Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Application No. 18/373,269

Distributed-Tone Resource Unit (dRU) Plan In Wireless Communications

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 26, 2023
Examiner
HOANG, THAI D
Art Unit
2463
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Mediatek INC.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
562 granted / 648 resolved
+28.7% vs TC avg
Minimal -13% lift
Without
With
+-13.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
663
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
§103
34.6%
-5.4% vs TC avg
§102
30.6%
-9.4% vs TC avg
§112
18.2%
-21.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 648 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-3, 8-13 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al (hereinafter “Kim” ), US Pub . 2021/0360628 A1. Regarding claims 1 and 11, Kim discloses apparatus and method of communication based on an extended bandwidth and a multi-resource unit (multi-RU) in a wireless system, comprising: generating, by a processor of an apparatus (fig. 2, main processor 1130) , a distributed-tone resource unit ( dRU ) using a 80MHz dRU tone plan as a basic building block (fig. 11 A-B, resource units in a 80 MHz of OFDMA Physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU)) ; and performing, by the processor, a wireless communication in a 160MHz or 320MHz distribution bandwidth with the dRU (fig. 12 A-B, resource units in a 160 MHz of OFDMA PPDU; fig. 13 A-E, resource units in a 320 MHz of OFDMA PPDU) . Regarding claims 2 and 12, Kim discloses wherein the performing of the wireless communication comprises performing the wireless communication in the 160MHz distribution bandwidth, and wherein the dRU comprises a 106-tone dRU , a 242-tone dRU , a 484-tone dRU or a 996-tone dRU (see fig. 11A-B and 12A-B: RU type: comprises a 106-tone RU, a 242-tone RU, a 484-tone RU, or a 996-tone RU) . Regarding claims 3 and 13, Kim discloses wherein: the 106-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 52-tone dRUs of the 80MHz dRU tone plan and two extra tones (fig. 11A, 80 MHz band, rows 2-3: 106-tone RU comprises two 52-tone RU and two extra tones) ; the 242-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 106-tone dRUs and one 26- tone dRU of the 80MHz dRU tone plan and four extra tones (fig. 11A, 80 MHz band, rows 3-4: 242-tone RU comprises two 106-tone RU, one 26-tone RU and four extra tones) ; the 484-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 242-tone dRUs of the 80MHz dRU tone plan (fig. 11A, 80 MHz band, rows 4-5: 484-tone RU comprises two 242-tone RU) ; and the 996-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 484-tone dRUs of the 80MHz dRU tone plan and twenty-eight extra tones (fig. 11A, 80 MHz band, rows 5-6: 996-tone RU comprises two 448-tone RU, and twenty-eight extra tones: 12 tones at the leftmost + 5DC at the center + 11 tones at the right most ). Regarding claims 8 and 18, Kim discloses wherein the performing of the wireless communication comprises performing the wireless communication in the 320MHz distribution bandwidth, and wherein the dRU comprises a 484-tone dRU , a 996-tone dRU or a 2x996-tone dRU (fig. 13A-E show RUs in a 320 MHz OFDMA comprises a 484-tone RU, a 996-tone RU, or two 996-tone RU) . Regarding claims 9 and 19, Kim discloses wherein: the 484-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 242-tone dRUs generated on the 160MHz distribution bandwidth using the 80MHz dRU tone plan; the 996-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 484-tone dRUs generated on the 160MHz distribution bandwidth using the 80MHz dRU tone plan; and the 2x996-tone dRU is built from corresponding two 996-tone dRUs generated on the 160MHz distribution bandwidth using the 80MHz dRU tone plan (fig. 12B shows RUs available in a 160 MHz OFDMA PPDU: 484-tone RU is built from corresponding two 242-tone RUs, the 996-tone RU is built from corresponding two 484-tone RUs, and the 2x996-tone RU is built from corresponding two 996-tone Rus) . Regarding claims 10 and 20, Kim discloses wherein the generating of the dRU comprises generating two or more dRUs of a same size or different sizes, and wherein the performing of the wireless communication comprises performing a mixed-distribution bandwidth operation in different frequency subblocks or segments using the two or more dRUs with different distribution bandwidths ( FIG. 30 and 32 show values of multi-RUs including a 996-tone RU and a 484-tone RU and an RU allocation subfield; FIG. 31 shows values of multi-RUs including a 996-tone RU, a 484-tone RU, and a 242-tone RU and an RU allocation subfield; FIG. 33 shows values of multi-RUs including three 996-tone RUs and an RU allocation subfield). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-7 and 14-17 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. See attached PTO-892 . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT THAI D HOANG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3184 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 10:30 am-18:30pm . 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 Asad Nawaz can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-3988 . 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT THAI HOANG D. Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463 /THAI DINH HOANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Mar 16, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604307
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING SIGNAL IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12598047
TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND BASE STATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12593351
USER EQUIPMENT AND METHOD FOR PRACH PERFORMANCE REPORTING TO BASE STATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12574191
TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND BASE STATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12574090
REPORTING CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION IN ADVANCED MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEMS FOR CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (-13.0%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 648 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in for Full Analysis

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month