Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/291,513

SIGNAL MONITORING METHOD, SIGNAL MONITORING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 23, 2024
Examiner
ZAIDI, IQBAL
Art Unit
2464
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
1090 granted / 1207 resolved
+32.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1239
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.9%
-33.1% vs TC avg
§103
50.0%
+10.0% vs TC avg
§102
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
§112
14.5%
-25.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1207 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION The instant application having application No 18/291,513 filed on 01/23/2024 is presented for examination by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained through the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-3, 10-12, 14, 21 and 23 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (U.S 20220070784, Mar. 3, 2022) in view of HE (US 20210297954, Sep. 23, 2021, Dec. 9, 2021). Regarding Claim 1, Wang discloses performed by a terminal, comprising monitoring a first power-saving signal by starting a first receiver (page 3, par (0040), line 1-10, power-saving-signal receivers, one of which is a digital baseband receiver which combined with a baseband receiver of an existing terminal, for receiving the power saving signal, when the Wake Up signal is detected, the terminal is triggered to wake up (the baseband receiver starts to operate(starting a first receiver)); and monitoring, based on the monitoring behavior, a signal related to the paging message by starting a second receiver (page 3, par (0037), line 5-10, a UE needs to periodically wake up to receive a possible paging signal in each PO(paging opportunity) position, the UE needs to blind-detect a PDCCH of a possible paging signal before each detection of the possible paging signal, and if the PDCCH of the paging signal is detected, then the UE continues to decode the paging signal(starting the second receiver), otherwise no decoding is performed(wherein based on the monitoring behavior of the paging message starting the receiver to decode the paging signal or not)). Wang discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except determining a monitoring behavior of a paging message based on a monitoring state of the first power- saving signal. HE is the same field of invention teaches determining a monitoring behavior of a paging message based on a monitoring state of the first power- saving signal (page 3, par (0042-0043), line 1-10, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a paging message, PDCCH detection is needed in this Paging Occasion (PO) determined by detecting a PWSS before the PO (monitoring behavior). From the dimension of frequency domain, reducing a receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is of great significance to power saving; by matching the received bandwidth quickly with the traffic volume of the terminal device, the effect of power saving can be achieved). Wang and HE are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performed by a terminal, comprising monitoring a first power-saving signal by starting a first receiver the teaching of Wang to include the power saving of a terminal Device (monitoring a power-saving signal) reducing the time for turning on the receiver by the terminal device reduce the power consumption of the terminal device teaching of HE because it is providing communication coverage for a specific geographical area, and communicate with terminal devices located within the coverage area. Regarding Claim 2, Wang discloses the signal related to the paging message comprises at least one of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carrying the paging message or a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) scheduling the paging message (page 3, par (0042), line 1-10, a base station determines that a terminal device needs to be scheduled in the DRX on duration, the base station send a PWSS to the terminal device before the DRX on duration to wake up the terminal device, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a paging message). Regarding Claim 3, Wang discloses the first power-saving signal comprises one first power-saving signal (page 10, par (0109), line 1-5, the power saving signal(first power-saving signal) corresponding to the first terminal is detected, the first terminal perform monitoring of a PDCCH, waking up the baseband to monitor the PDCCH); and monitoring, based on the monitoring behavior, the signal related to the paging message by starting a second receiver, comprises: monitoring, based on the monitoring behavior, a second power-saving signal by starting the second receiver(page 10, par (0110), line 1-5, the power-saving-signal indication information is used to indicate of a power saving signal supported by the first terminal, wherein types of power saving signals include a power saving signal based on a digital baseband receiver(first receiver), a power saving signal based on a radio frequency analog receiver(second receiver)); wherein the second power-saving signal is configured to indicate whether the terminal monitors at least one of the PDCCH corresponding to the paging message and/or the PDSCH corresponding to the paging message(page 10, par (0110), line 1-10, a power saving signal based on a sequence, and a power saving signal based on a PDCCH). Regarding Claim 10, Wang discloses a signal monitoring method, performed by a network device, comprising: sending a first power-saving signal which is monitored by a terminal starting a first receiver (page 3, par (0040), line 1-10, power-saving-signal receivers, one of which is a digital baseband receiver which combined with a baseband receiver of an existing terminal, for receiving the power saving signal, when the Wake Up signal is detected, the terminal is triggered to wake up (the baseband receiver starts to operate(starting a first receiver)); the first power-saving signal is configured for the terminal to determine a monitoring behavior of a paging message(page 3, par (0039), line 1-10, the UE in the RRC connected state or in the idle state needs to frequently perform a warm up operation and detect a power saving signal, thus, high efficiency and power saving cannot be achieved, if the user has no paging or scheduling information message for a long time(monitoring behavior of a paging message), then it is not necessary to frequently detect the power saving signal). Wang discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except and the monitoring behavior is configured for the terminal to perform monitoring of a signal related to the paging message. HE is the same field of invention teaches and the monitoring behavior is configured for the terminal to perform monitoring of a signal related to the paging message (page 3, par (0042-0043), line 1-10, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a