Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/725,101

METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS FOR GENERATING AND SENDING ACKNOWLEDGMENT FRAME IN IEEE 802.15.4 NETWORK

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jun 27, 2024
Priority
Dec 31, 2021 — CN 202111662317.8 +1 more
Examiner
HOANG, THAI D
Art Unit
2463
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Espressif Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
576 granted / 664 resolved
+28.7% vs TC avg
Minimal -2% lift
Without
With
+-1.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
687
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.6%
-35.4% vs TC avg
§103
35.0%
-5.0% vs TC avg
§102
30.3%
-9.7% vs TC avg
§112
18.0%
-22.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 664 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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 8 and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-5, 7-12, 14-18, and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 8 and 15 have been new limitations, which were not disclosed in the specification: “step 5a: obtaining, by the communication module, a sequence code in a frame header of the message frame, and generating the acknowledgment frame in a form of an immediate acknowledgment (IMM-ACK) frame, wherein the sequence code in the frame header of the message frame is used as a sequence code in a frame header of the immediate acknowledgment frame; and triggering, by the communication module, an interrupt service routine in the memory, and executing, by the processor, the interrupt service routine to set a subsequent frame pending bit in the frame header of the immediate acknowledgment frame, and in response to that the communication apparatus has a subsequent data frame to be sent, setting a value of 1 for the subsequent frame pending bit, otherwise, setting a value of 0 for the subsequent frame pending bit”, where in the step 5B is performed if the frame version number is 0b00 or 0b01. Claims 2-5, 7, 9-12, 14, 16-18 and 20-23 are rejected because they depend on rejected claims 1, 8 and 15. 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 THAI D HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3184. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30 am-18:30pm. 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. 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. THAI HOANG D. Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463 /THAI DINH HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 27, 2024
Application Filed
May 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Aug 14, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 16, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (-1.9%)
2y 11m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 664 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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