Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/449,726

MODEM CHIP, COMMUNICATION DEVICE USING THE SAME AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC CONTROLLING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 15, 2023
Priority
Aug 18, 2022 — provisional 63/371,771
Examiner
TRAN, PHUC H
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
MediaTek Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
959 granted / 1046 resolved
+33.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1083
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
51.7%
+11.7% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1046 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 . Response to Amendment Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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. Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siomina et al. (Patent No. 11190319). - With respect to claim 1, Siomina teaches a method for dynamic controlling a modem chip, comprising: obtaining at least one traffic type factor or at least one channel condition factor (e.g. abstract discloses “A method is disclosed that includes determining a presence of a first type of reference signal having a first bandwidth configuration; obtaining a second bandwidth configuration associated with a second type of reference signal, the second bandwidth configuration being based on the presence of the first type of reference signal”); deciding a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) reception mode according to the traffic type factor or the channel condition factor (e.g. block S108, S128 in Fig. 8-9 discloses “Performing one or more operational tasks, based on the obtained second bandwidth configuration”); and setting at least one hardware parameter including a partial off time of a baseband processing circuit (e.g. col. 2, lines 36-37, where in the DRX sleep period such as partial off time a baseband processing circuit) according to the CRS reception mode to receive a plurality of cell-specific reference signals fully or partially (e.g. Fig. 1 shows the CRS bandwidth with full and smaller bandwidth e.g. step 3 in Fig. 8). Siomina implicitly fails to discloses setting at least one hardware parameter, however it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to consider the setting bandwidth in Siomina’s invention as the setting hardware parameter for reducing power. - With respect to claim 3, Siomina teaches wherein the traffic type factor includes a transmission content (see col. 12, lines 48-55). - With respect to claim 4, Siomina teaches wherein the channel condition factor is a Block Error Rate (BLER), a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) (see col. 11, lines 35-55), a mobility of a communication device, a valid downlink sub-frame number or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error rate. - With respect to claim 5, Siomina teaches wherein the hardware parameter is a partial off time of a Radio Frequency Front-End (RFFE) circuit, a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) (e.g. col. 12, lines 10-17), an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) or a digital hardware accelerator of a baseband processing circuit. - With respect to claim 7, Siomina teaches wherein the CRS reception mode is decided according to a synchronization state of a synchronization circuit, wherein the synchronization state includes a plurality of synchronization gears (e.g. time/frequency synchronization in col 2, lines 1-5; col. 5, lines 25-45). - With respect to claim 8, Siomina teaches wherein the CRS reception mode is decided according to a channel estimation state of a channel estimation circuit, wherein the channel estimation state includes a plurality of channel estimation gears (e.g. network based CRS mitigation in bridge paraph between col. 1-2). Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siomina et al. (Patent No. 11190319) in view of Homchaudhuri et al. (Pub. No. 20170301259). - With respect to claim 6, Siomina fails to teaches the hardware parameter is a setting voltage of a Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) circuit, but Homchaudhuri teaches DVFS (see abstract) for saving power in wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to implement the DVFS of Homchaudhuri into Siomina’s invention for saving power in wireless communication. Claim(s) 9, 11-17, 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homchaudhuri et al. (Pub. No. 20170301259) in view of Siomina et al. (Patent No. 11190319). - With respect to claims 9, 14 and 17, Homchaudhuri teaches a modem chip, comprising: a baseband processing circuit; a Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) circuit (see par. 56, 71); and a controller, coupled to the baseband processing circuit and the DVFS circuit (see Fig. 3, par. 72), but fails to discloses the controller is configured to obtain at least one traffic type factor or at least one channel condition factor, decide a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) reception mode according to the traffic type factor or the channel condition factor, and set at least one hardware parameter of the baseband processing circuit or the DVFS circuit according to the CRS reception mode to receive a plurality of cell-specific reference signals fully or partially. Siomina teaches obtaining at least one traffic type factor or at least one channel condition factor (e.g. abstract discloses “A method is disclosed that includes determining a presence of a first type of reference signal having a first bandwidth configuration; obtaining a second bandwidth configuration associated with a second type of reference signal, the second bandwidth configuration being based on the presence of the first type of reference signal”); deciding a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) reception mode according to the traffic type factor or the channel condition factor (e.g. block S108, S128 in Fig. 8-9 discloses “Performing one or more operational tasks, based on the obtained second bandwidth configuration”); and setting at least one hardware parameter according to the CRS reception mode to receive a plurality of cell-specific reference signals fully or partially and the hardware parameter includes a partial off time of the baseband processing circuit (e.g. col. 2, lines 36-37 discloses DRX sleep periods) (e.g. Fig. 1 shows the CRS bandwidth with full and smaller bandwidth e.g. step 3 in Fig. 8). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to implement the Siomina’s invention in to Homchaudhuri’s invention for reducing power in wireless communication. - With respect to claim 11, Siomina teaches wherein the traffic type factor includes a transmission content (see col. 12, lines 48-55). - With respect to claim 12, 19, Siomina teaches wherein the channel condition factor is a Block Error Rate (BLER), a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) (see col. 11, lines 35-55), a mobility of a communication device, a valid downlink sub-frame number or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error rate. - With respect to claim 13, 20, Siomina teaches wherein the hardware parameter is a partial off time of a Radio Frequency Front-End (RFFE) circuit, a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) (e.g. col. 12, lines 10-17), an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) or a digital hardware accelerator of a baseband processing circuit. - With respect to claim 15, Siomina teaches wherein the CRS reception mode is decided according to a synchronization state of a synchronization circuit, wherein the synchronization state includes a plurality of synchronization gears (e.g. time/frequency synchronization in col 2, lines 1-5; col. 5, lines 25-45). - With respect to claim 16, Siomina teaches wherein the CRS reception mode is decided according to a channel estimation state of a channel estimation circuit, wherein the channel estimation state includes a plurality of channel estimation gears (e.g. network based CRS mitigation in bridge paraph between col. 1-2). 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 PHUC H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3172. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 Flex. 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, Sujoy K. Kundu can be reached at 571-272-8586. 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. /PHUC H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 15, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 17, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 03, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 28, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 01, 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
92%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+2.3%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1046 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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