Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 17/916,570

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING REFERENCE SIGNAL, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 01, 2022
Priority
Apr 03, 2020 — CN 202010264933.7 +1 more
Examiner
CROMPTON, CHRISTOPHER R
Art Unit
2463
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Unisoc (Shanghai) Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
489 granted / 609 resolved
+22.3% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
618
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.3%
-31.7% vs TC avg
§103
45.0%
+5.0% vs TC avg
§102
26.0%
-14.0% vs TC avg
§112
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 609 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/18/26 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 5/17/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. For claim 1, Applicant state that R1 does not disclose “wherein the first paging indication information is carried in a reserved bit of the paging PDCCH”; however, R1 discloses this limitation in paragraphs 134-142, 162-175, 182-208, as previously cited, a PDCCH is received and reviewed, the information in said PDCCH triggers a determination of whether the reference signal is valid and measured (i.e. CSI-RS). The indication on whether to measure channel conditions can be based on a one-bit reserve. Therefore, since R1 discloses the claimed limitations, the rejections under the prior art are maintained and updated based on the amendments to the claims accordingly. 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 1,3,7, 8, 18, and 39-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Onggosanusi Eko et al (US 2019/0305837)[R1]. For claim 1, R1 discloses detecting a downlink signal or monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to obtain a first result, wherein the first result is a detection result or a monitoring result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208); and determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208 determine valid based on the previously receiving paging PDCCH) wherein a PDCCH comprises a paging PDCCH, and the determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result comprises: if the paging PDCCH is monitored, obtaining first paging indication information in the paging PDCCH; and determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first paging indication information (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208), the first paging indication information is carried in a reserved bit of the paging PDCCH (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). For claim 3, R1 discloses wherein the determining that the reference signal is valid, wherein the reference signal is after the paging PDCCH, comprises: determining that the reference signal in a first preset time is valid, wherein the first preset time is after the paging PDCCH (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). For claim 7, R1 discloses the determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first paging indication information comprises: if the first paging indication information indicates that a UE subgroup needs to receive a paging message or to be woken up, determining that the reference signal is valid, wherein a target UE belongs to the UE subgroup and the reference signal is after obtaining the first paging indication information (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208 additionally contingent limitation in method claim). For claim 8, R1 discloses the determining that the reference signal is valid, wherein the reference signal is after obtaining the first paging indication information comprises: determining that the reference signal in a third preset time is valid, wherein the third preset time is after obtaining the first paging indication information (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). For claim 18, R1 discloses wherein the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). For claim 39, R1 discloses at least one a processor (paragraphs 6-12); and a memory connected with the at least one processor in a communication way; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, the instructions being executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method of (paragraphs 6-12): detect a downlink signal or monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to obtain a first result, wherein the first result is a detection result or a monitoring result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208); and determine whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208) wherein the PDCCH comprises a paging PDCCH, and the determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result comprises: if the paging PDCCH is monitored, obtaining first paging indication information in the paging PDCCH; and determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first paging indication information (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208), the first paging indication information is carried in a reserved bit of the paging PDCCH (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). For claim 40, R1 discloses non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to perform the method (paragraphs 6-12): detecting a downlink signal or monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to obtain a first result, wherein the first result is a detection result or a monitoring result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208); and determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208) wherein the PDCCH comprises a paging PDCCH, and the determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first result comprises: if the paging PDCCH is monitored, obtaining first paging indication information in the paging PDCCH; and determining whether the reference signal is valid according to the first paging indication information (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208), the first paging indication information is carried in a reserved bit of the paging PDCCH (paragraphs 6-8, 118, 134-142, 162-175, 182-208). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER R CROMPTON whose telephone number is (571)270-3678. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-4PM ET M-Th. 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571)272-3988. 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. /CHRISTOPHER R CROMPTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 01, 2022
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Dec 31, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 17, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 18, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 22, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+16.3%)
2y 11m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 609 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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