Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/925,218

METHODS AND DESIGN FOR LINK MANAGEMENT FOR SEAMLESS ROAMING IN UHR COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 24, 2024
Priority
Jan 11, 2024 — provisional 63/620,079
Examiner
LEE, CHI HO A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
1273 granted / 1382 resolved
+32.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1410
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.5%
-35.5% vs TC avg
§103
43.7%
+3.7% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1382 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . 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 1-11 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. Claims 1 and 8 refer to an apparatus claim, “the apparatus comprising” but the body includes method, “steps…, comprising”. This is a hybrid claim, it is unclear whether the claim is directed toward an apparatus or a method claim. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Claims 12-18 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Re Claim 12, prior art fails to teach performing communications on a IEEE 802.11 wherein non-AP station requests a global association identification (AID) either directly from the central controller, prior to roaming to a second BSS, the stations of the non-AP MLD perform a global traffic-identifier (TID)- to-link mapping (TTLM) negotiation, using its global AID to determine where each TID from the non-AP MLD are to map to the links of the target AP MLD in the second BSS; and then roams to the second BSS and can transmit and receive from the AP of that BSS without the need for further negotiation as claimed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3130. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5PM ET. 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, KASSIM KHALAD can be reached at 5712703770. 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. /ANDREW LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2475
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 24, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750861
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INDICATING PHYSICAL DOWNLINK SHARED CHANNEL MONITORING, AND MEDIUM
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12745258
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING POSITION OF CONTROL CHANNEL ELEMENT, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745175
Network Energy Saving for Bandwidth Part
1y 10m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739842
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AND METHODS WITH ENHANCED DUPLEX
3y 10m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12739843
Conditions for Skipping Resource Evaluation for Sidelink
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
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
92%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+4.6%)
2y 3m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1382 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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