Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/294,804

TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND BASE STATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 02, 2024
Examiner
AJIBADE AKONAI, OLUMIDE
Art Unit
3645
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
NTT Docomo Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allow Rate
989 granted / 1172 resolved
+32.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1201
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.3%
-33.7% vs TC avg
§103
44.9%
+4.9% vs TC avg
§102
26.0%
-14.0% vs TC avg
§112
14.8%
-25.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1172 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 . Claim Objections Claims 7 and 9-11 objected to because of the following informalities: On line 10 of claim 7, insert (Transmission/Reception point) after TRP. On line 10 of claim 9, insert (Transmission/Reception point) after TRP. On line 10 of claim 10, insert (Transmission/Reception point) after TRP. On line 12 of claim 11, insert (Transmission/Reception point) after TRP. Appropriate correction is required. 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 – Claims 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mei et al US 20230396308 (hereinafter Mei). Regarding claim 7, Mei discloses a terminal (104/104, see figs. 1-2) comprising: a receiver (230, see fig. 2) that receives downlink control information (DCI) scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a control resource set associated with a default quasi colocation (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]); and a processor (236, see fig. 2) that applies, based on the control resource set that is configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception method being a high speed train (HST)- single frequency network (SFN) scheme to the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]), wherein when a time offset between the DCI and the PDSCH is smaller than a threshold and an information element for enabling two default transmission configuration indication (TCI) states is configured (codepoint, see [0070]), the processor applies single-DCI based multi-TRP to the PDSCH (see [0070]), and when the information element is not configured, the processor determines a TCI state based on a lowest control resource set ID in a latest slot (see [0069]). Regarding claim 8 as applied to claim 7, Mei further discloses wherein when the time offset between the DCI and the PDSCH is equal to or larger than the threshold and the DCI does not include a TCI field, the processor determines a first TCI state of two TCI states (see [0084], [0111]). Regarding claim 9, Mei discloses a radio communication method for a terminal (104/104, see figs. 1-2), comprising: receiving downlink control information (DCI) scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a control resource set associated with a default quasi co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]); and applying, based on the control resource set that is configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception method being a high speed train (HST)-single frequency network (SFN) scheme to the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]), wherein when a time offset between the DCI and the PDSCH is smaller than a threshold and an information element for enabling two default transmission configuration indication (TCI) states is configured (codepoint, see [0070]), single-DCI based multi-TRP is applied to the PDSCH (see [0070]), and when the information element is not configured, a TCI state is determined based on a lowest control resource set ID in a latest slot (see [0069]). Regarding claim 10, Mei discloses a base station (102/202, see fig. 2) comprising: a transmitter (210, see fig. 2) that transmits downlink control information (DCI) scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a control resource set associated with a default quasi co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH ([0026], [0033], [0068], [0097]); and a processor (see fig. 2) that applies, based on the control resource set that is configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception method being a high speed train (HST)- single frequency network (SFN) scheme to the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]), wherein when a time offset between the DCI and the PDSCH is smaller than a threshold and an information element for enabling two default transmission configuration indication (TCI) states is configured (codepoint, see [0070]), single-DCI based multi-TRP is applied to the PDSCH (see [0070]), and when the information element is not configured, a TCI state is determined based on a lowest control resource set ID in a latest slot (see [0069]). Regarding claim 11, Mei discloses a system comprising a terminal and a base station(102/202, see fig. 2), wherein the terminal (104/104, see figs. 1-2) comprises: a receiver (230, see fig. 2) that receives downlink control information (DCI) scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a control resource set associated with a default quasi co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]); and a processor (236, see fig. 2) that applies, based on the control resource set that is configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception method being a high speed train (HST)-single frequency network (SFN) scheme to the PDSCH (see [0033], [0068]), wherein when a time offset between the DCI and the PDSCH is smaller than a threshold and an information element for enabling two default transmission configuration indication (TCI) states is configured (codepoint, see [0070]), the processor applies single-DCI based multi-TRP to the PDSCH (see [0070]), and when the information element is not configured, the processor determines a TCI state based on a lowest control resource set ID in a latest slot (see [0069]), and the base station comprises: a transmitter that transmits the DCI (210, see fig. 2, [0026], [0033], [0068], [0097]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shahmohammadian et al US 20230130150 discloses enhancements to support HST-SFN deployment. Sun et al US 20240014957 discloses operation modes for high speed train enhancements. Mei et al US 20230131134 discloses acquisition of QCL information using TCIs. Yu et al US 20200322109 discloses deriving QCL assumption in multi-panel transmission. Tsai et al US 20200145159 discloses apparatus for multiple TRP operations. 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #105-e R1-2106242 e-Meeting, May 10th – 27th, 2021 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLUMIDE T AJIBADE AKONAI whose telephone number is (571)272-6496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-4PM. 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, ROBERT W HODGE can be reached at 571-272-2097. 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. /OLUMIDE AJIBADE AKONAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 02, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 17, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+8.8%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1172 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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