Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/538,288

APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR SPLITTING AND COMBINING SIGNALS IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 13, 2023
Examiner
GLENN, KIMBERLY E
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
949 granted / 1057 resolved
+21.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1095
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
24.6%
-15.4% vs TC avg
§102
38.0%
-2.0% vs TC avg
§112
30.9%
-9.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1057 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. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 1-15 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 frequency domain” in lines 12 and 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 3 recites the limitation “ the operational frequency band ” in lines 1 2 and 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim s 5 and 6 recites the limitation “the cross-sectional shape ” in lines 2 and 4 of claim 5 and line 2 of claim 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim . Claim 8 recites the limitation “ the RF performance ” in lines 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Beis EP 085 4532 A2 titled “ Frequency diplexer” . Bunin RU23613351 C1 titled “Diplexer”. Milroy et al US Patent 10,707,550 titled “ High Q dispersion compensated parallel plate diplexer” Schuegraf DE 2912650 A titled “Adjustable microwave frequency band separator has capacitors narrowing bandwidth in blocking waveguide junction with H bend. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT KIMBERLY E GLENN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1761 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM . 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 Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-5918 . 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. December 17, 2025 /K. E.G / Examiner, Art Unit 2843 /ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 13, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603407
COMPACT FEED SYSTEM WITH DEVELOPABLE WAVEGUIDE H-PLANE DIRECTIONAL COUPLER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597904
SINGLE ANTENNA INDUCTOR TO MATCH ALL BANDS IN A FRONT-END MODULE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597689
SUPERCONDUCTING MICROWAVE FILTERS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592466
DEFORMABLE CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR FABRICATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12580544
PHASE NOISE REDUCTION IN A VARIABLE ANALOGUE RF RESONATOR WITH SWITCHED CAPACITORS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.4%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1057 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month