Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/361,029

METHOD, DEVICE AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Jul 28, 2023
Priority
Apr 01, 2021 — continuation of PCTCN2021085065
Examiner
DAYA, TEJIS A
Art Unit
2472
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
5 (Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
6-7
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
505 granted / 591 resolved
+27.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
614
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.5%
-36.5% vs TC avg
§103
56.9%
+16.9% vs TC avg
§102
10.8%
-29.2% vs TC avg
§112
19.7%
-20.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 591 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA (or AIA ) first to invent provisions. Response to Amendment - The amendment filed on January 29, 2026 has been entered. - Claims 1-2, 5-7, 10-11, 14-15, 19-20 and 22-23 are pending. - Claims 1-2, 5-7, 10-11, 14-15, 19-20 and 22-23 are rejected. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. 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. Claim(s) 1, 10, 19 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0218504 A1; hereinafter Wang) in view of Dinan et al. (Pub. No. US 2018/0049217 A1; hereinafter Dinan) Regarding claims 1 and 19, Wang teaches a wireless communication comprising: a processor (See ¶0209, processor) configured to: receive via a communication unit, (See ¶0209, transmitted and received via the transceiver) by a wireless communication terminal from a wireless communication node, a Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) activation via Downlink Control Information (DCI) format; (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) receiving, by the wireless communication terminal from the wireless communication node, an SPS downlink transmission corresponding to the SPS activation;(2021/0218504See 0017, the first DL channel is a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configured by one of one or more SPS configurations) and transmitting, by the wireless communication terminal to the wireless communication node, acknowledge information in response to a part of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes for the SPS downlink transmission, (sEE 0050, For reporting a HARQ-ACK for an SPS PDSCH of multiple SPS configurations on a PUCCH configured for an SPS HARQ-ACK) based on one or more signalings received from base station indicated in the DCI format(2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index; See 0082, he first DL channel is an SPS PDSCH configured by one of one or more SPS configurations. The UL channel is a PUCCH for a HARQ-ACK feedback of the SPS PDSCH) when the wireless communication terminal is provided with a single configuration for the SPS downlink transmission, the HARQ process number in the DCI format is set to '0' (Table 1-1, Special fields for single DL SPS scheduling activation PDCCH validation when a UE is provided a single SPS configuration in the active DL BWP of the scheduled cell DCI Format DCI Format 1_0 or 1_2 1_1 HARQ process set to all ‘0’s) and wherein when the wireless communication terminal is provided with more than one configuration for the SPS downlink transmission, (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) the HARQ process number in the DCI format indicates an activation for a SPS downlink transmission configuration with a same value as provided by an SPS configuration index. (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) However, Wang fails to disclose the one or more signalings indicate the part of HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission that needs transmitting the acknowledge information; the wireless communication node transmits an HARQ process number in the SPS activation and receives the acknowledge information in response to the part of the HARQ processes corresponding to the HARQ process number; the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information in response to an HARQ process for a first SPS downlink transmission prior to a second SPS downlink transmission for a Transport Block (TB). Dinan disclose the one or more signalings indicate the part of HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission that needs transmitting the acknowledge information, (See ¶0261, The wireless device may receive a first DCI activating the first SPS. The wireless device may determine a first HARQ process ID corresponding to a first transmission associated with the first SPS; See 0245, eNB may indicate in the DCIs that initializes the first and second SPS the HARQ process ID offset values as 0 and 2 respectively. The HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the first SPS take the values 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs and the HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the second SPS take the values 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs; Fig. 19, show 1st harq ID is transmitted based on the 1st DCI; See 0224, At a given TTI, if an uplink grant is indicated for the TTI, the HARQ entity may identify the HARQ process(es) for which a transmission may take place. In an example, the HARQ entity may route the received HARQ feedback (ACK/NACK information), MCS and resource, relayed by the physical layer, to the appropriate HARQ process(es).) the wireless communication node transmits an HARQ process number in the SPS activation (See ¶0261, The wireless device may receive a first DCI activating the first SPS. The wireless device may determine a first HARQ process ID corresponding to a first transmission associated with the first SPS.) and receives the acknowledge information in response to the part of the HARQ processes corresponding to the HARQ process number, (2018/0049217-See ¶0310, At 3650, a first transport block (TB) of the first SPS associated with