Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 18/770,564

DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION ENHANCEMENTS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jul 11, 2024
Priority
Sep 24, 2021 — provisional 63/248,420 +1 more
Examiner
RENNER, BRANDON M
Art Unit
2411
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
778 granted / 958 resolved
+23.2% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
56 currently pending
Career history
1031
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.8%
-35.2% vs TC avg
§103
51.8%
+11.8% vs TC avg
§102
17.9%
-22.1% vs TC avg
§112
16.1%
-23.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 958 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 Amendment This communication is in response to the amendment filed 8/17/2026. The amendment has been entered and considered. 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 1-20 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. The amended limitations state “adding, to a queue…”; however, the specification does not appear to support this limitation. The specification supports the idea of “maintaining” a queue with an entry for high priority data transmissions when a UE submits UL information as part of a request; however, this does not provide support to say the received UL information is added to the queue. The specification only appears to discuss things being added to the queue with respect to the claimed “Result data”. For instance, paragraph 62 of the published specification, and Figure 7, states “placing the result data in a high priority data transmission entry in the queue”. Thus there is a clear distinction between information being placed/added to a queue and a queue being maintained. Therefore, the specification fails to provide support for the amended features. Appropriate correction required. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 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. 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 BRANDON M RENNER whose telephone number is (571)270-3621. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-5pm EST. 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, Derrick Ferris can be reached at (571)-272-3123. 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. /BRANDON M RENNER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 27, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 28, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 17, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12757193
METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR MULTI-TRP TRANSMISSION
3y 3m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12750823
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COVERAGE ENHANCEMENT IN WIRELESS NETWORKS
3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744589
TIME OFFSET MAINTENANCE FOR NONTERRESTRIAL NETWORK (NTN)
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745108
MEASUREMENT METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM
2y 6m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739712
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING EFFICIENT CELL SEARCH IN CELLULAR NETWORKS USING IRAT FREQUENCIES
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
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
81%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+20.9%)
3y 1m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 958 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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