Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/181,874

RETRANSMISSION MONITORING ADAPTATION UNDER DISCONTINUOUS CONFIGURATIONS

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Mar 10, 2023
Examiner
ACOLATSE, KODZOVI
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
4 (Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
761 granted / 913 resolved
+25.4% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
63 currently pending
Career history
976
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§103
52.7%
+12.7% vs TC avg
§102
25.0%
-15.0% vs TC avg
§112
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 913 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/30/2025 has been entered. 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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the request for continued examination filed 12/30/2025 have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. See rejection below. 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. Claims 1-4, 8-19 and 23-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US 2024/0237135 A1) in view of Chan et al (US 2023/0065594 A1). Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches an apparatus for wireless communication by a user-equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories comprising instructions; and one or more processors, individually or collectively, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to: determine that a cell discontinuous communication cycle does not align with a transmission configuration for a transmission to or from a network entity (Wu: [0249], [0259], determining alignment of cell DRX and UE transmission). Wu does not explicitly disclose process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination. Chan discloses process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination (Chan: Fig. 8; [0009], [0013], [0069]-[0070] wireless device adjusts the length of the DRX cycle to align with transmission with the server according to the latency budget of the traffic/delay status report). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu to process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination as disclosed by Chan to provide a system for network traffic shaping (Chan: Abstract). Regarding claim 16, Wu teaches an apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising one or more memories comprising instructions; and one or more processors, individually or collectively, configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: determine that a cell discontinuous communication cycle does not align with a transmission configuration for a transmission to or from a user equipment (UE) (Wu: [0249], [0259], determining alignment of cell DRX and UE transmission). Wu does not explicitly disclose process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination. Chan discloses process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination (Chan: Fig. 8; [0009], [0013], [0069]-[0070] wireless device adjusts the length of the DRX cycle to align with transmission with the server according to the latency budget of the traffic/delay status report). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu to process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination as disclosed by Chan to provide a system for network traffic shaping (Chan: Abstract). Regarding claim 29, Wu teaches a method for wireless communication by a user-equipment (UE), comprising: determining that a cell discontinuous communication cycle does not align with a transmission configuration for a transmission to or from a network entity (Wu: [0249], [0259], determining alignment of cell DRX and UE transmission). Wu does not explicitly disclose process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination. Chan discloses process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination (Chan: Fig. 8; [0009], [0013], [0069]-[0070] wireless device adjusts the length of the DRX cycle to align with transmission with the server according to the latency budget of the traffic/delay status report). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu to process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination as disclosed by Chan to provide a system for network traffic shaping (Chan: Abstract). Regarding claim 30, Wu teaches a method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: determining that a cell discontinuous communication cycle does not align with a transmission configuration for a transmission to or from a user equipment (UE) (Wu: [0249], [0259], determining alignment of cell DRX and UE transmission). Wu does not explicitly disclose process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination. Chan discloses process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination (Chan: Fig. 8; [0009], [0013], [0069]-[0070] wireless device adjusts the length of the DRX cycle to align with transmission with the server according to the latency budget of the traffic/delay status report). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu to process the transmission, based on at least one rule that adjusts the cell discontinuous communication cycle based on at least a delay status report of the UE to align with the transmission configuration, in response to the determination as disclosed by Chan to provide a system for network traffic shaping (Chan: Abstract). Regarding claims 2 and 17, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the at least one rule dictates that the cell discontinuous communication cycle be extended to allow for processing the transmission (Wu: [0024]-[0028]). Regarding claims 3 and 18, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein: the cell discontinuous communication cycle comprises a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; the transmission comprises a retransmission of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) from the UE; and the at least one rule dictates that the DRX cycle be extended to allow for the retransmission of the PUSCH (Wu: Fig. 11; [0209], [0360], [0449]). Regarding claims 4 and 19, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein: the cell discontinuous communication cycle comprises a discontinuous transmission (DTX) cycle; the transmission comprises a retransmission of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network