the first HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the first resource assignment.) the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information in response to an HARQ process for a first SPS downlink transmission prior to a second SPS downlink transmission for a Transport Block (TB). (2018/0049217-See ¶0310, At 3650, a first transport block (TB) of the first SPS associated with the first HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the first resource assignment. A second HARQ process identifier may be determined at 3660, at least based on a second offset value. The second offset value may be different from the first offset value. At 3670, a second TB of the second SPS associated with the second HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the second resource assignment) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting harq feedback using configuration information to include more than one sps is transmitted. The motivation to combine is improve SPS configuration and activation/release mechanisms in a base station and wireless device when multiple SPSs are configured (See ¶0188). Regarding claims 10 and 22, Wang disclose a wireless communication node comprising: a processor configured to: (See ¶0209, processor) transmit, via a communication unit (See ¶0209, transceiver) to a wireless communication terminal, a Semi- Persistent Scheduling (SPS) activation via Downlink Control Information (DCI) format; (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) transmit, via the communication unit to the wireless communication terminal, an SPS downlink transmission corresponding to the SPS activation; (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) and receive, via the communication unit from the wireless communication terminal, acknowledge information in response to a part of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)processes for the SPS downlink transmission,(sEE 0050, For reporting a HARQ-ACK for an SPS PDSCH of multiple SPS configurations on a PUCCH configured for an SPS HARQ-ACK) based on one of one or more configurations indicated in the DCI format, (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) wherein when the wireless communication terminal is provided with a single configuration for the SPS downlink transmission, the HARQ process number in the DCI format is set to '0', (Table 1-1, Special fields for single DL SPS scheduling activation PDCCH validation when a UE is provided a single SPS configuration in the active DL BWP of the scheduled cell DCI Format DCI Format 1_0 or 1_2 1_1 HARQ process set to all ‘0’s) and wherein when the wireless communication terminal is provided with more than one configuration for the SPS downlink transmission, (2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) the HARQ process number in the DCI format indicates an activation for a SPS downlink transmission configuration with a same value as provided by an SPS configuration index.(2021/0218504See 0061, If a UE is provided more than one configurations for an SPS PDSCH, a value of the HARQ process number field in a DCI format indicates an activation for a corresponding SPS configuration with a same value as provided by SPSConfig-index) However, Wang fails to disclose wherein the one or more signalings indicate the part of HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission that needs transmitting the acknowledge information, the wireless communication node transmits an HARQ process number in the SPS activation and receives the acknowledge information in response to the part of the HARQ processes corresponding to the HARQ process number; the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information in response to the part of the HARQ processes according to an HARQ process number in the SPS activation. Dinan disclose wherein the one or more signalings indicate the part of HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission that needs transmitting the acknowledge information, (See ¶0261, The wireless device may receive a first DCI activating the first SPS. The wireless device may determine a first HARQ process ID corresponding to a first transmission associated with the first SPS; See 0245, eNB may indicate in the DCIs that initializes the first and second SPS the HARQ process ID offset values as 0 and 2 respectively. The HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the first SPS take the values 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs and the HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the second SPS take the values 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs; Fig. 19, show 1st harq ID is transmitted based on the 1st DCI; See 0224, At a given TTI, if an uplink grant is indicated for the TTI, the HARQ entity may identify the HARQ process(es) for which a transmission may take place. In an example, the HARQ entity may route the received HARQ feedback (ACK/NACK information), MCS and resource, relayed by the physical layer, to the appropriate HARQ process(es).) the wireless communication node transmits an HARQ process number in the SPS activation (See ¶0261, The wireless device may receive a first DCI activating the first SPS. The wireless device may determine a first HARQ process ID corresponding to a first transmission associated with the first SPS.) and receives the acknowledge information in response to the part of the HARQ processes corresponding to the HARQ process number, (2018/0049217-See ¶0310, At 3650, a first transport block (TB) of the first SPS associated with the first HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the first resource assignment.) the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information in response to an HARQ process for a first SPS downlink transmission prior to a second SPS downlink transmission for a Transport Block (TB). (2018/0049217-See ¶0310, At 3650, a first transport block (TB) of the first SPS associated with the first HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the first resource assignment. A second HARQ process identifier may be determined at 3660, at least based on a second offset value. The second offset value may be different from the first offset value. At 3670, a second TB of the second SPS associated with the second HARQ process identifier may be transmitted employing the second resource assignment) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting harq feedback using configuration information to include more than one sps is transmitted. The motivation to combine is improve SPS configuration and activation/release mechanisms in a base station and wireless device when multiple SPSs are configured (See ¶0188). Claim(s) 2, 11, 20 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Dinan and further in view of Park et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0319822 A1; hereinafter Park). Regarding claims 2 and 20, Wang in view of Dinan fails to disclose he wireless communication terminal is configured to refrain from transmitting the acknowledge information in response to another part of the HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission. Park further teaches the wireless communication terminal is configured to refrain from transmitting the acknowledge information in response to another part of the HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission. (See Park, Fig. 18 and ¶0343 - In contrast, when the second SPS configuration is configured by the SPS configuration information (i.e., the SPS configuration in which the HARQ feedback for the HARQ process is configured to be disabled), the UE may not transmit the ACK/NACK information for the received PDSCH.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Wang to include disabling the HARQ process for SPS downlink transmission. The motivation to combine is HARQ disabling, the following cases may further be considered in order to improve reliability (See ¶0263). Regarding claims 11 and 23, Wang in view of Dinan fails to disclose wireless communication node does not receive the acknowledge information in response to another part of the HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission. Park further teaches the wireless communication node does not receive the acknowledge information in response to another part of the HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission. (See Park, Fig. 19 and ¶356 - In contrast, when the second SPS configuration is configured for the UE by the SPS configuration information (i.e., the SPS configuration in which the HARQ feedback for the HARQ process is configured to be disabled), the NTN may determine that reception of the ACK/NACK information for the received PDSCH is not needed.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Wang to include disabling the HARQ process for SPS downlink transmission. The motivation to combine is HARQ disabling, the following cases may further be considered in order to improve reliability (See ¶0263). Claims 5 and 14, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view Dinan and further in view of Cheng et al. (US 2022/0330298 A1), Cheng hereinafter. Regarding claim 5, Wang in view of Dinan teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Wang in view of Dinan does not explicitly disclose wherein the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information for the part of the HARQ processes according to a predefined configuration. However, in the analogous art, Cheng teaches wherein the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information for the part of the HARQ processes according to a predefined configuration. (See Cheng, ¶0101 - In some implementations, regardless of whether a UE is configured with no HARQ feedback, the UE may still provide the HARQ feedback if one of the following conditions (1) to (4) is satisfied: ¶0105 - (4) the UE is expected to provide HARQ-ACK information in response to an SPS PDSCH activation after N′ symbols from the last symbol of a PDCCH providing the SPS PDSCH activation, where N′ may be predefined or configured by higher layers or the network.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined Wang in view of Dinan invention of selectively sending acknowledgments with Cheng’s invention of activating acknowledgment feedback based on a predefined configuration, because HARQ may be inefficient for a time-urgent service in non-terrestrial networks, therefore it is beneficial to selectively configure specific HARQ processes. (See Cheng, ¶0043) Regarding claim 14, Wang in view of Dinan teaches all the limitations of claim 10. Wang in view of Dinan does not explicitly disclose wherein the wireless communication node receives the acknowledge information for the part of the HARQ processes according to a predefined configuration. However, in the analogous art, Cheng teaches wherein the wireless communication node receives the acknowledge information for the part of the HARQ processes according to a predefined configuration. (See Cheng, ¶0101 - In some implementations, regardless of whether a UE is configured with no HARQ feedback, the UE may still provide the HARQ feedback if one of the following conditions (1) to (4) is satisfied: ¶0105 - (4) the UE is expected to provide HARQ-ACK information in response to an SPS PDSCH activation after N′ symbols from the last symbol of a PDCCH providing the SPS PDSCH activation, where N′ may be predefined or configured by higher layers or the network.