Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/795,377

CONTROL DEVICE, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM, AND CONTROL SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 06, 2024
Priority
Aug 24, 2023 — JP 2023-136140
Examiner
KHAWAR, SAAD
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Tokai Rika Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
308 granted / 360 resolved
+25.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
399
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
82.3%
+42.3% vs TC avg
§102
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
§112
9.9%
-30.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 360 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamaguchi (US 20200169842 A1). Regarding claim 1, Yamaguchi discloses: “A control device, comprising: a control unit that performs calibration processing for calibrating a radio wave intensity of a signal transmitted and received between a control target and a portable device on the basis of calibration information stored in the portable device, wherein” ([¶ 0100]: “In this way, after the calibration coefficient associated with the authorized mobile terminal 10 is read (S253), the radio wave intensity previously stored in S251 is calibrated with the use of the calibration coefficient (S254). As described above, the calibration coefficient is a coefficient for calibrating that the radio wave intensity at the time of transmitting the radio wave by the mobile terminal 10 differs depending on the difference in model or the individual difference of the mobile terminal 10, and therefore, the radio wave intensity is calibrated by using the calibration coefficient, thereby being capable of removing the difference of the model or the individual difference of the mobile terminal 10.”) “whether or not to cause a controlled device provided in the control target to perform a prescribed operation is determined on the basis of the calibrated radio wave intensity.” ([¶ 0082]: “Then, it is determined whether the radio wave intensity acquired in S201 is larger than the read threshold intensity (S204). Then, when the radio wave intensity is larger than the threshold intensity (YES in S204), it is determined that the authorized mobile terminal 10 is present within the predetermined threshold distance from the vehicle 1 (S205). On the other hand, when the radio wave intensity is smaller than the threshold intensity (NO in S204), it is determined that the authorized mobile terminal 10 is not present within the threshold distance (S206).”) Regarding claim 2, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “wherein as the calibration processing, the control unit calibrates a received radio wave intensity of a signal received from the portable device on the basis of the calibration information.” ([¶ 0100]: “In this way, after the calibration coefficient associated with the authorized mobile terminal 10 is read (S253), the radio wave intensity previously stored in S251 is calibrated with the use of the calibration coefficient (S254).”) Regarding claim 3, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “the control device is provided in the portable device, and the control unit calibrates, on the basis of the calibration information, a received radio wave intensity of a signal received by the control target from the portable device, the received radio wave intensity being received from the control target, and transmits the calibrated radio wave intensity to the control target.” ([¶ 0100]: “In this way, after the calibration coefficient associated with the authorized mobile terminal 10 is read (S253), the radio wave intensity previously stored in S251 is calibrated with the use of the calibration coefficient (S254).”) Regarding claim 4, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “wherein as the calibration processing, the control unit calibrates a received radio wave intensity of a signal received from the portable device on the basis of the calibration information.” ([¶ 0071]: “Thereafter, the threshold intensity thus determined is associated with the identification information previously registered as the authorized terminal identification information in S106 and registered as the calibration information (S109), and then the calibration information registration process of FIG. 6 is terminated.”) Regarding claim 5, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “wherein the control unit calibrates a received radio wave intensity of a signal received from the portable device on the basis of the calibration information included in the signal.” ([¶ 0071]: “Thereafter, the threshold intensity thus determined is associated with the identification information previously registered as the authorized terminal identification information in S106 and registered as the calibration information (S109), and then the calibration information registration process of FIG. 6 is terminated.”) Regarding claim 6, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “the control device is provided in the portable device, and as the calibration processing, the control unit calibrates an output radio wave intensity of a signal transmitted by the portable device on the basis of the calibration information.” ([¶ 0100]: “In this way, after the calibration coefficient associated with the authorized mobile terminal 10 is read (S253), the radio wave intensity previously stored in S251 is calibrated with the use of the calibration coefficient (S254).”) Regarding claim 7, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “wherein the control unit calculates the calibration information on the basis of comparison between a received radio wave intensity of a signal received by the control target from the portable device and a preliminarily stored reference value.” ([¶ 0070]: “Then, the acquired radio wave intensity is compared with a standard radio wave intensity stored in advance, to thereby determine the calibration information (in this example, the threshold intensity) for the mobile terminal 10 to be registered (S108).”) Regarding claim 8, Yamaguchi discloses all the features of the parent claim. Yamaguchi further discloses “wherein the prescribed operation includes locking or unlocking of a door provided in the control target.” ([¶ 0003]: “Techniques have been proposed for providing various services, such as unlocking (or preparation for locking) a door of a vehicle or illuminating a foot, upon detecting that a person carrying an electronic key approaches the vehicle.”) Claims 9-10 are substantially similar to claim 1, with the differences amounting to that claim 1 is directed towards an apparatus while claim 9 is directed towards a computer readable medium and claim 10 is directed towards a system. Thus, claims 9-10 are rejected for similar reasons to claim 1. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAAD KHAWAR whose telephone number is (571)272-7948. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm. 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, Charles Jiang can be reached at (571)-270-7191. 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. /SAAD KHAWAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 06, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12666284
TESTING A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK BY VARYING RADIO PARAMETERS
3y 8m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12665730
ALIGNING APPLICATION TIME OF MAC-CE-BASED ACTIONS FOR MULTIPLE USER EQUIPMENTS
2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12647911
EXTENDED REALITY DEVICE SYNCHRONIZATION MANAGEMENT
2y 9m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12641474
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR QUALITY OF SERVICE IN WIRLESS COMMUNICATIONS
3y 1m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12641554
METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION , COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 11m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+7.9%)
2y 4m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 360 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month