Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/928,864

COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 28, 2024
Priority
Apr 29, 2022 — CN 202210474157.2 +2 more
Examiner
PEREZ, ANGELICA
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
586 granted / 780 resolved
+15.1% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+27.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
797
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
88.4%
+48.4% vs TC avg
§102
6.7%
-33.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 780 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 Objections Claims 1, 6, 10 and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 1 and 6 recite, “A communication apparatusreceive a first signal and a second signal, wherein both the second signal and the first signal are from a same device…”. To clarify the claim, it is recommended to indicate that the device is external to the apparatus (not an element of the apparatus). Suggested language would be, “A communication apparatus configured to receive a first signal and a second signal from a second communication apparatus, wherein both the second signal and the first signal are from a same second communication apparatus…”; or “A communication apparatus configured to receive a first signal and a second signal from an external communication device, wherein both the second signal and the first signal are from a same external communication device…”, or similar clarifying language. Claims 10 and 15 recite similar language; therefore, similar changes are required. Claims 10 and 15 recite, “A communication method applied to a communication apparatus”. The limitations should be replaced by, “A communication method performed by a communication apparatus”. Appropriate corrections are required. 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 1-18 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. Regarding claims 1 and 6, the limitations that read, “wherein the third signal is a signal obtained by performing frequency mixing”; “wherein the fourth signal is a signal obtained by performing frequency mixing”; and “the second signal is a signal obtained by performing frequency offset correction” are not recited along with any structure that performs these actions, rather, these limitations are set forth badly on their own, just functional limitations. However, claims 1 and 6 are “communication apparatus” reciting structure. Therefore, it is indefinite to what structure or structure placeholder is intended to be recited as performing the “is a signal obtained by performing frequency mixing”, “is a signal obtained by performing frequency offset correction” actions. Claims 10 and 15 are method claims; however, they recite similar language; therefore, similar changes should be made for clarity. Claims 2-5, 7-9, 11-14 and 16-18 depend from claim 1, 6, 10 and 15 and inherit the language of claims 1, 6, 10 and 15, respectively. Therefore, claims 2-5, 7-9, 11-14 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for the same reasons as applied to claims 1 and 6 above. Note: claims 1-18 will be allowable only after all the objections and rejections under 112(b) rejections are resolved. Note: The Examiner agrees and has quoted portions of European Search Opinion dated 06/23/2025 related to this application. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2022/0078056 A1 relates to circuit and method for compensating frequency offset in wireless frequency shift keying communication. US 2023002600 A1 relates to A relates to FSK demodulator with digital frequency offset compensation and demodulating method. JP 2009302862 A relates to FSK demodulator. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Angelica Perez whose telephone number is 571-272-7885. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 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, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications. 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 the PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through the 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). Information regarding Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system can be found at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the TC 2600's customer service number is 703-306-0377. /Angelica M. Perez/ Primary Patent Examiner AU 2649
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 28, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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3y 5m to grant Granted Jun 02, 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
75%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+27.9%)
2y 11m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 780 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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