a transmission of a transmit radio frequency (RF) signal concurrently with a reception of a received RF signal (P:0031 and P:0034); and enabling a filtering of the received RF signal during the concurrent transmission and reception of the transmit and received RF signals based on at least a characteristic (Bluetooth or WLAN)(P:0102) of the transmit RF signal (P:0104 and P:0126). Beaudin et al. differs from claim 22 of the present invention in that it does not explicit disclose controlling a switching device based on detecting an out-of-band jammer in the received RF signal; producing a sample of the received RF signal; and controlling the switching device based on the sampled received RF signal. Meng teaches a device with adaptive cancellation in a wireless transceiver system receiving the out-of-band interference (abstract, page 5, 5th paragraph and fig. 1), the receiving coupler A5 (fig. 1 and page 9, 5th paragraph) coupling and interference signal wave trap A14 through the fifth RF switch A13, the third and sixth RF switch A15 and then input to the reception interference signal detecting circuit F2, receiving interference the receiving and out-of-band interference signal (i.e. out of band jammer) converted into a digital signal and output to the data processing unit G signal detection circuit F2 (page 9, 5th paragraph), the data processing unit G and receives the interference signal detection circuit F2 are connected through a data interface to sample the reception interference signal; said data processing unit according to the synchronous signal obtaining unit E obtains the TDD synchronization information to control first radio frequency switch A7, second switch A9, third radio A10 radio frequency switch and the second radio switch A12, first radio frequency switch A13, the second RF switch A15 (page 9, 8th paragraph). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Beaudin et al. with controlling a switching device based on detecting an out-of-band jammer in the received RF signal; producing a sample of the received RF signal; and controlling the switching device based on the sampled received RF signal in order for the wireless device to switch its transmission mode based upon out of band interference received from the WLAN device or Bluetooth device for better stronger communication with the WLAN device or Bluetooth device, as taught by Meng. Regarding claims 23 and 28, Beaudin et al. discloses the characteristic of the transmit RF signal comprises a frequency of the transmit RF signal (e.g., a WiFi or Bluetooth 2.4 gigaHertz (GHz) band, which may be defined as extending from 2400 to 2483.5 megaHertz (MHz)) (P:0031). Regarding claims 22 and 29, Beaudin et al. discloses the characteristic of the transmit RF signal comprises a channel by which the transmit RF signal is transmitted (fig. 1 numbers 112,114,116 and 118). Regarding claims 27 and 30, Beaudin et al. discloses an apparatus (fig. 1 wireless device number 110, fig. 2 number 210, fig. 5, fig. 11 and/or radio frequency front end)(fig. 6A and P:0068-P:0079), comprising: scheduling a transmission of a transmit radio frequency (RF) signal concurrently with a reception of a received RF signal (P:0031 and P:0034); and enabling a filtering of the received RF signal during the concurrent transmission and reception of the transmit and received RF signals based on at least a characteristic (Bluetooth or WLAN)(P:0102) of the transmit RF signal (P:0104 and P:0126). Beaudin et al. differs from claim 27 of the present invention in that it does not explicit disclose controlling a switching device based on detecting an out-of-band jammer in the received RF signal; producing a sample of the received RF signal; and controlling the switching device based on the sampled received RF signal. Meng teaches a device with adaptive cancellation in a wireless transceiver system receiving the out-of-band interference (abstract, page 5, 5th paragraph and fig. 1), the receiving coupler A5 (fig. 1 and page 9, 5th paragraph) coupling and interference signal wave trap A14 through the fifth RF switch A13, the third and sixth RF switch A15 and then input to the reception interference signal detecting circuit F2, receiving interference the receiving and out-of-band interference signal (i.e. out of band jammer) converted into a digital signal and output to the data processing unit G signal detection circuit F2 (page 9, 5th paragraph), the data processing unit G and receives the interference signal detection circuit F2 are connected through a data interface to sample the reception interference signal; said data processing unit according to the synchronous signal obtaining unit E obtains the TDD synchronization information to control first radio frequency switch A7, second switch A9, third radio A10 radio frequency switch and the second radio switch A12, first radio frequency switch A13, the second RF switch A15 (page 9, 8th paragraph). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Beaudin et al. with controlling a switching device based on detecting an out-of-band jammer in the received RF signal; producing a sample of the received RF signal; and controlling the switching device based on the sampled received RF signal in order for the wireless device to switch its transmission mode based upon out of band interference received from the WLAN device or Bluetooth device for better stronger communication with the WLAN device or Bluetooth device, as taught by Meng. Claim(s) 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beaudin et al. (US 2023/0077767) in view of Meng (CN 108365863 A), newly recited reference, as applied to claim 22 above and in further view of Gudem et al. (US 2013/003617), i.e. US application of WO 2013/003820 A1)(IDS). Regarding claim 25, the combination of Beaudin et al. and Meng differs from claim 25 of the present invention in that they do not explicit disclose the control circuit is configured to control the switching device based on a power level of the transmit RF signal. Gudem et al. teaches a receiver (abstract and fig. 2), in one implementation, the processor 210 knows when and at what power level a transmission from the transmitter 204 is to occur and sets the switch control signal 228 to select the non-bypass mode for either or both the receiver 206 and the diversity receiver 302 during these transmissions (P:0042). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Beaudin et al. and Meng with the control circuit is configured to control the switching device based on a power level of the transmit RF signal in order for the wireless device to switch its transmission mode based upon the power received from the WLAN device or Bluetooth device for better stronger communication with the WLAN device or Bluetooth device, as taught by Gudem et al.. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-9,11,12,13 and 15-21 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Applicants remarks/arguments on page 9, lines 19-31, mailed 1/16/2026. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEITH FERGUSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7865. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7 am -3 pm. 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, Wesley L Kim can be reached at (571) 272-7867. 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. /KEITH FERGUSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 05, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 16, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
May 20, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 23, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 25, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+8.4%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 759 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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