Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/197,200

INFORMATION TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUS, COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§103§DP
Filed
May 15, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
Art Unit
2477
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
795 granted / 882 resolved
+32.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +5% lift
Without
With
+5.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
901
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
§103
40.5%
+0.5% vs TC avg
§102
37.3%
-2.7% vs TC avg
§112
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 882 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §DP
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 . 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-5, 7-8 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sonoda et al (US 2016/0134015)(hereinafter Sonoda). Regarding claim 1, Sonoda discloses an information transmission method, performed by a communications device (see Sonoda, Fig. 1), comprising: obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0036], e.g., the signal processing circuit 30 includes a measurement unit for measuring channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12); determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0039-0040], e.g., The controller 31 selects a directivity pattern to be set for the antennas 11 and 12, and p. [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode); and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode, wherein the antenna operation mode comprises: a multiple-input multiple-output MIMO mode in which all the plurality of antenna channels operate in a MIMO manner (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0042-0046], [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode), a Faster-than-Nyquist FTN mode in which all the plurality of antenna channels operate in an FTN manner, or a MIMO-FTN mode in which the same antenna port group in the plurality of antenna channels operates in a MIMO precoding manner and different antenna port groups operate in an FTN manner, wherein each antenna port group comprises at least one antenna channel. (Note: the alternate limitations are not considered). Regarding claim 2, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein the determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality comprises at least one of the following: in a case that the channel quality is less than or equal to a first threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO mode (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0042-0046], e.g., the measured value of the channel quality compared to a threshold value when selecting a directivity pattern suitable for transmission in the transmission mode, and p. [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode); in a case that the channel quality is greater than or equal to a second threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the FTN mode; or in a case that the channel quality is greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO-FTN mode. Regarding claim 3, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein after the determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality, the method further comprises: switching the antenna operation mode based on updated channel quality; and performing transmission in a switched-to antenna operation mode (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0042-0046], e.g., the measured value of the channel quality compared to a threshold value when selecting a directivity pattern suitable for transmission in the transmission mode, and p. [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode). Regarding claim 4, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 2, the channel quality is determined based on a first channel quality parameter, and the first channel quality parameter comprises at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio SNR, a signal to interference plus noise ratio SINR, a reference signal received power RSRP, or reference signal received quality RSRQ (see Sonoda, Figs. 2-3, p. [0037], e.g., SINR). Regarding claim 5, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a terminal (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0030], e.g., a communication device that is installed inside the mobile entity), the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: receiving a downlink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g., The signal processing circuit 30 is a circuit for processing a received signal that is obtained by receiving an incoming wave by the antennas 11 and 12); and measuring the downlink reference signal to obtain the channel quality (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g., The signal processing circuit 30 includes a measurement unit for measuring received signal quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12, and for measuring channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12). Regarding claim 7, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: transmitting a downlink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g., ; and receiving channel state information CSI fed back by a terminal to obtain the channel quality, wherein the CSI is obtained by the terminal through measurement based on the downlink reference signal (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g. As examples of the channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12, there are Channel State Information (CSI), a rank, and so forth. Regarding claim 8, Sonoda discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: receiving an uplink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g., The signal processing circuit 30 is a circuit for processing a received signal that is obtained by receiving an incoming wave by the antennas 11 and 12) and measuring the uplink reference signal to obtain the channel quality (see Sonoda, p. [0034-0037], e.g., The signal processing circuit 30 includes a measurement unit for measuring received signal quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12, and for measuring channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12). Regarding claim 19, Sonoda discloses a communications device, comprising: a processor; and a memory, storing a program or instruction that