Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/808,105

TASK EXECUTION METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Aug 19, 2024
Examiner
WOO, ANDREW M
Art Unit
2441
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
472 granted / 570 resolved
+24.8% vs TC avg
Strong +45% interview lift
Without
With
+45.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
584
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
13.1%
-26.9% vs TC avg
§103
43.3%
+3.3% vs TC avg
§102
18.8%
-21.2% vs TC avg
§112
14.4%
-25.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 570 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . The application has been examined. Claims 1-20 are pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/27/2025 and 06/27/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in China on 02/24/2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 202210177066.2 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Objections Claims 1-2, 6-10, 12, 16, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: lack of terminology consistency Claim 1, line 5, recites “comprises first confirmation information” and should be changed to -- comprises a first confirmation information --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Claim 2, line 1, recites “wherein the first message” and should be changed to -- wherein the received first message --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Claim 6, line 1, recites “wherein the attribute information of the task execution functional entity” and should be changed to -- wherein the sent attribute information of the established task execution functional entity --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Claim 7, line 5, recites “indicates the computing power resource available” and should be changed to -- indicates the allocated computing power resource available --. Claim 9, line 1, recites “wherein the first message” and should be changed to -- wherein the received first message --. Claim 10, line 3, recites “comprises second configuration information” and should be changed to -- comprises a second configuration information --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Claim 10, line 5, recites “wherein the context information” and should be changed to -- wherein the established context information --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Claim 12, line 8, recites “send the attribute information ” and should be changed to -- send the received attribute information --. Similar changes are suggested for subsequent claims. Appropriate correction is required. 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 13 and 14 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 13, line 3, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the recitation “the context information of the first task” lacks clear antecedent basis, since the context information was not previously defined. Claim 14, line 2, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the recitation “the identification information of the first task” lacks clear antecedent basis, since the identification information of the first task was not previously defined. Claim 14, line 3, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the recitation “the identification information of the task execution functional entity in the first node” lacks clear antecedent basis, since the identification information of the task execution functional entity in the first node was not previously defined. Claim 14, line 3, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the recitation “the address information of the task execution functional entity in the first node” lacks clear antecedent basis, since the address information of the task execution functional entity in the first node was not previously defined. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d): (d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph: Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 3 recites “the method according to claim 1”, however claim 1 is not a method claim but a device claim, note that claim 1 recites “the first node of claim 1”. Therefore claim 3 fails to further limit claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements. 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Pan et al. (2018/0150339, hereinafter Pan). Regarding claim 1, Pan discloses a first node (Pan, para. 39) in a wireless network (Pan, para. 22), the first node comprising: a memory (Pan, para. 39) storing executable instructions; and a processing circuit (Pan, para. 39) configured to execute the executable instructions to cause the first node to: receive a first message from a second node (Pan discloses that the message addressed to a given topic may be routed differently, based on whether the message is received from a first task, a second task, a first coordinated device 112, etc.) (Pan, para. 57), wherein the first message comprises first configuration information of a first task, the first configuration information is configured to indicate a complete task execution environment for the first task in the wireless network (Pan discloses that the communication manager may additionally or alternatively return other information, such as a state of a task corresponding to an execution identifier (e.g., executing, executed successfully (complete task), resulted in error, etc.)) (Pan, para. 29); and execute the first task based on the first configuration information (Pan discloses that the communication manager may additionally or alternatively return other information, such as a state of a task corresponding to an execution identifier (e.g., executing, executed successfully (complete task), resulted in error, etc.)) (Pan, para. 29). Regarding claim 2, Pan discloses the first node according to claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises identification information of the first task (Pan discloses that the library of tasks available to coordinators 114, as well as types of coordinated devices 112 to which such tasks can apply (e.g., all devices, a specific device model, devices of a specific manufacturer, type, or function, etc.) (Pan, para. 40). Regarding claim 3, Pan discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: identification information of input data of the first task, identification information of output data of the first task, and model identification information corresponding to the first task (Pan discloses that the management and deployment service 130 assigns a version identifier (model identification) to the configuration, to distinguish the configuration from the other configurations of the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 75). Regarding claim 4, Pan discloses the first node according to claim 1, wherein before receiving the first message from the second node, the method further comprises: receive a second message from the second node, wherein the second message indicates the first node to establish a task execution functional entity for the first task (Pan discloses that the first task may call for execution of a second task, and pass a previously established execution identifier (e.g., corresponding to an execution of a third task) as a parameter to the second task) (Pan, para. 134). Regarding claim 5, Pan discloses the first node according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send attribute information of the established task execution functional entity to the second node (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 80). Regarding claim 6, Pan discloses the first node according to claim 5, wherein the attribute information of the task execution functional entity comprises identification information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125) or address information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the Task A 1202 may transmit the call message to a URI including a network address (address information) or domain name of the coordinator 114 as well as the