Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/399,829

TRANSMISSION METHOD, APPARATUS, DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 29, 2023
Priority
Aug 04, 2021 — continuation of PCTCN2021110668
Examiner
OH, ANDREW CHUNG SUK
Art Unit
2466
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
84%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
393 granted / 563 resolved
+11.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
589
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
§103
60.5%
+20.5% vs TC avg
§102
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
§112
11.2%
-28.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 563 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/11/2026 has been entered. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 7, 8, 9, 10 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Independent Claims Claim(s) 1, 11, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US-20190254118) in view of 3GPP TS 23.501 v17.1.0 (2021-06) System architecture for the 5G system; Hannksela (US-20100049865). As to claim 1, 11, 15: Dao teaches a transmission method, applied in an access network element, the method comprising: receiving third control information from a session management network element ([0067] SMF provides QoS profiles to RAN node), the third control information being used to indicate a control parameter of an application data unit in a Quality of Service (QoS) flow ([0158] The SMF sends all QoS Profiles for both GBR and non-GBR QoS Flows together with QFIs, to (R)AN.; [0067-68] QoS Profiles contain QoS parameters for controlling the forwarding of packets having various QoS requirements; [0084-91, 188] If the Application-Specific Packet Filter Set is not changed, the QoS Rule(s) for one QoS Flow may include UE-Specific Application ID, and Application Specific Packet Filter Set ID, (not the whole Packet Filters), QFI, QoS parameters); Although Dao teaches 5QI ([0067, 68]), Dao may not explicitly teach wherein the third control information comprises third parameter information used to indicate a QoS parameter of the application data unit, wherein the third parameter information comprises at least one of a bit error rate, a transmission delay or a code rate requirement. However, 3GPP teaches wherein the third control information comprises third parameter information used to indicate a QoS parameter of the application data unit, wherein the third parameter information comprises at least one of a bit error rate, a transmission delay or a code rate requirement (p.153, section 5.7.3.1 5G QoS characteristics associated with 5QI including PDB, PER). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement BER, delay, taught by 3GPP, into the communication system, taught by Dao, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and to assist in scheduling. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine 3GPP and Dao in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references. Dao may not explicitly teach and the application data unit comprises a frame or a coded slice within the frame. However, Hannukesla and the application data unit comprises a frame or a coded slice within the frame ([0015] The NAL unit type indicates whether the NAL unit contains a coded slice, a data partition of a coded slice, or other data not containing coded slice data). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement coded slice, taught by Hannukesla, into the communication system, taught by Dao, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and packetize coded portions of video and enable efficient decoding recovery. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Hannukesla and Dao in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references. Dependent Claims Claim(s) 2, 12, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US-20190254118), 3GPP TS 23.501 v17.1.0 (2021-06) System architecture for the 5G system; Hannksela (US-20100049865) in view of RFC 3984. As to claim 2, 12, 16: Dao teaches the method according to claim 1. Dao may not explicitly teach wherein the third control information further comprises: third level information used to indicate a level of the application data unit, wherein the third level information comprises at least one of: an importance level of the frame or the coded slice within the frame in an application layer, or whether the frame or the coded slice within the frame is allowed to be skipped or discarded. However, RFC teaches wherein the third control information further comprises: third level information used to indicate a level of the application data unit, wherein the third level information comprises at least one of: an importance level of the frame or the coded slice within the frame in an application layer, or whether the frame or the coded slice within the frame is allowed to be skipped or discarded (section 1.1-1.3 NRI: 2 bits nal_ref_idc. A value of 00 indicates that the content of the NAL unit is not used to reconstruct reference pictures for inter picture prediction. Such NAL units can be discarded without risking the integrity of the reference pictures). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement discard bits, taught by RFC, into the communication system, taught by Dao, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and discard frames without compromising quality. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Dao and RFC in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references. Claim(s) 3, 4, 6, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US-20190254118) in view 3GPP TS 23.501 v17.1.0 (2021-06) System architecture for the 5G system, Hannksela (US-20100049865). As to claim 3, 13, 17: Dao teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving fourth control information from the session management network element, the fourth control information being used to indicate a QoS parameter of the QoS flow ([0137, 158] SMF provides RAN with QoS profiles with 5QI). As to claim 4, 14, 18: Dao teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving first identification information from the session management network element, the first identification information being used to identify the application data unit ([0084-91] UE-Specific Application Identifier); or receiving a number of the application data unit from the session management network element. As to claim 6, 20: Dao teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a QoS flow identifier from the session management network element, the QoS flow identifier being used to identify the QoS flow ([0137, 158]). Claim(s) 21, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US-20190254118), 3GPP TS 23.501 v17.1.0 (2021-06) System architecture for the 5G system, Hannksela (US-20100049865) in view Hong (US-20120183077). As to claim 21, 22: Dao teaches the method according to claim 1. Dao may not explicitly teach wherein the application data unit comprises a frame or a coded slice within the frame. However, Hong teaches wherein the application data unit comprises a frame or a coded slice within the frame ([0006] In H.264, a bitstream is logically subdivided into NAL units. Each coded picture is coded in one or more slice NAL units). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement coded slices, taught by Hong, into the communication system, taught by Dao, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and facilitate communication of media content. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Hong and Dao in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW CHUNG SUK OH whose telephone number is (571)270-5273. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12p-8p. 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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at 5712727969. 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. /ANDREW C OH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Apr 02, 2026
Response Filed
May 14, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 08, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 11, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Aug 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
84%
With Interview (+14.5%)
3y 6m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 563 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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