Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/851,665

DETECTING PASSIVE DEVICES PROXIMATE TO A READER DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 26, 2024
Priority
Jun 02, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022096780
Examiner
KHAN, MEHMOOD B
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allowance Rate
414 granted / 600 resolved
+9.0% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
648
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§103
50.3%
+10.3% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
14.7%
-25.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 600 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 § 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0250868 A1 herein Ma in view of US 2004/0066281 A1 herein Hughes and further in view of US 2008/0150674 A1 herein Cho. Claim 1, Ma discloses a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (0035, an ED may be a UE; 0137, the reception point may be another ED), the method comprising: transmitting one or more reference signals according to the passive device identification procedure (0065; 0124, the transmission point transmits a forward signal, the sequence of which may include a PRS or a DMRS); receiving a set of one or more response signals from at least a portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on at least one of the one or more reference signals (0065-0066, the ED forms a backscatter signal from the received forward signal and transmits it, and the reception point receives the backscatter signal; 0092, a plurality of EDs are present); communicating with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices (0135, the forward signal may contain data intended for a specific one of the EDs). Ma may not explicitly disclose broadcasting a message initiating a passive device identification procedure for one or more passive devices located proximate to the UE; transmitting one or more reference signals based at least in part on the message; and communicating with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices according to scheduling that is based at least in part on the set of one or more response signals. Hughes discloses broadcasting a message initiating a passive device identification procedure for one or more passive devices located proximate to the UE (0034, the reader issues a command of ENTER TAG DISCOVERY MODE with a session ID; 0038, the tags in communication range present a TONE), and transmitting one or more reference signals based at least in part on the message (0037, the reader issues a sequence of timing pulses to provide timeslot synchronization to the individual tags). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include a reader issuing a discovery mode command to the tags in range followed by timing pulses providing timeslot synchronization, as taught by Hughes, so as to reduce the time to identify and acknowledge large numbers of tags (0047). Ma in view of Hughes may not explicitly disclose communicating with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices according to scheduling that is based at least in part on the set of one or more response signals. Cho discloses communicating with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices according to scheduling that is based at least in part on the set of one or more response signals (0069, the reader calculates the collision probability from the received tag information, estimates the number of tags, and sets the estimated number as the frame size; 0077, the tag generates a random number within the frame size included in the instruction message and transmits when its counter value reaches zero). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include setting a frame size from the number of tags estimated from the tag responses and transmitting that frame size to the tags, as taught by Cho, so as to identify a large number of tags at a high speed with a small number of time slots (0118). Claim 5, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the method of claim 1. Ma may not explicitly disclose identifying a numerical quantity of passive devices located proximate to the UE based at least in part on a number of response signals in the set of one or more response signals. Cho discloses identifying a numerical quantity of passive devices located proximate to the UE based at least in part on a number of response signals in the set of one or more response signals (0075, where the calculated collision probability exceeds the threshold the reader reduces the number of responding tags and multiplies the calculated tag number by the reduction factor as many times as the times of repetition to estimate the actual number of tags). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include setting a frame size from the number of tags estimated from the tag responses and transmitting that frame size to the tags, as taught by Cho, so as to identify a large number of tags at a high speed with a small number of time slots (0118). Claim 6, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 1. Ma discloses a method for wireless communication at a passive device (0046, the RF circuit includes a set of passive device components). Claim 7, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 1. Ma discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (0035, UE), and comprising: at least one processor (0044, the ED includes at least one processor or processing unit); and memory coupled with the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the UE to (0051, the memory could store software instructions configured to implement the functionality described herein and that are executed by the processing unit). Claim 11, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 5. Claim 14, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 11. Ma in view of Hughes may not explicitly disclose select, based at least in part on the numerical quantity, resources from a set of available resources to use for the communicating; and schedule the communications with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices using the resources. Cho discloses select, based at least in part on the numerical quantity, resources from a set of available resources to use for the communicating (0083, the reader control means sets the estimated number of tags as the frame size, the last slot of the frame is set as the frame size, and the current slot is set to zero); and schedule the communications with at least the portion of the one or more passive devices using the resources (0083, the reader transmits an instruction message including such information to the tag, and where collision does not occur increases the current slot by one so that the next tag can be identified). