Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/972,812

CHANNEL MONITORING METHOD, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Oct 25, 2022
Examiner
ESMAEILIAN, MAJID
Art Unit
2477
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
4y 0m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allow Rate
238 granted / 315 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+24.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 0m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
351
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.7%
-37.3% vs TC avg
§103
70.9%
+30.9% vs TC avg
§102
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§112
7.6%
-32.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 315 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 is in reply to an amendment filed on 12/02/2025. Status of claims are: ** Claims 1 and 3-21 are pending in this Office Action. ** Claims 1, 5, 6, 9, 15, 19, and 20 are amended. ** Claim 21 is new. ** Claim 2 is cancelled. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed in the amendment filed 12/02/2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The reasons are set forth below. Applicant argues, bottom of page 2 and top of page 3 of arguments: Paragraph [0233] of Babaei discloses: “A parameter allowedServingCells, if present, may indicate that UL MAC SDUs from this logical channel may be mapped to the serving cells indicated in this list. In an example, a parameter logicalChannelSR-Mask may control SR triggering when a configured uplink grant of type1 or type2 is configured “true” may indicate that SR masking is configured for this logical channel. In view of the disclosed, although the parameter “allowedServingCells” of Babaei is similar to the related parameter of the LCP restriction of the uplink logical channel that triggers the SR, however Babaei only disclose determining the first service cell set that is allowed to transmit the uplink logical channel based on the parameter “allowedSerevingCells”. Then, in Babaei, the monitoring of the PDCCH is directly performed on the determined first serving cell set. However, in amended claim 1 of the present application, the terminal device first selects one or more service cells (i.e., the first service cell set) that are allowed for the transmission of uplink logical channel according to the related parameter of LCP restriction, then the terminal device further determines a service cell used to transmit the PDCCH related to the uplink scheduling indicating the service cells in the first service cell set and monitors the PDCCH on the service cell to receive the uplink scheduling information. That is, in the claimed invention, the monitoring of the PDCCH is performed on the serving cell, corresponding to uplink scheduling information capable of indicating any serving cell in the first serving cell, not the first service cell set. Examiner’s Response: Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant. First, Applicant is arguments that are not clearly indicated in the applied claims. The applied claim language does not indicate that monitoring of the PDCCH is performed on the serving cell and not the service cell set. Secondly, the “service cell set” is understood as to be equivalent to having “multiple serving cells” and not just one serving cell. Thirdly, Babaei also teaches and suggests, the monitoring of the PDCCH is performed on the determined first serving cell, and not the first service cell set as Applicant argues. For example, Babaei in para[0290] indicates that type1 or type2 may be configured per Serving Cell (emphasis added) and in addition, it further suggests that even multiple configurations may be active simultaneously (e.g., different Serving Cells). As such, Babaei suggest both monitoring of PDCCH on the serving cell as well as serving cell sets. Applicant’s all other arguments are based on above argument that are repeated for other claims as well. Claim Objections Claims 3-5 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 3-5 depend on Claim 2, however Claim 2 is cancelled. For Examination purposes, Examiner considers Claims 3-5 to be dependent on Claim 1. Appropriate correction is required. 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)(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, 3-5 and 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20210307108 A1 to Babaei et al., (hereinafter Babaei) Claim 1. A channel monitoring method, comprising: within a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping duration (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], i.e., while UE is instructed to skip PDCCH monitoring), resuming, by a terminal device, PDCCH monitoring (para[0193] and [0444-0445], i.e., UE/terminal resumes monitoring the PDDCH instead of skipping PDCCH monitoring, after transmitting a scheduling request) when the terminal device sends first information (i.e., a scheduling request (SR)), wherein the first information comprises: a Scheduling Request (SR) (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], UE sends SR (i.e., first information) and SR is pending ) and the method further comprises: determining, by the terminal device and according to a related parameter of a Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) restriction of an uplink logical channel that triggers the SR, a first serving cell set that is allowed to transmit the uplink logical channel in a case where the uplink logical channel that triggers the SR is configured with the related parameter of the LCP restriction; and (See para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) determining, by