Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/174,574

HARQ-ACK IN CARRIER AGGREGATION WITH MULTIPLE SERVING CELLS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 24, 2023
Examiner
PHAM, BRENDA H
Art Unit
2412
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
1055 granted / 1164 resolved
+32.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
1189
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
§103
33.2%
-6.8% vs TC avg
§102
28.7%
-11.3% vs TC avg
§112
15.2%
-24.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1164 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06 March 2026 is being considered by the examiner. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Remark, filed 05 February 2026, with respect to the claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan et al. in view of Choi et al. further in view of Seo et al. 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 He et al. Claims 1-20 are pending. Figure 3 of the application illustrates the claimed invention. PNG media_image1.png 559 810 media_image1.png Greyscale Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 1, 6-7, 13, 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan et al. (US 2020/0336239 A1) in view of SEO et al. (US 2016/0020875 A1), further in view of He et al. (US 2020/0404634 A1). Regarding claims 1, 13 and 20, Khoshnevisan et al. discloses: A method, comprising: receiving, by a User Equipment (UE), a Downlink Control Information (DCI) scheduling: a first Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a first component carrier (CC), and a second PDSCH in a second CC; ([0005]: “The method may include receiving a first downlink control information (DCI) message for a first downlink data transmission and a second DCI message for a second downlink data transmission.”), ([0061]: “a base station 105 may transmit multiple downlink control message (e.g., DCI messages) to a UE 115 (e.g., via a PDCCH) to schedule multiple corresponding downlink data messages (e.g., transmitted via a PDSCH).”); calculating, by the UE, a comparison value for the DCI ([0022]:”if the UE determines that the DAI fields in the detected downlink control messages include different numbers of bits (e.g., do not include a same number of bits), the UE may order detected cDAIs across CCs and then across PDCCH monitoring occasions. The UE may compare consecutive cDAIs to detect any missing values, for example, by comparing cDAIs with the same bit size, without changing the bit size and by comparing cDAIs with different bit sizes using the smaller bit size”); and transmitting one or more Acknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement (A/N) bits based on the comparison value, ([0022]: “If the UE detects any missed downlink control messages, the UE may report a NACK to the base station in a feedback message corresponding to the missed downlink control message.”). PNG media_image2.png 298 596 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 826 630 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 592 574 media_image4.png Greyscale Although Khoshnevisan et al. fails to teach a Downlink Control Information (DCI) scheduling both: a first Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a first component carrier (CC), and a second PDSCH in a second CC, this claimed feature is well known in the art and is disclosed in SEO et al. SEO et al. teaches ([0097]: “Referring to FIG. 12, only one DCI is transmitted, and a separate PDSCH is defined for each carrier, such that one DCI can schedule two PDSCHs located in different carriers. That is, the same DCI content, for example, MCS (modulation and coding scheme), resource allocation information, RV (redundancy version), etc. may be applied to each of two carriers. Needless to say, data corresponding to PDSCH contents may be different from each other.”). See figures 9 and 12. PNG media_image5.png 348 406 media_image5.png Greyscale PNG media_image6.png 466 676 media_image6.png Greyscale Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement one DCI can schedule two PDSCHs located in different carriers. Khoshnevisan et al further fails to teach comprising The calculating comprising performing a count over a plurality of received PDSCHs, each of the plurality of received PDSCHs having been received in a CC with a carrier index that is less than or equal to a carrier index of a reference CC. HE et al. in the same field of invention, teaches this feature. ([0087]: “the UE 102 may receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The PDSCH may be scheduled in a slot of a plurality of slots. The PDSCH may be further scheduled on a component carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. The PDCCH may include a downlink control information (DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignment index (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, wherein the total DAI indicates a total number of pairs of CCs and slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback; and a counter DAI based on an accumulative number of other PDCCHs. The UE 102 may attempt to decode the PDSCH received within the scheduled slot on the scheduled CC. The UE 102 may encoded the HARQ-ACK feedback to include a bit that indicates whether the PDSCH is successfully decoded. A size of the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI. A position of the bit within the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the counter DAI.”). See also abstract. In other words, the total DAI is indeed read as the reference index, while the number of HARQ is referred to as the carrier index. The total DAI indicates the total number of transmissions at the end of each time interval, and the HARQ index is used to identify the location of any missed transmission within that total. Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to describe the relationship between the DAI and HARQ in the process of downlink data transmission. Regarding claims 6 and 18, He et al. teaches wherein the performing of the count comprises counting PDSCHs. ([0250]: “The PDCCH may include a downlink control information (DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignment index (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK0 feedback of the PDSCH)”). The total DAI indicates the total number of transmission (PDSCH). Regarding claims 7 and 19, Khoshnevisan et al. teaches wherein the performing of the count comprises counting PDCCHs. ([0083]:”UE 115-a may use the largest tDAI value to detect missed downlink control message 205-b. For example, “10” may indicate that three DCI messages were transmitted in the monitoring occasion (e.g., depending on a counter value), while “110” may indicate that seven DCI messages were transmitted in the monitoring occasion (e.g., depending on the counter value).”). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-5, 8-12,14-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The prior art made of record: Choi et al. (US 11,653,353 B2), in the same field of invention, discloses method for downlink data reception and HARQ-ACK transmission in wireless communication system. See fig.23. PNG media_image7.png 632 488 media_image7.png Greyscale Choi et al. teaches performing a count over received PDSCHs of CCs with carrier indexes up to and including a carrier index of a reference CC. Choi et al. teaches (“receives a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for scheduling of a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the first PDCCH including a first counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) indicating the number of PDSCHs scheduled up to a serving cell at a time point at which the first PDCCH is monitored and a first total DAI indicating the number of all PDSCHs scheduled in the serving cell until a time point at which a PDCCH is monitored, receives a second PDCCH for scheduling of a second PDSCH, the second PDCCH including a second counter DAI and a second total DAI, receives the first PDSCH based on the first PDCCH, receives the second PDSCH based on the second PDCCH, and transmits, to the base station, uplink control information (UCI) including hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledge (ACK) codebook for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, a value of the second counter DAI being determined based on the number of bits of the first counter DAI is different from the number of bits of the second counter DAI.”), Col. 3, lines 50-67 and col. 4, lines 1-25). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA H PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3135. The examiner can normally be reached 571-272-3135. 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, Charles Jiang can be reached at 571-270-7191. 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. BRENDA H. PHAM Primary Examiner Art Unit 2412 /BRENDA H PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 24, 2023
Application Filed
May 07, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Aug 04, 2025
Interview Requested
Aug 07, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 07, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Sep 11, 2025
Response Filed
Oct 02, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Jan 07, 2026
Interview Requested
Jan 26, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jan 26, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 05, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 04, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (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
91%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+2.0%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1164 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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