Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/286,703

TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 12, 2023
Priority
Apr 13, 2021 — JP 2021-067985 +1 more
Examiner
O CONNOR, BRIAN T
Art Unit
2465
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
783 granted / 915 resolved
+27.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
934
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
§103
48.1%
+8.1% vs TC avg
§102
29.8%
-10.2% vs TC avg
§112
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 915 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . This office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 06/24/2026. Claims 7-13 are currently pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by PARK et al. (US 2022/0330233 A1; hereafter PARK). With respect to claim 7, PARK discloses a terminal (FIG. 15; paragraphs [0549] and [0550]); comprising: a processor (1505 of FIG. 15) that multiplexes a first uplink control information having a first priority and a second uplink control information having a second priority lower than the first priority on an uplink shared channel (paragraphs [0497], [0498], [0503], and [0504], see the Procedure 9 in Step 2A with the HP {high priority} HARQ-ACK and LP {low priority} HARQ-ACK as the first UCI and second UCI with first priority and second priority); and a transmitter (1510 of FIG. 15) that transmits the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information using the uplink shared channel (paragraph [0497] and [0498] and [0343] and [0344], see the Procedure 9 operation will multiplex all the differing UCIs {or HARQ-ACK info} to a PUSCH channel as introduced with paragraphs [0343] and [0344]), wherein the processor (1505 of FIG. 15) performs rate matching of the second uplink control information after performing rate matching of the first uplink control information based on a priority of each uplink control information (paragraph [0503] and [0504], see in Step 2A {of Procedure 9} using the LP HARQ-ACK for rate matching secondly {or After} the HP HARQ-ACK has been rate matched). With respect to claim 8, PARK further discloses the terminal of claim 7, wherein when the first uplink control information includes CSI Part1 and the second uplink control information includes HARQ-ACK, the processor performs rate matching of the HARQ-ACK after performing rate matching of the CSI Part1 (paragraphs [0505] and [0506], see in STEP 3 the rate matching is done for CSI part 1 after an exclusion of HARQ-ACK information is performed). With respect to claim 9, PARK further discloses the terminal of claim 7, wherein when the first uplink control information includes HARQ-ACK and the second uplink control information includes CSI Part1 and CSI Part2, the processor performs rate matching of the CSI Part and rate matching of the CSI Part2 after performing rate matching of the HARQ-ACK (paragraphs [0505] and [0506] and [0507] and [0508], see in STEP 3 the rate matching is done for CSI part 1 after an exclusion of HARQ-ACK information is performed and CSI part 2 is rat matched and mapped according to a base station configuration). With respect to claim 10, PARK further discloses the terminal of claim 7, wherein when the first uplink control information includes first HARQ-ACK and CSI Part1 and the second uplink control information includes second HARQ-ACK, the processor performs rate matching of the second HARQ-ACK after performing rate matching of the first HARQ-ACK and rate matching of CSI Part 1 (paragraphs[0503] and [0504] and [0505] and [0506] and [0507] and [0508], see in STEP 2A performed before STEP 3). With respect to claim 11, PARK discloses a base station (FIG. 16; paragraphs [0555] and [0556]) comprising: a processor (1605 in FIG. 16) that assumes that a first uplink control information having a first priority and a second uplink control information having a second priority lower than the first priority are multiplexed on an uplink shared channel (paragraphs [0497], [0498], [0503], and [0504], see the Procedure 9 in Step 2A with the HP {high priority} HARQ-ACK and LP {low priority} HARQ-ACK as the first UCI and second UCI with first priority and second priority); and a receiver (1600 in FIG. 16) that receives the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information using the uplink shared channel (paragraph [0497] and [0498] and [0343] and [0344], see the Procedure 9 operation will multiplex all the differing UCIs {or HARQ-ACK info} to a PUSCH channel as introduced with paragraphs [0343] and [0344]), wherein the processor (1605 in FIG. 16) assumes that rate matching of the second uplink control information is performed after rate matching of the first uplink control information is performed, based on a priority of each uplink control information (paragraph [0503] and [0504], see in Step 2A {of Procedure 9} using the LP HARQ-ACK for rate matching secondly {or After} the HP HARQ-ACK has been rate matched). With respect to claim 12, PARK discloses a radio communication system (Abstract; Title) comprising: a terminal (FIG. 15; paragraphs [0549] and [0550]); and a base station (FIG. 16; paragraphs [0555] and [0556]); wherein the terminal (FIG. 15; paragraphs [0549] and [0550]) comprises: a processor (1505 of FIG. 15) that multiplexes a first uplink control information having a first priority and a second uplink control information having a second priority lower than the first priority on an uplink shared channel (paragraphs [0497], [0498], [0503], and [0504], see the Procedure 9 in Step 2A with the HP {high priority} HARQ-ACK and LP {low priority} HARQ-ACK as the first UCI and second UCI with first priority and second priority); and a transmitter (1510 of FIG. 15) that transmits the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information to the base station using the uplink shared channel (paragraph [0497] and [0498] and [0343] and [0344], see the Procedure 9 operation will multiplex all the differing UCIs {or HARQ-ACK info} to a PUSCH channel as introduced with paragraphs [0343] and [0344]), wherein the processor (1505 of FIG. 15) performs rate matching of the second uplink control information after performing rate matching of the first uplink control information based on a priority of each uplink control information (paragraph [0503] and [0504], see in Step 2A {of Procedure 9} using the LP HARQ-ACK for rate matching secondly {or After} the HP HARQ-ACK has been rate matched). With respect to claim 13, PARK discloses a radio communication method (Abstract; Title) comprising: a step of multiplexing, by a terminal, a first uplink control information having a first priority and a second uplink control information having a second priority lower than the first priority on an uplink shared channel (paragraphs [0497], [0498], [0503], and [0504], see the Procedure 9 in Step 2A with the HP {high priority} HARQ-ACK and LP {low priority} HARQ-ACK as the first UCI and second UCI with first priority and second priority); and a step of transmitting, by the terminal, the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information using the uplink shared channel (paragraph [0497] and [0498] and [0343] and [0344], see the Procedure 9 operation will multiplex all the differing UCIs {or HARQ-ACK info} to a PUSCH channel as introduced with paragraphs [0343] and [0344]), wherein in the step of multiplexing, the terminal performs rate matching of the second uplink control information after performing rate matching of the first uplink control information based on a priority of each uplink control information (paragraph [0503] and [0504], see in Step 2A {of Procedure 9} using the LP HARQ-ACK for rate matching secondly {or After} the HP HARQ-ACK has been rate matched). Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed on 06/24/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 7-13 under SHAPIN have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of PARK. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian T O'Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-1081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri Flex 10am-6:30pm. 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, Gary Mui can be reached at 571-270-1420. 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. /BRIAN T O CONNOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 July 8, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 12, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Dec 30, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 09, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 24, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750858
ADAPTIVE QUANTIZATION PROCEDURES FOR CHANNEL TRACKING REFERENCE SIGNALS TO SUPPORT TRANSMISSION PRE-EQUALIZATION-BASED SYSTEMS
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750718
ACCESS POINT AND WIRELESS TERMINAL APPARATUS
2y 8m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750755
MOBILITY MANAGEMENT METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12739683
Method And Reporting Of The Carrier Phase Measurement Reporting
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12726866
Configuring Different Mobility Reporting Trigger Conditions for Reliable Network Connectivity
3y 11m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+8.1%)
2y 10m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 915 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance 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