Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/836,323

CELL SWITCHING METHOD, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 06, 2024
Priority
Feb 14, 2022 — CN 202210134662.2 +1 more
Examiner
CATTUNGAL, AJAY P
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
818 granted / 919 resolved
+29.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
922
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
48.3%
+8.3% vs TC avg
§102
30.0%
-10.0% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 919 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 § 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. Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shen et al. (US 2019/0357112 A1). Regarding claims 1, 14, Shen et al. discloses a cell switching method, comprising: receiving a cell switching signaling, and acquiring a variation amplitude of a signal strength of a current camp cell of a mobile terminal (Para 169, Para 171-172, Para 188-189 teaches of determining the signal strength of the current cell by measuring the increase in amplitude or the decrease in amplitude) ; and determining to continuously register in the current camp cell, in response to determining that the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell does not meet a signal strength weakening condition (Para 227-228 teaches of a condition where the signal strength of the camping cell meet the threshold i.e. it is not weakening). Regarding claim 2, 19, Shen et al. discloses a cell switching method, wherein the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell not meeting the signal strength weakening condition comprises: the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell indicates that the signal strength of the current camp cell is not weakened, or the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell indicates that the signal strength of the current camp cell is weakened and an absolute value of the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell is less than or equal to a first preset threshold (Para 169, Para 171-172, Para 188-189 teaches of determining the signal strength of the current cell by measuring the increase in amplitude or the decrease in amplitude) Regarding claim 3, Shen et al. discloses a cell switching method, wherein acquiring the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell of the mobile terminal comprises: acquiring at least two signal strengths of the current camp cell that are pre- recorded; and determining the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current camp cell according to the at least two signal strengths of the current camp cell (Para 169, Para 171-172, Para 188-189 teaches of determining the signal strength of the current cell by measuring the increase in amplitude or the decrease in amplitude and Para 3 “When cell reselection is performed, to avoid frequent ping-pong reselection, a principle of cell reselection is controlling an action of cell reselection of the terminal by using two parameters: hysteresis signal strength (which is usually 3 decibel-millivolts dBm) and a hysteresis time (which is usually set to 5 s). When received signal strength (for example, ˜72 dBm) of a target cell is greater than a sum of signal strength (−80 dBm) of a serving cell and the hysteresis signal strength (3 dBm), and duration is greater than the hysteresis time (for example, 5 s), cell reselection is started; otherwise, the terminal continues to camp on the current serving cell.”. Regarding claims 13, Shen et al. discloses a An electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory having stored thereon at least one program which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor (See Fig 12 items 21 and 22) to: receive a cell switching signaling, and acquire a variation amplitude of a signal strength of a current resident cell of a mobile terminal (Para 169, Para 171-172, Para 188-189 teaches of determining the signal strength of the current cell by measuring the increase in amplitude or the decrease in amplitude); and determine to continuously reside in the current resident cell, in response to determining that the variation amplitude of the signal strength of the current resident cell does not meet a signal strength weakening condition. (Para 227-228 teaches of a condition where the signal strength of the camping cell meet the threshold i.e. it is not weakening). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 12, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al. (US 2019/0357112 A1) in view of Azizi et al. (US 2019/0364492 A1). Regarding claims 12, 17, 18, Shen et al. discloses the claimed invention as set forth in claim 1 above. Shen et el. does not explicitly discloses a cell switching method, before receiving the cell switching signaling, further comprising pre-recording cell information of a current registered cell or the current camp cell; wherein the cell information comprises: cell identification information, a signal strength, and a data transmission rate. However Azizi et al. discloses a cell switching method, before receiving the cell switching signaling, further comprising pre-recording cell information of a current registered cell or the current camp cell; wherein the cell information comprises: cell identification information, a signal strength, and a data transmission rate (377-381 teaches of cell specific information such as Cell ID, maximum data rate, and radio measurements). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the method of using cell specific information of Azizi et al. with the system of Shen et al. in order to provide a system that optimizes data speeds while ensuring network stability. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-11, 15, 16 and 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY P CATTUNGAL whose telephone number is (571)270-7525. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 5712723940. 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. /AJAY CATTUNGAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 06, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §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
89%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.7%)
2y 4m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 919 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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