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes to include setting a frame size from the number of tags estimated from the tag responses and transmitting that frame size to the tags, as taught by Cho, so as to identify a large number of tags at a high speed with a small number of time slots (0118). Claim 15, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7. Ma may not explicitly disclose identify, for each response signal in the set of one or more response signals, a time delay for the response signal; aod identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on the time delay of the response signal. Hughes discloses identify, for each response signal in the set of one or more response signals, a time delay for the response signal (0036, the tag randomly selects a timeslot that it will use during the current discovery session); and identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on the time delay of the response signal (0040, the reader identifies the timeslots where TONEs were detected and transmits the timeslot identifier to each discovered tag). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include a reader issuing a discovery mode command to the tags in range followed by timing pulses providing timeslot synchronization, as taught by Hughes, so as to reduce the time to identify and acknowledge large numbers of tags (0047). Claim 16, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7, and comprising: Ma discloses identify, for each response signal in the set of one or more response signals, a sequence indicated in the response signal (0093, each particular ED arranges respective ED-unique on/off patterns of backscatter transmissions to indicate an identity for the particular ED); and identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on the sequence indicated in the response signal (0095, each ON/OFF pattern can be associated with an identity of the ED, facilitating identification of the ED by the reception point). Claim 18, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7. Ma may not explicitly disclose identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a frequency shift of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals. Hughes discloses identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a frequency shift of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals (0040, the reader identifies the IF frequencies where TONEs were detected and transmits the IF identifier to each discovered tag). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include a reader issuing a discovery mode command to the tags in range followed by timing pulses providing timeslot synchronization, as taught by Hughes, so as to reduce the time to identify and acknowledge large numbers of tags (0047). Claim 21, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7, wherein the one or more passive devices comprise at least one of a proximate UE, an internet-of-thing (loT) device, a passive radio frequency identifier (RFID) device, a semi-active RFID device, a device supporting backscattering-based communications (0063, the passive device components may perform the specific functions using backscattering communications), or a combination thereof. Claim 22, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 7. Ma discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a passive device (0046, Passive device components). Claim 25, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma may not explicitly disclose delay transmitting the response signal according to a time delay associated with the passive device. Hughes discloses delay transmitting the response signal according to a time delay associated with the passive device (0038, the tags which are in communication range present a TONE of their IF return frequencies during that timeslot). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include a reader issuing a discovery mode command to the tags in range followed by timing pulses providing timeslot synchronization, as taught by Hughes, so as to reduce the time to identify and acknowledge large numbers of tags (0047). Claim 26, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22, and comprising include a sequence associated with the passive device in the response signal (0115, the sequences may be made specific to the ED at which the sequences are employed). Claim 28, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma may not explicitly disclose apply a frequency shift associated with the passive device for the response signal. Hughes discloses apply a frequency shift associated with the passive device for the response signal (0032, each tag can generate replies at intermediate frequencies of 16 KHz, 32 KHz, and 56 KHz; 0036, the tag randomly selects the IF frequency it will use during the current discovery session). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include a reader issuing a discovery mode command to the tags in range followed by timing pulses providing timeslot synchronization, as taught by Hughes, so as to reduce the time to identify and acknowledge large numbers of tags (0047). Claims 2, 8, 12, 13, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of US 10,095,894 B1 herein Bellows. Claim 2, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the method of claim 1. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose selecting one or more resources associated with the one or more passive devices, wherein the message is broadcast on the one or more resources. Bellows discloses selecting one or more resources associated with the one or more passive devices, wherein the message is broadcast on the one or more resources (Col. 8: 9-12, a detector station may include eight RFID antenna elements, each maintained in a fixed position and each having a beam pattern extending in a different direction; Col. 10: 20-28, the controller causes the detector stations to configure some of the antenna elements to operate in Session 2 and others to operate in Session 3, thus the query is broadcast on the antenna element selected for the tags within its beam). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include configuring individual directional antenna elements of a reader to operate in different sessions, as taught by Bellows, so as to increase the number of tags capable of being tracked and the frequency at which the position of those tags is determined (Col. 3: 8-13). Claim 8, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 2. Claim 12, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 11. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose transmit a signal to a network entity indicating the numerical quantity of passive devices located proximate to the UE. Bellows discloses transmit a signal to a network entity indicating the numerical quantity of passive devices located proximate to the UE (Col. 12: 20-23, the centralized controller may determine the count by receiving an indication of the count from the RFID reader). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include configuring individual directional antenna elements of a reader to operate in different sessions, as taught by Bellows, so as to increase the number of tags capable of being tracked and the frequency at which the position of those tags is determined (Col. 3: 8-13). Claim 13, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of Bellows discloses the apparatus of claim 12. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose receive a control signal scheduling a resource to use for the communicating, wherein the resource is based at least in part on the indication of the numerical quantity. Bellows discloses receive a control signal scheduling a resource to use for the communicating, wherein the resource is based at least in part on the indication of the numerical quantity (Col. 13: 13-15, based on the count the controller determines an adjustment to the read cycle for the reader; Col. 13: 29-34, the controller configures the reader to execute the adjusted read cycle by transmitting an instruction to the detector station indicating the adjusted dwell times). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include configuring individual directional antenna elements of a reader to operate in different sessions, as taught by Bellows, so as to increase the number of tags capable of being tracked and the frequency at which the position of those tags is determined (Col. 3: 8-13). Claim 23, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose determine that the message was received on a resource associated with the passive device. Bellows discloses determine that the message was received on a resource associated with the passive device (Col. 3: 22-25, RFID tags analyze a broadcasted query to detect the state of the RFID reader, and if the state of the tag matches the state of the reader the tag responds to the query). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma to include configuring individual directional antenna elements of a reader to operate in different sessions, as taught by Bellows, so as to increase the number of tags capable of being tracked and the frequency at which the position of those tags is determined (Col. 3: 8-13). Claims 3, 4, 9, 10, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of US 2017/0162017 A1 herein Hosseini. Claim 3, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the method of claim 1. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose requesting, via the message, a response signal from one or more of: passive devices of the one or more passive devices with new data to communicate, passive devices of the one or more passive devices with no new data to communicate, or both. Hosseini discloses requesting, via the message, a response signal from one or more of: passive devices of the one or more passive devices with new data to communicate (0009, the reporting command signal comprises information indicating that it is a special reporting command signal to which only certain ones of a plurality of receiving control tags should respond, and the tag communicates a response signal if the information indicates a characteristic of the surrounding environment has changed within a specified period of time), passive devices of the one or more passive devices with no new data to communicate, or both. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to, modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include a reporting command to which only tags meeting a specified condition respond, as taught by Hosseini, so as to reduce the number of responses from devices in a given environment to those that are of interest (0040). Claim 4, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the method of claim 1. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose including in the message an identifier associated with each of the one or more passive devices, wherein the set of one or more response signals are received based at least in part on the identifier indicated in the message. Hosseini discloses including in the message an identifier associated with each of the one or more passive devices, wherein the set of one or more response signals are received based at least in part on the identifier indicated in the message (0045, the information is pre-processed to verify that the signal is directed to the control tag by comparing an identifier contained in the signal to the unique or group identifiers stored in memory, and if the identifiers match the signal is intended to be handled by the control tag). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include a reporting command to which only tags meeting a specified condition respond, as taught by Hosseini, so as to reduce the number of responses from devices in a given environment to those that are of interest (0040). Claim 9, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 3. Claim 10, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 4. Claim 24, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose determine that the message requests a response signal from one or more of: one or more passive devices with new data to communication, one or more passive devices with no new data to communicate, or both. Hosseini discloses determine that the message requests a response signal from one or more of: one or more passive devices with new data to communication (0064, the control tag analyzes the value of the special reporting parameter to determine if it should respond to the reporting command signal, and where the value indicates it should respond the tag generates and sends the response), one or more passive devices with no new data to communicate, or both. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include a reporting command to which only tags meeting a specified condition respond, as taught by Hosseini, so as to reduce the number of responses from devices in a given environment to those that are of interest (0040). Claims 17 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of US 2016/0328583 A1 herein Ibrahim. Claim 17, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose identify, for each response signal in the set of one or more response signals, a backscattering pulse repetition interval time (TPRI) indicated in the response signal; and identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on the TPRI indicated in the response signal. Ibrahim discloses identify, for each response signal in the set of one or more response signals, a backscattering pulse repetition interval time (TPRI) indicated in the response signal (0079, the tag reply rate is called the Backscatter Link Frequency and Tpri equals 1/BLF; 0089, the reader applies the FFT to the pilot tone of the preamble and the peak of the spectrum corresponds to the estimated rate); and identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on the TPRI indicated in the response signal (0092, where more than two tags collide and all of them have completely different rates the algorithm still works, and the estimation may fail where multiple tags have almost identical rates). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include estimating the backscatter link frequency of a tag reply from the pilot tone of its preamble, as taught by Ibrahim, so as to decrease the mean identification time compared to conventional systems (0110). Claim 27, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose include a backscattering pulse repetition interval time (TPRI) associated with the passive device in the response signal. Ibrahim discloses include a backscattering pulse repetition interval time (TPRI) associated with the passive device in the response signal (0079, BLF variations arise from a measurement error at the tag and from tag clock frequency variations due to manufacturing process, with a maximum tolerance of plus or minus 22 percent; 0086, the extended preamble of the tag reply has leading zeros used as a pilot tone to estimate the rate of the tag reply). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include estimating the backscatter link frequency of a tag reply from the pilot tone of its preamble, as taught by Ibrahim, so as to decrease the mean identification time compared to conventional systems (0110). Claims 19 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of US 2008/0079579 A1 herein Posamentier. Claim 19, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a modulation rate of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals. Posamentier discloses identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a modulation rate of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals (0016, the digital signal processor processes the response through a plurality of modulation filters to obtain data modulated at different rates; 0035, responses that share a timeslot are processed in parallel using respective modulation filters so that a first response transmitted according to a first modulation technique does not collide with a second response transmitted using a second modulation technique). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include tags transmitting responses in different modulation modes resolved at the reader by respective modulation filters, as taught by Posamentier, so as to expand the number of responses that may be received by the interrogator device at a point in time (0019). Claim 29, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose apply a modulation rate associated with the passive device for the response signal. Posamentier discloses apply a modulation rate associated with the passive device for the response signal (0031, the tag includes an ordered list of modulation modes and the control logic randomly selects from that number; 0032, the response is transmitted using the selected timeslot and the selected modulation mode). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include tags transmitting responses in different modulation modes resolved at the reader by respective modulation filters, as taught by Posamentier, so as to expand the number of responses that may be received by the interrogator device at a point in time (0019). Claims 20 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho and further in view of US 2005/0093679 A1 herein Zai. Claim 20, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 7. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a power domain randomization of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals. Zai discloses identify each passive device in at least the portion of the one or more passive devices based at least in part on a power domain randomization of each response signal in the set of one or more response signals (0054, the device with the strongest RSSI has the shortest monitor window before sending its packet, which improves the probability that the closest device is the first one to respond, thus the responders are distinguished by the order established from the received signal strength). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include a device deriving its response window from the received signal strength of the request, as taught by Zai, so as to provide a large area of coverage with minimal interference among the devices in the same network (0007). Claim 30, Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho discloses the apparatus of claim 22. Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho may not explicitly disclose apply a power domain randomization associated with the passive device for the response signal. Zai discloses apply a power domain randomization associated with the passive device for the response signal (0055, upon receiving a valid request the device calculates the monitoring window based on received signal strength indicator, listens to the channel during the monitoring window, and sends its packet if no other device responded). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ma in view of Hughes and further in view of Cho to include a device deriving its response window from the received signal strength of the request, as taught by Zai, so as to provide a large area of coverage with minimal interference among the devices in the same network (0007). The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20080079557 A1 – A method and system for processing radio frequency identification ("RFID") communication device data, the method and system including measuring an energy level of a RFID signal received on a first communication channel, measuring an energy level of the RFID signal received on a second communication channel, selecting the communication channel with the greater energy level, and acquiring data samples from the RFID signal received on the selected channel. The method and system for processing RFID communication device data can further include generating a preamble from a series of the acquired data samples.. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mehmood B. Khan whose telephone number is (571)272-9277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am-6:30 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. 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. /Mehmood B. Khan/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463 MEHMOOD B. KHAN Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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