paging message, PDCCH detection is needed in this Paging Occasion (PO) determined by detecting a PWSS before the PO (monitoring behavior). From the dimension of frequency domain, reducing a receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is of great significance to power saving; by matching the received bandwidth quickly with the traffic volume of the terminal device, the effect of power saving can be achieved). Wang and HE are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performed by a terminal, comprising monitoring a first power-saving signal by starting a first receiver the teaching of Wang to include the power saving of a terminal Device (monitoring a power-saving signal) reducing the time for turning on the receiver by the terminal device reduce the power consumption of the terminal device teaching of HE because it is providing communication coverage for a specific geographical area, and communicate with terminal devices located within the coverage area. Regarding Claim 11, Wang discloses the signal related to the paging message comprises at least one of: a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carrying the paging message or a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) scheduling the paging message(page 3, par (0042), line 1-10, a base station determines that a terminal device needs to be scheduled in the DRX on duration, the base station send a PWSS to the terminal device before the DRX on duration to wake up the terminal device, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a paging message). Regarding Claim 12, Wang discloses sending a second power-saving signal in response to sending one first power-saving signal (page 10, par (0109), line 1-5, the power saving signal (first power-saving signal) corresponding to the first terminal is detected, the first terminal performs monitoring of a PDCCH, waking up the baseband to monitor the PDCCH). Regarding Claim 14, Wang discloses a time interval between the first power-saving signal and the second power-saving signal is greater than or equal to a first-time threshold (page 5, par (0060), line 5-10, When a distance between the terminal and the base station is smaller than a first threshold, the base station indicates the terminal to use the power saving signal based on a lower-power-consumption radio-frequency analog receiver. If the distance between the terminal and the base station is great than a second threshold, the base station instructs the terminal to use the power saving signal based on the baseband receiver, wherein the first threshold is smaller than the second threshold). 19. (Canceled) 20. (Canceled) Regarding Claim 21, Wang discloses determine a signal monitoring device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing processor executable instructions; wherein the processor is configured to; monitor a first power-saving signal by starting a first receiver(page 3, par (0040), line 1-10, power-saving-signal receivers, one of which is a digital baseband receiver which combined with a baseband receiver of an existing terminal, for receiving the power saving signal, when the Wake Up signal is detected, the terminal is triggered to wake up (the baseband receiver starts to operate(starting a first receiver)); and monitor, based on the monitoring behavior, a signal related to the paging message by starting a second receiver(page 3, par (0037), line 5-10, a UE needs to periodically wake up to receive a possible paging signal in each PO(paging opportunity) position, the UE needs to blind-detect a PDCCH of a possible paging signal before each detection of the possible paging signal, and if the PDCCH of the paging signal is detected, then the UE continues to decode the paging signal(starting the second receiver), otherwise no decoding is performed(wherein based on the monitoring behavior of the paging message starting the receiver to decode the paging signal or not)). Wang discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except a monitoring behavior of a paging message based on a monitoring state of the first power- saving signal. HE is the same field of invention teaches a monitoring behavior of a paging message based on a monitoring state of the first power- saving signal (page 3, par (0042-0043), line 1-10, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a paging message, PDCCH detection is needed in this Paging Occasion (PO) determined by detecting a PWSS before the PO (monitoring behavior). From the dimension of frequency domain, reducing a receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is of great significance to power saving; by matching the received bandwidth quickly with the traffic volume of the terminal device, the effect of power saving can be achieved). Wang and HE are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performed by a terminal, comprising monitoring a first power-saving signal by starting a first receiver the teaching of Wang to include the power saving of a terminal Device (monitoring a power-saving signal) reducing the time for turning on the receiver by the terminal device reduce the power consumption of the terminal device teaching of HE because it is providing communication coverage for a specific geographical area, and communicate with terminal devices located within the coverage area. 22. (Canceled) Regarding Claim 23, Wang discloses a signal monitoring device, comprising a processor; and a memory for storing processor executable instructions; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 10(page 1, par (0011), line 1-10, The base station includes a transceiver, a storage, a processor and a computer program stored on the storage and executable by the processor). Examiner Notice Claim 1 would be allowable if (i) claims 4 or 5 or 7 are incorporated into the independent claim 1. Claim 10 would be allowable if (i) claims 15 or 16 is incorporated into the independent claim 20. Claim 21 would be allowable if (i) claims 4 or 5 or 7 or 15 or 16 are incorporated into the independent claim 21. The claim 3 has the limitation “whether the terminal monitors”, please clarify the conditional language features from the limitations of the claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are: JIANG et al. (US 20220060984, Feb. 24, 2022) teaches Information Determining Method and User Equipment. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IQBAL ZAIDI whose telephone number is (571)270-3943. The examiner can normally be reached on M to Thu 8.a.m to 6.p.m.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NGO RICKY can be reached on 571-272-3139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /IQBAL ZAIDI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 23, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+6.6%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1207 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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