Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/531,022

INSERTION OF TRAPS FOR IMPROVED ATTACK DETECTION IN ROUND TRIP TIMING ESTIMATION

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Dec 06, 2023
Priority
Apr 25, 2023 — provisional 63/498,058 +1 more
Examiner
ACOLATSE, KODZOVI
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Infineon Technologies AG
OA Round
2 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
783 granted / 935 resolved
+25.7% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
50 currently pending
Career history
989
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.5%
-34.5% vs TC avg
§103
54.9%
+14.9% vs TC avg
§102
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
§112
9.1%
-30.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 935 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Claims 1-20 are pending in this office action. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-8, 13-16, 19 and 20 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. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amendment filed 05/19/2026 have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-4, 9-12, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Guthrie et al (US 2020/0119462 A1). Regarding claim 1, Guthrie teaches a wireless device comprising: a transmitter; and logic at least one of coupled to or integrated within the transmitter, the logic to: generate, based on a portion of a packet to be transmitted during a round-trip timing estimation of an enclosure having a receiver, a frequency domain artifact (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation); and cause a frequency of samples of bit patterns of the portion of the packet to be modified based on the artifact before the transmitter transmits the packet to the receiver (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation; [0381]-[0382] cryptographically random length tones/frequency domain). Regarding claim 9, Guthrie teaches a method comprising: generating, by logic of a transmitter and based on a portion of a packet to be transmitted during a round-trip timing estimation of an enclosure having a receiver, a frequency domain artifact (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation); and causing a frequency of samples of bit patterns of the portion of the packet to be modified based on the artifact before the transmitter transmits the packet to the receiver (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation; [0381]-[0382] cryptographically random length tones/frequency domain). Regarding claim 17, Guthrie teaches a system comprising: an antenna; a transmission device that is to transmit a packet; a receiving device to receive the pattern; and logic at least one of coupled to or integrated with the transmission device, the logic to: generate, based on a portion of a packet to be transmitted during a round-trip timing estimation of an enclosure having a receiver, a frequency domain artifact (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation); and cause a frequency of samples of bit patterns of the portion of the packet to be modified based on the artifact before the transmitter transmits the packet to the receiver (Guthrie: Figs. 49-50; [0340]-[0343], [0348]-[0349] generate a cryptographically random variation/artifact in a packet transmitted during RTT estimation; [0381]-[0382] cryptographically random length tones/frequency domain). Regarding claims 2, 10 and 18, Guthrie teaches wherein to generate the frequency domain artifact, the logic is to: identify one or more bit patterns within the portion of the packet; and modify one or more bit waveforms of the one or more identified bit patterns (Guthrie [0322], [0403]). Regarding claims 4 and 12, Guthrie teaches wherein to modify the one or more bit waveforms, the logic is to: modify a portion of the one or more bit waveforms in a time domain associated with the portion of the packet (Guthrie: Figs. 57-59; [0381]-[0382] cryptographically random length tones). 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. Claims 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guthrie et al (US 2020/0119462 A1) in view of Yu (US 2004/0028227 A1). Regarding claims 3 and 11, Guthrie does not explicitly disclose but Yu teaches wherein to identify the one or more bit patterns, the logic is further to: randomly perform a Boolean operation on the one or more bit patterns to change a value of a portion of a bit waveform of the one or more bit patterns (Yu: [0037], [0063], [0065]-[0066] XOR/Boolean operation). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Guthrie wherein to identify the one or more bit patterns, the logic is further to: randomly perform a Boolean operation on the one or more bit patterns to change a value of a portion of a bit waveform of the one or more bit patterns as disclosed by Yu to provide a system for partial encryption of streamed-formatted media (Yu: Abstract). Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 KODZOVI ACOLATSE whose telephone number is (571)270-1999. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 10 am to 6pm. 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, Avellino Joseph can be reached at (571) 272-3905. 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. /KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 06, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Apr 06, 2026
Interview Requested
Apr 16, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 16, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
May 19, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 09, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Aug 10, 2026
Interview Requested

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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+21.1%)
2y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 935 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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