Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/472,583

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A TIME-SENSITIVE NETWORK SCHEDULE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 22, 2023
Examiner
HOUSHMAND, HOOMAN
Art Unit
2465
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
GE Aviation Systems LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
55%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 8m
To Grant
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 55% of resolved cases
55%
Career Allow Rate
177 granted / 324 resolved
-3.4% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+24.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 8m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
333
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.7%
-34.3% vs TC avg
§103
50.4%
+10.4% vs TC avg
§102
11.5%
-28.5% vs TC avg
§112
28.0%
-12.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 324 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 18/472,583 CTNF 83545 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted on 03/19/2025 09/22/2023, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Drawings 06-22 AIA The drawings are objected to because the unlabeled elements shown in the drawings, FIG. 2A, 2B, 5, should be provided with descriptive text labels . Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following: Specification, page 1, paragraph [0005], group figures 2A & 2B, together, which is improper. Each Figure needs to be described individually and uniquely, and, the descriptions of Figures may not be identical, they need to be different, from one another. 06-11 AIA The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure: The language should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims should be avoided. The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because: Line 1, “, and other embodiments”, line 2, “In one embodiment,”, should be deleted. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-23-aia AIA 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 non-obviousness. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hui (US 20160197800 A1) in view of Guo (US 20210306910 A1) . Claim 1. Hui teaches a system comprising: a processor; and a memory storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor (e.g., Fig. 2) to: receive a measured value of at least one environmental condition from at least one sensor (e.g., [0055] [0056] [0060]) ; determine an impact of the measured value of the at least one environmental condition on at least one component of a time-sensitive network ( TS N) (e.g., [0054] [0060] [0062]) ; and program a switching node based on at least the determined impact, the TS N including a first end node, a second end node, and the switching node, and the switching node being communicatively linked between the first end node and the second end node (e.g., [0049] [0061]). Hui does not explicitly teach the combination of the underlined feature, above. Hui does not explicitly teach the combination of these features: time-sensitive. The missing elements are disclosed by Guo ([0214]). (AIA) 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, because: e.g., see Guo [0002] - [0019]. Therefore, the combination of references, discloses the combination of the claimed limitations. Claim 2. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the TSN is one of: an end node; the switching node; or a link (e.g., Fig. 1,4,5A-5D,6A-6C,7A-7B [0049] [0060-62] [0064] [0075]. In Hui). Claim 3. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions further include instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to: generate a TSN gate control list (e.g., [0158]. In Guo) based on at least the determined impact (e.g., [0061]. In Hui) ; and operate the switching node based on the TSN gate control list e.g., [0158]. In Guo). Compact notation has been utilized above, wherein, when a feature is, partly, attributed to a reference, other than the primary reference, the primary reference does not explicitly disclose the combination of the feature. The motivation to combine references, is the same as, the parent claim. Claim 4. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions further include instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to: generate an initial TSN gate control (e.g., [0158]. In Guo) list based on a characteristic of one or more of the first end node, the second end node, and the switching node of the TSN (e.g., [0061]. In Hui) ; and update a TSN gate control list based on at least the initial TSN gate control list (e.g., [0158]. In Guo) and the determined impact (e.g., [0061]. In Hui). Compact notation has been utilized above, wherein, when a feature is, partly, attributed to a reference, other than the primary reference, the primary reference does not explicitly disclose the combination of the feature. The motivation to combine references, is the same as, the parent claim. Claim 5. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one environmental condition is one of: temperature; air pressure; vibration; electromagnetic field; time; or humidity (e.g., [0056] [0064] [0085]. In Hui). Claim 6. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions further include instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to: program the switching node based on a characteristic of a user system supported by the TSN (e.g., [0069-72] [0078] [0079]. In Hui). Claim 7. Hui in view of Guo the system of claim 6, wherein the characteristic of the user system is based on at least one of: a plasma sheath formation on the user system; a location of the user system; a vibration of the user system; an electromagnetic field around the user system; passage of time relative to the user system; or a function of the user system (e.g., [0056] [0064] [0077] [0078] [0085]. In Hui). Claims 8-14 are rejected substantially the same as the corresponding Claims 1-7. Claim 15 - Claim 20 are rejected substantially the same as the corresponding Claims 1-6. Conclusion The prior art made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and Claims: Mong (US 20230379385 A1) [0023] Mong (US 20200412813 A1) [0359] [0552] Mong (US 20190322299 A1) [0363] Christie (US 11550322 B1) 13:4-31 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOOMAN HOUSHMAND whose telephone number is (571)270-1817. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8-5 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, AYMAN ABAZA can be reached at (571)270-0422. 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. /H.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2465 /AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 2 Art Unit: 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 3 Art Unit: 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 4 Art Unit: 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 5 Art Unit: 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 6 Art Unit: 2465 Application/Control Number: 18/472,583 Page 7 Art Unit: 2465
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 22, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
55%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+24.7%)
4y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 324 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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