Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/696,447

SELF-HEALING METHOD FOR FRONTHAUL COMMUNICATION FAILURES IN CASCADED CELL-FREE NETWORKS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Mar 28, 2024
Priority
Sep 30, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTIB2021059016
Examiner
HUYNH, KHOA B
Art Unit
2462
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
OA Round
2 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
562 granted / 701 resolved
+22.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
712
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
§103
46.5%
+6.5% vs TC avg
§102
17.6%
-22.4% vs TC avg
§112
18.0%
-22.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 701 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 . This Office Action is in response to the Applicants' amendment received on 06/12/2026. Claim Status Claims 1-14, 17-18, 21-22 are currently presenting for examination. This action has been made FINAL. Response to Arguments Applicants' arguments filed 06/12/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed 03/31/2026 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because of the following reasons: The listing of Non-Patent Literature Document #4 in the IDS states “119 pages”, however the document contains only 60 pages. It has been placed in the application file, but part of the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a). 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 applicant regards as his invention. Claim 2 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 2 is indefinite because there is insufficient antecedent basis for the following limitation: “the fronthaul UP” (claim 2) Claim 2 is also indefinite because the term “fronthaul UP” is unclear. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1, 3-14, 17-18, 21-22 are allowed. Claim 2 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHOA B HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)270-7185. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 1:00 PM - 9:35 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, Yemane Mesfin can be reached at (571) 272-3927. 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. /KHOA HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 28, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jun 12, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 31, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Sep 08, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750770
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING NETWORK ACCESS TO DEVICES IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744654
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENDING PHYSICAL LAYER PROTOCOL DATA UNIT
2y 8m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745182
WIRELESS DEVICE OVERHEATING PROTECTION AND EXCESSIVE ENERGY CONSUMPTION PREVENTION/MITIGATION
2y 6m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12733000
CONGESTION CONTROL BASED INTER-GNB CARRIER AGGREGATION
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12732789
METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM
3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+9.8%)
2y 11m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 701 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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