the terminal device, (i.e., MAC entity of UE) to monitor the PDCCH on a serving cell corresponding to uplink scheduling information capable of indicating any serving cell in the first serving cell set. (See para[0195] and Fig. 46-47, MAC entity of UE monitors the PDCCH of activated serving cells. See also para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, for the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) Claim 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the SR is pending. (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], UE sends SR (i.e., first information) and SR is pending ) Claim 4. The method of claim 2, wherein resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: monitoring, by the terminal device, PDCCH on all activated serving cells. (See Fig. 46 and para[0195], i.e., MAC entity of UE monitors the PDCCH of activated serving cells) Claim 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining, by the terminal device, to monitor the PDCCH on all activated serving cells in a case where the uplink logical channel that triggers the SR (logicalchannelSR-Mask) is not configured (Fig. 36-39, para[0233] “logicalChannelSR-Mask” parameter, only if marked as “true”, it indicates that “SR masking” is configured, otherwise the “SR masking” is not configured ) with the related parameter of the LCP restriction (i.e., allowedServingCell); Claim 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: stopping, by the terminal device, skipping the PDCCH monitoring. (Babaei: Fig. 36-39, para[0343] the wireless device receives a command/signaling, based on a downlink control information (DCI), indicating to stop skipping the control channel (PDCCH) monitoring) Claim 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: When the terminal device transmits second information (i.e., NACK) within the PDCCH skipping duration; (Fig. 36-39, para[0369]-[0371] UE transmitting a NACK while skipping PDCCH monitoring), after transmitting the second information (i.e., NACK) within the PDCCH skipping duration, starting, by the terminal device, a retransmission timer (i.e., a HARQ RTT timer) that corresponds to a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process corresponding to the second information ( Fig. 36-39, para[0369]-[0371] based on transmitting NACK (i.e., the second information), the wireless device may start a HARQ RTT timer corresponding to NACK) and resuming, by the terminal device, PDCCH monitoring. (Fig. 36-39, para[0369]-[0371] based on transmitting NACK, the wireless device may monitor the control channel (e.g., resuming PDCCH monitoring)) Claim 10. The method of claim 9, after transmitting the second information within the PDCCH skipping duration, (i.e., NACK) starting, by the terminal device, the retransmission timer that corresponds to the HARQ process corresponding to the second information (i.e., NACK), (Fig. 36-39, para[0369] based on transmitting NACK (i.e., the second information), the wireless device may start a HARQ RTT timer) and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring (Fig. 36-39, para[0369] based on transmitting NACK, the wireless device may monitor the control channel (e.g., PDCCH)) comprises: when transmitting the second information within the PDCCH skipping duration (i.e., NACK), starting, by the terminal device, a Round Trip Timer (RTT) that corresponds to the HARQ process corresponding to the second information; (Fig. 36-39, para[0369] based on transmitting NACK (i.e., “the second information” corresponding to HARQ process), the wireless device may start a HARQ RTT timer) and in a case where the RTT is timeout, starting, by the terminal device, the retransmission timer (i.e., drx-RetransmissionTimerUL) corresponding to the HARQ process for transmitting the second information (i.e., NACK), (para[0201] if HARQ RTT TimerUL expires, the MAC entity of terminal, may start the “drx-RetransmissionTimerUL” (i.e., “the retransmission timer”) for the corresponding HARQ process (NACK)) and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring. (Babaei: Fig. 36-39, para[0369] based on transmitting NACK, the wireless device may monitor the control channel (e.g., PDCCH)) Claim 11. The method of claim 9, wherein starting, by the terminal device, the retransmission timer corresponding to the HARQ process for transmitting the second information, and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: in a case where the second information (i.e., NACK) comprises uplink transmission, starting, by the terminal device, an uplink retransmission timer (i.e., drx-RetransmissionTimerUL) corresponding to the HARQ process of the uplink transmission, (Fig. 36-39, para[0201], i.e., if HARQ RTT TimerUL expires, the MAC entity of terminal, starts the “drx-RetransmissionTimerUL” (i.e., “the retransmission timer”) for the corresponding HARQ process (i.e., NACK), after expiry of drx-HARQ-RTT-timerUL) and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring; (Fig. 19, para[0369] based on transmitting NACK, the wireless device may monitor the control channel (e.g., PDCCH)) wherein the uplink transmission is sent on Configured Grant (CG) resources; (Fig. 24-26, para[0666] the wireless device, receives the first TB (i.e., CG resource) based on an UL Configured Grant (CG), and then uses the first TB for transmission in UL) or wherein starting, by the terminal device, the retransmission timer corresponding to the HARQ process for transmitting the second information, and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: in a case where the second information (i.e., NACK) comprises a Non-Acknowledgment (NACK) message