Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/733,008

ADAPTIVE ANCHOR SELECTION AND TARGET POSITION ESTIMATION

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jun 04, 2024
Priority
Nov 09, 2021 — continuation of 12/038,522
Examiner
MAGLOIRE, VLADIMIR
Art Unit
3648
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Texas Instruments Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allowance Rate
263 granted / 383 resolved
+16.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+21.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
401
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.9%
-35.1% vs TC avg
§103
51.3%
+11.3% vs TC avg
§102
29.2%
-10.8% vs TC avg
§112
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 383 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . 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. Claims 1-20 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. In claim 1, a processor is to determine error projection(s) associated with initial estimated position and is further associated with locators. It is unclear how the estimated position is acquired/received since there is no device to receive information (per claim 2) to process AOA information and further used to estimate position. It is known in the art, this estimate can be processed locally with a wireless TRX or acquired straight from a server. This is missing a device to do so (a communication device wireless/wired). The limitation “the plurality of error projections” lacks antecedence basis. Further, in the step of “identify a group of locators based on overlaps, between error projections of a plurality of error projections”. It is unclear how the error or overlap is defined/found and the word between appears based on itself—between error projections and a plurality of error projections. In the last step of refined estimate does not seem to be refined since it is based on initial estimated positions. Applicant needs to refine the claim language to better define/relate the claimed features in order to overcome the rejections. For the dependent claims 2-20, there seems no device claimed to overcome the 112 rejection for claim 1. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY K LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-1338. The examiner can normally be reached on every M-F 10 AM to 6:30 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please leave a voice message with application serial number and nature of call, a response within 24 hours can be expected during regular business days. Also, the Examiner’s supervisor Vladimir Magloire can be reached at (571)270-5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-270-2338. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HARRY K LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 Tel: (571) 270-1338 Fax: (571) 270-2338 Email: harry.liu@uspto.gov
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 04, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12656483
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Patent 12627957
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING RADIO ACCESS NETWORK FUNCTION BY USING DYNAMIC SCALING
2y 11m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12627968
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2y 4m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12613306
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3y 11m to grant Granted Apr 28, 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
69%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+21.7%)
3y 6m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 383 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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