Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 18/260,460

SIDELINK TIMER MAINTENANCE METHOD, DEVICE AND READABLE STORAGE MEIDUM

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Jul 05, 2023
Priority
Jan 05, 2021 — CN 202110008191.6 +1 more
Examiner
HAILE, AWET A
Art Unit
2474
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
559 granted / 701 resolved
+21.7% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+24.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
743
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.5%
-33.5% vs TC avg
§103
62.1%
+22.1% vs TC avg
§102
11.7%
-28.3% vs TC avg
§112
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 701 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Response to Argument Applicant’s arguments see page 10 filed on August 7, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding independent claims 1 and 17, applicant argues that “the fourth alternative feature has been removed from claim 1, given that the rejection was based on the fourth alternative. It is respectfully submitted that the remaining features recited in claim 1, namely the first, second and third alternatives for maintaining start of the DRX HARQ retransmission timer, are not taught by Ji. Therefore, amended claim 1 is novel over the cited prior art…”(remarks page 10). Examiner respectfully disagrees, although the fourth alternative has been deleted , Ji 718 still teaches the first alternative claim limitation, in particular Ji ‘718 teaches ([0089]-[0093] and Fig.3), an SCI identifying two reserved transmission resources, with the HARQ RTT timer expiring at the end of the slot immediately preceding each reserved resource and the DRX retransmission timer starting at the first symbol thereafter. Thus, the retransmission timer starts at the time-domain start position of each SCI-indicated reserved retransmission resource., which reads on applicants alternative claim limitation “a target HARQ process, starting the DRX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI corresponding to the target HARQ process”. Rejection of Claims 1 and 17 under 35 U.S.C. 102 is therefore maintained. Regarding independent claims 9 and 25 Applicant has provided the same arguments as presented in claim 1. Claims 9 and 25 are now rejected under 35 USC§ 103, over Liu ‘813 in view of Li ‘718 as detailed below, thus Examiner applies the same reasoning presented in relation to claim 1. IV. Regarding dependent claims 2, 4, 5-8, 10, 12-16 and 18 the Applicant argues these claims conditionally on that of their parent independent claims. Applicant's arguments are unpersuasive and, therefore, the rejections of these claims are hereby maintained. 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)(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. Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ji et al(US 2023/0247718 A1). Regarding claims 1 and 17, Ji ‘718 teaches, a timer maintenance device of a sidelink interface([0089]-[0093] and Figs. 3-4, 12, first UE(terminal equipment)), comprising: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor([0089]-[0093], [0235] and Figs. 3-4, 12, first UE(terminal equipment) comprising processor 1210, memory 1220 and transceiver 1230) ; the processor is used to read a computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: maintaining a working state of a discontinuous reception (DRX)-related timer of the sidelink interface according to sidelink interface control information (SCI) received by a sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface ([0089]- [0093] and Figs. 3-4, the first UE starts the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL timer based on receiving the SCI 1 from UE 2) wherein the SCI is sent by a sidelink interface sending terminal ([0088]-[0089] and Figs. 3-4, Tx UE (second device ) transmitting the SCI received by first UE). wherein the maintaining a working state of a DRX related timer of the sidelink interface according to SCI received by a sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface comprises; maintaining start and/or stop of the DRX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface([0090] after receiving SCI 1, the receiving device starts the timer(drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL), The timers start and timeout are controlled by the reception and contents of the SCI), wherein the DRX-related timer comprises: at least one of a DRX HARQ retransmission timer, the DRX HARQ RTT timer, or a DRX inactivity timer([0083], [0086], the DRX-related timers are DRX HARQ retransmission timer(drx-retransmissionTimerSL) and the DRX HARQ RTT timer( drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL )); wherein, the maintaining start of the DRX HARQ retransmission timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DRX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI corresponding to the target HARQ process([0089], [0090], [0091] and Fig. 3, the SCI indicating reserved resources for retransmission, where the RTT timer is configured to timeout at the end of the slot right before the reserved resource slot. The drx-RetranmissionTimerSL is started at the first symbol following the timeout, which corresponds to the time domain start position of the reserved retransmission resource, , notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations); for the target HARQ process, determining a target time domain position according to a first time domain position of the HARQ process and a minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, and starting the DRX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position, wherein the first time domain position is a time domain start position of SCI or physical layer direct link shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to a last transmission of the target HARQ process; or for the target HARQ process, in the case that the SCI carries the retransmission resource reservation information, starting the DRX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to the retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI; in the case that the SCI does not carry the retransmission resource reservation information, determining the target time domain position according to the first time domain position of the HARQ process and the minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, and starting the DRX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position, wherein the first time domain position is the time domain position corresponding to the last transmission of the target HARQ process. Regarding claims 2 and 18, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations, Ji ‘718 further teaches, wherein the maintaining a working state of a DRX related timer of the sidelink interface according to SCI received by a sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface further comprises: determining a length of the DRX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface([0084], [0090], the value of the first timer is the total number of slots in a period from when the SCI is received up to the slot prior to the reserved resource indicated in the firs SCI , further more the timer times out right before the slot where the next transmission received, as indicated by the SCI is located ) wherein the DRX-related timer comprises: a DRX Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) round-trip delay (RTT) timer([0083], [0089], [0090], the timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL is being used). Regarding claim 4, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations, Ji ‘718 further teaches, wherein the maintaining stop of the DRX HARQ RTT timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface comprises: for a target HARQ process, before a time domain position corresponding to first target information carried by the SCI, stopping the DRX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process([0084], [0090], the DRX HARQ RTT timer(drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL times out (stops) exactly at the end of the slot that is prior to the slot where ethe next transmission resource is located.by timing out at the end of the preceding slot, the timer explicitly stops before the time domain position of that upcoming resource); wherein the first target information comprises: one of initial transmission resource indication information, initial transmission resource reservation information, retransmission resource indication information, and retransmission resource reservation information([0066], [0059], [0090] the resource dictating the timer’s stop position is a reserved resource used for retransmission, which reads on “retransmission resource reservation information”, notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations) . Regarding claim 5, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations, Ji ‘718 further teaches, wherein the maintaining start of the DRX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DRX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of PSSCH scheduled by the SCI([0089], [0090] and Fig, 3, the receiving device receives the SCI, which indicates the resrouces of the corresponding PSSCH in that slot. Drx-HARQ-RTT-TImerSL timer is started at the firs symbol of the firs slot after the slot where the SCI is located. By starting the timer in the slot immediately following the slot containing the PSSCH, the timer is started after an end time of PSSCH scheduled by the SCI); for the target HARQ process, starting the DRX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of physical layer direct link feedback channel (PSFCH) corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determined according to the SCI; for the target HARQ process, in the case that the PSFCH feedback corresponding to the target HARQ process is negative acknowledgment (NACK), starting the DRX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after the end time of the PSFCH corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determined according to the SCI( notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations). Regarding claim 7, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations, Ji ‘718 further teaches, wherein the maintaining a working state of the DRX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface includes: after a DRX mechanism of the sidelink interface is enabled, maintaining the working state of the DRX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI([0089]- [0093] and Figs. 3-4, the first UE starts and maintains the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerSL timer based on receiving the SCI from UE 2). Regarding claim 8, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations, Ji ‘718 further teaches, in the case that the DRX mechanism of the sidelink interface is enabled, deactivating functions of resource re-evaluation and resource reselection of the sidelink interface ([0174], [0175] and Fig. 9, resource resection being disabled when time is maintained based on SCI related DRX timers). 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. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 9, 10, 15, 16 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al(US 2022/0394813 A1) in view of Ji ‘718 Regarding claims 9 and 25, Liu ‘813 teaches, a timer maintenance method of a sidelink interface( [0157], [0158] and Figs. 3-4 a method of maintaining discontinuous transmission at the target device(UE)), comprising: maintaining a working state of a discontinuous transmission (DTX)-related timer of the sidelink interface according to sidelink interface control information (SCI) sent by a sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface([0157], [0158] and Figs. 3-4, target device( second UE) receiving first SCI that includes indicator to start a first timer of the target discontinuous transmission or reception mode); wherein the maintaining a working state of a DTX related timer of the sidelink interface according to SCI sent by a sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface comprises: maintaining start and/or stop of the DTX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface([0126], [0128], [0134], [0139], starting, restarting and expiration(storppping) of timers such as the drx-inactivitityTimer, drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer and drx-retransmissionTimer triggered by receiving SCI or determining states); wherein the maintaining start of the DTX HARQ retransmission timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface[0126], [0128], [0134], [0139], starting, restarting and expiration(storppping) of timers such as the drx-inactivitityTimer, drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer and drx-retransmissionTimer triggered by receiving SCI or determining states) comprises one of the following items comprises the following items: Liu ‘813 does not explicitly teach, comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI corresponding to the target HARQ process; for the target HARQ process, determining a target time domain position according to a first time domain position of the HARQ process and a minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, and starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position; wherein the first time domain position is a time domain start position of SCI or physical layer direct link shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to a last transmission of the target HARQ process; for the target HARQ process, in the case that the SCI carries the retransmission resource reservation information, starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to the retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI; in the case that the SCI does not carry the retransmission resource reservation information, determining the target time domain position according to the first time domain position of the HARQ process and the minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, and starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position, wherein the first time domain position is the time domain position corresponding to the last transmission of the target HARQ process. Ji ‘718 teaches, comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI corresponding to the target HARQ process([0089], [0090], [0091] and Fig. 3, the SCI indicating reserved resources for retransmission, where the RTT timer is configured to timeout at the end of the slot right before the reserved resource slot. The drx-RetranmissionTimerSL is started at the first symbol following the timeout, which corresponds to the time domain start position of the reserved retransmission resource, , notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations); for the target HARQ process, determining a target time domain position according to a first time domain position of the HARQ process and a minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, and starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position; wherein the first time domain position is a time domain start position of SCI or physical layer direct link shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to a last transmission of the target HARQ process; or for the target HARQ process, in the case that the SCI carries the retransmission resource reservation information, starting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at a time domain start position of each retransmission resource corresponding to the retransmission resource reservation information carried by the SCI; in the case that the SCI does not carry the retransmission resource reservation information, determining the target time domain position according to the first time domain position of the HARQ process and the minimum time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the target HARQ process, andstarting the DTX HARQ retransmission timer corresponding to the target HARQ process at the target time domain position, wherein the first time domain position is the time domain position corresponding to the last transmission of the target HARQ process. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Liu ‘813, by incorporating the teaching of Ji ‘718, since such modification would enable to incorporate the DRX mechanism into sidelink communication, as suggested by Li ‘718([0006]-[0007]). Regarding claim 10, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches, all of the claim limitations, Liu ‘813 further teaches, wherein the DTX-related timer comprises: at least one of a DTX HARQ retransmission timer, a DTX HARQ RTT timer, or a DTX inactivity timer([0126], [0128], [0134], [0139], starting, restarting and expiration(storppping) of timers such as the drx-inactivitityTimer, drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer and drx-retransmissionTimer). Regarding claim 15, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches, all of the claim limitations, Liu ‘813 further teaches, wherein the maintaining a working state of the DTX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface includes: after a DTX mechanism of the sidelink interface is enabled, maintaining the working state of the DTX-related timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI([0157], [0158] and Figs. 3-4, target device( second UE) maintaining DTX timer based receiving first SCI that includes indicator to start a first timer of the target discontinuous transmission or reception mode). Regarding claim 16, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches, all of the claim limitations, Liu ‘813 further teaches, deactivating functions of resource re-evaluation and resource reselection of the sidelink interface ([0157], [0158] and Figs. 3-4, target device (second UE) marinating DTX timer and reevaluating resources). Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji ‘718 in view of Li et al(US 2021/0227602 A1). Regarding claim 6, Ji ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations except, starting the DRX inactivity timer at a time domain start position of an initial transmission resource corresponding to second target information carried by the SCI; if an on Duration timer of the sidelink interface is in an operation state, starting the DRX inactivity timer at the time domain start position of the initial transmission resource corresponding to the second target information carried by the SCI; wherein, the second target information is initial transmission resource reservation information or initial transmission resource indication information. Li ‘602 teaches, the maintaining start of the DRX inactivity timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI received by the sidelink interface receiving terminal on the sidelink interface includes one of the following items: starting the DRX inactivity timer at a time domain start position of an initial transmission resource corresponding to second target information carried by the SCI( [0341]-[0343] and Figs. 9-12, starting inactivity timer at start position of initial transmission); if an on Duration timer of the sidelink interface is in an operation state, starting the DRX inactivity timer at the time domain start position of the initial transmission resource corresponding to the second target information carried by the SCI; wherein, the second target information is initial transmission resource reservation information or initial transmission resource indication information([0415]-[0416], during on duration starting the inactivity timer at the start of initial transmission, notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Ji ‘718, by incorporating the teaching of Li ‘602, since such modification would provide efficient method of handling device-to-device resource pool with consideration on discontinuous reception operation in a wireless communication system, as suggested by Li ‘602([0002]). Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 as applied to claims above, and further in view of Miao et al (US 2023/0337140 A1). Regarding claim 12, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches all of the claim limitations Liu ‘813 further teaches, wherein the first target information includes: one of initial transmission resource indication information, initial transmission resource reservation information, retransmission resource indication information, and retransmission resource reservation information ([0158]-[0159] and Fig. 3, the second UE restarts a second timer of the target discontinuous transmission or reception mode). The combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 does not explicitly teach, for a target HARQ process, before a time domain position corresponding to first target information carried by the SCI, stopping the DTX HARQ RTT corresponding to the target HARQ process Miao ‘140 teaches, for a target HARQ process, before a time domain position corresponding to first target information carried by the SCI, stopping the DTX HARQ RTT corresponding to the target HARQ process ([0130]- [0132], stopping DTX HARQ RTT timer based on PSCCH comprising SCI). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Liu ‘813, by incorporating the teaching of Miao ‘140, since such modification would enable terminals to efficiently communicate with each other using sidelink DRX operations, as suggested by Miao ‘140(abstract). Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 as applied to claims above, and further in view of Li et al(US 2021/0227602 A1). Regarding claim 13, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches, all claim limitations except, wherein the maintaining start of the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of PSSCH scheduled by the SCI; for the target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of physical layer direct link feedback channel (PSFCH) corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determinedaccording to the SCI; for the target HARQ process, in the case that the PSFCH feedback corresponding to the target HARQ process is negative acknowledgment (NACK), starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after the end time of the PSFCH corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determined according to the SCI. Li ‘602 teaches, wherein the maintaining start of the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface([0111], [0112], the drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer SL is started based on the timing PSSCH/PSFCH, which is scheduled by the SCI) comprises one of the following items: for a target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of PSSCH scheduled by the SCI([0111], the start time of the drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer_SL may be after the end of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH)); for the target HARQ process, starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after an end time of physical layer direct link feedback channel (PSFCH) corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determinedaccording to the SCI ([0109], [0111], the start time of the drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer SL after the end of a PSFCH corresponding to the target HARQ process. The timing of the PSFCH is derived from parameters provided in the scheduling information); for the target HARQ process, in the case that the PSFCH feedback corresponding to the target HARQ process is negative acknowledgment (NACK), starting the DTX HARQ RTT timer corresponding to the target HARQ process after the end time of the PSFCH corresponding to the target HARQ process, wherein the end time of the PSFCH is determined according to the SCI ([0112], in a case where the PSFCH feedback is a NACK the drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer_SL is started). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Liu ‘813, by incorporating the teaching of Li ‘602, since such modification would provide efficient method of handling device-to-device resource pool with consideration on discontinuous reception operation in a wireless communication system, as suggested by Li ‘602([0002]). Regarding claim 14, the combination of Liu ‘813 and Li ‘718 teaches, all claim limitations except, the maintaining start of the DTX inactivity timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface include the following items: starting the DTX inactivity timer at a time domain start position of an initial transmission resource corresponding to second target information carried by the SCI; if an on Duration timer of the sidelink interface is in an operation state, starting the DTX inactivity timer at the time domain start position of the initial transmission resource corresponding to the second target information carried by the SCI; wherein the second target information is initial transmission resource reservation information or initial transmission resource indication information. Li ‘602 teaches, the maintaining start of the DTX inactivity timer of the sidelink interface according to the SCI sent by the sidelink interface sending terminal on the sidelink interface include the following items: starting the DTX inactivity timer at a time domain start position of an initial transmission resource corresponding to second target information carried by the SCI ( [0341]-[0343] and Figs. 9-12, starting inactivity timer at start position of initial transmission); if an on Duration timer of the sidelink interface is in an operation state, starting the DTX inactivity timer at the time domain start position of the initial transmission resource corresponding to the second target information carried by the SCI; wherein the second target information is initial transmission resource reservation information or initial transmission resource indication information ([0415]-[0416], during on duration starting the inactivity timer at the start of initial transmission). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Liu ‘813, by incorporating the teaching of Li ‘602, since such modification would provide efficient method of handling device-to-device resource pool with consideration on discontinuous reception operation in a wireless communication system, as suggested by Li ‘602([0002]). Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 AWET A HAILE whose telephone number is (571)270-3114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST. 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, Michael Thier can be reached at (571)272-2832. 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. /AWET HAILE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Dec 31, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 24, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 03, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Aug 07, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 08, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING MESSAGE INCLUDING TERMINAL INFORMATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
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
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+24.8%)
3y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 701 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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