Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/740,289

REQUEST ALLOCATION METHOD FOR VIRTUAL CHANNEL, AND RELATED APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 11, 2024
Priority
May 31, 2022 — CN 202210609375.2 +1 more
Examiner
AUNG, SAI
Art Unit
2416
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Suzhou Metabrain Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
547 granted / 619 resolved
+30.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
663
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.5%
-37.5% vs TC avg
§103
86.0%
+46.0% vs TC avg
§102
5.3%
-34.7% vs TC avg
§112
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 619 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Claims status In response to the application filed on 05/31/2022, claims 1-20 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 1wl16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 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 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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/31/2022 has been placed in the application file, and the information referred therein has been considered as to the merits. Drawings Drawing figures submitted on 05/31/2022 have been reviewed and accepted. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 1 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vangal et al. (US 2011/0235531 A1) in view of Yousefi et al. (US 2012/0110356 A1). Regarding claim 1; Vangal teaches a request allocation method for a virtual channel, comprising: inputting a request that is received into a valid input buffer (See Fig. 2: incoming data is input into a buffer via an input multiplexer 222 of a port to which an incoming packet is routed. ¶ [0013]); in response to that there is a valid request in the valid input buffer, regulating a working voltage and/or a working frequency of a dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: controlling the first port to operate at a first voltage and frequency based at least in part on the comparison, wherein at least one other port of the router is controlled to operate at a second voltage and frequency. See Vangal’s claim 1) according to a current working state of the dynamic virtual channel access group (Vangal-See Fig. 2: a system may be configured such that each virtual channel is allocated based on message criticality, such as a static allocation in which a first virtual channel is associated with most critical packets, a second virtual channel is associated with next critical packets, and so forth. In such implementations, the first virtual channel buffer may be operated at higher speeds (i.e., current working states) than the other virtual channel buffers. ¶ [0018]); inputting the request corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 2: a system in which a first virtual channel (VC0) is actively injecting/ejecting flits of highest-priority packets, the remaining channels/buffers, for example, VC1 through VCV can be put into low power states. The basis for adapting clock and voltage is thus message priority in this embodiment. ¶ [0019]-[0020]); and outputting the request to a corresponding physical channel through the dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: Similarly, the outputs of buffers 225 are coupled to an output multiplexer 226, which may be controlled by a virtual channel allocator 240. As seen, incoming credits are provided to virtual channel allocator 240, e.g., from other routers to which router 200 is coupled. Then, a given virtual channel buffer may have its output selected when it has a credit available. ¶ [0013]). Vangal doesn’t explicitly provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request. However, Yousefi discloses the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 15: the packet ingress unit 396 receives a packet via one of the ports, which are coupled to the redundancy/backup modules. The switching circuit 420 outputs the packet to the top priority processing unit 432. The top priority processing unit 432 interprets the packet to determine its priority. If the packet is a top priority packet (e.g., a packet of the highest priority), the top priority processing unit 432 forwards the packet directly to the switching circuit 428 of the packet egress unit 394 for immediate transmission via one of the ports. In this instance, if the switching circuit 428 is currently outputting a packet, the top priority packet may interrupt the packet. ¶ [0189]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request as taught by Yousefi to have incorporated in the system of Vangal, so that it would provide that if the packet is a safety related mission-critical packet, it may be placed at the front of the mission critical packet egress queue such that it is the next packet to be outputted by the packet egress unit 394. Yousefi-¶ [0186]. Regarding claim 19; Vangal teaches a terminal device, comprising: a memory, configured to store a computer program; and a processor, configured to implement the steps of the request allocation method according to claim 1 in response to executing the computer program: inputting a request that is received into a valid input buffer (See Fig. 2: incoming data is input into a buffer via an input multiplexer 222 of a port to which an incoming packet is routed. ¶ [0013]); in response to that there is a valid request in the valid input buffer, regulating a working voltage and/or a working frequency of a dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: controlling the first port to operate at a first voltage and frequency based at least in part on the comparison, wherein at least one other port of the router is controlled to operate at a second voltage and frequency. See Vangal’s claim 1) according to a current working state of the dynamic virtual channel access group (Vangal-See Fig. 2: a system may be configured such that each virtual channel is allocated based on message criticality, such as a static allocation in which a first virtual channel is associated with most critical packets, a second virtual channel is associated with next critical packets, and so forth. In such implementations, the first virtual channel buffer may be operated at higher speeds (i.e., current working states) than the other virtual channel buffers. ¶ [0018]); inputting the request corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 2: a system in which a first virtual channel (VC0) is actively injecting/ejecting flits of highest-priority packets, the remaining channels/buffers, for example, VC1 through VCV can be put into low power states. The basis for adapting clock and voltage is thus message priority in this embodiment. ¶ [0019]-[0020]); and outputting the request to a corresponding physical channel through the dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: Similarly, the outputs of buffers 225 are coupled to an output multiplexer 