Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/315,076

METHOD FOR COMPREHENSIVE LOW POWER SIMULATION COVERAGE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 10, 2023
Examiner
AISAKA, BRYCE M
Art Unit
2851
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Texas Instruments Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
642 granted / 735 resolved
+19.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
744
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.2%
-22.8% vs TC avg
§103
32.9%
-7.1% vs TC avg
§102
22.6%
-17.4% vs TC avg
§112
22.6%
-17.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 735 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. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 11-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 11 recites information correlated with “a low power enabled component” in the step of “identifying…”. However, claim 11 previously mentions a design comprising “a low power enabled component”. As presented in the claims it is unclear whether the claims are referring to the same component, or different components. Allowable Subject Matter Claim s 1-10 allowed. Claim s 11-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach or suggest a method for low power simulation having the combination of steps of the claims including, among other elements, the sequential element determination for use in a coverage test analyzing activation state relationship, in combination with the other design and analysis elements of the claims. Beletsky et al. US 10,503,243 B1 discloses design simulation and coverage reporting, without the sequential element determination for use in a coverage test analyzing activation state relationship as described in the claims. Pusuluri et al. US 2017/0228481 A1 discloses low poer object simulation, without the sequential element determination for use in a coverage test analyzing activation state relationship as described in the claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT BRYCE M AISAKA whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5808 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F: 6:30AM-5:00PM PT . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Jack Chiang can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-7483 . 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. /BRYCE M AISAKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 10, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (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
87%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+10.4%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 735 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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