Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Application No. 18/341,324

SENSOR-AIDED BEAM MANAGEMENT AT USER EQUIPMENT

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jun 26, 2023
Examiner
DAYA, TEJIS A
Art Unit
2472
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., LTD.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
487 granted / 572 resolved
+27.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
599
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
54.1%
+14.1% vs TC avg
§102
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
§112
18.6%
-21.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 572 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The instant application No. 18341324 has claims 1-20 are pending. 2 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 § 102 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale , or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Moscovich et al. (Patent No. US 9,253,592 B1; hereinafter Mosco). Regarding claim 8, Mosco discloses a method comprising: estimating a first beamforming channel of a user equipment (UE) associated with first local coordinates; (9,253,592-Col. 3 Lines 56-60, he local computing device 102 may determine beamforming parameters (e.g., weights or coefficients) that characterize the beampattern 106 in terms of gain, direction, shape, width, and so on, in order to focus the antenna of the local device 102 in a direction of signal path; Col. 9 Lines 57-62, he local computing device 102 may determine beamforming parameters (e.g., weights or coefficients) that characterize the beampattern 106 in terms of gain, direction, shape, width, and so on, in order to focus the antenna of the local device 102 in a direction of signal path) determining position information corresponding to movement of the UE from the first local coordinates to second local coordinates; (Col. 13 Lines 4-13, As bearing estimations are made over time as the mobile device 300 moves, the localization model 330 may be repeatedly updated. As such, the localization model 330 may, at any moment, include data as to the absolute position and orientation of the mobile device 300 as well as the remote computing device in wireless communication with the mobile device 300, the bearing estimations of a relative direction and/or location (i.e., distance estimations) of the remote device, confidence levels associated with bearing estimations and with line-of-sight path determinations, and so on.) estimating a second beamforming channel of the UE corresponding to the second local coordinates based on the first beamforming channel and the position information; (Col. 15 Lines 62-66, the first direction is closer to the second direction in the counterclockwise direction. In this manner, the angle 516 determined at 514 is an indicator of how the beamforming module 324 is adapting beampatterns in response to the movement of the local device 102.) and determining a beamforming weight for the second local coordinates based on the second beamforming channel and a decision metric, (Col. 2 Lines 54-56, The direction of the beampattern may be chosen to maximize a signal to noise ratio (SNR) for wirelessly received or transmitted signals along the communication path) wherein the beamforming weight corresponds to a change in a beam direction associated with the second local coordinates. (Col. 3 Lines 56-60, he local computing device 102 may determine beamforming parameters (e.g., weights or coefficients) that characterize the beampattern 106 in terms of gain, direction, shape, width, and so on, in order to focus the antenna of the local device 102 in a direction of signal path; Col. 9 Lines 57-62, he local computing device 102 may determine beamforming parameters (e.g., weights or coefficients) that characterize the beampattern 106 in terms of gain, direction, shape, width, and so on, in order to focus the antenna of t he local device 102 in a direction of signal path ; Col. 15 Lines 43-47, The line-of-sight estimator 326 may access the beamforming data 328 to determine the parameters associated with the second direction of a different beampattern adapted by the beamforming module 324 to focus the antenna(s) 322 in the second direction along the second communication path 512 ) Regarding claim 10, Mosco discloses the position information comprises at least one of a displacement and a rotation of the UE, and the position information is measured by at least one of a gyroscope, accelerometer, and a geo-magnetic sensor of the UE. (Col. 8 Lines 1- 23 , The one or more motion sensors 312 may represent an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers or compasses, or any other suitable motion sensor including a camera or 3D sensor configured used for feature tracking, and so on. Moreover, any individual sensor or combination of motion sensors 312 may be utilized for obtaining the motion data 314 by providing six-component motion sensing ; motion sensor(s) 312 may be configured to measure and generate data relating to the extent, rate, and/or acceleration of translational movement in 3D space (X, Y, and Z movement), as well as the extent, rate, and/or acceleration of rotation in 3D space (roll, pitch, and yaw). Measurements may be generated in terms of a 3D coordinate system, such as Cartesian (X, Y, and Z) or spherical coordinate systems. The motion data 314 may include measurements in terms of displacement (e.g., displacement since the