Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/513,274

MEASURING ATMOSPHERIC GREENHOUSE GAS CONCENTRATIONS USING TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 17, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
Art Unit
2649
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
T-Mobile Innovations LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
1379 granted / 1526 resolved
+28.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
11 currently pending
Career history
1542
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
77.4%
+37.4% vs TC avg
§102
6.4%
-33.6% vs TC avg
§112
5.5%
-34.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1526 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . DETAILED ACTION Election/Restrictions 1. Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1, claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 03/16/2026 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC §103 2. 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. 3. Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pradeep (U.S PAT. 11,424,843) in view of Muta et al. (U.S PAT. 7,365,352, hereinafter “Muta”). Consider claim 1, Pradeep teaches a system comprising: a target site comprising one or more processors and one or more computer storage hardware devices storing computer-usable instructions, that, when used by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a signal transmitted from a base station, the signal having a predetermined signal strength (col. 3, lines 42-62, i.e., a cellular base station transceiver 111 monitors signal strengths), wherein the signal comprises a plurality of protocol data units encoded according to a cellular telecom protocol (Figs. 2-3, col. 5, lines 16-29 and 49-61); monitor changes in a detected signal strength from the predetermined signal strength of the signal (col. 5, lines 49-61, i.e., tracking signal strengths for devices connected to a cellular base station); determine changes in a gas concentration based on the monitored changes in the detected signal strength, wherein each unit of a change in the detected signal strength from an expected signal strength corresponds to a predetermined change in the gas concentration (col. 4, lines 17-27). Pradeep does not explicitly show that upon determining changes in the gas concentration, providing near real-time access to the changes in the gas concentration though an application programming interface (API). In the same field of endeavor, Muta teaches upon determining changes in the gas concentration, providing near real-time access to the changes in the gas concentration though an application programming interface (API) (col. 12 lines 36-49). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to use, upon determining changes in the gas concentration, providing near real-time access to the changes in the gas concentration though an application programming interface (API), as taught by Muta, in order to provide a gas flux measuring device that is appropriate for regional measurements of forest or the like, has no influence of concomitants, has a high responsiveness and is excellent in measuring stability. Consider claim 2, Pradeep further teaches wherein the gas concentration is a concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, or airborne particulates (col. 11, lines 40-51 i.e., smoke, gas leak emissions effecting signal attenuation). Consider claim 3, Pradeep further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to calibrate the predetermined changes in the gas concentration based on controlled gas concentrations or reference data sets (col. 10, line 65 through col. 11, line 13, i.e., match signal attenuation data against known causal factors). Consider claim 4, Pradeep further teaches wherein the target site is integrated into existing infrastructure, such as cellular towers, buildings, or transportation systems (col. 3, lines 11-23, i.e., the cellular base station transceiver 111 is a cellular-enabled mobile device site where antennas and electronic communications equipment connect multiple devices to a base station network). Consider claim 5, Pradeep further teaches to store historical data regarding gas concentrations and signal strength changes (col. 12, lines 46-61). Consider claim 6, Pradeep further teaches alert systems configured to notify a user of an increase in gas concentration (col. 13, lines 28-40). Consider claim 7, Muta further teaches a user interface to provide real-time visualization of the concentration of the greenhouse gas (col. 23, lines 6-15). Consider claim 8, the subject-matter of independent claim 8 relates to a method for detecting atmospheric greenhouse gasses utilizing a cellular network with features fully corresponding to the characteristics of claim 1. Therefore, the same argumentation presented in relation to claim 1 is, mutatis mutandis, of application to claim 8. Consider claim 9, the previous rejections of claim 3 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 9. Consider claim 10, the previous rejections of claim 7 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 10. Consider claim 11, Pradeep further teaches wherein the greenhouse gas comprise carbon dioxide (col. 11, lines 40-51). Consider claim 12, Pradeep further teaches determining a change in concentration of particulate matter based on the change in signal strength (col. 12, lines 46-61). Consider claim 13, the previous rejections of claim 6 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 13. Consider claim 14, Pradeep further teaches wherein the alert systems further comprise alerts or notifications to individuals or entities in a vicinity of the target, wherein the alerts or notifications are generated when the concentration of the greenhouse gas exceeds predetermined threshold levels (col. 13, lines 28-40). Conclusion 4. Any response to this action should be mailed to: Mail Stop_________ (Explanation, e.g., Amendment or After-final, etc.) Commissioner for Patents P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 Facsimile responses should be faxed to: (571) 273-8300 Hand-delivered responses should be brought to: Customer Service Window Randolph Building 401 Dulany Street Alexandria, VA 22313 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tuan H. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-8329. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00Am - 5:00Pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pan Yuwen can be reached on (571) 272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /TUAN H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2649
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 17, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 23, 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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+4.1%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1526 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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