Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/707,108

ENERGY HARVESTING PARAMETERS

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
May 02, 2024
Priority
Jan 07, 2022 — GR 20220100008 +1 more
Examiner
SLATER, ALISON T
Art Unit
2647
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
249 granted / 345 resolved
+10.2% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+24.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
8 currently pending
Career history
348
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
82.3%
+42.3% vs TC avg
§102
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
§112
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 345 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
CTNF 18/707,108 CTNF 91687 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 05/02/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. Claims 12-31 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Taking claim 12 as exemplary, it is unclear whether the limitation “based at least in part on historical information that is associated with a timing for the first device between requesting and receiving energy” applies to the third alternative option only, or whether it should be interpreted as applying to all three alternative options. For the purpose of examination, it is interpreted as only applying to the third alternative option. If applicant intends it to apply to all three options, applicant should amend, for example: …one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to: receive, from a first device, a request for energy from the second device; and perform , based at least in part on historical information that is associated with a timing for the first device between requesting and receiving energy, one of: charging the first device, refraining from charging the first device, or charging a third device. Additionally, claims 27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claim 26 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a second device to perform certain operations. However, dependent claims 27 and 29 each appear to further recite method acts directly, rather than reciting additional stored instructions of the medium. As written, the scope of these claims is unclear because it is not reasonably certain whether the claims are directed to the computer-readable medium itself or to method steps performed by the second device. Claim 27 Claim 27 recites: “The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, comprising receiving the historical information from the first device .” This language is indefinite because the claim is directed to a computer-readable medium, yet the limitation “comprising receiving” reads as a method step rather than as a recitation of instructions stored on the medium. Accordingly, it is unclear what structural or functional limitation is being added to the claimed medium. Examiner suggests amending, for example, “the medium stores additional instructions that, when executed, cause the second device to receive the historical information from the first device.” Claim 29 Claim 29 recites: “The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, comprising charging the first device if the average duration for the first device is greater than an average duration for the third device, or charge the third device if the average duration for the third device is greater than the average duration for the first device .” This language is indefinite for the same reason as claim 27. The claim is directed to a computer-readable medium, but the limitation is written as an operative method step rather than as a recitation of instructions stored on the medium. Thus, it is unclear whether the claim is intended to cover the medium itself or a method performed using the medium. In addition, the phrase “comprising charging … or charge …” lacks consistent parallel structure, further obscuring the scope of the claim. Examiner suggests, for example, “the medium stores additional instructions that, when executed, cause the second device to charge the first device if the average duration for the first device is greater than an average duration for the third device, or to charge the third device if the average duration for the third device is greater than the average duration for the first device.” Additionally, independent claims 12, 19 and 26 are indefinite because the limitation “charging a third device based at least in part on historical information that is associated with a timing for the first device between requesting and receiving energy” is indefinite because “a timing” does not clearly specify whether it refers to a duration, elapsed time, timestamp, interval, or latency. A “historical information indicative of a time interval between the first device requesting energy and receiving energy” implies the first and second device have a history, however, it is unclear what happens if this is the first request and there is no historical information. Is the time it takes to begin receiving energy or the amount of time the first device has remaining without receiving energy? Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-27-aia AIA Claim(s) 12, 14, 19, 21, 26 and 2 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(2 ) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Hong , US 20250096611 A1, hereinafter Hong . Regarding claims 12, 14, 19, 21, 26 and 28 , Hong discloses a second device for wireless communication (a communication device; [0007]), a method (Abstract) and a non-transitory computer-readable medium (computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes steps in the method for sending the request according to any of the above embodiments to be implemented; [0127]) , comprising: a memory one or more memories (a memory; [0007]) ; and one or more processors (a processor; [0007]) , coupled to the memory one or more memories , configured to: receive, from a first device, a request for energy from the second device ([0119] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a device for receiving a request according to embodiments of the present disclosure. ) ; and perform one of charging the first device (Fig. 1 and [0122] In an embodiment, the radio charging configuration is carried in at least one of: