Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/854,457

Wired Communication System and Method for Determining a Transmission Signal Strength of a Number of Transceivers

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 04, 2024
Priority
May 05, 2022 — DE 10 2022 111 224.1 +1 more
Examiner
BARTELS, CHRISTOPHER A.
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 3m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
387 granted / 570 resolved
+7.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
599
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
66.9%
+26.9% vs TC avg
§102
24.0%
-16.0% vs TC avg
§112
4.0%
-36.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 570 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . DETAILED ACTION This office action is in response to the claim listing filed on 10/04/2024. Claims 13-30 are currently pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/04/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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. Claims 13-30 are rejected 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kessler et al. (USPGPUB No. 2017/0220502 A1, hereinafter referred to as Kessler) in view of Wild et al. (USPGPUB No. 2016/0211999 A1, hereinafter referred to as Wild) and further in view of Park et al. (USPGPUB No. 2022/0094413 A1, hereinafter referred to as Park). Referring to claim 13, Kessler discloses a wired communication system {“via [wired communication] the bus 106… in a [system] vehicle”, see Fig. 13, [0157]}, comprising: a plurality of transceivers {“slave nodes 104 connected to … one or more communication transceivers”, see Figs. 13 and 18 [0183]} which are interconnected via a wired communication bus {“connected to the bus 106, a slave node 104 may also be associated with, as a peripheral device 108… Ethernet transceiver, Ethernet Audio Video Bridging (EAVB) transceivers, transceivers used for transmitting data in Internet of Things (IoT) applications, etc”, see Figs. 13 and 18 [0183], 1st two sentences}; and wherein a transmit signal strength {“nodes 104 on the bus 106 may support [transmit signal strength] beam-forming applications”, see Figs. 16 and 17 [0187], 1st sentence} of the respective transceivers is individually set {“[respective transceivers] reduced or no audibility outside of the area”, see Figs. 16 and 17 [0187]} such that, on the respective transceivers {“collect synchronous audio content to [respective transceivers] multiple slave nodes 104”, see Figs. 16 and 17 [0187]}; Kessler does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein a transmit signal strength of the respective transceivers is individually set such that, on the respective transceivers such that a ratio is reduced compared to other transmit signal strength configurations of the respective transceivers; However, Wild discloses wherein a transmit signal strength {“[transmit signal strength] performance results for comparison of UFMC with OFDM”, see Fig. 2b [0057], 1st sentence} of the respective transceivers is individually set {individually set “under different timing offsets between different users”, see Fig. 2b, [0057], 1st sentence} such that {transceiver subcomponent “suppression (band pass) filters 106-1, 106-2, 106-p” (see Fig. 1, [0049]), also referred as “communication system 300 comprising the transmitter 100” (see Fig. 3, [0060], 1st sentence)}, on the respective transceivers such that a ratio {“required [ratio] E.sub.b/N.sub.0”, see Fig. 2b [0057], 3rd sentence; “same relative Carrier Frequency Oscillator (CFO) requirements will lead to much larger [maximum signal strength] absolute frequency shifts” (see Fig. 2b, [0057], last two sentences)} of transmit signals of other transceivers is reduced {“[maximum received signal strength CFO is normalized to the subcarrier spacing [including minimum received signal strength]” (see Fig. 2b, [0057], last two sentences)} compared to other transmit signal strength configurations of the respective transceivers {“OFDM, due to the possibility to reduce guard bands [of the respective transceivers filters 106-1, 106-2, 106-p], and to avoid using a CP which is discarded later on in the receiver”, see Fig. 2b [0057], last sentence}. Kessler and Wild are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor, time division multiplexing communication(s). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Kessler and Wild before him or her, to modify Kessler’s “multiple slave nodes 104” (see Figs. 16 and 17 [0187]) incorporating Wild’s “suppression (band pass) filters 106-1, 106-2, 106-p” (see Fig. 1, [0049]). The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to provide pure frequency domain receiver processing, which may achieve a complexity almost as low as OFDM while offering additional performance gains compared to pure frequency domain processing, with modest increase in complexity (Wild [0033] paraphrased). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Wild with Kessler to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s). Neither Kessler or Wild appears to explicitly disclose wherein that the ratio between a maximum received signal strength and a minimum received signal strength. However, Park discloses a ratio {“by calculating [ratios] correlations”, see Fig. 7, [0063]} between a maximum received signal strength {“with respect to the [maximum received signal strength] received random access preamble messages”, see Figs. 5 and 7 [0063]} and a minimum received signal strength {“calculating correlations of the [minimum] basis preambles”, see Figs. 5 and 7, [0063]} of transmit signals {“may receive the random access preamble messages”, see Figs. 5 and 7 [0063], 1st sentence}; Kessler/Wild and Park are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor, time division multiplexing communication(s). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Kessler/Wild and Park before him or her, to modify Kessler/Wild’s device incorporating Park’s “calculating correlations of the [minimum] basis preambles” (see Figs. 5 and 7, [0063]). The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to incorporate/controlling a phase of the non-zero element of the linear combination matrix Φ for the transceivers/OFDM terminals (Park [0085], 1st sentence), the increase in the PAPR may be restricted (Park [0087], last sentence paraphrased). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Park with Kessler/Wild to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s). As per claim 14, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the other transmit signal strength configurations includes a configuration {“power control [configuration] is performed so that”, see Figs. 5 and 7 [0070], 1st sentence} in which the transmit signal strengths {“reception power of the [transmit signal strengths] superposed preamble reception signal”, see Figs. 5 and 7, [0070], 1st sentence} of the respective transceivers are the same {“from [respective transceivers] each terminal is [are the same] uniform to an average reception power P.sub.rx”, see Fig. [0070], 1st sentence}. As per claim 15, the rejection of claim 14 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein a received gain {“may be a gain in terms of reception complexity”, [0023], last two sentences} of the transceivers is set based on a sum {Equation 3 as show after [0065] see Figs. 7 and 5} of received signal strengths on the respective transceiver {“from [respective transceivers] each terminal is [are the same] uniform to an average reception power P.sub.rx”, see Fig. 8, [0070], 1st sentence}. As per claim 16, the rejection of claim 15 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the plurality of transceivers are designed to communicate with one another over a plurality of frequency bands so that {“the plurality of communication nodes 110 to 130 may support communication protocols [plurality of frequency bands] defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specifications (e.g., LTE communication protocol, LTE-A communication protocol, NR communication protocol, or the like)… wideband CDMA (WCDMA) based communication protocol, … filter band multi-carrier (FBMC) based communication protocol, universal filtered multi-carrier UFMC” to name a few example frequency bands, see Fig. 1 [0042]}, according to the number of frequency bands that are used, a corresponding number of transceivers can transmit simultaneously {“filtered OFDM based communication protocol, cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) based communication protocol, discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) based communication protocol, [simultaneously] orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based communication protocol”, see Fig. 1 [0042]}, wherein the sum of received signal strengths is formed {Equation 3 as show after [0065] see Figs. 7 and 5} based on the number of frequency bands that are used {Equation 3 part of a “procedure of calculating the correlations and detecting the superposed preambles” ([0065], 1st sentence) such preambles “terminals transmit the superposed preamble signal through filtering such as the OFDM, DFT-S-OFDM, FBMC” ([0085], 1st sentence)}. As per claim 17, the rejection of claim 16 is incorporated and Kessler discloses wherein the plurality of transceivers are supported by a vehicle {“system 100 is included in a vehicle, the bus 106 may provide a digital network as an aid to understand vehicle integrity”, see Fig. 1 [0161], 1st sentence}. As per claim 18, the rejection of claim 15 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein transmit signals of transceivers, said transceivers communicate in transmit mode {“[transmit/receive] communicate with each other as connected through a bus 270”, see Fig. 2 [0044], 2nd sentence} via the communication bus are taken into account in determining the received signal strengths {“a random access response message MsgB and transmit [mode] it to the terminals S570-1 S570-k”, see Fig. 10 [0084], 1st sentence}. As per claim 19, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the transmit signal strength at least some of the respective transceivers is individually changed such that {“may first perform a cell search procedure, acquire [individually changed] synchronization with a neighbor base station”, see Fig. 5 [0056], 1st sentence}, on the respective transceivers {“each of terminals may first perform…”, see Fig. 5 [0056], 1st sentence}, the ratio between the maximum received signal strength and the minimum received signal strength of transmit signals {“system information received by the terminals from the base station may include at least one among repetition level information, power ramping parameter information, maximum [received signal strength] preamble transmission count information”, see Fig. 5 [0056], last sentence} of other transceivers is reduced {“[other transceivers from] the base station may also be able to reduce the PAPR by adjusting the linear combination matrix Φ”, see Fig. 10 [0085]} compared to other transmit signal strength configurations {“each terminal may generate each superposed preamble Cϕ.sub.q(k) by applying [other transmit signal strength configurations] the linear combination vector corresponding to each terminal to the basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence}. As per claim 20, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the plurality of transceivers are designed to communicate with one another over a plurality of frequency bands so that {“the plurality of communication nodes 110 to 130 