Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/447,797

Default Unified Beam Selection

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Aug 10, 2023
Priority
Aug 10, 2022 — provisional 63/396,692
Examiner
ABELSON, RONALD B
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Comcast Cable Communications LLC
OA Round
5 (Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
6-7
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
1205 granted / 1334 resolved
+32.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -0% lift
Without
With
+-0.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
41 currently pending
Career history
1359
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
59.8%
+19.8% vs TC avg
§102
22.1%
-17.9% vs TC avg
§112
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1334 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 10, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Matsumura US 20250193884. Regarding claims 1, 10, 16, Matsumura teaches receiving, by a wireless device, one or more messages indicating two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, wherein each TCI state of the two or more TCI states is associated with a respective physical cell identifier (PCI) different from a PCI of a serving cell; receiving downlink control information (DCI) scheduling reception of a downlink signal via the serving cell; and based on each TCI state, of the two or more TCI states, being associated with the respective PCI different from the PCI of the serving cell, receiving the downlink signal using a TCI state, among the two or more TCI states, that is associated with a control resource set (CORESET) having a lowest CORESET identifier (claim 7, 9, 10, 11). Regarding claim 2, a time offset between the DCI and the downlink signal is less than a threshold (abstract). Regarding claim 6, the downlink signal comprises at least one of: an aperiodic channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS); or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception (PDSCH, [0033]). Claim(s) 1, 10, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SHAHMOHAMMADIAN US 20240039582. Regarding claims 1, 10, 16, SHAHMOHAMMADIAN teaches receiving, by a wireless device, one or more messages indicating two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, wherein each TCI state of the two or more TCI states is associated with a respective physical cell identifier (PCI) different from a PCI of a serving cell; receiving downlink control information (DCI) scheduling reception of a downlink signal via the serving cell; and based on each TCI state, of the two or more TCI states, being associated with the respective PCI different from the PCI of the serving cell, receiving the downlink signal using a TCI state, among the two or more TCI states, that is associated with a control resource set (CORESET) having a lowest CORESET identifier ([0094]). Regarding claim 2, a time offset between the DCI and the downlink signal is less than a threshold (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: [0058]). Regarding claim 6, the downlink signal comprises at least one of: an aperiodic channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS); or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: PDSCH, aperiodic CSI-RS, [0029]). Regarding claim 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, receiving a media access control control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of a subset of the two or more TCI states; and mapping the subset of the two or more TCI states to one or more TCI codepoints, wherein each TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints indicates one or more TCI states (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: [0031, 0033, 0036]). Regarding claim 11, determining that the two or more TCI states are associated with the PCI of the cell; and selecting one of the two or more TCI states having a lowest TCI state index (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: claim 17). Regarding claim 12, (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: TCI state, TCI state pool index, [0118]). Regarding claim 21, receiving one or more messages indicating two or more TCI states comprises: receiving second DCI indicating the two or more TCI states (SHAHMOHAMMADIAN: The unified TCI state may be indicated by a codepoint value in a TCI field of DCI format 1_1 or 1_2, wherein the codepoint value maps to one or more activated unified TCI states (e.g., up to 8 activated states), [0031]). Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHAHMOHAMMADIAN as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Frenne US 20240421877. Although SHAHMOHAMMADIAN teaches Release 17 ([0003]), the reference is silent on the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH. Frenne teaches, in a Release 17, the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH (Rel-17, PDSCH, repeated, [0035]). Therefore 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 system of SHAHMOHAMMADIAN by the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH, as shown by Frenne. This modification would benefit the system by improving the TRPs reliability ([0035]). Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHAHMOHAMMADIAN as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Matsumura US 20230115642. SHAHMOHAMMADIAN is silent on selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index. Matsumura teaches selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index ([0322]). Therefore 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 system of SHAHMOHAMMADIAN by selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index, as shown by Matsumura. This modification would benefit the system by providing a proven, reliable method for selecting a TCI state. Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Frenne US 20240421877. Matsumura US 20250193884 is silent on the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH. Frenne teaches, in a Release 17, the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH (Rel-17, PDSCH, repeated, [0035]). Therefore 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 system of Matsumura US 20250193884 by the downlink signal is a repetition of a PDSCH, as shown by Frenne. This modification would benefit the system by improving the TRPs reliability ([0035]). Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura US 20250193884 ‘884 as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Matsumura US 20230115642 ‘642. ‘884 is silent on selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index. ‘642 teaches selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index ([0322]). Therefore 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 system of ‘884 by selecting comprises selecting a TCI state, among the first TCI state and the second TCI state, having a highest TCI state index, as shown by ‘642. This modification would benefit the system by providing a proven, reliable method for selecting a TCI state. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 15 and 20 are 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. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments (6/30/26) with respect to the amended independent claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion Applicant's amendment (6/30/26) 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 RONALD B ABELSON whose telephone number is (571)272-3165. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30. 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, 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. /RONALD B ABELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 3 earlier events
Nov 13, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Mar 13, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 25, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Jun 30, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 16, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Sep 16, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 23, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750200
DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNAL PRECODING IN PRECODING RESOURCE BLOCK GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBBAND FULL DUPLEX CONFIGURATIONS
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750263
EFFICIENT ARITHMETIC CODING FOR MULTIPLE COMPOSITION DISTRIBUTION MATCHER (MCDM)
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12745260
ASSOCIATING MULTIPLE-STAGE DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745255
SEMIPERSISTENT REPORTING OF CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12733012
DECODING DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION RECEIVED VIA A DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL
3y 6m to grant Granted Sep 08, 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
90%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (-0.1%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1334 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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