Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 19/183,311

CONSTELLATIONS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Apr 18, 2025
Examiner
SALTARELLI, DOMINIC D
Art Unit
2421
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Lenovo (United States) Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
685 granted / 866 resolved
+21.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
892
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
§103
46.5%
+6.5% vs TC avg
§102
24.2%
-15.8% vs TC avg
§112
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 866 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 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. Claims 1-12 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Handte et al. (EP 3 552 332 B1) [Handte]. Regarding claims 1, 16, 18, and 20, Handte discloses a first apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and operable to: generate a set of constellations associated with wireless communication, wherein the set of constellations comprises a plurality of pairs of constellations, wherein each pair of constellations comprises a first constellation for transmission of the wireless communication (paragraph 0018) and a second constellation for reception of the wireless communication (paragraph 0019). Regarding claims 2 and 19, Handte discloses the first apparatus and method of claims 1 and 18, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first apparatus to transmit information of at least a subset of the set of constellations (transmission constellation is used for outgoing signals, paragraph 0018). Regarding claim 3, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the information of at least a subset of the set of constellations is transmitted to a second apparatus for transmission or reception of wireless communication (paragraphs 0038-0039). Regarding claim 4, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first constellation is configured for bit mapping (paragraph 0018), and wherein the second constellation is configured for bit demapping (paragraph 0019). Regardings 5, 10, and 17, Handte discloses the first and second apparatus of claims 1 and 16, wherein the first constellation and the second constellation have different non-uniform constellation arrangements (paragraph 0027). Regarding claim 6 and 7, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of constellations is generated based at least in part on a bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) function (paragraph 0022). Regarding claim 8, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 6, wherein the objective function is based at least in part on a first constellation for a transmitter constellation and a second constellation for a receiver constellation, and wherein the first constellation is associated with generating a symbol for transmission (paragraph 0019), and the second constellation is associated with calculating a likelihood ratio associated with the symbol for transmission (paragraph 0019, see also paragraph 0002, where BCIM adherence comprises a “maximum likelihood” detection process for incoming transmissions). Regarding claim 9, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 6, wherein the objective function is associated with one or more constraints, and wherein the one or more constraints are based at least in part on power normalization for the set of constellations (paragraph 0028, link adaptation to meet desired signal to noise ratio). Regarding claim 11, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 10, wherein the set of constellations comprises one or more of a one-dimensional non-uniform constellation, a two-dimensional non-uniform constellation (paragraph 0027). Regarding claim 12, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more constraints are based at least in part on one or more constellation types for the set of constellations (paragraph 0028). Regarding claim 14, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first constellation is generated based at least in part on an objective function (paragraph 0018), and the second constellation is determined based at least in part on a predefined constellation for reception of wireless communication (paragraph 0019). Regarding claim 15, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predefined constellation comprises a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellation (paragraph 0018). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Handte. Regarding claim 13, Handte discloses the first apparatus of claim 1, but fails to specifically disclose the set of constellations are generated based at least in part on an objective function that is determined based at least in part on one or more of an exhaustive search, a particle swarm optimization, a genetic algorithm, or a Nelder-Mead algorithm. Examiner takes official notice that the use of an exhaustive search, a particle swarm optimization, a genetic algorithm, or a Nelder-Mead algorithm were notoriously well-known options available to those of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for determining constellations during signal coding. It would have been obvious at the time of effective filing to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Handte to include the set of constellations are generated based at least in part on an objective function that is determined based at least in part on one or more of an exhaustive search, a particle swarm optimization, a genetic algorithm, or a Nelder-Mead algorithm. Each being one of the finite number of solutions available at the time of effective filing to a person of ordinary skill in the art for generation of constellations. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINIC D SALTARELLI whose telephone number is (571)272-7302. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST. 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, Nathan Flynn can be reached at (571) 272-1915. 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. /DOMINIC D SALTARELLI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 18, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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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
79%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+14.8%)
2y 6m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 866 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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