226, which may be controlled by a virtual channel allocator 240. As seen, incoming credits are provided to virtual channel allocator 240, e.g., from other routers to which router 200 is coupled. Then, a given virtual channel buffer may have its output selected when it has a credit available. ¶ [0013]). Vangal doesn’t explicitly provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request. However, Yousefi discloses the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 15: the packet ingress unit 396 receives a packet via one of the ports, which are coupled to the redundancy/backup modules. The switching circuit 420 outputs the packet to the top priority processing unit 432. The top priority processing unit 432 interprets the packet to determine its priority. If the packet is a top priority packet (e.g., a packet of the highest priority), the top priority processing unit 432 forwards the packet directly to the switching circuit 428 of the packet egress unit 394 for immediate transmission via one of the ports. In this instance, if the switching circuit 428 is currently outputting a packet, the top priority packet may interrupt the packet. ¶ [0189]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request as taught by Yousefi to have incorporated in the system of Vangal, so that it would provide that if the packet is a safety related mission-critical packet, it may be placed at the front of the mission critical packet egress queue such that it is the next packet to be outputted by the packet egress unit 394. Yousefi-¶ [0186]. Regarding claim 20; Vangal teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein in response to that the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the request allocation method wherein: inputting a request that is received into a valid input buffer (See Fig. 2: incoming data is input into a buffer via an input multiplexer 222 of a port to which an incoming packet is routed. ¶ [0013]); in response to that there is a valid request in the valid input buffer, regulating a working voltage and/or a working frequency of a dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: controlling the first port to operate at a first voltage and frequency based at least in part on the comparison, wherein at least one other port of the router is controlled to operate at a second voltage and frequency. See Vangal’s claim 1) according to a current working state of the dynamic virtual channel access group (Vangal-See Fig. 2: a system may be configured such that each virtual channel is allocated based on message criticality, such as a static allocation in which a first virtual channel is associated with most critical packets, a second virtual channel is associated with next critical packets, and so forth. In such implementations, the first virtual channel buffer may be operated at higher speeds (i.e., current working states) than the other virtual channel buffers. ¶ [0018]); inputting the request corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 2: a system in which a first virtual channel (VC0) is actively injecting/ejecting flits of highest-priority packets, the remaining channels/buffers, for example, VC1 through VCV can be put into low power states. The basis for adapting clock and voltage is thus message priority in this embodiment. ¶ [0019]-[0020]); and outputting the request to a corresponding physical channel through the dynamic virtual channel access group (See Fig. 2: Similarly, the outputs of buffers 225 are coupled to an output multiplexer 226, which may be controlled by a virtual channel allocator 240. As seen, incoming credits are provided to virtual channel allocator 240, e.g., from other routers to which router 200 is coupled. Then, a given virtual channel buffer may have its output selected when it has a credit available. ¶ [0013]). Vangal doesn’t explicitly provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request. However, Yousefi discloses the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request (See Fig. 15: the packet ingress unit 396 receives a packet via one of the ports, which are coupled to the redundancy/backup modules. The switching circuit 420 outputs the packet to the top priority processing unit 432. The top priority processing unit 432 interprets the packet to determine its priority. If the packet is a top priority packet (e.g., a packet of the highest priority), the top priority processing unit 432 forwards the packet directly to the switching circuit 428 of the packet egress unit 394 for immediate transmission via one of the ports. In this instance, if the switching circuit 428 is currently outputting a packet, the top priority packet may interrupt the packet. ¶ [0189]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the dynamic virtual channel access group of a corresponding priority according to a priority of the request as taught by Yousefi to have incorporated in the system of Vangal, so that it would provide that if the packet is a safety related mission-critical packet, it may be placed at the front of the mission critical packet egress queue such that it is the next packet to be outputted by the packet egress unit 394. Yousefi-¶ [0186]. Claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vangal et al. (US 2011/0235531 A1) in view of Yousefi et al. (US 2012/0110356 A1), and further in view of Ramadasse et al (US 2022/0385467 A1). Regarding claim 18; Vangal teaches the request allocation method wherein the valid request is a request. Neither Vangal nor Yousefi discloses the request conforms to a policy of an access policy firewall. However, Ramadasse teaches the request conforms to a policy of an access policy firewall (Ramadasse: the network server can verify the security posture of the client 102 (e.g., whether the client 102 has drive encryption, bit locker enabled, and the firewall setting). ¶ [0069]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the request conforms to a policy of an access policy firewall as taught by Ramadasse to have incorporated in the system of Vangal, so that it would provide to avoid the cumbersome, impractical communication of providing the assertions over the VPN channel. Ramadasse-¶ [0069]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-17 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kuenemund et al. (US 2018/0218177 A1). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAI AUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-3507. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, Alt Fridays, 7:30 AM- 5:00 PM (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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. /SAI AUNG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
88%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+4.0%)
2y 5m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 619 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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