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 filed 3/13/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Examiner has thoroughly reviewed Applicant’s arguments but firmly believes that the cited reference reasonably and properly meet the claimed limitation as rejected.
Applicant’s argument – Applicant disagrees with the assertion that claims 19-36 are directed to non-statutory subject matter. The human mind is not equipped to obtain channel state information of port groups or to send this kind of information to a network device. The claims recite additional elements that integrate the claim into a practical application and include improvement of technology or technical field.
Examiner’s response – Claims 19-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to abstract idea without significantly more. The claims 19, 25, and 31 recite: “obtaining channel state information (CSI), and sending first information and second information” is directed to mental process and can be done by a person. A person is capable to receive and gather information from multiple sources and send the information to someone/somewhere else. Claimed “channel state information” is not linked to any specific technology and particular environment. It’s merely interpreted as information. Further, the claims do not recite additional elements that integrate the claim into a practical application.
Appellant’s identified improvements are to the abstract idea itself, not improvements to a technology or computer functionality. That is, the cited claim limitations do not improve the functionality of the general purpose computer system, nor do they achieve an improved technological result in conventional industry practice (see MPEP 2106.05(a), II). Therefore, claims are not eligible.
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.
Claims 19-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to abstract idea without significantly more. The claims 19, 25, and 31 recite: “obtaining channel state information (CSI), and sending first information and second information” is directed to mental process and can be done by a person. A person can get information from multiple sources and send the information. Thus, it is an abstract idea. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because merely get and send information do not add a meaningful limitation to the method and has no practical application. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the “terminal device, network device, apparatus and processor” is a generic computer element and each step does no more than require a generic computer to perform generic computer functions. The generic computer functions do not add meaningful limitation to the abstract idea. Therefore, claims 19-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eva Y Puente whose telephone number is 571-272-3049. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chieh Fan can be reached on 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 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).
April 28, 2026
/EVA Y PUENTE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632
Prosecution Insights