is capable of running on the processer , wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the communication device to: obtaining channel quality of the plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0036], e.g., the signal processing circuit 30 includes a measurement unit for measuring channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12); determining the antenna operation mode based on the channel quality (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0039-0040], e.g., The controller 31 selects a directivity pattern to be set for the antennas 11 and 12); and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0042-0046], [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode). Regarding claim 20, Sonoda discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium, storing a program or instruction, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtaining channel quality of the plurality of antenna channels (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0036], e.g., the signal processing circuit 30 includes a measurement unit for measuring channel quality of a received signal of the antennas 11 and 12); determining the antenna operation mode based on the channel quality (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0039-0040], e.g., The controller 31 selects a directivity pattern to be set for the antennas 11 and 12); and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode (see Sonoda, Fig. 1, p. [0042-0046], [0067-0077], e.g., relationship between a directivity pattern and a transmission mode, and analyzed data of the channel capacity with respect to the SINR for each of MIMO mode and BF mode). 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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sonoda in view of Manolakos et al (US 2021/0050888) (hereinafter Manolakos). Regarding claim 6, Sonoda does not expressly disclose the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a terminal and a communications peer is a terminal, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: transmitting a sidelink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels; and receiving channel quality fed back by the communications peer, wherein the channel quality is obtained by the communications peer through measurement based on the sidelink reference signal. Manolakos discloses the above recited limitations. In particular, Manolakos discloses the information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a terminal and a communications peer is a terminal (see Manolakos, Fig. 4, e.g., UE 120a and 120b), the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: transmitting a sidelink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels (see Manolakos, Fig. 4, p. [0063-0064], e.g., At 408, the UE 120a may transmit, to the UE 120b, one or more sidelink RSs); and receiving channel quality fed back by the communications peer, wherein the channel quality is obtained by the communications peer through measurement based on the sidelink reference signal (see Manolakos, Fig. 4, p. [0065], e.g., At 412, the UE 120b may transmit, to the UE 120a, the feedback report based at least in part on the CSI report configuration). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Manolakos’ teachings into Sonoda. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide channel state information associated with sidelink air interfaces as suggested by Manolakos. Double Patenting Claims 1-20 of this application is patentably indistinct from claims 1-7, 10-11 and 14-20 of Application No. 18/315,920. Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.78(f), when two or more applications filed by the same applicant or assignee contain patentably indistinct claims, elimination of such claims from all but one application may be required in the absence of good and sufficient reason for their retention during pendency in more than one application. Applicant is required to either cancel the patentably indistinct claims from all but one application or maintain a clear line of demarcation between the applications. See MPEP § 822. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1-20 provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7, 10-11 and 14-20 of copending Application No. 18/315,920 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both the application and copending application are direct to the subject matter of an information transmission method involving a plurality of antenna channels where claims are not patentably distinct from each other. Present Application (18/197,200) Copending application (18/315,920) 1. An information transmission method, performed by a communications device, comprising: obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels; determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality; and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode, wherein the antenna operation mode comprises: a multiple-input multiple-output MIMO mode in which all the plurality of antenna channels operate in a MIMO manner, a Faster-than-Nyquist FTN mode in which all the plurality of antenna channels operate in an FTN manner, or a MIMO-FTN mode in which the same antenna port group in the plurality of antenna channels operates in a MIMO precoding manner and different antenna port groups operate in an FTN manner, wherein each antenna port group comprises at least one antenna channel. 2. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein the determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality comprises at least one of the following: in a case that the channel quality is less than or equal to a first threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO mode; in a case that the channel quality is greater than or equal to a second threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the FTN mode; or in a case that the channel quality is greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, determining that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO-FTN mode. 3. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein after the determining an antenna operation mode based on the channel quality, the method further comprises: switching the antenna operation mode based on updated channel quality; and performing transmission in a switched-to antenna operation mode. 4. The information transmission method of claim 2 , the channel quality is determined based on a first channel quality parameter, and the first channel quality parameter comprises at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio SNR, a signal to interference plus noise ratio SINR, a reference signal received power RSRP, or reference signal received quality RSRQ. 5. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a terminal, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: receiving a downlink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels; and measuring the downlink reference signal to obtain the channel quality. 6. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a terminal and a communications peer is a terminal, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: transmitting a sidelink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels; and receiving channel quality fed back by the communications peer, wherein the channel quality is obtained by the communications peer through measurement based on the sidelink reference signal. 7. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: transmitting a downlink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels; and receiving channel state information CSI fed back by a terminal to obtain the channel quality, wherein the CSI is obtained by the terminal through measurement based on the downlink reference signal. 8. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining channel quality of a plurality of antenna channels comprises: receiving an uplink reference signal through the plurality of antenna channels; and measuring the uplink reference signal to obtain the channel quality. 9. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO-FTN mode, the method further comprises: determining the number of overlapping layers in a case that the FTN mode is used for operation between antenna port groups; and determining a precoding matrix indicator PMI in a case that the MIMO mode is used for operation within an antenna port group, wherein the transmitting information in the antenna operation mode comprises: performing transmission based on the PMI and the number of overlapping layers. 10. The information transmission method of claim 9, wherein the determining the number of overlapping layers in a case that the FTN mode is used for operation between antenna port groups comprises: determining the number of overlapping layers based on the channel quality; or wherein the determining a precoding matrix indicator PMI in a case that the MIMO mode is used for operation within an antenna port group comprises: obtaining channel measurement information of the antenna port group; and determining the precoding matrix indicator PMI of the antenna port group based on the channel measurement information of the antenna port group. 11. The information transmission method of claim 10, wherein the channel quality is determined based on a second channel quality parameter, and the second channel quality parameter comprises at least one of the following: an SINR, an RSRP, a multipath quantity, a relative speed, a Doppler frequency shift, a residual frequency offset after frequency offset correction, or a bit error rate. 12. The information transmission method of claim 9, wherein the performing transmission based on the PMI and the number of overlapping layers comprises: for an antenna port group, performing digital beamforming on information of an antenna channel in the group based on a corresponding precoding matrix, to obtain MIMO information, wherein the corresponding precoding matrix is indicated based on the precoding matrix indicator PMI of the antenna port group; for MIMO information of at least two antenna port groups, performing superposition based on the number of overlapping layers to obtain MIMO-FTN information; and transmitting the MIMO-FTN information. 13. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the antenna operation mode is the FTN mode, the method further comprises: determining the number of overlapping layers based on the channel quality, wherein the transmitting information in the antenna operation mode comprises: superposing antenna information based on the number of overlapping layers to obtain FTN information; and transmitting the FTN information. 14. The information transmission method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises: re-determining the number of overlapping layers in a case that a transmission condition is not met, wherein the transmission condition comprises: a bit error rate fed back by a communications peer is not less than a first preset threshold; or the number of received NACK messages transmitted by a communications peer reaches a second preset threshold; or the number of continuously received NACK messages transmitted by a communications peer reaches a third preset threshold; or an SNR or an RSRP of a received signal is less than a fourth preset threshold. 15. The information transmission method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: in a case that the antenna operation mode is the FTN mode, adjusting a transmission parameter of FTN information based on antenna measurement information, wherein the antenna measurement information is obtained by measuring an antenna port; or in a case that the antenna operation mode is the MIMO-FTN mode, adjusting a transmission parameter of MIMO-FTN information based on channel measurement information. 16. The information transmission method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: after the number of overlapping layers is re-determined, indicating the re-determined number of overlapping layers to the communications peer by using first indication information; or after the transmission parameter is adjusted, indicating an adjusted transmission parameter to the communications peer by using second indication information. 17. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein the antenna port group is obtained by grouping antenna channels; and the grouping antenna channels comprises: determining the number of antenna port groups and a grouping rule based on the number of overlapping layers; and grouping antenna channels based on the number of antenna port groups and the grouping rule. 18. The information transmission method of claim 2, wherein in a case that the communications device is a network side device, the method further comprises: receiving terminal capability information transmitted by a terminal, wherein the terminal capability information comprises information indicating whether the terminal supports an FTN decoding algorithm, and the FTN decoding algorithm comprises an uplink FTN decoding algorithm and/or a downlink FTN decoding algorithm. 