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined Wang in view of Dinan invention of selectively sending acknowledgments with Cheng’s invention of activating acknowledgment feedback based on a predefined configuration, because HARQ may be inefficient for a time-urgent service in non-terrestrial networks, therefore it is beneficial to selectively configure specific HARQ processes. (See Cheng, ¶0043) Claims 6-7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan in view of Dinan and further in view of Ye et al. (US 2022/0109529 A1), Ye hereinafter. Regarding claim 6, Wang in view of Dinan teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Wang in view of Dinan does not explicitly disclose wherein the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information every Nack of HARQ processes for a Transport block (TB) with Nack being an integer. However, in the analogous art, Ye teaches wherein the wireless communication terminal is configured to transmit the acknowledge information every Nack of HARQ processes for a Transport block (TB) with Nack being an integer. (See Ye, Fig. 7 and ¶0085 - At operation 708, the UE transmits a PUCCH or a PUSCH with a HARQ-ACK codebook. The contents of the HARQ-ACK codebook depend on whether HARQ-ACK information is enabled or disabled for HARQ processes of corresponding TBs as is subsequently described in the “enhancement for HARQ-ACK codebook” section. ¶0108 - In another example, if there are N HARQ processes and the bitmap size is M<N, the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the first [N/M]∙[N−/M] ∙M) HARQ processes, and the last M−N+[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the last N−[N/M]∙(N−[N/M] ∙M) HARQ processes. For example, for the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap, each of these bits can be used to indicate the disabling or enabling of HARQ-ACK information for every [N/M] HARQ-ACK processes.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined Wang in view of Dinan invention of selectively sending acknowledgments with Ye’s invention of acknowledging every N/M HARQ processes, because HARQs have long round-trip times in non-terrestrial networks leading to HARQ stalling without these enhancements. (See Ye, ¶0072) Regarding claim 7, Wang in view of Dinan and Ye teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 6. Wang in view of Dinan does not explicitly disclose wherein at least one of: the wireless communication terminal is configured to receive a value of Nack from the wireless communication node in an SPS configuration; a value of Nack is determined according to a number of the HARQ processes for the TB.; or a value of Nack is determined according to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) aggregation factor provided by the wireless communication node. However, in the analogous art Ye teaches wherein at least one of: the wireless communication terminal is configured to receive a value of Nack from the wireless communication node in an SPS configuration; a value of Nack is determined according to a number of the HARQ processes for the TB. (See Ye, ¶0108 - In another example, if there are N HARQ processes and the bitmap size is M<N, the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the first [N/M]∙[N−/M] ∙M) HARQ processes, and the last M−N+[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the last N−[N/M]∙(N−[N/M] ∙M) HARQ processes. For example, for the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap, each of these bits can be used to indicate the disabling or enabling of HARQ-ACK information for every [N/M] HARQ-ACK processes.); or a value of Nack is determined according to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) aggregation factor provided by the wireless communication node. Please note that the examiner interprets that only one of the given limitations needs to be mapped in order for this rejection to hold, due to the presence of “wherein one of” and “or” in the claim language. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined Park in view of Zhou invention of selectively sending acknowledgments with Ye’s invention of acknowledging every N/M HARQ processes, because HARQs have long round-trip times in non-terrestrial networks leading to HARQ stalling without these enhancements. (See Ye, ¶0072) Regarding claim 15, Wang in view of Dinan teaches all the limitations of claim 10. Wang in view of Dinan fails to explicitly disclose wherein the wireless communication node receives the acknowledge information every Nack of HARQ processes for a Transport block (TB) with Nack being an integer, and wherein at least one of: the wireless communication node transmits a value of Nack to the wireless communication terminal in an SPS configuration; a value of Nack is determined according to a number of the HARQ processes for the TB; or a value of Nack is determined according to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, aggregation factor transmitted from the wireless communication node to the wireless communication terminal. However, in the analogous art, Ye teaches wherein the wireless communication node receives the acknowledge information every Nack of HARQ processes for a Transport block (TB) with Nack being an integer (See Ye, Fig. 7 and ¶0085 - At operation 708, the UE transmits a PUCCH or a PUSCH with a HARQ-ACK codebook. The contents of the HARQ-ACK codebook depend on whether HARQ-ACK information is enabled or disabled for HARQ processes of corresponding TBs as is subsequently described in the “enhancement for HARQ-ACK codebook” section. ¶0108 - In another example, if there are N HARQ processes and the bitmap size is M<N, the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the first [N/M]∙[N−/M] ∙M) HARQ processes, and the last M−N+[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the last N−[N/M]∙(N−[N/M] ∙M) HARQ processes. For example, for the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap, each of these bits can be used to indicate the disabling or enabling of HARQ-ACK information for every [N/M] HARQ-ACK processes.), and wherein at least one of: the wireless communication node transmits a value of Nack to the wireless