DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 01/23/2026 has been entered and considered by Examiner. Claims 1-13, 24-29, and 31-41 are presented for examination.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant elected without traverse to prosecute claims associated with Group I related to Claims 1-13, 24-29, and 31-41 is acknowledge by the Primary Examiner. Accordingly, all claims pertain to the elected group will be prosecuted. The restriction is made Final.
Claim Analysis - 35 USC § 112
Claim limitation “means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a message…; means for receiving, from the UE, one or more pre-equalized data transmissions…; means for decoding the one or more pre-equalized data transmissions…; means for performing the log-likelihood ratio scaling.” has/have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use a generic placeholder “means for receiving, another means for receiving , means for decoding, means for performing” coupled with functional language “receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a message…; receiving, from the UE, one or more pre-equalized data transmissions…; decoding the one or more pre-equalized data transmissions…; performing the log-likelihood ratio scaling.” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. “means for receiving, another means for receiving , means for decoding, means for performing” show no structural modifier in the claim.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) has/have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that there appears to be no corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 36-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The original filed specification nor the drawing fails to clearly define or describe in detail of the “means for receiving, another means for receiving, means for decoding, means for performing” of claims 36-40. Applicant's original filed specification fails to provide sufficient description in such a way as to enable one of ordinary skilled in the art to make and/or use of the claimed invention. For the purpose of this examination “means for receiving, another means for receiving, means for decoding, means for performing” will be any arbitrary hardware(s) or software(s) performing identical functions.
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 36-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which Applicant regards as the invention. For claims 36-40, the filed specification fails to explicitly state and define the specific structural content(s) required to perform the functions of the claimed generic placeholder, such as: “means for receiving, another means for receiving, means for decoding, means for performing”. For example: It’s not clear whether first means for receiving is the same as another means for receiving.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13,24-29,31-35 and 41 are allowed.
Inquiries
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to PAKEE FANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3633. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Armouche, Hadi can be reached on 571-270-3618. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAKEE FANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
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