for downlink transmission received by the terminal device within the PDCCH skipping duration, starting, by the terminal device, a downlink retransmission timer (i.e., DL HARQ RTT timer) corresponding to the HARQ process of the downlink transmission, (para[0664] for wireless device may start a DL HARQ RTT timer after transiting a NACK) and resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring; wherein the downlink transmission is transmitted based on Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) resources. (see Fig. 36-39, para[0282]-[0283] Downlink (DL) Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SRS) (DL SPS) is used for DL assignments by PDCCH) Claim 12. The method of claim 9, wherein resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: monitoring, by the terminal device, the PDCCH on a serving cell within a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) activation period. (Babaei: See para[0195] If DRX is configured for the activated Serving Cells, the MAC entity of UE may monitor the PDCCH discontinuously using the DRX operation) Claim 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: stopping, by the terminal device (i.e., the wireless device), skipping the PDCCH monitoring. (see Fig. 36-39, and para[0343] the wireless device receives a command/signaling, based on a downlink control information (DCI) it receives, indicating to stop skipping the control channel (PDCCH) monitoring) Claim 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: stopping, by the terminal device, skipping the PDCCH monitoring based on a configuration of a network device. (Babaei: See para[0343] the wireless device receives a command/signaling, based on a downlink control information (DCI) it receives, indicating to stop skipping the control channel (PDCCH) monitoring) Claim 15. A channel monitoring method, comprising: sending, by a network device (BS), first configuration information, (Fig. 18, i.e., DCI sent from BS to wireless device ) wherein the first configuration information (i.e., DCI ) is used to determine whether a terminal device stops skipping Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring (see Fig. 18, Fig. 26, para[0193] & para[0343], the wireless device (terminal) receives a command from network, included in DCI, indicating to stop the skipping of control channel (PDCCH) monitoring), under a first condition within a PDCCH skipping duration. (Fig. 36-39, para[0193], para[0368]-[0371] UE transmitting a NACK (i.e., a first condition) while skipping PDCCH monitoring) wherein within the PDCCH skipping duration, PDCCH monitoring is resumed when first information is sent by the terminal device, (Babaei: See para[0193], if the UE sends the SR and the SR is pending when the UE is applying the PDCCH skipping (i.e., within the PDCCH skipping duration) by following the DCI based indication which was received before sending the SR, then the UE may ignore the DCI-based indication, and keep the PDCCH monitoring (i.e., PDCCH monitoring is resumed when first information (i.e., SR) is sent by UE)) wherein the first information comprises: a Scheduling Request (SR), and (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], UE sends SR (i.e., first information) and SR is pending ) in a case where an uplink logical channel that triggers the SR is configured with a related parameter of a Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) restriction of the uplink logical channel, a first serving cell set that is allowed to transmit the uplink logical channel is determined according to the related parameter of the LCP restriction, (See para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) and the PDCCH is monitored on a serving cell corresponding to uplink scheduling information capable of indicating any serving cell in the first serving cell set. (See para[0195] and Fig. 46-47, MAC entity of UE monitors the PDCCH of activated serving cells. See also para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, for the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) Claim 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first condition comprises that: the network device (BS) receives a Non-Acknowledgment (NACK) message sent by the terminal device (Fig 19, wireless terminal transmitting NACK to BS) for a Physical Downlink Share Channel (PDSCH). (see Fig. 48 and para[0662] wireless device receives a transport block (TB) containing DCI, and if TB is not received correctly, wireless device transmits a NACK. See Fig. 19, para[0418]-[0419] DCI has a CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI, wherein SI-RNTI, is used for identification of “Broadcast” of System Information (SI) via BCCH logical channel that is mapped to PDSCH physical channel. As such, DCI is understood to have PDSCH related information, and a NACK for TD that carries DCI, can be for PDSCH info contained in DCI) Claim 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the PDSCH is transmitted based on SPS resources within the PDCCH skipping duration. (see Fig. 48, and para[0494] , downlink transport block (TB) (i.e, that carries DCI) may be a semi-persistent scheduling (SRS) associated with a SPS configuration. See para[0371] SPS configuration parameters may be based on logical channel priorities of one or more logical channel) Claim 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the first configuration information (i.e., DCI included in TB) is carried in a system broadcast message or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (i.e., RRC messaging). (see Fig. 48, and para[0662] wireless device receives one or more RRC messages (i.e., RRC