may support communication protocols [plurality of frequency bands] defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specifications (e.g., LTE communication protocol, LTE-A communication protocol, NR communication protocol, or the like)… wideband CDMA (WCDMA) based communication protocol, … filter band multi-carrier (FBMC) based communication protocol, universal filtered multi-carrier UFMC” to name a few example frequency bands, see Fig. 1 [0042]}, according to the number of frequency bands that are used {“Each of the plurality of base stations 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, and 120-2 may operate in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands [used]”, see Fig. 1, [0048], 2nd sentence}, a corresponding number of transceivers can transmit simultaneously {“filtered OFDM based communication protocol, cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) based communication protocol, discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) based communication protocol, [simultaneously] orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based communication protocol”, see Fig. 1 [0042]}. As per claim 21, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein a received gain {“may be a gain in terms of reception complexity”, [0023], last two sentences} of the transceivers is set based on a sum {Equation 3 as show after [0065] see Figs. 7 and 5} of received signal strengths on the respective transceiver {“from [respective transceivers] each terminal is [are the same] uniform to an average reception power P.sub.rx”, see Fig. 8, [0070], 1st sentence}. As per claim 22, the rejection of claim 21 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the plurality of transceivers are designed to communicate with one another over a plurality of frequency bands so that {“the plurality of communication nodes 110 to 130 may support communication protocols [plurality of frequency bands] defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specifications (e.g., LTE communication protocol, LTE-A communication protocol, NR communication protocol, or the like)… wideband CDMA (WCDMA) based communication protocol, … filter band multi-carrier (FBMC) based communication protocol, universal filtered multi-carrier UFMC” to name a few example frequency bands, see Fig. 1 [0042]}, according to the number of frequency bands that are used {“Each of the plurality of base stations 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, and 120-2 may operate in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands [used]”, see Fig. 1, [0048], 2nd sentence}, a corresponding number of transceivers can transmit simultaneously {“filtered OFDM based communication protocol, cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) based communication protocol, discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) based communication protocol, [simultaneously] orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based communication protocol”, see Fig. 1 [0042]}, wherein the sum of received signal strengths is formed {Equation 3 as show after [0065] see Figs. 7 and 5} based on the number of frequency bands that are used {Equation 3 part of a “procedure of calculating the correlations and detecting the superposed preambles” ([0065], 1st sentence) such preambles “terminals transmit the superposed preamble signal through filtering such as the OFDM, DFT-S-OFDM, FBMC” ([0085], 1st sentence)}. As per claim 23, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the plurality of transceivers comprises at least a first transceiver and a second transceiver {“from [first and second respective transceivers] each terminal is [are the same] uniform to an average reception power P.sub.rx”, see Fig. 8, [0070], 1st sentence}, wherein a transmit signal strength of the first transceiver {“reception power of the [transmit signal strengths] superposed preamble reception signal”, see Figs. 5 and 7, [0070], 1st sentence} differs from a transmit signal strength of the second transceiver {“each terminal may generate each superposed preamble Cϕ.sub.q(k) by applying [other/different transmit signal strength configurations] the linear combination vector corresponding to each terminal to the basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence}. As per claim 24, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein transmit signals of transceivers, said transceivers communicate in transmit mode {“[transmit/receive] communicate with each other as connected through a bus 270”, see Fig. 2 [0044], 2nd sentence} via the communication bus are taken into account in determining the received signal strengths {“a random access response message MsgB and transmit [mode] it to the terminals S570-1 S570-k”, see Fig. 10 [0084], 1st sentence}. As per claim 25, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the transmit signal strengths are set by: determining, for each transceiver {“a random access response message MsgB and transmit [mode] it to the terminals S570-1 S570-k”, see Fig. 10 [0084], 1st sentence}, a maximum received signal strength {“with respect to the [maximum received signal strength] received random access preamble messages”, see Figs. 5 and 7 [0063]} and a minimum received signal strength {“calculating correlations of the [minimum] basis preambles”, see Figs. 5 and 7, [0063]} of transmit signals of other transceivers {“each of [other transceivers] terminals may first perform a cell search procedure, acquire synchronization with a neighbor base station”, see Fig. 5 [0056], 1st sentence} based on a predefined transmit signal strength configuration {“to the [predefined transmit signal strength configuration] basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence”}; and adapting at least a set of the individual