Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/798,079

METHOD OF TESTING A DEVICE UNDER TEST AND TEST SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 08, 2024
Examiner
HOQUE, FARHANA AKHTER
Art Unit
2858
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. Kg
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
737 granted / 859 resolved
+17.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
880
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
46.8%
+6.8% vs TC avg
§102
42.2%
+2.2% vs TC avg
§112
5.3%
-34.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 859 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramian et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2022/0094453 A1) in view of Hoglund (WO2024/096798 A1). With respect to claim 1, Ramian et al. discloses a method of testing a device under test (see Fig. 1, element 12), wherein the method comprises the steps of: providing a device under test that comprises a main radio and a low power wake- up receiver (the DUT includes RF front-end/receiver functionality that is considered to be the power wake-up receiver para 0004, lines 1-5; the DUT inherently includes receiver circuitry capable of receiving signals, including low-power signals, as part of RF testing), providing a test and/or measurement instrument for testing the device under test (vector signal generator VSG element 14 and VSG 16 shown in Fig. 1), activating a test mode of the device under test in which the main radio is switched off (switching configurations; switch 18, signal routing; controlled test states of DUT; the DUT is placed in specific test configurations and functional portions are selectively engaged/disengaged; test configurations inherently include modes where certain components (e.g. transmit path/main radio) are disabled during testing), and Ramian et al. does not specifically disclose transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a plurality of low power wake-up signals, wherein the plurality of low power wake-up signals is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode. Hoglund discloses transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a plurality of low power wake-up signals, wherein the plurality of low power wake-up signals is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode (page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Ramian et al. to include disclose transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a plurality of low power wake-up signals, wherein the plurality of low power wake-up signals is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode as taught by Hoglund to predictably use to reduce power consumption and simulate real-world DUT operation. With respect to claim 2, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the low power wake-up receiver is not capable of transmitting a signal to the test and/or measurement instrument (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). With respect to claim 3, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test remains in its test mode until the device under test wakes up (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS). With respect to claim 4, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the test mode is configured such that the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test does not wake up the main radio by each low power wake-up signal received (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS), but only after a predefined number of low power wake-up signals received (page 19, lines 2-9). With respect to claim 5, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test counts the number of low power wake-up signals received (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24). With respect to claim 6, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test automatically exits the test mode after receiving a predefined number of low power wake-up signals (see Hoglund page 19, lines 25-30). With respect to claim 7, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test automatically exits the test mode after a predefined period of time (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS). With respect to claim 8, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test is manually prompted to exit the test mode (see Ramian et al. para 0026, lines 1-11). With respect to claim 9, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the main radio is activated when the device under test exits the test mode such that the device under test is enabled to transmit information to the test and/or measurement instrument (see Ramian et al. para 0027, lines 1-11). With respect to claim 10, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the device under test reports the number of low power wake-up signals received to the test and/or measurement instrument after exiting the test mode (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS). With respect to claim 11, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument receives a report from the device under test, the report comprising information about the number of low power wake-up signals received, and wherein the test and/or measurement instrument compares the reported number of low power wake-up signals received with a number of low power wake-up signals transmitted by the test and/or measurement instrument (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS). With respect to claim 12, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument receives a report from the device under test (see Ramian et al. Fig. 1, element 12), the report comprising information about the number of low power wake-up signals received (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal WUS), and wherein the test and/or measurement instrument compares the reported number of low power wake-up signals received with a threshold value (see Ramian et al. para 0041, lines 1-5). With respect to claim 13, Ramian et al. discloses a method of testing a device under test (see Fig. 1, element 12), wherein the method comprises the steps of: providing a test and/or measurement instrument for testing the device under test, activating a test mode of the device under test in which the main radio is switched off (switching configurations; switch 18, signal routing; controlled test states of DUT; the DUT is placed in specific test configurations and functional portions are selectively engaged/disengaged; test configurations inherently include modes where certain components (e.g. transmit path/main radio) are disabled during testing), and reporting a successful activation to the test and/or measurement instrument via the main radio of the device under test (vector signal generator VSG element 14 and VSG 16 shown in Fig. 1), providing a device under test that comprises a main radio and a low power wake- up receiver. Ramian et al. does not specifically