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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 1 recites:
An indoor optical wireless communications-oriented general geometry-based stochastic channel modeling method, comprising the following steps:
Step S1: establishing an indoor optical wireless communication channel simulation scenario, and setting simulation scenario layout and frequency band parameters;
Step S2: generating an object reflection cluster birth-death process matrix of a transmitting-end array, a random number matrix for controlling whether a direct component exists, and a random number matrix for propagation component classification;
Step S3: initializing an object reflection cluster, a particle scattering cluster and intra-cluster scatterers;
Step S4: updating and calculating model parameters varying with space and time;
Step S5: calculating a light source radiation intensity, an object reflection power distribution, a particle scattering power distribution, and a wavelength range-related equivalent reflection coefficient; and
Step S6: calculating an impulse response of each subchannel, and determining whether a direct component of the subchannel exists and whether an indirect component of object reflection exists, to obtain a final channel impulse response.
Analysis
The following analysis follows the flow chart of MPEP 2106(III).
Step 1: statutory category — Yes
The claim claims a method and includes at least one step; therefore, it falls within one of the four statutory categories.
Step 2A prong one: judicial exceptions — Yes
The claim is directed to an abstract idea. Steps S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6 of the claim are directed to abstract ideas because the limitations can be performed in a human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper.
Step 2A prong two: additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. — No
The claim does not contain any additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application.
Conclusion: Claim 1 is not eligible subject matter under 35 USC §101.
Dependent claims 2-8:
Claim 2 further refines the step of S1. The Examiner notes that a simulation is not a real scenario; it is a mathematical model. For example, the LED recited in claim 2 is not a real LED but a mathematical model of a LED characterized by its parameters. Therefore, claim 2 does not contain any further limitations that renders the claim to be patent eligible.
Similarly, claim 3 further refines step S102 of claim 2; claim 4 further refines step S2; claim 5 further refines step of S3; claim 6 further refines S4; claim 7 further refines step S5; claim 8 further refines S6. These claims either introduce additional parameters of the model or define formulas for calculation results for the model. The model is finally represented by a final channel impulse response which is an abstract idea.
Therefore, claims 2-8 are ineligible under 35 USC §101.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cao et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. 2022/0393751 A1).
You et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. 2022/0416904 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHI K LI whose telephone number is (571)272-3031. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:53 a.m. -3:23 p.m.
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skl12 June 2026
/SHI K LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635
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