Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/690,049

CELLULAR POSITIONING WITH LOCAL SENSORS USING NEURAL NETWORKS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 07, 2024
Examiner
TRAN, KHAI
Art Unit
2632
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Google LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
94%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 2m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 94% — above average
94%
Career Allow Rate
1147 granted / 1227 resolved
+31.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
1250
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.5%
-32.5% vs TC avg
§103
35.6%
-4.4% vs TC avg
§102
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§112
21.4%
-18.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1227 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 . The preliminary amendment filed on 03/07/2024 has been entered. Claims have been cancelled. Claims 1-20 are pending in this Office action Oath/Declaration The Oath or Declaration is being considered by examiner and complies with PTO requirements. Drawings The drawings were received on 03/07/2024. These drawings are reviewed and accepted by the Examiner. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDSs), submitted on 03/07/2024, 08/01/2025, are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CRR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 1-4, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al (US 2023/0421223) hereinafter Li in view of Choi et al (US 2022/0078581) hereinafter Choi. Regarding claims 1, Li discloses a computer-implemented method, in a first device, comprising: receiving reference signal information as an input to a transmit neural network of the first device (see Abstract, a neural network 220); generating, by the transmit neural network, a first output based on the reference signal information, the first output representing a reference signal (see Abstract, reference signals (CSI-RSs); controlling a radio frequency antenna interface of the first device to transmit a first RF signal representative of the first output for receipt by a second device (see 0005], [0029]); responsive to transmitting the first RF signal, receiving, at a receive neural network of the first device, an input representing one or more RF signals associated with the second device (see [0106], [0107]). Li fails explicitly disclose generating, by the receive neural network, a second output representing a position estimate of the second device based on the input to the receive neural network. Choi discloses generating, by the receive neural network, a second output representing a position estimate of the second device based on the input to the receive neural network (see Abstract, [0096]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to generate, by the receive neural network, a second output representing a position estimate of the second device based on the input to the receive neural network as taught by Choi into the teachings of Li in order to provide advantages that include improved accuracy in positioning of user equipments (UEs) (e.g., UEs in vehicles). Regarding claim 2, Li discloses wherein receiving the input representing one or more RF signals associated with the second device comprises: receiving a second RF signal from the second device representing signal measurements associated with the first RF signal (see [0005], [0052]). Regarding claim 3, Choi discloses wherein the second RF signal received from the second device further represents local sensor data generated at the second device (see [0051]). Regarding claim 4, Choi discloses wherein the position estimate indicates a location of the second device and an orientation of the second device (see [0044], [0068], [0074], [0085]). Claim 20 is similar to claim 1. Therefore; claim 20 is rejected under a similar rationale. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al (US 2023/0421223) hereinafter Li. Regarding claim 14, Li discloses computer-implemented method, in a first device, comprising: receiving, at a radio frequency antenna interface of the first device, a first RF signal from a second device, the first RF signal representative of a reference signal (see Abstract, a neural network 220, [0005]); providing a representation of the first RF signal as a first input to a receive neural network of the first device (see [0106], [0107]) ; and generating, by the receive neural network, a first output representing a measurement report at the first device based on the first input to the receive neural network (see [0005], [0052]). Regarding claim 15, Li discloses receiving as an input, at a transmit neural network of the first device, the first output from the receive neural network (see [0005]); generating, by the transmit neural network, a second output representing the measurement report (see Abstract, [0023], [0052]); and controlling the RF antenna interface of the first device to transmit a second RF signal representative of the second output for receipt by the second device(see 0005], [0029]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-13, 16-19 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. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tokgoz et al (US 2022/0286215) disclose a neural network-based spatial inter-cell interference learning Ratnam et al (US 2021/0360456) disclose a method and apparatus for base station audit correction in wireless communication networks. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHAI TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3019. The examiner can normally be reached until 4:00PM. 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, Chieh Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. 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. /KHAI TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 KT February 2, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 07, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Apr 07, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 07, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587257
BEAM MANAGEMENT IN CELLULAR SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
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
94%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+0.2%)
2y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1227 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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