19. A communications device, comprising: a processor; and a memory, storing a program or instruction that is capable of running on the processer , wherein the program or instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the communication obtaining channel quality of the plurality of antenna channels; determining the antenna operation mode based on the channel quality; and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode. 20. A non-transitory readable storage medium, storing a program or instruction, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtaining channel quality of the plurality of antenna channels; determining the antenna operation mode based on the channel quality; and transmitting information in the antenna operation mode. 1. An information transmission method, comprising: obtaining, by a communications device, channel quality of a plurality of antennas; determining, by the communications device, an antenna working mode according to the channel quality; and performing, by the communications device, information transmission by using the antenna working mode, wherein the antenna working mode comprises a MIMO mode in which the plurality of antennas all work in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) manner, a faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) mode in which the plurality of antennas all work in a faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) manner, or a MIMO-FTN mode in which an FTN manner is used for a same intra-antenna port group in the plurality of antennas and a MIMO manner is used for different inter-antenna port groups, wherein each antenna port group comprises at least one antenna. 2. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the communications device, the antenna working mode according to the channel quality comprises at least one of the following: in a case that the channel quality is less than or equal to a first threshold, determining, by the communications device, that the antenna working mode is the MIMO mode; in a case that the channel quality is greater than or equal to a second threshold, determining, by the communications device, that the antenna working mode is the FTN mode; or in a case that the channel quality is greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, determining, by the communications device, that the antenna working mode is the MIMO-FTN mode. 3. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein after the determining, by the communications device, the antenna working mode according to the channel quality, the method further comprises: switching, by the communications device, the antenna working mode according to updated channel quality; and performing, by the communications device, information transmission by using a switched antenna working mode. 4. The information transmission method of claim 2, wherein the channel quality is determined according to the first channel quality parameter, and the first channel quality parameter comprises at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), reference signal received power (RSRP), or reference signal received quality (RSRQ). 5. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein when the communications device is a terminal, the obtaining, by a communications device, channel quality of a plurality of antennas comprises: receiving, by the communications device, a downlink reference signal by using the plurality of antennas; and measuring, by the communications device, the downlink reference signal to obtain the channel quality; or wherein when the communications device is a terminal and a communications peer end is a terminal, the obtaining, by a communications device, channel quality of a plurality of antennas comprises: sending, by the communications device, a sidelink reference signal by using the plurality of antennas; and receiving, by the communications device, channel quality fed back by the communications peer end, wherein the channel quality is obtained by the communications peer end by means of measurement according to the sidelink reference signal; or, wherein when the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining, by a communications device, channel quality of a plurality of antennas comprises: sending, by the communications device, a downlink reference signal by using the plurality of antennas; and receiving, by the communications device, channel state information (CSI) fed back by a terminal, to obtain the channel quality, wherein the CSI is obtained by the terminal by means of measurement according to the downlink reference signal; or, wherein when the communications device is a network side device, the obtaining, by a communications device, channel quality of a plurality of antennas comprises: receiving, by the communications device, an uplink reference signal by using the plurality of antennas; and measuring, by the communications device, the uplink reference signal to obtain the channel quality. Claim 5. Claim 5. Claim 5. 6. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein when the antenna working mode is the MIMO-FTN mode, the method further comprises: determining, by the communications device, the number of overlapping layers when an FTN manner is used for an intra-antenna port group; and determining, by the communications device, a MIMO target working mode when a MIMO manner is used for inter-antenna port groups; wherein the performing, by the communications device, information transmission by using the antenna working mode comprises: performing, by the communications device, information transmission according to the MIMO target working mode and the number of overlapping layers. 