Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/937,456

EFFICIENT MAINTENANCE FOR COMMUNICATION DEVICES

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Nov 05, 2024
Priority
Jul 14, 2021 — continuation of 12/149,417
Examiner
TURRIATE GASTULO, JUAN CARLOS
Art Unit
2446
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Hughes Network Systems LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allowance Rate
274 granted / 387 resolved
+12.8% vs TC avg
Strong +35% interview lift
Without
With
+34.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 12m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
414
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
12.3%
-27.7% vs TC avg
§103
61.0%
+21.0% vs TC avg
§102
12.8%
-27.2% vs TC avg
§112
6.7%
-33.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 387 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 action is in response to application filed 05/28/2026. Claims 2-21 are pending in this application. Terminal Disclaimer The terminal disclaimer filed on 05/28/2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of US Patent Number 12,149,417 B2 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded. Double Patenting The Double Patenting rejection presented on the previous office action is withdrawn in view of the Terminal Disclaimer filed and approved on 05/28/2026. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 05/28/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 2-21 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 USC 112(b). The amended claim language for claim 2 recites, “a network” in lines 9-10. It is not clear as to whether “a network” is the same as “a communication network” recited in line 4. The same reason applies for claim 12. 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. Claim 2-21 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. Claim 2 recites the limitation “…receiving, by the communication device, an idle period forecasting model from one or more computers over a communication network…” in lines 3-4. Claim 2 subsequently recites “…the one or more client devices send and receive network traffic over a network through the communication device" in lines 8-10. However, claim 2 further recites that “…the feature data indicates amounts of network traffic over the communication network over time for the one or more network connections provided by the communication device to the one or more client devices…” in lines 15-17. It is unclear whether “the communication network” in lines 15-17 refers to the previously recited communication network over which the communication device receives the idle period forecasting model from the one or more computes, or whether “the communication network” is intendent to refer to the separately recited “a network” over which the client devices send and receive network traffic through the communication device. Therefore, claim 2 is indefinite because it is unclear whether the network over which the feature data indicates amounts of network traffic is the network used to receive idle period forecasting model, the network through which the client devices send and receive network traffic, or whether the two recited networks are intended to be the same network. Appropriate correction is required. Regarding claim 12, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth with respect to claim 2. Dependent claims 3-11 and 13-21 are rejected by their dependencies from claims 2 and 12, respectively. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-21 are allowable over the prior art, but rejected under 35 USC 112 (b). Additional References The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicants disclosure. Paralikar, US 2021/0182046 A1: Systems and Methods for Machine Learning based Equipment Maintenance Scheduling. Ukil et al., US 2024/0096492 A1: Method and System for Evaluating Clinical Efficacy of Multi-Label Multi-Class Computational Diagnostic Models. Sethi et al., US 2022/0391722 A1: Reducing Impact of Collecting System State Information. Penar et al., US 2019/0334785 A1: Forecasting Underutilization of a Computing Resource. 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 JUAN C TURRIATE GASTULO whose telephone number is (571)272-6707. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am-4 pm. 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, Glenton B Burgess can be reached at (571)272-3949. 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. /J.C.T/Examiner, Art Unit 2454 /RACHEL J HACKENBERG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 05, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 28, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 21, 2026
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
71%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+34.8%)
2y 12m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 387 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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