designated port) (Pan, para. 119). Regarding claim 7, Pan discloses the first node according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send a resource request message to the second node, wherein the resource request message is for requesting the second node to allocate a computing power resource to the first task (Pan discloses that the information regarding the availability of compute resources (allocate a computing power resource) at the coordinator 114, such as the amount of available memory, processor cycles, network bandwidth, etc., is available at the coordinator 114 (or is available for the purposes of executing tasks)) (Pan, para. 90); and receive a resource scheduling indication message from the second node, wherein the resource scheduling indication message indicates the computing power resource available for the first task (Pan discloses that the resource manager may enable a scheduler to retrieve current compute resource availability information for a coordinator, such as an amount of available memory, processor cycles (e.g., of a central processing unit, graphical processing unit, etc.), network bandwidth, or other computing resources) (Pan, para. 27). Regarding claim 8, Pan discloses a second node (Pan, para. 39) in a wireless network (Pan, para. 22), the second node comprising: a memory (Pan, para. 39) storing executable instructions; and a processing circuit (Pan, para. 39) configured to execute the executable instructions to cause the second node to: receive a first message from a third node (Pan discloses that the message addressed to a given topic may be routed differently, based on whether the message is received from a first task, a second task, a first coordinated device 112, etc.) (Pan, para. 57), wherein the first message comprises first configuration information of a first task, the first configuration information is configured to indicate a complete task execution environment for the first task in the wireless network (Pan discloses that the communication manager may additionally or alternatively return other information, such as a state of a task corresponding to an execution identifier (e.g., executing, executed successfully (complete task), resulted in error, etc.)) (Pan, para. 29); and send the first message to a first node (Pan discloses that the communication manager 260 may be configurated to obtain messages directed to the coordinator 114 and forward (send) the messages to the appropriate destination (first node)) (Pan, para. 54). Regarding claim 9, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 8, wherein the first message further comprises identification information of the first task, and the first configuration information comprises identification information of input data of the first task, identification information of output data of the first task, or model identification information corresponding to the first task (Pan discloses that the management and deployment service 130 assigns a version identifier (model identification) to the configuration, to distinguish the configuration from the other configurations of the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 75). Regarding claim 10, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive a second message from the third node, wherein the second message comprises second configuration information of the first task (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 updates the set of configuration data (second configuration), such as a list of coordinated devices 112 that can replace a current set of tasks with newly obtained tasks, as referenced in the new configuration information) (Pan, para. 81); and establish context information of the first task, wherein the context information of the first task comprises the second configuration information (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (context information)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125). Regarding claim 11, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 10, wherein the second configuration information comprises a relationship of service collaboration between the first task and another subtask comprised in a second task, or a parameter of collaboration between the first task (Pan discloses that the transmittal of data between the task executions may raise difficulties such as incompatibilities between languages or delays associated with asynchronous execution (relationship of service collaboration); thus, the communication manager 260 can further enable outputs or results (subtask) of a task (e.g., the execution of the second task) to be provided to a calling task (e.g., the execution of the first task)) (Pan, para. 123), and the another subtask comprised in the second task, and the second task comprises a subtask comprising the first task (Pan discloses that the transmittal of data between the task executions may raise difficulties such as incompatibilities between languages or delays associated with asynchronous execution (relationship of service collaboration); thus, the communication manager 260 can further enable outputs or results (subtask) of a task (e.g., the execution of the second task) to be provided to a calling task (e.g., the execution of the first task)) (Pan, para. 123). Regarding claim 12, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive a fourth message from the third node, the fourth message instructing to establish a task execution functional entity for the first task on the first node that is managed by the second node (Pan discloses that the first task may call for execution of a second task, and pass a previously established execution identifier (e.g., corresponding to an execution of a third task) as a parameter to the second task) (Pan, para. 134); send to the first node a third message indicating to the first node to establish the task execution functional entity for the first task (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 80); receive attribute information of the task execution functional entity from the first node (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 80); and send the attribute information of the task execution functional entity to the third node (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125), wherein the attribute information of the task execution functional entity comprises identification information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125) or address information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the Task A 1202 may transmit the call message to a URI including a network address (address information) or domain name of the coordinator 114 as well as the designated port) (Pan, para. 119). Regarding claim 13, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send the context information of the first task to a fourth node, wherein the fourth node is accessed after the first node performs cell handover (Pan discloses that any information (e.g., headers and parameters) included in the HTTPS request may be processed and utilized when executing a tack, and/or any other protocols, such as, HTTP, MQTT, CoAP, may be used to transfer the messaged containing a task call to the request interface (cell handover)) (Pan, para. 46). Regarding claim 14, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 10, wherein the context information of the first task further comprises the identification information of the first task (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (context information)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125), the identification information of the task execution functional entity in the first node, or the address information of the task execution functional entity in the first node (Pan discloses that the Task A 1202 may transmit the call message to a URI including a network address (address information) or domain name of the coordinator 114 as well as the designated port) (Pan, para. 119). Regarding claim 15, Pan discloses the second node