Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/292,567

TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND BASE STATION

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Jan 26, 2024
Examiner
TRAN, PHUC H
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
NTT Docomo Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 0m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
942 granted / 1028 resolved
+33.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
1068
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
§103
37.8%
-2.2% vs TC avg
§102
24.7%
-15.3% vs TC avg
§112
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1028 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. - Regarding to claim 9, the step “when a beam report includes a downlink (DL) beam report and an uplink (UL) beam report” is not clear how to determine when a beam report that includes a DL beam report and an UL beam report to receive a configuration. Same rejection for claim 10-12. - Regarding to claim 9, the step “a processor that selects a beam to be reported, based on at least one of UL reference signal received power (RSRP) and DL RSRP” is incomplete for omitting essential elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the elements. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted elements are that connect to the step of receiving and transmitting the beam report. Same rejection for claims 10-12. - Regarding to claim 9, the step of “transmits the beam report includes the DL RSRP corresponding to the DL beam reports and the UL RSRP corresponding to the number of UL beam reports” is not clear how the beam report was included the DL RSRP and UP RSRP, since the beam was selected based on at least one of UL RSRP and DL RSRP. Same rejection for claims 10-12. 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(s) 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan et al. (Pub. No. 20240097763). - With respect to claims 9-12, Yuan teaches a terminal comprising: a receiver that, when a beam report includes a downlink (DL) beam report and an uplink (UL) beam report, receives a configuration of a number of DL beam reports and a number of UL beam reports (e.g. step 820 in fig. 8 discloses the receiving of configuration for joint CSI report that include both uplink and downlink beams “the joint CSI report is to include a DL RSRP, an UL RSRP for panel subset 422 and an UL RSRP for panel subset 424” see par 67, 95); a processor that selects a beam to be reported, based on at least one of UL reference signal received power (RSRP) and DL RSRP (see par. 66 the UE selects beam for reporting); and a transmitter that transmits the beam report including: the DL RSRP corresponding to the number of DL beam reports; and the UL RSRP corresponding to the number of UL beam reports (e.g. the step 850 in Fig. 8 and par. 99). Yuan implicitly fails to teach the receiver that, when a beam report includes a downlink (DL) beam report and an uplink (UL) beam report, however it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to know the receiving in step 820 in Fig. 8 discloses the same invention step as when the beam report include DL and UP beam reports for joint report to improve signal quality and reducing interference at Base station. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892. . Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular paragraphs or columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUC H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3172. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 Flex. 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, Sujoy K. Kundu can be reached at 571-272-8586. 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. /PHUC H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 26, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
92%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+1.8%)
3y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1028 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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