transmit signal strengths {“order to resolve such the collision, the base station and the terminals may perform a contention resolution procedure” [to adapt at a set of signal strengths as claimed, see Fig. 10 [0084], last sentence} of the transceivers such that the ratio {“terminals may take the nonzero elements from among constant amplitude complex numbers… the base station may [adapting] fill the linear combination matrix Φ with a combination instead of {1}, that minimizes the PAPR by considering Equation 12 below as alphabets” to affect the claimed ratio, see Fig. 10 [0085], last sentence} between the maximum received signal strength and the minimum received signal strength of transmit signals of other transceivers is reduced {“also be able to reduce the [received signal strength] PAPR by adjusting the linear combination matrix Φ”, see Fig. 10 [0085]} compared to other transmit signal strength configurations of the transceivers {“each terminal may generate each superposed preamble Cϕ.sub.q(k) by applying [other transmit signal strength configurations] the linear combination vector corresponding to each terminal to the basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence}. As per claim 26, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated and Park discloses wherein the received gain of the transceivers is set by: determining, for each transceiver {“a random access response message MsgB and transmit [mode] it to the terminals S570-1 S570-k”, see Fig. 10 [0084], 1st sentence}, a maximum received signal strength {“with respect to the [maximum received signal strength] received random access preamble messages”, see Figs. 5 and 7 [0063]} and a minimum received signal strength {“calculating correlations of the [minimum] basis preambles”, see Figs. 5 and 7, [0063]} of transmit signals of other transceivers {“each of [other transceivers] terminals may first perform a cell search procedure, acquire synchronization with a neighbor base station”, see Fig. 5 [0056], 1st sentence} based on a predefined transmit signal strength configuration {“to the [predefined transmit signal strength configuration] basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence”}; and adapting the received gain of the transceivers {“may be a gain in terms of reception complexity”, [0023], last two sentences} such that the ratio between the maximum received signal strength and the minimum received signal strength {“system information received by the terminals from the base station may include at least one among repetition level information, power ramping parameter information, maximum [received signal strength] preamble transmission count information”, see Fig. 5 [0056], last sentence} of transmit signals {“order to resolve such the collision, the base station and the terminals may perform a contention resolution procedure” [to adapt at a set of signal strengths as claimed, see Fig. 10 [0084], last sentence} of other transceivers is reduced {“also be able to reduce the [received signal strength] PAPR by adjusting the linear combination matrix Φ”, see Fig. 10 [0085]} compared to other transmit signal strength configurations of the transceivers {“each terminal may generate each superposed preamble Cϕ.sub.q(k) by applying [other transmit signal strength configurations] the linear combination vector corresponding to each terminal to the basis preamble matrix”, see Figs. 5 and 6, [0060], last sentence}. Referring to claims 27, 28, and 29 are method claims reciting claim functional language corresponding to the system claim of claims 13-26, respectively, thereby rejected under the same rationale as claims 13-26 recited above. Referring to claim 30 is a non-transitory storage medium claim reciting claim functional language corresponding to the system claim of claims 13-26, respectively, thereby rejected under the same rationale as claims 13-26 recited above, inter alia, Kessler discloses when the program code is executed on a computer, a processor, a control module {“[control module] master node 102 may be programmed (by the host 110) with a number of downstream portions”, see Figs. 1 and 2 [0055]} or a programmable hardware component {Examiner’s: the recitation “or” renders this claim as a Markush claim, thus the reference needs only disclose one group member to address the claim}. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references are applicable as 103 art teaching at least one limitation recited in claim 1: US 11153060 B2, US 11190255 B2, US 20190081739 A1, US 20190132845 A1, US 20200128488 A1, US 20210051720 A1, and US 20220046713 A1. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A. BARTELS whose telephone number is (571)270-3182. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00a-5:30pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dr. Henry Tsai can be reached on 571-272-4176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /C. B./ Examiner, Art Unit 2184 /HENRY TSAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 04, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750329
NETWORK INTERFACE DEVICE
4y 8m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12730772
TRANSMISSION OF USB DATA IN A DATA STREAM
3y 11m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12724736
DAISY-CHAINED SERIAL PERIPHERAL INTERFACE
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12724734
Scatter and Gather Streaming Data through a Circular FIFO
2y 4m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12717737
MULTI-HOST AND MULTI-CLIENT DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS SYSTEM HAVING A READ SCHEDULER
3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+11.8%)
3y 3m (~1y 3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 570 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month