Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/837,877

SYSTEM, METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR COLLECTING DATA

Non-Final OA §101§102
Filed
Aug 12, 2024
Examiner
NGUYEN, DUSTIN
Art Unit
2446
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
630 granted / 805 resolved
+20.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
845
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.7%
-31.3% vs TC avg
§103
50.1%
+10.1% vs TC avg
§102
16.9%
-23.1% vs TC avg
§112
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 805 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §102
DETAILED ACTION 1. Claims 1-7 are presented for consideration. 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. 2. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. It appears claim 1 would reasonably be interpreted by one of ordinary skill as a system of software per se, failing to fall within a statutory category of invention. Applicants’ disclosure contains no explicit and deliberate definition for the term “controller”, and in the context of the disclosure and claims in question, one of ordinary skill would reasonably interpret these terms as software applications. As such, the system of software alone is not a machine, it is clearly not a process, manufacture nor composition of matter [ Please see MPEP 2106 ]. 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) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bures et al. [ US Patent Application No 2020/0322703 ]. As per claim 1, Bures discloses the invention as claimed including a system for collecting data from a plurality of data sources to a server, the system comprising: a controller that determines a transmission policy to be distributed to the plurality of data sources [ i.e. monitoring data analysis system can generate control data each designated for transmission to a corresponding one of the set of multi-sensor units, control data can indicate how rich of measurements and/or how often measurement is collected by various sensors of each multi-sensor units ] [ Figure 1; and paragraphs 0021, and 0316 ], wherein the controller determines the transmission policy of each data source on a basis of a data transfer requirement from the plurality of data sources to the server [ i.e. how much bandwidth is allocated to each multi-sensor units ] [ paragraphs 0021, 0104, 0192, and 0312 ], calculates a total resource use amount of a case where the plurality of data sources executes the transmission policies set for the respective data sources [ i.e. sum of all sensor device weights for all sensor devices ] [ paragraphs 0291, 0313, and 0316 ]; and adjusts the transmission policy of each data source so that the total resource use amount falls within a set threshold [ i.e. scheduler module can communicate network availability to the multi-sensor units and/or can be utilized to communicate schedule data to individual multi-sensor units, or change the rate of collection ] [ paragraphs 0040, 0186, 0191, and 0192 ]. As per claim 2, Bures discloses wherein the transmission policy includes timing of releasing a communication path, and the controller advances the timing of releasing a communication path in any one of the plurality of data sources to reduce a resource use amount of the data source [ i.e. highest priority measurements are prioritized higher than the data packets that include the lower priority measurements ] [ paragraphs 0089, 0126, and 0190 ]. As per claim 3, Bures discloses wherein the transmission policy includes timing of generating a communication path, and the controller delays the timing of generating a communication path in any one of the plurality of data sources to reduce a resource use amount of the data source [ i.e. decrease the measurement collection rate ] [ paragraphs 0047, 0073, and 0094 ]. As per claim 4, Bures discloses wherein the data transfer requirement includes an allowable delay time, and the controller delays the timing of generating a communication path in the data source having the allowable delay time that is long among the plurality of data sources [ i.e. time window for measurement data ] [ paragraphs 0060, and 0061 ]. As per claim 5, Bures discloses wherein the transmission policy includes timing of releasing a communication path, and the controller delays the timing of generating a communication path in a case where a path release standby time in the data source having the allowable delay time that is long among the plurality of data sources is 0 [ i.e. collecting measurements is changed to be turned off ] [ paragraphs 0041, 0172, and 0372 ]. As per claim 6, it is rejected for similar reasons as stated above in claim 1. As per claim 7, it is rejected for similar reasons as stated above in claim 1. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chatterton et al. [ US Patent No 8,799,474 ] discloses accessing sensor data corresponding to an availability of the shared resource, and identifying when the availability of the shared resource reaches a threshold level below which the activities compete for the share resource Garg et al. [ US Patent Application No 2005/0021530 ] discloses resource allocation for multiple applications Nie [ US Patent Application No 2022/0138012 ] discloses scheduling of computing resource in the IoT system Mozano [ US Patent Application No 2022/0292374 ] discloses dynamic parameter collection tuning Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUSTIN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-6 PST. 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, Brian Gillis can be reached at 571-2727952. 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. /DUSTIN NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 12, 2024
Application Filed
Nov 13, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §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
78%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+12.2%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 805 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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