Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/145,945

METHOD FOR SIDELINK CONFIGURED GRANT RESOURCE DETERMINATION, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 23, 2022
Priority
Jul 27, 2020 — continuation of PCTCN2020104893
Examiner
CHOUDHURY, FAISAL
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
4 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
673 granted / 793 resolved
+26.9% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
825
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§103
82.6%
+42.6% vs TC avg
§102
10.0%
-30.0% vs TC avg
§112
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 793 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 . REMARKS 1. On pages 8-9 of the remark Applicant argued prior art Lee does not disclose that the referenced "resource" is an SL resource within the "configured sidelink grant" In response: The examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant’s own specification at paragraph [0056]-[0057] in the pre-grant publication discloses sl-TimeOffsetCG-Type1 that is corresponding to claimed an offset in time domain. Prior art Lee at [0406]-[0407]; [0384]-[0385]; [090] discloses similar feature that define the sl-TimeOffsetCG-Type1 : Offset of a resource with respect to SFN=sl-TimeReferenceSFN-Type1 in time domain, referring to the number of logical slots that can be used for SL transmission. Here logical slots (=resource) that are used for SL (=side-link) transmission. 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. 2. Claims 1, 10-11, 20, 23 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication US 2021/0153176 to Lee et al. (hereinafter Lee) As to claims 1, 11 and 23, Lee discloses a method for sidelink (SL) configured grant (CG) resource determination, comprising: determining, by a terminal device, a time-domain resource for a first SL CG according to at least one of: a number of slots corresponding to a period of the first SL CG in a resource pool associated with the first SL CG and an offset in time domain of a target SL transmission resource in the first SL CG relative to a first SL transmission resource (Lee; [0384]-[0385]; [0390] discloses RRC configures the parameters when the configured grant Type 1 is configured, wherein one of the parameter is sl-TimeOffsetCG-Type1: Offset of a resource with respect to SFN=sl-TimeReferenceSFN-Type1 in time domain, referring to the number of logical slots that can be used for SL transmission. [0402]; [0404]-[0407] discloses Upon configuration of a configured grant Type 1, the MAC entity shall for each configured side-link grant initialise or re-initialise the configured sidelink grant to determine PSCCH duration(s) and PSSCH duration(s) according to sl-TimeOffsetCG-Type1 and sl-TimeResourceCG-Type1. sl-TimeOffsetCG-Type1 corresponding to an offset in time domain of a target SL transmission resource in the first SL CG relative to a first SL transmission resource. Here Lee is applied for the 2nd t alternative an offset in time domain of a target SL transmission resource in the first SL CG relative to a first SL transmission resource). wherein the number of slots corresponding to the period of the first SL CG in the resource pool associated with the first SL CG is determined according to: a total length of a bitmap for configuring resource-pool time-domain resources, a number of bits with a first value in the bitmap for configuring resource- pool time-domain resources, and the period of the first SL CG configured by a network device (This limitation is dependent on the 1st alternative (i.e. a number of slots corresponding to a period of the first SL CG in a resource pool associated with the first SL CG) of the 1st limitation. 1st limitation is rejected based on the 2nd alternative (i.e. an offset in time domain of a target SL transmission resource in the first SL CG relative to a first SL transmission resource) and therefore this limitation is not considered). As to claims 10, 20 and 30, the rejection of claim 1 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Lee discloses wherein: the first SL CG is a type-1 SL CG, wherein the type-1 SL CG is a SL CG configured by the network device through a radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Lee; [0384]-[0394]. Here Lee is applied for the 1st alternative); or the first SL CG is a type-2 SL CG, wherein the type-2 SL CG is a SL CG configured by the network device through a RRC signaling and activated through downlink control information (DCI). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 1. 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 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. 2. 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 of this title, 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. 3. Claims 3-4, 9, 13-14, 19 and 27-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication US 2021/0153176 to Lee et al. (hereinafter Lee) in view of Applicant submitted prior art 3GPP R1-2001746 to Oppo et al. (hereinafter Oppo) As to claims 3, 13 and 27, Lee discloses resource pool, but fails to disclose wherein the resource pool associated with the first SL CG has the first value in the bitmap. However, Oppo discloses wherein the resource pool associated with the first SL CG has the first value in the bitmap (Oppo; Section 2.1 discloses the length of bitmap which is used to indicate the time resource of resource pool is 10. There should be 2 reserved slots within a SFN period to promise the rest slot (excluding SSSB slot and reserved slots) can be divided by 10. The number of rest slots is 10110 (= 10240-128-2). The bitmap will be repeated 1011 times to indicate which slot within the rest slots belongs to the resource pool. The first 3 bits of bitmap is set to 1, corresponding to totally 3033 slots belonging to the resource pool) It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings in order to indicate the time resource of resource pool As to claims 4, 14 and 28, Lee discloses resource pool, but fails to disclose wherein the first value is 1. However, Oppo discloses wherein the first value is 1 (Oppo; Section 2.1 discloses the first 3 bits of bitmap is set to 1). It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings in order to indicate the time resource of resource pool As to claims 9, 19 and 29, Lee discloses resource pool, but fails to disclose of target slot. However, Oppo discloses wherein: there are two SL transmission resources in one period of the first SL CG, and the target SL transmission resource is a second SL transmission resource among the two SL transmission resources; or there are three SL transmission resources in one period of the first SL CG, and the target SL transmission resource is a second SL transmission resource or a third SL transmission resource among the three SL transmission resources (Oppo; Section 2.1; Fig.1 shows and discloses the sl-TimeOffsetCG is set to 2 (corresponding to the first slot within the resource pool of the SFN period), the slots belong to the SL configured grant is shown as red block in the figure, i.e., the logical slot 2/5/8/11/14/17…..,etc, which are within the resource pool. Here Oppo is applied for the 2nd alternative). It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings in order to indicate the time resource of resource pool Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAISAL CHOUDHURY whose telephone number is (571)270-3001. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-6P.M. 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, Joseph Avellino can be reached at 5712723905. 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. /FAISAL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 3 earlier events
Aug 18, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Oct 02, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Nov 06, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 12, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 02, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Mar 02, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 27, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
May 08, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+15.6%)
2y 7m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 793 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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