Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/812,135

CHANNEL PUNCTURING INDICATION IN A SOUNDING NULL DATA PACKET (NDP) FRAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 22, 2024
Priority
Mar 01, 2022 — provisional 63/268,748 +2 more
Examiner
TOWFIGHI, AFSHAWN M
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Avalon Technology Solutions LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
859 granted / 978 resolved
+27.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
986
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.5%
-33.5% vs TC avg
§103
42.2%
+2.2% vs TC avg
§102
32.6%
-7.4% vs TC avg
§112
10.4%
-29.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 978 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/4/26 and 12/30/24 is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 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 1-3 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Verma et al (Pub No: 2019/0261369). As to claim 1, Verma teaches a method by a wireless device functioning as a beamformer station in a wireless network (Verma, [0025][0064], a method by a wireless beamformer transmitter and a beamformee receiver) to indicate a channel puncturing pattern for a sounding null data packet (NDP) frame (Verma, [0032-0033], for indicating a puncturing pattern for a NDP), the method comprising: generating the sounding NDP frame, wherein the sounding NDP frame indicates a channel puncturing pattern for a first subchannel of a channel and a channel puncturing pattern for a second subchannel of the channel (Verna, [0155-0158], generating a NDPA frame indicating a puncturing pattern for a plurality of subchannels or RU indexes (first and second channels)); and wirelessly transmitting the sounding NDP frame in the channel to one or more beamformee stations (Verna, [0155-0158], generating a NDPA frame indicating a puncturing pattern for a plurality of subchannels or RU indexes (first and second channels)) [0107], transmitting the NDPA frame to the beamformee stations). As to claim 2, Verma teaches wherein the channel has a bandwidth of 320 MHz, the first subchannel has a bandwidth of 160 MHz, and the second subchannel has a bandwidth of 160 MHz (Verma, [0320], the channel has a 320 MHz support, 2 subchannels being 160MHz and 160 MHz). As to claim 3, Verma teaches wherein the sounding NDP frame includes a first field and a second field, wherein the first field is used to indicate the channel puncturing pattern for the first subchannel and the second field is used to indicate the channel puncturing pattern for the second subchannel (Verma, Fig 11 #1132, 1136, 1138, first and second fields that indicate the puncturing pattern for subchannels). As to claim 11, Verma teaches a method by a wireless device functioning as a beamformee station in a wireless network (Verma, [0025][0064], a beamformee receiver method) to determine a channel puncturing pattern indicated by a sounding null data packet (NDP) frame (Verma, [0032-0033], determining a puncturing pattern for a NDP), the method comprising: wirelessly receiving the sounding NDP frame in a channel (Verna, [0107], receiving the NDPA frame to the beamformee stations)., wherein the sounding NDP frame indicates a bandwidth of the channel, a channel puncturing pattern for a first subchannel of the channel, and a channel puncturing pattern for a second subchannel of the channel (Verna, [0155-0158], the NDPA frame indicating a puncturing pattern for a plurality of subchannels or RU indexes (first and second channels)); and responsive to determining that the bandwidth of the channel indicated by the sounding NDP frame is a particular bandwidth, determining the channel puncturing pattern for the first subchannel and the channel puncturing pattern for the second subchannel from the sounding NDP frame (Verna, [0110,0158], the wireless devices determines the puncturing pattern for the subchannel RU indexes). As to claim 12, Verma teaches wherein the particular bandwidth is 320 MHz, wherein the first subchannel has a bandwidth of 160 MHz, and the second subchannel has a bandwidth of 160 MHz (Verma, [0320], the channel has a 320 MHz support, 2 subchannels being 160MHz and 160 MHz). As to claim 13, Verma teaches wherein the channel puncturing pattern for the first subchannel is determined from a first field of the sounding NDP frame and the channel puncturing pattern for the second subchannel is determined from a second field of the sounding NDP frame (Verma, Fig 11 #1132, 1136, 1138, first and second fields that indicate the puncturing pattern for subchannels). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-10 and 14-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Noh et al (Pub No: 2022/0345243) [0105]-[0107]. Seok et al (Pub No: 2022/0045725) [0032-0044] Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AFSHAWN M TOWFIGHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7296. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM -5:00 PM. 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, Ian N Moore can be reached at 571-272-3085. 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. /AFSHAWN M TOWFIGHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 22, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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
88%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+8.8%)
2y 6m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 978 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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