Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/495,766

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FRONTHAUL TRAFFIC SHAPING

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 27, 2023
Examiner
GEBRE, MESSERET F
Art Unit
2445
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Rakuten Symphony Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
55%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 55% of resolved cases
55%
Career Allowance Rate
157 granted / 284 resolved
-2.7% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
315
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
95.4%
+55.4% vs TC avg
§102
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 284 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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/16/2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 2/16/2026 for the new amendments, with respect to the combination of prior arts have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of the claims using the combination of previous prior arts has been withdrawn. 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 applicant regards as his invention. Claim 1-20 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. Regarding claims 1, 8 and 15, recites the limitation “…determine whether power saving is desired; In response to determining that power savings is desired, executing an extended Antenna-Carrier Identifier (eAxC-ID) based traffic shaping method…”. The portion of the disclosure of the instant application that recites power saving is indicated below: [0087] In operation 824, a determination is made whether power savings is needed or desirable. In some embodiments, if power savings is needed or desirable, operation 826 is executed. In some embodiments, if power savings is not needed or desirable, operation 822 is executed. However, from the above paragraph: 1/ it is not clear how a determination is made of whether power saving is desired or not. The claims just mention determine if power saving is desired where it does not give a PHOSITA what determination steps or processes insure power saving is desired to know when power saving is desired. For instance, is it active monitoring; threshold implementation; traffic condition monitoring; link load condition measuring that indicates a determination that power saving is desired to mitigate power usage issue? In a current claim, determine if power saving is desired, is a mere statement without indicating in the disclosure how that determination is made. Therefore, limits and bounds of the claims are indeterminate for a PHOSITA to know the scope of the claims in light of the above paragraph, hence rendering the claims indefinite. 2/ Further, for the limitation: In response to determining that power savings is desired, executing an extended Antenna-Carrier Identifier (eAxC-ID) based traffic shaping method, the disclosure does not indicate what correlation exists between power saving and eAxC-ID scheduling? From the disclosure, it is not clear how the need for power saving leads to eAxc-ID scheduling for power saving management. For instance, it is not clear from the disclosure how using eAxc-ID based scheduling indicated in the disclosure and fig. 2 that is using a specific range of eAxc-IDs for specific portion of traffic separately such as: the first portion of fronthaul traffic and the second portion of fronthaul traffic associated with respective range of eAxc-IDs helps in power saving. Therefore, it is not clear from the disclosure how the above parameters are related to know the limits and bounds of the above limitations, hence rendering the claims indefinite. Regarding claims 2, 9, and 16, The claim recites “ total number N of eAxc-IDs, the first range comprises eAxC-IDs from 1 to N/2-1; and the second range comprises eAxc-IDS from N/2 to N-1” -This range is not clear. If we assume N is an odd number, N/2 is not a whole number or integer and it is not clear how a number that is not integer can be used for indexing a count. Examiner suggests using language in line of the following: first range =1 to M; second range= M+1 to N-1, where M <N. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MESSERET F. GEBRE whose telephone number is (571)272-8272. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am-5:30PM. 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, Oscar Louie can be reached at 5712701684. 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. MESSERET F. GEBRE Primary Examiner Art Unit 2445 /MESSERET F GEBRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 27, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 30, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Aug 11, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 18, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Feb 16, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 26, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
55%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+20.2%)
3y 5m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 284 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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