Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/612,502

Sensing Device Registration Method

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 21, 2024
Examiner
NGUYEN, TU X
Art Unit
2642
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
763 granted / 899 resolved
+22.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
924
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
47.1%
+7.1% vs TC avg
§102
42.3%
+2.3% vs TC avg
§112
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 899 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-3, 8-10, 12-13, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Srikanteswara (CN 107409310). Regarding claim 1, Srikanteswara discloses a sensing device registration method, comprising: receiving, by a sensing function (SF) (page 9 “special sensor 502 is a device to sense as the main device function”), first sensing device registration information sent by a first device, the first sensing device registration information being used for performing sensing device registration on a first sensing device, and the first sensing device comprising at least one of a sensing user equipment (UE) (page 4 “In addition……….. a repository management component 102 is further configured to obtain user information or user mapping registered. user mapping comprising similar to using the sensed information mapping, such as the location, time and/or date, the confidence level, energy level, there is equipment, energy mode and so on”, page 9 “mobile device 502 such as a UE can…….generate sensing information”) or a sensing radio access network (RAN) (page 5 “position or field entry…………user mapping may automatically generating from the operator such as by the base station”); and performing, by the SF according to the first sensing device registration information, sensing device registration on the first sensing device (page 9 “special sensor 503 is a device to sense as the main device function. the special sensor 503 is part of a special sensor network. special sensor 503 may also be triggered sensing by the network owner (MNO) such as by sensing coordinator 322 to initiate”). Regarding claim 2, Srikanteswara discloses receiving, by the SF, sensing service information; determining, by the SF according to the sensing service information, that the first sensing device is a sensing device participating in a sensing service indicated by the sensing service information; and sending, by the SF, first sensing configuration information to the first device, the first sensing configuration information (page 4 “In addition……. In addition, a repository management component 102 is configured to…. sense available spectrum and/or sensing using the available frequency ……. information sensing information is collected and used for generating sensing mapping, comprising such as location, coordinates, time and/or date, the confidence level, energy level, there is equipment, energy mode and the like. …….. a repository management component 102 is further configured to obtain user information or user mapping registered. user mapping comprising similar to using the sensed information mapping, such as the location, time and/or date, the confidence level, energy level, there is equipment, energy mode and so on”) being sensing configuration information of the first sensing device (page 4 “In addition………….. to obtain user information or user mapping registered”). Regarding claim 3, Srikanteswara discloses the first device is any one of the following: the sensing UE (page 9 “mobile device 502 such as a UE can…….generate sensing information”), the sensing RAN, and an access and mobility management function (AMF) (consideration is optional). Regarding claim 8, Srikanteswara discloses the first sensing device registration information comprises at least one of the following: location information of the sensing UE (page 4 “In addition…..sensing information is……..mapping resistered……such as locatin”); an identifier of the sensing UE; a sensing capability of the sensing UE; an identifier of the sensing RAN; a sensing capability of the sensing RAN; or location information of the sensing RAN (consideration is optional). Regarding claim 9, Srikanteswara discloses everything as claim 1 above. More specifically, Srikanteswara discloses the sensing UE has a sensing capability (page 9 “Method 600 starting from 602, the 602 generating a request……..The request may be generated by……UE and the like……..geographic location…….collecting the sensing information from one or more……..the UE and the eNodeB has sensing capability”). Regarding claim 10, Srikanteswara discloses the sending, by a sensing UE, sensing capability indication information of the sensing UE to a sensing RAN, comprises: sending, by the sensing UE, a registration request message to the sensing RAN, the registration request message comprising sensing capability indication information of the sensing UE (page 9 “Method 600 starting from 602, the 602 generating a request……..The request may be generated by……UE and the like……..geographic location…….collecting the sensing information from one or more……..the UE and the eNodeB has sensing capability”). Regarding claim 12, Srikanteswara discloses sending, by the sensing UE, sensing request indication information to the sensing RAN (page 5 “the frequency spectrum controller 104……may use other suitable medium for communication”), the sensing request indication information being used for requesting to use the sensing capability which the sensing UE has (page 9 “Method 600 starting from 602, the 602 generating a request……..The request may be generated by……UE and the like……..geographic location…….collecting the sensing information from one or more……..the UE and the eNodeB has sensing capability”). Regarding claim 13, Srikanteswara discloses receiving, by the sensing UE, sensing configuration information of the sensing UE from the sensing RAN; executing, by the sensing UE according to the sensing configuration information of the sensing UE, first sensing measurement (page 7 “the other type is to be executed some measurintg point in the sensing area of the sensing…….square yard”) to obtain a first sensing measurement result; and reporting, by the sensing UE, the first sensing measurement result (page 5 “position or field……generating from the operator….the UE reports”). Regarding claim 16, Srikanteswara discloses a sensing device registration method, comprising: sending, by a sensing radio access network (RAN) (page 5 “position or field entry…………user mapping may automatically generating from the operator such as by the base station”), first sensing device registration information to a sensing function (SF) (page 9 “special sensor 502 is a device to sense as the main device function”), the first sensing device registration information being used for performing sensing device registration on a first sensing device, and the first sensing device comprising at least one of a sensing user equipment (UE) or the sensing RAN (page 4 “In addition……….. a repository management component 102 is further configured to obtain user information or user mapping registered. user mapping comprising similar to using the sensed information mapping, such as the location, time and/or date, the confidence level, energy level, there is equipment, energy mode and so on”, page 9 “mobile device 502 such as a UE can…….generate sensing information”, page 9 “Method 600 starting from 602, the 602 generating a request……..The request may be generated by……UE and the like……..geographic location…….collecting the sensing information from one or more……..the UE and the eNodeB has sensing capability”). 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. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srikanteswara (CN 107409310) in view of Wu (US Pub. 2022/0304081, IDS dated 3/21/24). Regarding claim 11, Srikanteswara discloses information indicating that the sensing UE is permitted to perform a sensing service (page 5 “based at least………… a rule mapping, sensing the mapping and a user mapping, the spectrum controller 104 permit …….. the request. …….controller 104 is permitted, to a requester ……… the storage library management component 102 provides the information update”). Wu discloses a response to agrees to provide a sensing device (par.055). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the system of Srikanteswara with the above teaching of Wu in order to provide a responsive as an acceptance permission for sensing request. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-7, 14-15 and 17-20 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Tu Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-7883. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-5PM Eastern Time. 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 Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached on 571-272-7915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300 or mailed to: Commissioner for Patents P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 Hand-delivered responses should be brought to Customer Service Window Randolph Building 401 Delany Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TU X NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 21, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+6.6%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 899 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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