preceding time log), velocity, and/or acceleration of translational movement (denoted by variables: d, v, a) 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim (s) 1, 3, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Na et al. (Pub. No. US 2017/0195834 A1; hereinafter Na) in view of Selen et al. (Pub. No. US 2017/0111852 A1; hereinafter Selen). Regarding claim 1 and 14, Na disclose a user equipment (UE) comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to: determine position information corresponding to movement of the UE from first local coordinates to second local coordinates; ( 2017/0195834- See ¶0084, The 3D array antenna system estimates a location using an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a Z coordinate (hereinafter, referred to as X, Y, and Z axes) or (a horizontal direction angle, a vertical direction angle, and a distance from a terminal to a tag) ; See ¶0139, If the motion sensor value of the terminal is (0, 1, 0), the inclination variation of the terminal is vertical 90 degrees due to an inclination change (0, 0.5, 0.5), and the second direction angle of the tag is still horizontal 90 degrees equal to the first direction angle of the tag determined based on a DOA) derive receive angles of the UE from the position information of the UE; ( See ¶0123, he terminal receives a beacon signal from an AP and calculates a first direction angle. The first direction angle of the tag may be tracked using tag angle measurement information (e.g., a DoA) ; See ¶0125, The terminal calculates a second direction angle and RSSI of the tag, which have been changed by the movement of the terminal in operation 405. In operation 407, the terminal corrects the direction angle of the tag based on the variation of the inclination of the terminal and the RSSI variation ) However, Na fails to disclose determine a beamforming weight of the UE based on the derived receive angles of the UE, wherein the beamforming weight is configured such that a beam direction associated with the second local coordinates matches a beam direction of the first local coordinates. Selen disclose determine a beamforming weight of the UE based on the derived receive angles of the UE, (See ¶0110, Where (J, K) specifies the angle in which the UE 130 is moving, e.g., by azimuth and elevation angles for this direction, and v is a velocity factor which is one for a static UE 130 and which increases with the velocity. As can be seen from Eq. 1, in case of a static UE, the frequency of occurrence 300, respectively the probability weights 1100 are equal for all directions in the surrounding of the UE.) wherein the beamforming weight is configured such that a beam direction associated with the second local coordinates matches a beam direction of the first local coordinates. (See ¶0064, order to appropriately determine the antenna weights of the plurality of beamformed directions, it may be required to accurately determine the orientation 231 of the UE 130. Then, once the orientation of the UE 130 with respect to the various beamformed directions 251, 252 is known, corresponding antenna weights can be determined; See ¶0074, the prioritization of transmission on the various beamformed directions is set such that the preferred sector 310 is obtained that points in the forward direction of the movement 742 of the UE 130; See ¶0066, beamforming have been explained where depending on an orientation of the UE 130 antenna weights are adapted to efficiently implement a beam sweeping in the scanning sector 250 even when the UE 130 moves and changes its orientation; for example, such a dynamic adaptation of the antenna weights can occur while the temporal pattern of the scanning remains fixed ; interpreted that the beam direction is fixed when UE is moving from one location to another location) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify using the movement to determine the angle to include the beamforming direction is same as the UE moves from one location to another location. The motivation to combine is UE 130 antenna weights are adapted to efficiently implement a beam sweeping in the scanning sector 250 even when the UE 130 moves and changes its orientation (See ¶0066). Regarding claims 3 and 16 , Na discloses the position information comprises at least one of a displacement (See ¶0215, The accurate location of the tag may be displayed by correcting a variation in the direction angle caused by displacement.) and a rotation of the UE, (See ¶0118, A single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer sensor senses a size, linearity, rotation, and acceleration directions of gravity in combination.) and the position information is measured by at least one of a gyroscope, accelerometer, and geo-magnetic sensor of the UE. (See ¶0119, A gyroscope (gyro sensor) measures a variation of a single-axis or multi-axis rotational motion. The gyro sensor may measure rotation and a direction with respect to a reference axis accurately and precisely despite a complex motion; See ¶0120, A gyroscope (gyro sensor) measures a variation of a single-axis or multi-axis rotational motion. The gyro sensor may measure rotation and a direction with respect to a reference axis accurately and precisely despite a complex motion.) Claim (s) 5 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Na in view of Selen and, further in view of Tang et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0328653 A1; hereinafter Tang). Regarding