according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive a resource request message from the first node, wherein the resource request message comprises a computing power resource required by the first task, and the resource request message is for requesting the second node to allocate a computing power resource to the first task (Pan discloses that the information regarding the availability of compute resources (allocate a computing power resource) at the coordinator 114, such as the amount of available memory, processor cycles, network bandwidth, etc., is available at the coordinator 114 (or is available for the purposes of executing tasks)) (Pan, para. 90); determine, based on a priority of the first task (Pan discloses that the priorities may be established, for example, by a caller to a task, an author of the task, or an administrator of the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 91) and the computing power resource required by the first task, the computing power resource available for the first task, wherein the priority of the first task is determined based on a quality of service (QoS) parameter of the first task (Pan discloses that the call may include parameters (QoS parameters) to be passed to an execution of a task, or parameters regarding how the task should be executed (e.g., a priority to assign to the execution)) (Pan, para. 132); and send a resource scheduling indication message to the first node, wherein the resource scheduling indication message indicates the computing power resource available for the first task (Pan discloses that the resource manager may enable a scheduler to retrieve current compute resource availability information for a coordinator, such as an amount of available memory, processor cycles (e.g., of a central processing unit, graphical processing unit, etc.), network bandwidth, or other computing resources) (Pan, para. 27). Regarding claim 16, Pan discloses a third node (Pan, para. 39) in a wireless network (Pan, para. 22), the third node comprising: a memory (Pan, para. 39) storing executable instructions; and a processing circuit (Pan, para. 39) configured to execute the executable instructions to cause the third node to: determine a second task, wherein the second task comprises a subtask comprising a first task (Pan discloses that the transmittal of data between the task executions may raise difficulties such as incompatibilities between languages or delays associated with asynchronous execution; thus, the communication manager 260 can further enable outputs or results (subtask) of a task (e.g., the execution of the second task) to be provided to a calling task (e.g., the execution of the first task)) (Pan, para. 123); determine a first node configured to execute the first task, wherein the first node is managed by a second node (Pan discloses that the first task may call for execution of a second task, and pass a previously established execution identifier (e.g., corresponding to an execution of a third task) as a parameter to the second task) (Pan, para. 134); and send a first message to the second node (Pan discloses that the message addressed to a given topic may be routed differently, based on whether the message is received from a first task, a second task, a first coordinated device 112, etc.) (Pan, para. 57), wherein the first message comprises first configuration information of the first task, the first configuration information is configured to indicate a complete task execution environment for the first task in the wireless network (Pan discloses that the communication manager may additionally or alternatively return other information, such as a state of a task corresponding to an execution identifier (e.g., executing, executed successfully (complete task), resulted in error, etc.)) (Pan, para. 29). Regarding claim 17, Pan discloses the third node according to claim 16, wherein the first message further comprises identification information of the first task (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125), and the first configuration information comprises identification information of input data of the first task, identification information of output data of the first task, or model identification information corresponding to the first task (Pan discloses that the management and deployment service 130 assigns a version identifier (model identification) to the configuration, to distinguish the configuration from the other configurations of the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 75). Regarding claim 18, Pan discloses the third node according to claim 16, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send a fourth message to the second node, wherein the fourth message instructs to establish a task execution functional entity for the first task on the first node (Pan discloses that the first task may call for execution of a second task, and pass a previously established execution identifier (e.g., corresponding to an execution of a third task) as a parameter to the second task) (Pan, para. 134); and receive attribute information of the task execution functional entity from the second node (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 80), wherein the attribute information of the task execution functional entity comprises identification information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 may utilizes identifiers (identification information) of each task to request that code corresponding to the task, and any other information (such as metadata (attribute)) regarding the task, be transmitted to the coordinator 114) (Pan, para. 125) or address information of the task execution functional entity (Pan discloses that the Task A 1202 may transmit the call message to a URI including a network address (address information) or domain name of the coordinator 114 as well as the designated port) (Pan, para. 119). Regarding claim 19, Pan discloses the third node according to claim 16, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send a third message to the second node, wherein the third message comprises second configuration information of the first task (Pan discloses that the coordinator 114 updates the set of configuration data (second configuration), such as a list of coordinated devices 112 that can replace a current set of tasks with newly obtained tasks, as referenced in the new configuration information) (Pan, para. 81). Regarding claim 20, Pan discloses the third node according to claim 19, wherein the second configuration information comprises a relationship of service collaboration between the first task and another subtask comprised in the second task or a parameter of collaboration between the first task and the another subtask comprised in the second task (Pan discloses that the transmittal of data between the task executions may raise difficulties such as incompatibilities between languages or delays associated with asynchronous execution (relationship of service collaboration); thus, the communication manager 260 can further enable outputs or results (subtask) of a task (e.g., the execution of the second task) to be provided to a calling task (e.g., the execution of the first task)) (Pan, para. 123). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Matsubara et al. (2018/0260463) discloses the node management information for managing the configurations and operating conditions of the task processing nodes. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW WOO whose telephone number is (571)270-7521. The examiner can normally be reached Telework 9:00AM-6:00PM | IFP M-F 9:00AM-6:00PM. 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, Umar Cheema can be reached at 571-270-3037. 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. /ANDREW WOO/Examiner, Art Unit 2441
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 19, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+45.0%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
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