7. The information transmission method of claim 6, wherein the determining, by the communications device, the number of overlapping layers when an FTN manner is used for an intra-antenna port group comprises: determining, by the communications device, the number of overlapping layers based on the channel quality; wherein the channel quality is determined according to a second channel quality parameter, and the second channel quality parameter comprises at least one of the following: an SINR, RSRP, the multipath number, a relative speed, a Doppler frequency shift, a residual frequency offset after frequency offset correction, or a bit error rate. Claim 7 10. The information transmission method of claim 8, wherein the performing, by the communications device, information transmission according to the PMI used in the beamforming MIMO mode and the number of overlapping layers comprises: for one antenna port group, obtaining, by the communications device, FTN information based on the number of overlapping layers; for FTN information of at least two antenna port groups, performing, by the communications device, digital beamforming on information of inter-antenna port groups based on a target precoding matrix, to obtain MIMO-FTN information, wherein the target precoding matrix is determined based on a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) of the antenna port group; and transmitting, by the communications device, the MIMO-FTN information. 14. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein when the antenna working mode is the FTN mode, the method further comprises: determining, by the communications device, the number of overlapping layers based on the channel quality; wherein the performing, by the communications device, information transmission by using the antenna working mode comprises: superposing, by the communications device, antenna information based on the number of overlapping layers to obtain FTN information; and transmitting, by the communications device, the FTN information. 15. The information transmission method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: re-determining, by the communications device, the number of overlapping layers in a case that it is determined that a transmission condition is not met, wherein the transmission condition comprises: a bit error rate fed back by a communications peer end of the communications device is not less than a first preset threshold; or the number of packet loss retransmission NACK messages that are sent by a communications peer end and that are received by the communications device reaches a second preset threshold; or the number of NACK messages that are sent by a communications peer end and that are continuously received by the communications device reaches a third preset threshold; or an SNR or RSRP of a signal received by the communications device is less than a fourth preset threshold. 16. The information transmission method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: when the antenna working mode is the FTN mode, adjusting, by the communications device, a sending parameter of the FTN information based on antenna measurement information, wherein the antenna measurement information is obtained by measuring an antenna port; and when the antenna working mode is the MIMO-FTN mode, adjusting, by the communications device, a sending parameter of MIMO-FTN information based on channel measurement information. 17. The information transmission method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises: after re-determining the number of overlapping layers, indicating, by the communications device, the re-determined number of overlapping layers to the communications peer end by using fourth indication information; or after adjusting the sending parameter, indicating, by the communications device, an adjusted sending parameter to the communications peer end by using fifth indication information. 11. The information transmission method of claim 1, wherein the antenna port group is obtained by grouping, by the communications device, antennas; and the grouping, by the communications device, antennas comprises: determining, by the communications device, the number of groups based on the number of overlapping layers; and grouping, by the communications device, the antennas based on a grouping rule and the number of groups. 18. The information transmission method of claim 2, wherein when the communications device is a network side device, the method further comprises: receiving, by the communications device, terminal capability information sent by a terminal, wherein the terminal capability information comprises information indicating whether the terminal supports an FTN decoding algorithm, and the FTN decoding algorithm comprises an uplink FTN decoding algorithm and/or a downlink FTN decoding algorithm. 19. A communications device, comprising: a processor; and a memory, storing a program or an instruction that is capable of running on the processor , wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the communications device to : obtain channel quality of a plurality of antennas; determine an antenna working mode according to the channel quality; and perform information transmission by using the antenna working mode. 20. A non-transitory readable storage medium storing a program or instruction, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to : obtain channel quality of a plurality of antennas; determine an antenna working mode according to the channel quality; and perform information transmission by using the antenna working mode. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINH TRANG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5248. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-6:00pm. 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, Chirag C Shah can be reached at 571-272-3144. 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. /MINH TRANG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 15, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 07, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12587246
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING OR RECEIVING CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12580638
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12580633
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING POWER OUTPUT FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICE TO EXTERNAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12580621
BREATHING RATE ESTIMATION USING RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) SENSING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12574094
BEAM SELECTION USING A BEAM FINGERPRINTING DATABASE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+5.3%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 882 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month