signaling) comprising configuration parameters, including TB, based on a DCI, or a TB based on semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)) Claim 19. A terminal device, comprising a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, (See para[0670] for a wireless device may include processors and memory that stores instructions) wherein the processor is configured to: resume PDCCH monitoring when a terminal device sends first information (i.e., a scheduling request (SR)) within a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping duration. (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], i.e., UE/terminal resumes monitoring the PDDCH instead of skipping PDCCH monitoring, after UE/terminal transmits a scheduling request SR)) wherein the first information comprises: a Scheduling Request (SR) (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], UE sends SR (i.e., first information) and SR is pending ) and the processor is further configured to: determine, according to a related parameter of a Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) restriction of an uplink logical channel that triggers the SR, a first serving cell set that is allowed to transmit the uplink logical channel in a case where the uplink logical channel that triggers the SR is configured with the related parameter of the LCP restriction; and (See para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) Determine to monitor the PDCCH on a serving cell corresponding to uplink scheduling information capable of indicating any serving cell in the first serving cell set. (See para[0195] and Fig. 46-47, MAC entity of UE monitors the PDCCH of activated serving cells (i.e., serving cell). See also para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, for the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) Claim 20. A terminal device, comprising a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, (see para[0670] for a wireless device may include processors and memory that stores instructions) wherein the processor is configured to: Send first configuration information, (Fig. 18, i.e., DCI sent from BS to wireless device ) wherein the first configuration information (i.e., DCI ) is used to determine whether a terminal device stops skipping Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring (see Fig. 18, Fig. 26, para[0193] & para[0343], the wireless device (terminal) receives a command from network, included in DCI, indicating to stop the skipping of control channel (PDCCH) monitoring) under a first condition within a PDCCH skipping duration, (Fig. 36-39, para[0193], para[0368]-[0371] UE transmitting a NACK (i.e., a first condition) while skipping PDCCH monitoring) wherein within the PDCCH skipping duration, PDCCH monitoring is resumed when first information is sent by the terminal device, (Babaei: See para[0193], if the UE sends the SR and the SR is pending when the UE is applying the PDCCH skipping (i.e., within the PDCCH skipping duration) by following the DCI based indication which was received before sending the SR, then the UE may ignore the DCI-based indication, and keep the PDCCH monitoring (i.e., PDCCH monitoring is resumed when first information (i.e., SR) is sent by UE)) wherein the first information comprises: a Scheduling Request (SR), and (Fig. 36-39, para[0193] and [0444-0445], UE sends SR (i.e., first information) and SR is pending ) in a case where an uplink logical channel that triggers the SR is configured with a related parameter of a Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) restriction of the uplink logical channel, a first serving cell set that is allowed to transmit the uplink logical channel is determined according to the related parameter of the LCP restriction, (See para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) and the PDCCH is monitored on a serving cell corresponding to uplink scheduling information capable of indicating any serving cell in the first serving cell set. (See para[0195] and Fig. 46-47, MAC entity of UE monitors the PDCCH of activated serving cells. See also para[0233] and Fig. 36-39, for the related parameters of “logicalChannelSR-Mask”, that triggers the SR transmission, and “allowedServingCells” (i.e., a logical channel prioritization restriction) that restricts UL logical channel transmissions to only those serving cells identified as allowed serving cells) Claim 21, the network device of claim 20, wherein the first condition comprises that: the network device receives a Non-Acknowledgement (NACK) message sent by the terminal device for a Physical Downlink Share Channel (PDSCH). (Babaei: See para[0368] for wireless device may transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback, based on a downlink transport block (i.e., TB) being received/decoded incorrectly. See para[0345] a downlink transport block (TB ) is received via PDSCH. See also, para[0422] for base station having ongoing PDSCH transmission towards UE(s)). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 6. 