a radio access control reconfiguration signaling, a radio access control setup signaling, a radio access control reestablishment signaling, or a radio access control resume signaling.) , refraining from charging the first device ([0112] The charging determination module 601 is configured to determine, based on a state of the base station and/or the radio charging assistance information, at least one of: whether to wirelessly charge the terminal; or a radio charging configuration for wirelessly charging the terminal.) , or charging a third device based at least in part on historical information that is associated with a timing for the first device between requesting and receiving energy ([0115] In an embodiment, the state of the base station includes the load of the base station [i.e., historical information], and the charging determination module is configured to: determine available resources based on the load of the base station; and determine a resource for wirelessly charging the terminal among the available resources.) . Regarding claims 14, 21 and 28 , Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 12, 19 and 26, as discussed above. Hong also discloses wherein the historical information includes an average duration for the first device between requesting and receiving energy (Claim 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the charging direction information is determined based on at least one of: a position of the terminal relative to the base station, absolute positions of the terminal and the base station, or a beam for a communication between the terminal and the base station; the radio charging capability comprises at least one of: a radio charging power, a radio charging frequency domain resource, or a radio charging time domain resource; the spatial state information comprises at least one of: a speed of movement, a direction of movement, or a position; and the radio charging state comprises at least one of: a current remaining electricity, a required charging electricity, or a required charging duration.) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 13, 20 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong , further in view of Farhadi , US 2024/0283297 A1, hereinafter Farhadi . Regarding claims 13, 20 and 27, Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 12, 19, and 26, respectively, as discussed above. Hong doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the historical information from the first device. However, in a similar field of endeavor, Farhadi suggests wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the historical information from the first device ([0050] According to a further example, the first network node 110 [i.e., first device] may determine energy harvesting estimates for the first wireless device 121 for a certain frequency, f, by combining the background RF signal quality, signalQuality.sub.c, measured by the first wireless device 121 for each of the at least one second network node 111-113 in each respective cell, c, 116, 117, 118, with a predicted or historical DL resource utilization, traffic.sub.c, in each respective cell, c, 116, 117, 118. The energy harvesting estimates may then, for example, be determined according to Eq. 4:) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the historical DL resource utilization suggested by Farhadi with the charging device taught by Hong. The motivation would be to determine energy harvesting estimates. Farhadi at [0050] . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 15-18, 22-25, and 29-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong , further in view of Xu , US 20240259939 A1, hereinafter Xu . Regarding claims 15, 22, and 29, Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 14, 21 and 28, as discussed above. Hong does not explicitly disclose wherein the one or more processors are configured to charge the first device if the average duration for the first device is greater than an average duration for the third device, or charge the third device if the average duration for the third device is greater than the average duration for the first device. In a similar field of endeavor, Xu suggests wherein the one or more processors are configured to charge the first device if the average duration for the first device is greater than an average duration for the third device, or charge the third device if the average duration for the third device is greater than the average duration for the first device ([0129-134] [0133] In addition, the last time domain symbol of the target time domain resource 1 may be adjacent to a first symbol of the target time domain resource 2, so that the terminal can synchronize immediately based on the synchronization signal after obtaining enough power through the wireless power supply signal. Alternatively, the last time domain symbol of the target time domain resource 1 and the first symbol of the target time domain resource 2 may not be adjacent, for example, separated by several symbols therebetween, so as to reserve time for synchronization of the terminal. There is no limit made thereto in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [i.e., showing period for resource 1 greater than resource 2]) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the historical harvesting time suggested by Xu with the charging device taught by Hong . The motivation would be to avoid wasting resources. Xu at [0071-72]. Regarding claims 16, 23, and 30 , Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 12, 19 and 26, as discussed above. Hong does not explicitly disclose wherein the historical information includes a longest duration for the first device between requesting and receiving energy. In a similar field of endeavor, Xu suggests wherein the historical information includes a longest duration for the first device between requesting and receiving energy ([0078] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is no limit made to the specific manner in which the terminal obtains the harvesting time. In some cases, the harvesting time may be pre-configured in the terminal by testing before the terminal leaves a factory. In other cases, the harvesting time of the terminal may change with the working condition of the power harvesting module or with the working condition of the terminal. At this time, in order to improve the accuracy of the harvesting time, the terminal may calculate the harvesting time by itself. For example, the terminal may determine the harvesting time based on historical wireless power supply signals. