Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/521,472

METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS EQUALIZATION, FRACTIONAL DELAY AND FILTERING FOR COHERENT COMBINING OF DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SIGNALS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Nov 28, 2023
Examiner
BAYARD, EMMANUEL
Art Unit
2633
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Fairwinds Technologies LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
979 granted / 1091 resolved
+27.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
1109
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
§103
37.6%
-2.4% vs TC avg
§102
24.8%
-15.2% vs TC avg
§112
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1091 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 . This is in response to amendment, filed on 12/23/2025, in which claims 1-45 are pending. The applicant’s amendments have been fully considered but they are moot based on the new ground of rejection. Hence this case is made final. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 13, Applicant is suggested to replace “a digital filter” with --- the digital filter---. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 2-3, Applicant is suggested to replace “a time domain impulse response of the frequency domain compensation amplitudes” with --- the time domain impulse response of frequency domain compensation amplitudes--- in order to avoid lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 31 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1, Applicant is suggested to replace “The system of claim 27” with --- The system of claim 28--- in order to avoid lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claims 1-45 are 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. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the signal-to-noise ratio" in line 17. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 24 recites the limitation "the signal-to-noise ratio" in lines 15-16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 24 recites the limitation " the first set of coefficients" in lines 15-16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-23 and 25-45 are also rejected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 7876835 B2 or US 20100074348 A1. 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 EMMANUEL BAYARD whose telephone number is (571)272-3016. The examiner can normally be reached 6-9. 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, Ahn K Sam can be reached at 571-272-3044. 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. /EMMANUEL BAYARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 28, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Dec 23, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 23, 2026
Final Rejection — §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
90%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+5.5%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1091 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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