Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/810,615

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING DATA

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 21, 2024
Examiner
AHN, SUNG S
Art Unit
2631
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
366 granted / 467 resolved
+16.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
476
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.3%
-33.7% vs TC avg
§103
52.2%
+12.2% vs TC avg
§102
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
§112
16.7%
-23.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 467 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. PGPub. No. 20120002756 to Zhang et al. As to Claim 1, Zhang discloses a communication method, comprising (Fig. 1, paragraph [0002]): receiving at least a part of a frame through the communication channel, wherein the frame comprises a first stream which comprises a first field and a second field on a first channel and the first field and the second on a second channel, wherein the first channel occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth and the second channel occupies another 20 MHz bandwidth (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, paragraph [0005, 0022, 0029, 0030, 0040], where disclose the transmitted and received frame format of cumulating 20 MHz channel bandwidths (first, second, third, fourth 20 MHz channel bandwidth each) each having multiple signal fields (first, second, third, etc.) mapped in multiple streams (first, second, etc.)); wherein the first field is common to multiple stations and the second field is dedicated to a single station (Fig. 2, paragraph [0031], where the VHT-SIGA carries information common all users (multiple stations) and the VHT-SIGB carries user (station) specific (dedicated) information). As to Claim 2, Zhang further recites discloses the method wherein the frame comprises a second stream which comprise the first field and the second field on a third channel and the first and the second field on a fourth channel, wherein the third channel occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth and the fourth channel occupies another 20 MHz bandwidth (Fig. 2, paragraph [0005, 0022, 0029, 0030, 0040], where the frame format have cumulating 20 MHz channel bandwidths (first, second, third, fourth 20 MHz channel bandwidth each) and having multiple signal fields (first, second, third, etc.) mapped in multiple streams (first, second, etc.)). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNG S AHN whose telephone number is (571)270-3706. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9-6. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hannah Wang can be reached on 571-272-9018. 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 Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form. /SUNG S AHN/Examiner, Art Unit 2631 (571)-270-3706 sung.ahn@uspto.gov
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 21, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12592748
RECONFIGURABLE INTELLIGENT SURFACE OPTIMIZATION AND CONTROL SIGNALING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12580800
Orthogonal Multiple Access and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12568001
INFORMATION REPORTING METHOD AND APPARATUS, FIRST DEVICE, AND SECOND DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12556232
COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12549226
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM DESIGN METHOD BASED ON INTELLIGENT OMNI-SURFACE
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 10, 2026
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
78%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+12.3%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 467 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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