Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/502,272

SPATIAL MULTIPLEXING AT REFLECTING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 06, 2023
Examiner
HUANG, WEIBIN
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allow Rate
573 granted / 646 resolved
+30.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
44 currently pending
Career history
690
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.0%
-32.0% vs TC avg
§103
40.6%
+0.6% vs TC avg
§102
24.8%
-15.2% vs TC avg
§112
12.2%
-27.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 646 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. Claim Status This office action is in response to the communication(s) filed on 01/28/2026 . Claim(s) 1-11, 17-25, and 31-40 is/ are currently presenting for examination. Claim(s) 1, 17, and 34 is/ are independent claim(s). Claim(s) 1, 10, 11, 17, 25, 33-34 is/ are rejected. Claim(s) 2-9, 18-24, 31-32, and 35-40 is/ are objected to. This action has been made NON-FINAL. 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. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 . This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1, 10, 11, 17, 25, 33-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20240171239_A1_Wang in view of US_20230171624_A1_Iwabuchi . Regarding claim 1 , Wang discloses a n apparatus for wireless communication at a reflecting device (Wang figures 3, 5, phase-changing device) , comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the reflecting device to (Wang figures 3, 5, phase-changing device) : receive the first signal and the second signal (Wang figure 5, narrow-beam wireless signal s 512- 518 ) ; and reflect the first signal and the second signal to output a spatially multiplexed reflected signal using the multi-peak reflection beam (Wang figure 5, reflected wireless signal 522 -528 ) . Iwabuchi discloses generate a multi-peak reflection beam that spatially multiplexes a first reflected signal of a first signal and a second reflected signal of a second signal (Iwabuchi figure 4, paragraph 4 “ …the number of spatial multiplexes is limited to one (or two by polarization multiplexing)…”). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Iwabuchi ’s spatial multiplexes in Wang ’s system to drastically increase data throughput . This method for improving the system of A was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Iwabuchi . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang and Iwabuchi to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1 . Regarding claim 1 0 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the apparatus of claim 1, and Wang further discloses wherein the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal include more than one layer per polarization (Wang paragraphs 15, 24, 41, 51, polarization). Regarding claim 1 1 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the apparatus of claim 1, and Wang further discloses wherein the reflecting device is a reconfigurable intelligent (Wang figures 3-4, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)). Regarding claim 1 7 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 1. Regarding claim 25 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 10. Regarding claim 33 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 11. Regarding claim 34 , Wang and Iwabuchi disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 1. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-9, 18-24, 31-32, and 35-40 is/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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT WEIBIN HUANG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3695 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 9:30AM - 6:00PM . 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 Sujoy Kundu can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (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. /W.H/ Examiner, Art Unit 2471 /SUJOY K KUNDU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 06, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 04, 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
89%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+5.8%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 646 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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