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 factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210307108 A1 to Babaei et al., (hereinafter Babaei) in view of US 20210274525 A1 to Wei et al., (hereinafter Wei). Regarding Claim 6. Babaei teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first information (i.e., scheduling request (SR)) further comprises a preamble; (See Fig. 44-45 and para[0143] Msg A (RA Premable), that is transmitted by wireless device to the base station, is the one that comprise one or more transmission of a preamble and one or more transmissions of a transport block comprising SR (i.e., the first information)) However, Babaei does not seem to explicitly disclose: and the preamble is sent on a corresponding random access channel resource based on a selected synchronous signal block in a case where the terminal device triggers beam failure recovery; wherein the method further comprises: starting, by the terminal device, a Random Access Response (RAR) receiving window or a message B (Msg B) receiving window. However in a similar field, Wei teaches: and the preamble is sent on a corresponding random access channel resource (i.e, PRACH) based on a selected synchronous signal block (Wei: See para[0188]-[0189], UE may select RA resource associated with SSB, such as CBRA resources and perform 2-step CBRA (i.e, 2-step RA) that includes MSGA & MSGB transmission. See para[0172] transmission of MSGA may include transmission of a random access preamble on a PRACH (i.e., a corresponding random access channel resource) and a payload transmission on PUSCH ) in a case where the terminal device triggers beam failure recovery (i.e., para[0183] UE triggers RA procedure for BFR (beam failure recovery) and UE selects the 2-step RA for BFR); wherein the method further comprises: starting, by the terminal device, a Random Access Response (RAR) receiving window or a message B (Msg B) receiving window. (Wei, para[0194]-[0196], and Fig. 4B, UE starts MSGB window, and monitors PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB window, for any RAR messages identified by UE’s C-RNTI) Babaei teaches various techniques related to power saving processes, wherein a UE sends SR while UE skipping the PDCCH monitoring, and if SR is pending, then UE may start monitoring the PDCCH instead. (Babaei: See para0193]) Wei teaches various techniques related small data transmission, wherein UE starts a RAR MSGB receiving window and monitors the PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB receiving window (Wei: See para[0194]-[0195]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filling, to have included, UE being able to start a RAR MSGB receiving window, as taught by Wei, with the teachings of Babaei, in order to benefit from enhancement of having a UE that can start a receiving window, and start monitoring PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB receiving window (Wei: See para[0194]-[0195]) Regarding Claim 7, Babaei teaches the method of claim 6, however, it does not seem to explicitly disclose: wherein resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: monitoring, by the terminal device, the PDCCH at the RAR receiving window or the MsgB receiving window. however in a similar field, Wei teaches: wherein resuming, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring comprises: monitoring, by the terminal device, the PDCCH at the RAR receiving window or the MsgB receiving window. (Wei; para[0194]-[0195] & Fig. 2B, UE monitors PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB receiving window. It is understood that UE stops skipping the PDCCH monitoring, and instead starts monitoring PDCCH, at the beginning of MSGB window wherein a signal ( i.e., SR / RA Preamble) is transmitted) Babaei teaches various techniques related to power saving processes, wherein a UE sends SR while UE skipping the PDCCH monitoring, and if SR is pending, then UE may start monitoring the PDCCH instead. (Babaei: See para0193]) Wei teaches various techniques related small data transmission, wherein UE starts a RAR MSGB receiving window and monitors the PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB receiving window (Wei: See para[0194]-[0195]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filling, to have included, UE being able to start a RAR MSGB receiving window, as taught by Wei, with the teachings of Babaei, in order to benefit from enhancement of having a UE that can start a receiving window, and start monitoring PDCCH at the beginning of MSGB receiving window (Wei: See para[0194]-[0195]) Conclusion 8. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAJID ESMAEILIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7830. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gregory Sefcheck can be reached on 571-272-3098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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 Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through 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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /M. E./ Examiner, Art Unit 2477 /GREGORY B SEFCHECK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 25, 2022
Application Filed
Aug 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Dec 02, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 17, 2026
Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12562853
METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM FOR CHANNEL ACCESS IN UNLICENSED BAND
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12520193
EXTENDED, OPEN NETWORK ARCHITECTURES SUPPORTING DELIVERY OF NETWORK-ACCESSIBLE SERVICES
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 06, 2026
Patent 12512898
DETERMINING BEAM DIRECTIONS OF A REPEATER
2y 5m to grant Granted Dec 30, 2025
Patent 12470993
SMALL CELL WITH PREDEFINED HANDOVER PARAMETERS
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 11, 2025
Patent 12452161
NETWORK NODES, WIRELESS NETWORKS, AND METHODS OF CONTROLLING THEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Oct 21, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+24.8%)
4y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 315 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month