disclose transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a low power wake-up signal which is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode, causing the device under test to wake up, thereby activating the main radio. Hoglund discloses transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a low power wake-up signal which is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode, causing the device under test to wake up, thereby activating the main radio (page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Ramian et al. to include transmitting by the test and/or measurement instrument a low power wake-up signal which is received by the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test in the test mode, causing the device under test to wake up, thereby activating the main radio as taught by Hoglund to predictably use to reduce power consumption and simulate real-world DUT operation. With respect to claim 14, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the steps of transmitting the low power wake-up signal to the device under test and reporting the successful activation are repeated several times (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). With respect to claim 15, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument counts the number of reports received by the device under test (see Ramian et al. switching configurations; switch 18, signal routing; controlled test states of DUT; the DUT is placed in specific test configurations and functional portions are selectively engaged/disengaged; test configurations inherently include modes where certain components (e.g. transmit path/main radio) are disabled during testing). With respect to claim 16, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument compares the number of reports received with a number of low power wake-up signals transmitted by the test and/or measurement instrument (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). With respect to claim 17, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument compares the number of reports received with a threshold value (see Ramian et al. para 0041, lines 1-5). With respect to claim 18, Ramian et al. discloses a test system for testing, wherein the test system comprises a test and/or measurement instrument as well as a device under test (the DUT includes RF front-end/receiver functionality that is considered to be the power wake-up receiver para 0004, lines 1-5; the DUT inherently includes receiver circuitry capable of receiving signals, including low-power signals, as part of RF testing), wherein the device under test has a test mode in which the main radio is switched off (switching configurations; switch 18, signal routing; controlled test states of DUT; the DUT is placed in specific test configurations and functional portions are selectively engaged/disengaged; test configurations inherently include modes where certain components (e.g. transmit path/main radio) are disabled during testing). Ramian does not disclose wherein the device under test comprises a main radio and a low power wake-up receiver, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument is capable of transmitting low power wake-up signals to the device under test that receives the low power wake-up signals, and wherein the test system is capable of counting the number of successful activations of the device under test by the low power wake-up signals and/or the number of low power wake-up signals received by the device under test. Hoglund discloses wherein the device under test comprises a main radio and a low power wake-up receiver, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument is capable of transmitting low power wake-up signals to the device under test that receives the low power wake-up signals, and wherein the test system is capable of counting the number of successful activations of the device under test by the low power wake-up signals and/or the number of low power wake-up signals received by the device under test (page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Ramian et al. to include wherein the device under test comprises a main radio and a low power wake-up receiver, wherein the test and/or measurement instrument is capable of transmitting low power wake-up signals to the device under test that receives the low power wake-up signals, and wherein the test system is capable of counting the number of successful activations of the device under test by the low power wake-up signals and/or the number of low power wake-up signals received by the device under test as taught by Hoglund to predictably use to reduce power consumption and simulate real-world DUT operation. With respect to claim 19, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the test system according to claim 18, wherein the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test is capable of receiving a plurality of low power wake-up signals in the test mode, and wherein the device under test is capable of staying in the test mode while receiving the plurality of low power wake-up signals, but counting the number of low power wake-up signals received (see Hoglund page 19, lines 10-24; the receiver 16-1 is a wake-up receiver (WUR) designed for receiving a wake-up signal (WUS and further the receiver is configured for lower power use than the main receiver which is disclosed on page 19, lines 2-9). With respect to claim 20, Ramian et al. and Hoglund discloses the test system according to claim 18, wherein the low power wake-up receiver of the device under test is capable of waking up by the low power wake-up signals received, thereby activating the main radio, and wherein the device under test is capable of reporting a successful activation to the test and/or measurement instrument via the main radio of the device under test (see Ramian et al. the DUT includes RF front-end/receiver functionality that is considered to be the power wake-up receiver para 0004, lines 1-5; the DUT inherently includes receiver circuitry capable of receiving signals, including low-power signals, as part of RF testing). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARHANA AKHTER HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)270-7543. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm. 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, Eman A Alkafawi can be reached at 571-272-4448. 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. /FARHANA A HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 08, 2024
Application Filed
Nov 06, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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
86%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+11.2%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 859 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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