Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/109,429

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHOD AND USER EQUIPMENT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 14, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, BAO G
Art Unit
2461
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allow Rate
256 granted / 350 resolved
+15.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
56 currently pending
Career history
406
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
71.9%
+31.9% vs TC avg
§102
18.1%
-21.9% vs TC avg
§112
4.8%
-35.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 350 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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 . Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in PCT/IB2020/000806 on 08/28/2020. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the PCT/IB2020/000806 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 03/10/26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Ouchi (Pub No 20230155746) Regarding claim 1, The applicant argues Ouchi does not teach the amended limtiations. The examiner relies on newly cited portions of Ouchi to teach the limtiations. 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)(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. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ouchi (Pub No 20230155746) Regarding claim 1 and 12, Ouchi teaches A wireless communication method applied in a User Equipment (UE), comprising: a memory having computer program stored thereon; and a processor configured to invoke and run the computer program whereby the UE is operative to: (see memory and processor para [0312]) detecting a first Downlink Control Information (DCI) format; (interpreted as terminal apparatus 1 detects the first DCI format, see para [0433]) receiving a first Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the first DCI format; (interpreted as terminal apparatus 1 receives the first PDSCH scheduled by the first DCI format, see para [0434]) detecting a second DCI format, the second DCI format being detected after the first DCI format; (interpreted as subsequently detects, further in a certain slot, the second DCI format that is used for scheduling of the second PDSCH,, see para [0433]) receiving a second PDSCH, the second PDSCH being received after the first PDSCH; and (interpreted as subsequently detects, further in a certain slot, the second DCI format that is used for scheduling of the second PDSCH,, see para [0433]) transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the first PDSCH in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) in a first slot indicated by the second DCI format in response to the UE detecting the second DCI format in any PDCCH monitoring occasion after the first DCI format; and (interpreted as In a first case that the terminal apparatus 1 receives the first PDSCH scheduled by the first DCI format that is detected on the first PDCCH monitoring occasion and that is including the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field providing the inapplicable value from dl-DataToUL-ACK, and in a case that the terminal apparatus 1 detects the second DCI format, then in the PUCCH or PUSCH transmission in the slot indicated by the value of the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field in the second DCI format, the terminal apparatus 1 may multiplex the corresponding HARQ-ACK information. Note that in this case, the terminal apparatus 1 is not provided with pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook=enhancedDynamic-r16 and that the terminal apparatus 1 detects the second DCI format on the PDCCH monitoring occasion after the first DCI format, see para [0434]) transmitting the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first PDSCH in a second PUCCH or a second PUSCH in response to the UE failing to detect the second DCI format in any PDCCH monitoring occasion after the first DCI format, wherein the second PUCCH or the second PUSCH includes HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second PDSCH. (interpreted as In a case where the terminal apparatus 1 detects the first DCI format that is used for scheduling of the first PDSCH and that is including a PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field providing an inapplicable value, and subsequently detects, further in a certain slot, the second DCI format that is used for scheduling of the second PDSCH, that is indicating a resource (PUCCH resource) for PUCCH transmission with corresponding HARQ-ACK information, and that is including a one-shot HARQ-ACK request field set to “1”, then in the PUCCH resource in the slot, the terminal apparatus 1 may include, in the Type-3 HARQ-ACK codebook, the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first PDSCH and the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second PDSCH, see para [0433]) Regarding claim 2 and 13, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second PDSCH in a second slot, wherein the first slot is not later than the second slot. (interpreted as in the PUCCH resource in the slot, the terminal apparatus 1 may include, in the Type-3 HARQ-ACK codebook, the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first PDSCH and the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second PDSCH, see para [0433]) Regarding claim 3, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein the second DCI format comprises a PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field providing a value indicating the first slot. (interpreted as he value of the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field in the second DCI format, see para [0434]) Regarding claim 4 and 14, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the second DCI format includes a One-shot HARQ-ACK request field with a value of 1 (interpreted as Here, in a case that multiple candidates (multiple DCI formats) are available for the DCI format, the DCI format used to determine the PUCCH resource may be the latest DCI format of the multiple DCI formats including the value of the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field or the value of dl-DataToUL-ACK and indicating the same slot, the latest DCI format including a one-shot HARQ-ACK request field with a value set to “1”, if present, see para [0415]) Regarding claim 5 and 15, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the second DCI format comprises a PDSCH group index field indicating a same PDSCH group index as the first PDSCH. (interpreted as second DCI format indicates the HARQ-ACK information report for the same PDSCH group index as indicated by the first DCI format, see para [0434]) Regarding claim 6 and 16, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the second DCI format comprises a feedback request for both PDSCH groups corresponding to the first DCI format and the second DCI format. (interpreted as In other words, setting the value of 4M to “1” indicates that a one-shot HARQ-ACK feedback (feedback based on the Type-3 HARQ-ACK codebook) is requested, see para [0234]. Also see the terminal apparatus 1 is provided with the pdsch-HARQ-ACK-OneShotFeedback-r16, the terminal apparatus 1 detects the second DCI format on the PDCCH monitoring occasion after the first DCI format, the second DCI format includes a one-shot HARQ-ACK request field with a value set to “1”, and the terminal apparatus 1 includes the HARQ-ACK information in the Type-3 HARQ-ACK codebook, see para [0434]) Regarding claim 7, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 5, wherein the UE is provided with pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook=enhancedDynamic-r16. (interpreted as the terminal apparatus 1 is provided with the pdsch-HARQ-ACK-OneShotFeedback-r16, the terminal apparatus 1 detects the second DCI format on the PDCCH monitoring occasion after the first DCI format, the second DCI format includes a one-shot HARQ-ACK request field with a value set to “1”, and the terminal apparatus 1 includes the HARQ-ACK information in the Type-3 HARQ-ACK codebook, see para [0434]) Regarding claim 8 and 17, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the second PDSCH is a Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) PDSCH. (interpreted as For DCI formats other than DCI format 1_0 scheduling PDSCH reception or SPS PDSCH release, one or multiple values of the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field, if present, may be mapped to one or multiple values for a set of number of slots provided by dl-DataToUL-ACK, see para [0410]) Regarding claim 9 and 18, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the PUCCH or the PUSCH is assigned by the second DCI format. (interpreted as subsequently detects, further in a certain slot, the second DCI format that is used for scheduling of the second PDSCH, that is indicating a resource (PUCCH resource) for PUCCH transmission with corresponding HARQ-ACK information, see para [0433]) Regarding claim 10 and 19, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the second PDSCH is configured by a higher layer. (interpreted as A first aspect of the present invention is a terminal apparatus including a higher layer configured to configure a configuration related to a PDCCH, a receiver configured to monitor the PDCCH, and a transmitter configured to transmit a HARQ-ACK, wherein in a case that a PDCCH with a second DCI format is received after a PDCCH with a first DCI format, see para [0009][0234] Regarding claim 11 and 20, Ouchi teaches The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first DCI format comprises a PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field providing an inapplicable value. (interpreted as detects the first DCI format that is used for scheduling of the first PDSCH and that is including a PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field providing an inapplicable value, see para [0433]) Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO G NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7732. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10pm - 6:30pm. 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, Huy Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. 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. /BAO G NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2461 /HUY D VU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 14, 2023
Application Filed
May 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Aug 28, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 28, 2025
Final Rejection — §102
Mar 10, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 19, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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
73%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+3.3%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 350 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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