Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/411,553

TRANSMISSION OF REFERENCE SIGNALS IN ASSOCIATION WITH CELL DISCONTINUOUS TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION CONFIGURATIONS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 12, 2024
Priority
Apr 06, 2023 — provisional 63/494,755
Examiner
NGUYEN, THUONG
Art Unit
2416
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
457 granted / 669 resolved
+10.3% vs TC avg
Strong +32% interview lift
Without
With
+32.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 0m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
727
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.2%
-22.8% vs TC avg
§103
51.4%
+11.4% vs TC avg
§102
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
§112
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 669 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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 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. This action is responsive to the Remark filed on 8/27/26. Claim(s) 1-11 & 23-27 is/are presented for examination. Claim Objections Claim(s) 1-11 & 23-27 is/are unclear to the examiner; what does it mean by stating “communicate a subset of reference signals of a set of reference signals, wherein the subset of reference signals omits at least one reference signal of the set of reference signals in association with a scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping at least one of a non-active time of the C-DTX cycle or a non-active time of the C-DRX cycle and further in association with a configured use of the at least one reference signal”? 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 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 of this title, 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) 1-3, 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2021/0266835 A1 in view of Cosimini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0201854 A1. As to claim 1, Kaikkonen teaches an user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the UE to: receive configuration information indicative of a cell discontinuous transmission (C-DTX) configuration associated with a C-DTX cycle or a cell discontinuous reception (C-DRX) configuration associated with a C-DRX cycle (Kaikkonen, page 4, paragraph 98; page 6, paragraph 132 & 137; i.e., [0098] IDLE and CONNECTED mode DRX, the methods may also be applied for inactive mode in case UE can assume mobility (or beam management) reference signal configuration (CSI-RS configuration) also in inactive mode and DRX is applied; [0132] the discontinuous reception is an IDLE mode discontinuous reception, and applied to the user equipment for monitoring the downlink channel; [0137] the time window is at least one of aligned and overlapping with an active time, wherein the active time is a period during which the user equipment monitors a downlink channel; at least partly overlapping with the active time; immediately prior to the active time without overlapping with the active time; and not overlapping with the active time); and reference signals in association with a scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping at least one of a non-active time of the C-DTX cycle or a non-active time of the C-DRX cycle and further in association with a configured use of the at least one reference signal (Kaikkonen, page 4, paragraph 98; page 6, paragraph 132 & 137; i.e., [0098] IDLE and CONNECTED mode DRX, the methods may also be applied for inactive mode in case UE can assume mobility (or beam management) reference signal configuration (CSI-RS configuration) also in inactive mode and DRX is applied; [0132] the discontinuous reception is an IDLE mode discontinuous reception, and applied to the user equipment for monitoring the downlink channel; [0137] the time window is at least one of aligned and overlapping with an active time, wherein the active time is a period during which the user equipment monitors a downlink channel; at least partly overlapping with the active time; immediately prior to the active time without overlapping with the active time; and not overlapping with the active time). But Kaikkonen failed to teach the claim limitation wherein communicate a subset of reference signals of a set of reference signals, wherein the subset of reference signals omits at least one reference signal of the set of reference signals. However, Cosimini teaches the limitation wherein communicate a subset of reference signals of a set of reference signals, wherein the subset of reference signals omits at least one reference signal of the set of reference signals (Cosimini, page 4, paragraph 48; i.e., [0048] avoid reference symbol overlap. The relative frame timing offset can be adjusted by the duration of one transmission symbol or by a multiple of the duration of a transmission symbol). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen to substitute location from Cosimini for QCL from Kaikkonen to increased interference to other base stations reference symbols (Cosimini, page 1, paragraph 9). As to claim 2, Kaikkonen-Cosimini teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein the set of reference signals comprises a set of tracking reference signals (TRSs), and wherein, to cause the UE to communicate the subset of reference signals, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to receive the subset of reference signals in association with the scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping the non-active time of the C-DTX cycle (Kaikkonen, page 2, paragraph 51-52; i.e., [0052] The PDCCH discontinuous monitoring pattern according to shortDRX-Cycle is applied first (if configured) and followed by long DRX-Cycle). As to claim 3, Kaikkonen-Cosimini teaches the UE as recited in claim 2, wherein the set of TRSs is configured in association with a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource set, and wherein, to cause the UE to communicate the subset of reference signals, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to receive the subset of reference signals in association with the scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping the non-active time of the C-DTX cycle (Kaikkonen, page 6, paragraph 134; i.e., [0134] time window during which