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the manner in which the terminal obtains the harvesting time is not limited thereto.) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the historical harvesting time suggested by Xu with the charging device taught by Hong . The motivation would be to avoid wasting resources. Xu at [0071-72]. Regarding claims 17, 24, and 31 , Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 12, 19 and 26, as discussed above. Hong does not explicitly disclose wherein the historical information includes a most recent time when the first device received energy upon request. In a similar field of endeavor, Xu suggests wherein the historical information includes a most recent time when the first device received energy upon request ([0085] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may be pre-configured in the terminal by testing before the terminal leaves a factory. The power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may also be calculated in real time by the terminal based on histor ical data. For example, the power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may be determined by the terminal based on a ratio between a power of the histor ical wireless power supply signal arriving at the terminal and a power obtained by the terminal performing harvesting on the signal. There is no limit made to the manner in which the terminal obtains the power harvesting efficiency in the embodiments of the present disclosure.) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the historical harvesting time suggested by Xu with the charging device taught by Hong . The motivation would be to avoid wasting resources. Xu at [0071-72]. Regarding claims 18 and 25 , Hong discloses all the limitations of claims 12 and 19, as discussed above. Hong does not explicitly disclose wherein the historical information includes a median duration for the first device between requesting and receiving energy. In a similar field of endeavor, Xu suggests wherein the historical information includes a median duration for the first device between requesting and receiving energy ([0085] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may be pre-configured in the terminal by testing before the terminal leaves a factory. The power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may also be calculated in real time by the terminal based on historical data. For example, the power harvesting efficiency of the terminal may be determined by the terminal based on a ratio between a power of the historical wireless power supply signal arriving at the terminal and a power obtained by the terminal performing harvesting on the signal. There is no limit made to the manner in which the terminal obtains the power harvesting efficiency in the embodiments of the present disclosure.) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the historical harvesting time suggested by Xu with the charging device taught by Hong . The motivation would be to avoid wasting resources. Xu at [0071-72] . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Glover US 20240421636 A1 discloses “Examples of data include total time spent charging, total energy transmitted to a device, average amount of energy delivered monthly to a device, locations where energy has been transmitted to a mobile device, mobile device user demographic descriptors, and the like.” Dinh WO 2020169473 A1 doscloses “upon receiving the energy harvesting request from the WT, transmit an energy harvesting request acknowledgement to the WT. Even more particularly, the CP may be further configured to, subsequent to the transmitting of an energy harvesting request acknowledgement to the WT, determine if energy harvesting time slots are available; and the CP may be further configured to transmit energy harvesting information to the WT on the condition that the determining results in that energy harvesting time slots are available. More specifically the CP may be further configured to transmit a rejection message to the WT if the determining results in that energy harvesting time slots are not available, indicating that the energy harvesting request is rejected. In other embodiments of the system, the CP may be configured to transmit the energy harvesting information in a modified frame in a wireless communication protocol. The wireless communication protocol may an IEEE 802.15.4 or Zigbee protocol. In such cases, the CP may be further configured to transmit the energy harvesting information in a modified guaranteed time slot frame, GTS frame.” Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALISON SLATER whose telephone number is (571)270-0375. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 8AM-4PM EST, alt FRI. 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, ALISON SLATER can be reached at 571-270-0375. 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. /Alison Slater/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 2 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 3 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 4 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 5 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 7 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 8 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 9 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 10 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 11 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/707,108 Page 12 Art Unit: 2647
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Prosecution Timeline

May 02, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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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
72%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+24.0%)
2y 6m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 345 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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