entity; and the at least one rule dictates that the DTX cycle be extended to allow for the retransmission of the PDSCH (Wu: Fig. 11; [0209], [0360], [0449]). Regarding claims 8 and 23, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to receive an indication of how long to extend the cell discontinuous communication cycle (Wu: [0024], [0271]). Regarding claims 9 and 24, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the indication is received, via physical layer signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, as at least one of a configured round-trip time (RTT) timer value, a configured retransmission timer value, or one or more offset values (Wu: [0024], [0271], [0279]). Regarding claims 10 and 25, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to: transmit a status report to the network entity; and determine how long to extend the cell discontinuous communication cycle based, at least in part, on the status report (Wu: [0287]-[0288], [0271], [0279]). Regarding claims 11 and 26, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to receive an indication of how to dynamically update a round-trip time (RTT) timer value or a retransmission timer value (Wu: [0360]). Regarding claims 12 and 27, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein the at least one rule dictates that at least one of a round trip time (RTT) timer value or retransmission timer value be dynamically updated to allow for processing the transmission, wherein the indication is received via physical layer signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Wu: [0024], [0271], [0279]). Regarding claims 13 and 28, Wu in view of Wu004 teaches wherein: the cell discontinuous communication cycle comprises a discontinuous transmission (DTX) cycle; the transmission comprises a retransmission of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network entity; and the at least one rule dictates how to monitor for the retransmission of the PDSCH when a retransmission timer starts within an active DTX time (Wu: Fig. 11; [0209], [0298], [0449]). Regarding claim 14, Wu in view of Wu004 wherein the one or more processors are further configured execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to determine at least one of: the at least one rule to apply; or how to apply the at least one rule Wu: Fig. 11; [0024], [0271], [0279]). . Regarding claim 15, Wu in view of Wu004 wherein the determination is based on at least one of: signaling from the network entity; or a function of data involved in the transmission Wu: Fig. 11, [0024], [0271], [0279]). Claims 5, 6, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US 2024/0237135 A1) in view of Chan et al (US 2023/0065594 A1) in further view of Kim et al (US 2022/0312317 A1). Regarding claims 5 and 20, Wu in view of Chan does not explicitly disclose wherein receiving an indication of whether or not the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable. Kim teaches wherein receiving an indication of whether or not the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable (Kim: Abstract, claim 1, determining whether extended DRZ is allowed). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu in view of Chan wherein receiving an indication of whether or not the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable as disclosed by Kim to provide a system for applying extended DRX (Kim: Abstract). Regarding claims 6 and 21, Wu in view of Chan and Kim teaches wherein the indication is received via downlink control information (DCI) scheduling an uplink transmission, a DCI scheduling a downlink transmission, a non-scheduling DCI, physical layer signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Kim: Abstract; claim 1, system information/RRC). Claims 7 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US 2024/0237135 A1) in view of Chan et al (US 2023/0065594 A1) in further view of Kim et al (US 2022/0312317 A1) in further view of Karampatsis et al (US 2024/0147574 A1). Regarding claims 7 and 22, Wu in view of Chan and Kim does not teach wherein the indication also indicates that the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable for processing certain logical channel groups (LCGs), logical channel prioritizations (LCPs), or quality of services (QoSs). Karampatsis teaches wherein the indication also indicates that the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable for processing certain quality of services (QoSs) (Karampatsis: [0067]). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention tom modify the system of Wu in view of Chan and Kim wherein the indication also indicates that the cell discontinuous communication cycle is extendable for processing certain quality of services (QoSs) as disclosed by Karampatsis to provide a system for power saving for V2X communications (Karampatsis: Abstract). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KODZOVI ACOLATSE whose telephone number is (571)270-1999. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 10 am to 6pm. 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, Avellino Joseph can be reached at (571) 272-3905. 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. /KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 10, 2023
Application Filed
May 07, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jun 18, 2025
Interview Requested
Jun 24, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 24, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 10, 2025
Response Filed
Oct 03, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Oct 29, 2025
Interview Requested
Nov 18, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 18, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Dec 05, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 30, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 12, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Feb 26, 2026
Interview Requested
Mar 09, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 09, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 17, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 09, 2026
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

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.3%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 913 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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