Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/294,480

USER EQUIPMENT (UE) AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD PERFORMED BY UE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 01, 2024
Examiner
TON, DANG T
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allow Rate
526 granted / 593 resolved
+30.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+0.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
626
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
50.8%
+10.8% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 593 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 2. The factual inquiries 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. 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. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ericsson ( Registration reject due to no available allowed S_NSSAI(s)) in view of QUALCOMM Incorporated( handling of service request when responding to paging with voice service indication). For claims 1-2 , Ericsson ( Registration reject due to no available allowed S_NSSAI(s)) discloses (4.6.2.2 NSSAI storage and 5.5.1.3.2 Mobility and periodic registration update initiation, NOTE 4) that UE stores configured NSSAI until receiving a new configured NSSAI, deletes stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the configured NSSAI when receiving the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSAI, and stores rejected NSSAI, and if the UE has configured NSSAI, requested NSSAI is one or more S-NSSAIs (corresponding to the "one or more items of S-NSSAI that are included in the configured NSSAI but are not associated with the S-NSSAI included in the rejected NSSAI" from the configured NSSAI that is not the rejected NSSAI. Ericsson (5.5.1.3.2 Mobility and periodic registration update initiation) indicates that the UE includes the mapped S-NSSAI in the Requested NSSAI IE of the REGISTRATION REQUEST message (corresponding to the "registration request message" .In regard to the registration request message, it describes including mapped S-NSSAI therein, but does not explicitly indicate including therein "S-NSSAI that is included in the configured NSSAI and that is associated with the first mapped S-NSSAI, together with the first mapped S-NSSAI. For independent claim 1 and dependent claim 2, Ericsson discloses all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of the one or more S-NSSAIs being included in the configured NSSAI and being not associated to an S-NSSAI included in the rejected NSSAI in a communications network. QUALCOMM Incorporated( handling of service request when responding to paging with voice service indication) from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of the one or more S-NSSAIs being included in the configured NSSAI and being not associated to an S-NSSAI included in the rejected NSSAI in a communications network ( See 5.5.1.3.2 mobility and periodic registration update initiation, NOTE 7) indicates including both the Requested NSSAI IE and the Requested mapped NSSAI IE in the Requested NSSAI IE, and indicates that if the UE has configured NSSAI, one or more S-NSSAIs (corresponding to the S-NSSAI included in the configured NSSAI) of the configured NSSAI that is not rejected NSSAI are in the Requested NSSAI IE ). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the one or more S-NSSAIs being included in the configured NSSAI and being not associated to an S-NSSAI included in the rejected NSSAI in a communications network as taught by QUALCOMM Incorporated( handling of service request when responding to paging with voice service indication) in the communications network of Ericsson ( Registration reject due to no available allowed S_NSSA) for the purpose of making the system more reliable. For independent claim 3 is rejected for the same reason as indicated in claim 1. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sugawara et al. and Sagawara are all cited to shoe systems which are considered pertinent to the claimed invention. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANG T TON whose telephone number is (571)272-3171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 5:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. /DANG T TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /D.T.T/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 01, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (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
89%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+0.7%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 593 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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