Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/047,859

METHOD FOR EXCHANGING INTERFACE INFORMATION REGARDING A PCI EXPRESS INTERFACE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 07, 2025
Priority
Feb 13, 2024 — DE 10 2024 201 286.6
Examiner
PHAN, DEAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Robert Bosch GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
382 granted / 516 resolved
+14.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
530
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
89.7%
+49.7% vs TC avg
§102
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
§112
3.2%
-36.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 516 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 § 102 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kang et al (US 20220391093, Kang). As to claim 1, Kang discloses a method for exchanging interface information between different communication partners for communication of the communication partners via a bus PCI Express (fig. 1, par 74), the method comprising the following steps: a) ascertaining an interface definition (par. 53 “map data”), which describes memory areas and an internal memory layout (fig. 6) of a first communication partner (memory system) which a second communication partner (host 102) is to access to read and/or write data (par. 55 “read request”); c) providing the serialized form of the interface definition created in step b) to the second communication partner (fig. 8, 10, par. 60); and d) automatically configuring the second communication partner with the provided interface definition for the communication between the communication partners (par. 61 “store the memory map segment obtained from the memory system 110 in the host cache 106”). As to claim 2, Kang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the interface definition ascertained in step a) also includes protocol information (par. 13 “UFS protocol information unit”). As to claim 5, Kang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the second communication partner has a configurable communication stack for the communication with the first communication partner, wherein the configurable communication stack is configured in step d) with the provided interface definition (fig. 9 shows “H-SEGMENT1” table as a configurable communication stack). As to claim 7, all the same elements of claim 1 are listed, but in a system form with the first communication partner (fig. 2 memory system 110) and the second communication partner (host 102). Therefore, the supporting rationale of the rejection to claim 1 applies equally to claim 7. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. to combine the teachings of X and X, by x. The motivation is to x of the system (Background). Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Chen et al (US 20070099567, Chen). As to claim 3, Kang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the interface definition according to step c) includes storing the interface definition in serialized form in a memory area provided for the purpose of storing the interface definition, of the first communication partner (fig. 9, host map data, par. 127-128). Kang does not disclose wherein second communication partners retrieve the interface definition from the memory area of the first communication partner. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Chen discloses methods for providing a platform coexistence system of multiple wireless communication devices (abstract). In one embodiment, Chen further discloses the interface definition of the first communication partner is exchanged with the interface definition of the second communication partner (par. 48-49). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Chen, by configuring second communication partners to retrieve the interface definition from the memory area of the first communication partner. The motivation is to improve the reliability of the system (par. 3). Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Becker et al (US 20170242450, Becker). As to claim 4, Kang discloses the method according to claim 1 but does not disclose the limitations in claim 4. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Becker discloses a computer system that includes one or more processors and a display configured to display images that are representative of an energy system (par. 5). In one embodiment, Becker further discloses a memory map is created as an XML structure (par. 32). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Becker, by creating the interface definition first according to step a) as an XML structure or JSON structure and then serialized according to step b) with a serialization function for XML or JSON. The motivation is to provide to users the convenience of the system. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Govindarajan et al (US 20230251793, Govindarajan). As to claim 6, Kang discloses the method according to claim 1, but does not disclose the limitations in claim 6. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Govindarajan discloses a method for exchanging information between different communication partners (fig. 1 processor 250 and storage system 220) for communication of the communication partners via a bus PCI Express (PCIe interface 236), wherein the method is used during development of data processing units (par. 1) for data processing of sensor data (sensor 211, 212) for highly automated driving (par. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Govindarajan, by using during development of data processing units for data processing of sensor data for highly automated driving. The motivation is to improve the functionality of the system (par. 1). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEAN PHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1002. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 7:00AM-4:00PM. 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, Henry Tsai can be reached at 571-272-4176. 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. /D.P/Examiner, Art Unit 2184 /HENRY TSAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 07, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12681890
DATA TRANSMISSION ON I2C BUS
5y 1m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12681875
INTER-DRIVE COMMUNICATION FOR COOPERATIVE OPERATIONS
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12675428
COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND DATA TRANSMISSION METHOD
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12670116
INTERFACE CONVERSION DEVICE
1y 5m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12657137
EMULATED ENDPOINT CONFIGURATION
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 16, 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
74%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+14.0%)
3y 0m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 516 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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