claims 5 and 18 , Na in view of Selen fails to disclose the receive angles of the UE comprise a zenith angle of arrival of the UE and an azimuth angle of arrival of the UE. Tang dislcoses the receive angles of the UE comprise a zenith angle of arrival of the UE and an azimuth angle of arrival of the UE. ( 2021/0328653 - See ¶0096, the received directional signal may be considered to have an angle-of-arrival (AoA) and a zenith angle-of-arrival (ZoA) ) 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 method and system disclosed by Na in view of Selen to include receive angles are zenith angle and azimuth angle. The motivation to combine p erformance of the radio transceiver 10 in decoding the signal would be improved if the selected beamforming vector more closely matched the angle-of-arrival θ of the received signal 30 (See ¶0049). Claim (s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mosco in view of Keusgen et al. (Pub. No. US 2012/0230380 A1 ; hereinafter Keusgen ). Regarding claim 12, Mosco fails to disclose determining the beamforming weight comprises selecting the beamforming weight from a codebook based on the decision metric maximizing at least one of RSRP, signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), and capacity in a beamforming scheme. Keusgen discloses determining the beamforming weight comprises selecting the beamforming weight from a codebook based on the decision metric maximizing at least one of RSRP, signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), and capacity in a beamforming scheme. ( 20120230380 - See ¶0041, predefined value comprises a maximum of the receive power, of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), and of the signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR); See ¶0098, The method allows not only determining particularly suitable adjustments but allows for the determination of optimal beamformer adjustments with respect to the codebooks and the chosen optimization criterion (e.g. received power, SNR, SIR, SINR) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify beam channel changes when the UE moves to include the beamforming weight is selected from a codebook. The motivation to combine is beamforming is not only to be used for maximizing the received power for the desired user, but at the same time for reducing interference for other users (See ¶0023). Allowable Subject Matter Claim s 2, 4, 6-7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19-20 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. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nammi (Pub. No. US 2023/0291444 A1)-See ¶0058, t he first set of reference signals has a first set of elevation beamforming weights which results in that the first set of reference signals is concentrated into a first elevation transmission direction resembling a first elevation angle. The second set of reference signals has a second set of elevation beamforming weights which results in that the second set of reference signals is concentrated into a second elevation transmission direction resembling a second elevation angle, the first and the second elevation angle being different. There may be more than two sets of reference signals directed in mutually different elevation transmission directions. The information on channel quality may be one or more of CRI, CQI, PMI and RI. Pezeshki et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0103220 A1)- See ¶0105, analog beamforming at base station 105-b and UE 115-b and the input-output relationship per tone (e.g., sub-carrier) for downlink, y, may be defined as y=AHBPx+n, where H is the raw channel (e.g., full channel matrix) where H=N.sub.Rx×N.sub.Tx (e.g., 8×64); A is a receive (e.g., analog) beamforming matrix, A=N.sub.RP×N.sub.Rx (e.g., 2×8); B is a transmit (e.g., analog) beamforming matrix, B=N.sub.Tx×N.sub.TP (e.g., 64×2); and P is a transmit (e.g., digital) precoding matrix, P=N.sub.TP×N.sub.SS. In some examples, multiplying AHB results in a 2×2 channel (e.g., based on matrix multiplication), or one of the multiple observed channels. In some cases, H may be based be a function of core parameters such as a number of clusters and per-cluster relative to an associated azimuth angles of arrival (AOA), azimuth angles of departure (AOD), zenith angles of arrival (ZOA), zenith angles of departure (ZOD), transmission delay, or transmission power, or any combination thereof. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TEJIS DAYA whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7817 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 6:30-4:30 . 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 Nicholas Jensen can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5443 . 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. /Tejis Daya/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 26, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 12, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Feb 24, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 06, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 23, 2026
Response Filed

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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
85%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+1.9%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 572 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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