Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/729,860

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK SENSING MEASUREMENT FEEDBACK

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 17, 2024
Priority
Jan 18, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022072607
Examiner
ZHANG, ZHENSHENG
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
299 granted / 393 resolved
+16.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
426
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
91.5%
+51.5% vs TC avg
§102
2.9%
-37.1% vs TC avg
§112
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 393 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 18/729,860 CTNF 91488 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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) 1-14, 17-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du (EP4156556) in view of Qualcomm (DMG sensing procedure, doc.: IEEE 802.11-21/2015r2, 12-20-2021, cited in IDS) Regarding claim 1, Du discloses a communication method for a wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement feedback ( fig. 3 ), comprising: determining a sensing measurement setup message frame, wherein the sensing measurement setup message frame comprises first information associated with a time slot for the WLAN sensing measurement feedback ([0132-134], figs. 2,10, may send first indication information to the third device, where the first indication information is used to schedule or request the third device to sense the target object, including sensing duration and intervals), and the time slot represents a time interval for feeding back a sensing measurement result; and sending the sensing measurement setup message frame ([0132-134], fig. 10, may send first indication information to the third device, where the first indication information is used to schedule or request the third device to sense the target object, including sensing duration and intervals) . Du does not explicitly disclose the time slot represents a time interval for feeding back a sensing measurement result. Qualcomm discloses the time slot represents a time interval for feeding back a sensing measurement result (Qualcomm, page 3, section 7.2, fig. 1, may instruct the responder to report at the measurement instance, or/and it may instruct the responder to accumulate the results and report once per the burst). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to combine the teachings as given by Du with the teachings given by Qualcomm. The motivation for doing so would have been to be complaint with standard implementation. Claims 8, 17-20 is rejected similarly with claim 1 noting Du discloses processors, memory (fig. 19). Regarding claim 2, 9, 21, Du and Qualcomm disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises corresponding information according to the time slot which represents different time intervals ( Qualcomm, fig 10 different time intervals within burst). Regarding claim 3, 10, 22, Du and Qualcomm disclose the method of claim 2, wherein the first information comprises one of: information indicating to provide a feedback for each measurement exchange; information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of sensing measurement exchange; information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of bursts (Qualcomm, page 3, section 7.2, report per burst); or information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of sensing measurement setup operations. It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options. Regarding claim 4, 11, Du and Qualcomm disclose the method of claim 3, wherein the first information further comprises time synchronization function information (Du, [0095], fig. 2, request frame includes synchronization function information). Regarding claim 5, 12, Du and Qualcomm discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the sensing measurement setup message frame further comprises second information indicating a WLAN sensing measurement feedback type (Du, [0127]), and the feedback type comprises an immediate feedback (Qualcomm. Section 7.2, page 3, to report at the measurement instance) or/ or a delayed feedback (Qualcomm, fig. 2, delayed reporting). It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options. Regarding claim 6, 13, Du and Qualcomm disclose the method of claim 5, wherein in response to the second information indicating the immediate feedback, the first information comprises the information indicating to provide a feedback for each measurement exchange (Qualcomm. Section 7.2, page 3, to report at the measurement instance) . Regarding claim 7, 14, Du and Qualcomm disclose the method of claim 5, wherein in response to the second information indicating the delayed feedback, the first information comprises one of: the information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of sensing measurement exchange; the information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of bursts (Qualcomm, page 3, section 7.2, report per burst) ; or the information indicating to provide a feedback for every specific number of sensing measurement setup operations. It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHENSHENG ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1985. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00am-6:00pm. 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, Michael Thier can be reached at 571-272-2832. 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. /ZHENSHENG ZHANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/729,860 Page 2 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/729,860 Page 3 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/729,860 Page 4 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/729,860 Page 5 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/729,860 Page 6 Art Unit: 2474
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 17, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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
76%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+11.0%)
2y 8m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 393 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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