Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/109,831

TRANSMISSION CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND RELATED DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 14, 2023
Examiner
TORRES, MARCOS L
Art Unit
2647
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allow Rate
465 granted / 692 resolved
+5.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
744
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
§103
52.9%
+12.9% vs TC avg
§102
17.8%
-22.2% vs TC avg
§112
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 692 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2-2-2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 1-27-2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant submits: “the network or the UE of Chae only configures information for transmitting the wake-up signal (e.g., transmission resource location, transmission sequence). In rejecting previously presented claim 4, the Office does not allege Chae discloses, and indeed Chae is silent about different wake-up signals respectively corresponding to different types of power saving configuration, and a wake-up signal waking up the receiving UE or the receiving UE group in the corresponding power saving configuration. Thus, Chae does not disclose, at least, that "the power saving information is used to instruct a target device to perform a target operation on a target resource in a power saving configuration, ... wherein the power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration, wherein the power saving information comprises first power saving information or second power saving information, wherein: the first power saving information corresponds to at least one first-type power saving configuration, and the second power saving information corresponds to at least one second-type power saving configuration," as recited in previously presented claim 4, and now required by proposed claim 1.” Please note, that previous claim 4 only required to select one from the list. Moreover, the limitation is directed to intended use not to an actual step performed by the device. Although the claim recite: “wherein the power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration, wherein the power saving information comprises first power saving information or second power saving information, wherein: the first power saving information corresponds to at least one first-type power saving configuration, and the second power saving information corresponds to at least one second-type power saving configuration” the limitation does not recite anything that could be differentiable from the prior art. At best, there is a suggestion that there could be more than one configuration, with no clear difference between them, but only one is needed. As previously disclosed, the claims only require two steps: first, determining a first resource and second, receiving power saving information based on the first resource. The rest are details and intended use about the information, but it does not require to do anything with the received information. A FM radio is no different when it is receiving a soft rock song versus a hard rock song, the received information by itself does not distinguish the device nor the method from the prior art. The examiner recommends to advance the prosecution of the present application that the claims should focus on what the device is doing with the information, rather than details of the information that is intended use or language that suggest but does not require. Please see MPEP 2111.02 II. The rejection of record stands. 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)(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) 1-2, 4-5, 13, 15 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chae 2020053647. As to claim 1, Chae discloses a transmission control method, performed by a first device, comprising: determining a first resource (see par. 0126) [In D2D communication, the transmission period and transmission resource location of the wake-up signal may be signaled by the network or predetermined.]; and receiving power saving information based on the first resource [WUS] (see par. 0126), wherein: the power saving information is used to [Intended Use] instruct a target device to perform a target operation on a target resource in a power saving configuration, wherein the target device comprises at least one of the first device or a second device, the target operation comprises wakeup, sleep, activation or deactivation, and the target resource comprises a sidelink resource (see par. 0129). wherein the power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration, wherein the power saving information comprises first power saving information or second power saving information, wherein: the first power saving information corresponds to at least one first-type power saving configuration, and the second power saving information corresponds to at least one second- type power saving configuration (see par. 0124-0126, 0129). As to claim 2, Chae discloses the transmission control method according to claim 1, wherein the power saving information comprises indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the target operation (see par. 0126). As to claim 4, Chae discloses the transmission control method according to claim 1, wherein: the power saving information is used to indicate a transmission direction of at least one of the first device or the second device [From network] (see par. 0126), the power saving information is used to indicate at least one of the following: at least one resource set associated with a target object (see par. 0129); or at least one resource set that needs to be switched to, wherein the resource set comprises a preset resource pool (see par. 0128), a preset bandwidth part, or a preset carrier, the power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration, wherein the power saving information further comprises third power saving information, wherein the third power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration in target power saving configurations, and the target power saving configurations comprise the first-type power saving configuration and the second-type power saving configuration. As to claim 5, Chae discloses the method according to claim 4, wherein power saving information corresponding to power saving configurations of different types meets at least one of the following: types of the power saving information are different; resources of the power saving information are different; manners of determining the resources of the power saving information are different; or sequences, channels, signals, or signaling of the resources of the power saving information are different [The network may configure some parameters of the wake-up signal, for example, the resource location, period, property, etc., and the UE may determine the remaining parameters.] (see par. 0129). As to claim 13, Chae discloses a transmission control method, performed by a third device, comprising: determining a first resource (see par. 0126) [In D2D communication, the transmission period and transmission resource location of the wake-up signal may be signaled by the network or predetermined.]; and sending power saving information based on the first resource [WUS] (see par. 0126), wherein: the power saving information is used to instruct a target device to perform a target operation on a target resource in a power saving configuration, wherein: the target device comprises at least one of the first device or a second device, the target operation comprises wakeup, sleep, activation or deactivation, the target resource comprises a sidelink resource, and the first device is a device that receives the power saving information, wherein the power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration, wherein the power saving information comprises first power saving information or second power saving information, wherein: the first power saving information corresponds to at least one first-type power saving configuration, and the second power saving information corresponds to at least one second- type power saving configuration (see par. 0124-0126, 0129). As to claim 15, Chae discloses the transmission control method according to claim 13, wherein: the power saving information is used to indicate a transmission direction of at least one of the first device and the second device [From network] (see par. 0126), the power saving information is used to indicate at least one of the following: at least one resource set associated with the target object (see par. 0129); or at least one resource set that needs to be switched to, wherein the resource set comprises a preset resource pool (see par. 0128), a preset bandwidth part, or a preset carrier, or the power saving information further comprises third power saving information, wherein, the third power saving information corresponds to at least one power saving configuration in target power saving configurations, and the target power saving configurations comprise the first-type power saving configuration and the second-type power saving configuration, wherein power saving information corresponding to power saving configurations of different types meets at least one of the following: types of the power saving information are different; resources of the power saving information are different; manners of determining the resources of the power saving information are different; or sequences, channels, signals, or signaling of the resources of the power saving information is different [The network may configure some parameters of the wake-up signal, for example, the resource location, period, property, etc., and the UE may determine the remaining parameters.] (see par. 0129). Regarding claims 19-20, they are the corresponding device claims of method claims 1 and 13. Therefore, claims 19-20 are rejected for the same reasons as shown above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS L TORRES whose telephone number is (571)272-7926. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM M-F. 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, Alison Slater can be reached at (571)270-0375. 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. MARCOS L. TORRES Primary Examiner Art Unit 2647 /MARCOS L TORRES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 14, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 23, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Oct 27, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 18, 2025
Final Rejection — §102
Jan 21, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 02, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 10, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 19, 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
67%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+11.4%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 692 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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