Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/875,137

SIGNAL DESIGN FOR BACKSCATTER COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Dec 14, 2024
Priority
Jun 29, 2022 — SE 2250803-0 +1 more
Examiner
LEE, SIU M
Art Unit
2632
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allowance Rate
985 granted / 1081 resolved
+29.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1098
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
§103
45.7%
+5.7% vs TC avg
§102
14.5%
-25.5% vs TC avg
§112
17.8%
-22.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1081 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 3-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. (1) Regarding claim 3: Claim 3 depends on claim 1, wherein claim 1 recites “the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is less than six eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern” and claim 3 further limiting: wherein the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is less than five eighths, more particularly less than four eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern. There are three different ranges “less than six eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern”, “less than five eighths” and “less than four eighths”. It is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 3. (2) Regarding claim 4: Claim 4 depends on claim 1, wherein claim 1 recites “the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is less than six eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern” and claim 4 further limiting: the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is more than two eights, in particular more than three eighths, more particularly more than four eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern. There are three different ranges “more than two eights”, “more than three eighths”, and “more than four eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern”. It is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 4. (3) Regarding claim 5: Claim 5 recites “wherein a number of chips where the first pattern and the second pattern differ is more than three eighths, in particular more than five eighths, more particularly more than seven eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern. There are three different ranges “more than three eighths”, “more than five eighths”, and “more than seven eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern”. It is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 5. (4) Regarding claim 6: Claim 6 recites wherein the predefined duration is longer than 10 ns, in particular longer than 30 ns, in particular longer than 100 ns, in particular longer than 300 ns, in particular longer than 1000 ns. It is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 6. (5) Regarding claim 7: Lines 2-3 recites “the standardized Extended Pedestrian A channel model”, there is a lack of antecedent basis for this limitation. (6) Regarding claim 8: Claim 8 recites the predefined duration is shorter than 200 ms, in particular shorter than 180 ms, in particular shorter than 60 ms, in particular shorter than 24 ms, in particular shorter than 13 ms, in particular shorter than 9 ms, in particular shorter than 6 ms, in particular shorter than 5 ms. There are 7 different ranges cited in the claim, it is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 8. (7) Regarding claim 9” Lines 2-3 recites “the standardized Extended Pedestrian A channel model”, there is a lack of antecedent basis for this limitation. (8) Regarding claim 10: Claim 10 recites the number of chips of the first pattern is greater than 400, in particular greater than 1000, in particular greater than 1300, in particular greater than 2000. There are 4 different ranges cited in the claim, it is unclear which range is required for satisfying the limitation of claim 10. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. Claims 1-2, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park, Aaron et al "Turbocharging Ambient Backscatter Communication" cited in the IDS filed 12/14/2024, hereinafter Park. (1) Regarding claim 1: Park discloses a method of transmitting a data bit by passing or absorbing, by a wireless device, by a wireless device, and incoming signal, the method comprising: for a data but value zero, obtaining a first pattern comprising a number of chips having a predefined duration, for a data bit value one, obtaining a second pattern comprising the number of chips having the predefined duration (Par. 5.1 : the transmitter could represent a zero bit by the chip sequence '101110111' and a one bit by the chip sequence '111011011'. The 1s and 0s in the above sequences are the chips used by the transmitter to encode the information. "), and either passing or absorbing, during each chip, the incoming signal in accordance with the first pattern or the second pattern, wherein the first pattern and the second pattern are selected to have an equal number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed (in the above recited chip sequence representing bit 1 and bit 0, has 2 zero on each chip sequence), wherein the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is less than six eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern (each chip sequence recited above has 9 chips, and the ratio of 0 to 1 in the chip sequence is 2:7, thus satisfied the claimed limitation of the number of chips during which the incoming signal is absorbed is less than six eighths of the number of chips of the first pattern). (2) Regarding claim 2: Park discloses wherein the first pattern and the second pattern are different (Par. 5.1 shows that the first pattern (111011011) is different from the second pattern ('101110111'). (3) Regarding claim 17: Park discloses a control circuity, wherein the control circuitry is configured for performing the method according to claim 1 (see Figs. 4 and 5 showing hardware performing the required computation using analog components and the decoding operations using analog components; in LEMMA 5.1 illustrates that If the transmitter continuously sends an alternating sequence of zero and one chips and the receiver computes in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) components over any duration of N chips). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 11-16 and 18 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The present invention describes a method of receiving a data bit transmitted by a wireless device by passing or absorbing an incoming signal, by a receiver device, the method comprising - obtaining a third pattern comprising a number of chips having a predefined duration, wherein a chip of the third pattern is zero if corresponding chips of a first pattern associated with a data bit value zero and a second pattern associated with a data bit value one are equal, wherein a chip of the third pattern has a positive sign if a corresponding chip of the first pattern is greater than a corresponding chip of the second pattern, wherein a chip of the third pattern has a negative sign if a corresponding chip of the first pattern is smaller than a corresponding chip of the second pattern, - decoding a received pattern representing the data bit based on the third pattern. The closest prior art, Park, Aaron et al "Turbocharging Ambient Backscatter Communication" cited in the IDS filed 12/14/2024, discloses a similar method, but fails to disclose - obtaining a third pattern comprising a number of chips having a predefined duration, wherein a chip of the third pattern is zero if corresponding chips of a first pattern associated with a data bit value zero and a second pattern associated with a data bit value one are equal, wherein a chip of the third pattern has a positive sign if a corresponding chip of the first pattern is greater than a corresponding chip of the second pattern, wherein a chip of the third pattern has a negative sign if a corresponding chip of the first pattern is smaller than a corresponding chip of the second pattern, - decoding a received pattern representing the data bit based on the third pattern. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yu et al. (US 2019/0335563 A1) discloses protection circuit, drive system, chip and circuit protection method, and drive method. Shiba et al. (US 7,274,729 B2) discloses spread spectrum communication device and communication system. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIU M LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1083. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 8:30-7:00. 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, Chieh M Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. 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. /SIU M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 9/9/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
Jul 08, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+11.0%)
2y 1m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1081 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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