there exists a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, detecting (S52) a length of a discontinuous reception cycle, DRX cycle). Claim(s) 23-25 is/are directed to a method claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 1-3. Therefore, claim(s) 23-25 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 1-3. Claim(s) 5, 8, 9, 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaiionen, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2021/0266835 A1 in view of Cosimini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0201854 A1, and further in view of Seo, US 2015/0092717 A1. As to claim 5, Kaikkonen-Cosimini teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein, to cause the UE to communicate the subset of reference signals, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to receive the subset of reference signals in association with the scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping the non-active time of the C-DTX cycle (Kaikkonen, page 4, paragraph 98; page 6, paragraph 132 & 137; i.e., [0098] IDLE and CONNECTED mode DRX, the methods may also be applied for inactive mode in case UE can assume mobility (or beam management) reference signal configuration (CSI-RS configuration) also in inactive mode and DRX is applied; [0132] the discontinuous reception is an IDLE mode discontinuous reception, and applied to the user equipment for monitoring the downlink channel; [0137] the time window is at least one of aligned and overlapping with an active time, wherein the active time is a period during which the user equipment monitors a downlink channel; at least partly overlapping with the active time; immediately prior to the active time without overlapping with the active time; and not overlapping with the active time). But Kaikkonen-Cosimini failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the set of reference signals comprises a set of positioning reference signals (PRSs). However, Seo teaches the claim limitation wherein the set of reference signals comprises a set of positioning reference signals (PRSs) (Seo, page 10, paragraph 144; i.e., [0144] geographic position). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini to substitute channel quality from Cosimini for mobility measurement from Kaikkonen-Cosimini to reducing inter-cell interference in a wireless communication system (Seo, page 1, paragraph 3). As to claim 8, Kaikkonen-Cosimini teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein, to cause the UE to communicate the subset of reference signals, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to transmit the subset of reference signals in association with the scheduled time associated with the at least one reference signal overlapping the non-active time of the C-DRX cycle (Kaikkonen, page 4, paragraph 98; page 6, paragraph 132 & 137; i.e., [0098] IDLE and CONNECTED mode DRX, the methods may also be applied for inactive mode in case UE can assume mobility (or beam management) reference signal configuration (CSI-RS configuration) also in inactive mode and DRX is applied; [0132] the discontinuous reception is an IDLE mode discontinuous reception, and applied to the user equipment for monitoring the downlink channel; [0137] the time window is at least one of aligned and overlapping with an active time, wherein the active time is a period during which the user equipment monitors a downlink channel; at least partly overlapping with the active time; immediately prior to the active time without overlapping with the active time; and not overlapping with the active time). But Kaikkonen-Cosimini failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the set of reference signals comprises a set of sounding reference signals (SRSs). However, Seo teaches the claim limitation the set of reference signals comprises a set of sounding reference signals (SRSs) (Seo, page 9, paragraph 124; i.e., [0124] sounding reference signals (SRSs)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini to substitute channel quality from Cosimini for mobility measurement from Kaikkonen-Cosimini to reducing inter-cell interference in a wireless communication system (Seo, page 1, paragraph 3). As to claim 9, Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo teaches the UE as recited in claim 8. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the subset of reference signals comprises a subset of SRSs of the set of SRSs, and wherein the subset of SRSs is configured in association with a positioning operation. However, Seo teaches the claim limitation wherein the subset of reference signals comprises a subset of SRSs of the set of SRSs, and wherein the subset of SRSs is configured in association with a positioning operation (Seo, page 9, paragraph 124; i.e., [0124] sounding reference signals (SRSs)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini to substitute channel quality from Cosimini for mobility measurement from Kaikkonen-Cosimini to reducing inter-cell interference in a wireless communication system (Seo, page 1, paragraph 3). Claim(s) 26 is/are directed to a method claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 9. Therefore, claim(s) 26 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 9. Claim(s) 4, 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2021/0266835 A1, and Cosimini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0201854 A1, and in view of Abreu, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2023/0262624 A1. As to claim 4, Kaikkonen-Cosimini teaches the UE as recited in claim 2. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first TRS of the set of TRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation. However, Abreu teaches the limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first TRS of the set of TRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation (Abreu, page 8, paragraph 104; i.e., [0104] a propagation delay compensation (PDC) process. The PDC process performed in block 410 may be based on RTT or TA (that is, on estimating RTT or TA and subsequently determining the propagation delay based on said RTT or TA). Configured tracking reference signal (TRS)/PRS and sounding reference signal (SRS)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini to substitute UMTS from Abreu for OPEX from Kaikkonen-Cosimini to Minimizing any timing uncertainty in the sidelink time synchronization (Abreu, page 1, paragraph 2). Claim(s) 27 is/are directed to a method claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 4. Therefore, claim(s) 27 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 4. Claim(s) 6-7, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2021/0266835 A1, and Cosimini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0201854 A1, and Seo, US 2015/0092717 A1, and further in view of Abreu, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2023/0262624 A1. As to claim 6, Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo teaches the UE as recited in claim 5. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the subset of reference signals comprises a subset of PRSs of the set of PRSs, and wherein the subset of PRSs is configured in association with a positioning operation. However, Abreu teaches the limitation wherein the subset of reference signals comprises a subset of PRSs of the set of PRSs, and wherein the subset of PRSs is configured in association with a positioning operation (Abreu, page 8, paragraph 104; i.e., [0104] a propagation delay compensation (PDC) process. The PDC process performed in block 410 may be based on RTT or TA (that is, on estimating RTT or TA and subsequently determining the propagation delay based on said RTT or TA). Configured tracking reference signal (TRS)/PRS and sounding reference signal (SRS)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to substitute UMTS from Abreu for OPEX from Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to Minimizing any timing uncertainty in the sidelink time synchronization (Abreu, page 1, paragraph 2). As to claim 7, Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo teaches the UE as recited in claim 5. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first PRS of the set of PRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation. However, Abreu teaches the limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first PRS of the set of PRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation (Abreu, page 8, paragraph 104; i.e., [0104] a propagation delay compensation (PDC) process. The PDC process performed in block 410 may be based on RTT or TA (that is, on estimating RTT or TA and subsequently determining the propagation delay based on said RTT or TA). Configured tracking reference signal (TRS)/PRS and sounding reference signal (SRS)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to substitute UMTS from Abreu for OPEX from Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to Minimizing any timing uncertainty in the sidelink time synchronization (Abreu, page 1, paragraph 2). As to claim 10, Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo teaches the UE as recited in claim 8. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first SRS of the set of SRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation. However, Abreu teaches the limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first SRS of the set of SRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with a propagation delay compensation (PDC) operation (Abreu, page 8, paragraph 104; i.e., [0104] a propagation delay compensation (PDC) process. The PDC process performed in block 410 may be based on RTT or TA (that is, on estimating RTT or TA and subsequently determining the propagation delay based on said RTT or TA). Configured tracking reference signal (TRS)/PRS and sounding reference signal (SRS)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to substitute UMTS from Abreu for OPEX from Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to Minimizing any timing uncertainty in the sidelink time synchronization (Abreu, page 1, paragraph 2). Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2021/0266835 A1 and Cosimini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0201854 A1, and Seo, US 2015/0092717 A1, and further in view of Si, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2024/0334354 A1. As to claim 11, Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo teaches the UE as recited in claim 8. But Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first PRS of the set of PRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with an operation comprising at least one of a codebook-based closed-loop spatial multiplexing operation, a reciprocity-based downlink precoding operation, or a quasi co-location operation in association with at least one of a reference signal or a physical channel. However, Si teaches the limitation wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a first PRS of the set of PRSs, and wherein the configured use is associated with an operation comprising at least one of a codebook-based closed-loop spatial multiplexing operation, a reciprocity-based downlink precoding operation, or a quasi co-location operation in association with at least one of a reference signal or a physical channel (Si, page 7, paragraph 89; i.e., [0089] the LP-RSRP can be measurement among the signals corresponding to the same quasi co-location (QCL) assumption (e.g., QCLed to the same RS)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to substitute MIMO from Si for OPEX from Kaikkonen-Cosimini-Seo to perform a first radio resource management (RRM) measurement based on the LP-SS (Si, page 1, paragraph 2). Listing of Relevant Arts Ruffini, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20220141786 A1 discloses propagation delay compensation and positioning reference signal, tracking reference signals. Kim, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20210360732 A1 discloses disabling reference signal, C-DRX. Contact Information The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. THUONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 12, 2024
Application Filed
May 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 31, 2026
Interview Requested
Aug 06, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 06, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 27, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+32.0%)
4y 0m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 669 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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