Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/543,197

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Dec 18, 2023
Priority
Jun 23, 2021 — CN 202110700113.2 +1 more
Examiner
PARK, JEONG S
Art Unit
2454
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
611 granted / 760 resolved
+22.4% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
796
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
77.3%
+37.3% vs TC avg
§102
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§112
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 760 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION This communication is in response to Application No. 18/543,197 filed on 12/18/2023. Claims 1-18 have been examined. 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/3/2024, 11/18/2024, 1/6/2025, and 2/12/2025 is being considered by the examiner. Specification The specification is objected to because: The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. 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, 3, 5-6, 10, 12, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Amicangioli et al. (hereinafter Amicangioli)(US 2022/0045790). Regarding claims 1 and 10, Amicangioli teaches as follows: A communication apparatus (interpreted as the receive node 420-1 in figure 4), comprising at least one processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store non-transitory instructions (the receive node comprises a processor and a memory, see, ¶ [0112]), and the at least one processor is configured to execute the non-transitory instructions thereby causing the communication apparatus to: determine that content (interpreted as the data payload) of a to-be-sent second data packet is the same as content of a first data packet (if, at determination block 706, the sequence number of the frame is determined to be an incremented sequence number (e.g., determination block 706==NO), the receive node 420-1 processor can determine that the frame received at block 702 is a repeat frame that encapsulates the same data payload as the most recent original frame at block 720 and thus continue to determination block 722, see, ¶ [0113] and figure 7), wherein the second data packet (interpreted as F0’(seq_1) in figure 4) follows the first data packet (interpreted as F0(seq_0) in figure 4)(a transmit node 410-1 transmits a data payload in an original data frame to a receive node 420-1 and then repeatedly transmits the same data payload in one or more repeat frames without waiting for any acknowledgement (e.g., ACK or NACK) of the original frame from the receive node 420-1, see, ¶ [0089] and figure 4); and send repetition indication information (interpreted as the repeat indicator or sequence number), wherein the repetition indication information is useable to indicate that the second data packet repeats a previous data packet (it can be useful to identify an original frame and its repeat frames by modifying the frames to include a repeat indicator, such as a sequence number or a Boolean value. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, an incrementing sequence number can be included in the frames to distinguish an original frame from its repeat frames, see, ¶ [0091])(therefore, the repeat indicator was sent within the second data packet). Regarding claims 3, 5, 12, and 14, Amicangioli teaches as follows: Detecting a first field (interpreted as the payload) in the second data packet, the first field being useable to carry first data; and determining that a first value (interpreted as series of bits represented by the payload) of the first field is the same as a second value of a second field in the first data packet, the second field being useable to carry second data (a transmit node 410-1 transmits a data payload in an original data frame to a receive node 420-1 and then repeatedly transmits the same data payload in one or more repeat frames without waiting for any acknowledgement (e.g., ACK or NACK) of the original frame from the receive node 420-1, see, ¶ [0089] and figure 4). Regarding claims 6 and 15, Amicangioli teaches as follows: A communication method, comprising: Receiving a first data packet receive repetition indication information (at block 704, the receive node 420-1 processor can read the sequence number from the frame. The sequence number (e.g., 502) can be inserted at any suitable location within the frame (e.g., a frame header or a packet header), see, ¶ [0110] and figure 7); and generate a second data packet based on the repetition indication information (it can be useful to identify an original frame and its repeat frames by modifying the frames to include a repeat indicator, such as a sequence number or a Boolean value. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, an incrementing sequence number can be included in the frames to distinguish an original frame from its repeat frames, see, ¶ [0091]), wherein first content of the second data packet is the same as second content of the first data packet (if, at determination block 706, the sequence number of the frame is determined to be an incremented sequence number (e.g., determination block 706==NO), the receive node 420-1 processor can determine that the frame received at block 702 is a repeat frame that encapsulates the same data payload as the most recent original frame at block 720 and thus continue to determination block 722, see, ¶ [0113] and figure 7). 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 2, 7-8, 11, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amicangioli et al. (hereinafter Amicangioli)(US 2022/0045790) in view of You et al. (hereinafter You)(US 2012/0002683). Regarding claims 2, 7-8, 11, and 16-17, Amicangioli teaches transmitting the repeat indicator or sequence number as presented above except for the well-known compression. You teaches as follows: The frame generating unit 650 generates a frame including the compressed header, which is obtained by omitting the repeated items from the header information, the specific preambles, and the payload, and transmits the frame to the receiver (see, ¶ [0088] and figure 6). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Amicangioli with You to include generating the compressed frame header in order to efficiently reduce amount of retransmission (repetition) traffic. Claims 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amicangioli et al. (hereinafter Amicangioli)(US 2022/0045790) in view of Sato et al. (hereinafter Sato)(US 2011/0320901). Regarding claims 4 and 13, Amicangioli teaches all limitations as presented above except for the well-known exclusive OR (XOR). Sato teaches as follows The error data comparing unit 32 compares the packet retransmitted based on the error with the packet retained by the error data retaining unit 31 and outputs, as a result of this comparison, information indicating which bit the error corresponds to. For example, the error data comparing unit 32 takes an exclusive OR of the bits of these two packets in sequence, and outputs "false=0" if bits of the two packet are coincident with each other and "true=1" whereas not coincident. Namely, the error bit is indicated depending on which bit becomes "1" (see, ¶ [0045]). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Amicangioli with Sato to include the well-known exclusive OR (XOR) operation as taught by Sato in order to efficiently determine the content of second packet is the same as the first packet by comparing series of bits in the payload in two packets. Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amicangioli et al. (hereinafter Amicangioli)(US 2022/0045790). Regarding claims 9 and 18, Amicangioli teaches as follows: A transmit node 410-1 transmits a data payload in an original data frame to a receive node 420-1 and then repeatedly transmits the same data payload in one or more repeat frames without waiting for any acknowledgement (e.g., ACK or NACK) of the original frame from the receive node 420-1 (see, ¶ [0089] and figure 4); and the sequence number processor can send a positive acknowledgment (e.g., ACK) upon successful receipt of the packet or, conversely, a negative acknowledgement (e.g., NACK) when the packet is not received (see, ¶ [0159]). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Amicangioli to include the present range of time before retransmitting the same packet after receiving the NACK in order to efficiently prevent sending multiple retransmission. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jeong S Park whose telephone number is (571)270-1597. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:00-4:30 ET. 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, Glenton B Burgess can be reached at 571-272-3949. 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. /JEONG S PARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454 December 10, 2025
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 18, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Mar 17, 2026
Response Filed
May 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+21.1%)
2y 11m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 760 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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