communication terminal in an SPS configuration; a value of Nack is determined according to a number of the HARQ processes for the TB (See Ye, ¶0108 - In another example, if there are N HARQ processes and the bitmap size is M<N, the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the first [N/M]∙[N−/M] ∙M) HARQ processes, and the last M−N+[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap can indicate reporting of HARQ-ACK information for the last N−[N/M]∙(N−[N/M] ∙M) HARQ processes. For example, for the first N−[N/M]∙M bits of the bitmap, each of these bits can be used to indicate the disabling or enabling of HARQ-ACK information for every [N/M] HARQ-ACK processes.); or a value of Nack is determined according to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, aggregation factor transmitted from the wireless communication node to the wireless communication terminal. Please note that the examiner interprets that only one of the limitations given after “wherein one of” needs to be mapped in order for this rejection to hold, due to the presence of “wherein one of” and “or” in the claim language. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined Wang in view of Dinan invention of selectively sending acknowledgments with Ye’s invention of acknowledging every N/M HARQ processes, because HARQs have long round-trip times in non-terrestrial networks leading to HARQ stalling without these enhancements. (See Ye, ¶0072) Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed toward claims 1, 10, 19 and 22 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues Dinan fails to disclose “the one or more signalings indicate the part of HARQ processes for the SPS downlink transmission that needs transmitting the acknowledge information.” Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant. Dinan discloses the HARQ ID process for the SPS downlink transmission is used to transmit the harq feedback to the base station. (See ¶0261, The wireless device may receive a first DCI activating the first SPS. The wireless device may determine a first HARQ process ID corresponding to a first transmission associated with the first SPS; See 0245, eNB may indicate in the DCIs that initializes the first and second SPS the HARQ process ID offset values as 0 and 2 respectively. The HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the first SPS take the values 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs and the HARQ Process IDs for the configured uplink grants of the second SPS take the values 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, . . . consecutively in their associated TTIs. Fig. 19, show 1st harq ID is transmitted based on the 1st DCI; See 0224, At a given TTI, if an uplink grant is indicated for the TTI, the HARQ entity may identify the HARQ process(es) for which a transmission may take place. In an example, the HARQ entity may route the received HARQ feedback (ACK/NACK information), MCS and resource, relayed by the physical layer, to the appropriate HARQ process(es).) Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Khoshnevisan et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0099980 A1)-See 0058, A UE, in response to the one-shot feedback trigger, may format and transmit a HARQ feedback report that includes an ACK/NACK indication for each HARQ process ID that is configured at the UE. Khoshnevisan et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0298051 A1)-See 0136, The SPS configuration may include a number of transmission locations for SPS PDSCH 215 that may be configured according to the periodicity 220. The base station 105-a may also use the HARQ process number field to indicate a HARQ process ID for retransmitting data. However, in cases where SPS is activated, the HARQ process ID or HARQ process number may be a function of the time domain such that HARQ process IDs may be incremented based on the periodicity 220 of the SPS. Each SPS PDSCH 215 may be associated with a different HARQ process ID, for example, SPS PDSCH 215-a may be associated with a HARQ process ID of 0, SPS PDSCH 215-b may be associated with a HARQ process ID of 1, SPS PDSCH 215-c may be associated with a HARQ process ID of 2, and SPS PDSCH 215-d may be associated with a HARQ process ID of 3. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TEJIS DAYA whose telephone number is (571)270-7817. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-4:30. 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, Nicholas Jensen can be reached at 571-270-5443. 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. /Tejis Daya/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 4 earlier events
Apr 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 09, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 12, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Oct 13, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Oct 21, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Nov 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 29, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750764
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING OR SENDING SYSTEM MESSAGE, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744580
SENSOR-AIDED BEAM MANAGEMENT AT USER EQUIPMENT
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739731
HF ELECTRIC FIELD RYDBERG SENSOR
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12713327
ACCESS CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
3y 11m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12701476
USE OF FDD SCELL TO MITIGATE INTERFERENCE TO UPLINK TDD PCELL
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

6-7
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+1.6%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 591 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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