Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/464,736

TRANSMISSION PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS AND TERMINAL

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 11, 2023
Examiner
HAN, CLEMENCE S
Art Unit
2414
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
1004 granted / 1107 resolved
+32.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +5% lift
Without
With
+5.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
1141
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.3%
-34.7% vs TC avg
§103
34.2%
-5.8% vs TC avg
§102
29.2%
-10.8% vs TC avg
§112
19.3%
-20.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1107 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . 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 – (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. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wei et al. (US Pub. 2023/0224886). Regarding claims 1 and 5, Wei teaches a transmission processing method, comprising: performing, by a terminal, a first operation in a case that an interval (“a gap between downlink and uplink transmission” in step 301 in Figure 3) between an end position of a first resource set and a start position of a second resource set is less than (“a gap between particular downlink and uplink transmissions is smaller than the determined certain number of symbols for the gap” in [0065]) an uplink-downlink switching period (“a certain number of symbols for a gap separating uplink and downlink transmissions” in step 300 in Figure 3), wherein the first operation comprises at least one of the following: determining that network scheduling is erroneous; determining that network configuration is erroneous; quitting uplink transmission or downlink operation on the first resource set, wherein the downlink operation comprises at least one of downlink reception, downlink measurement, or downlink monitoring; performing rate matching on last X1 symbols of the first resource set; puncturing last X1 symbols of the first resource set; quitting reception or quitting transmission on the second resource set; performing rate matching on first Y1 symbols of the second resource set; puncturing first Y2 symbols of the second resource set; or implementing a determined first behavior based on the terminal (“at least one of the uplink and downlink transmissions may be punctured based on the determination that the schedule gap is smaller than the desired gap” in [0067]); wherein the first resource set is a resource set corresponding to uplink transmission or downlink operation before an uplink-downlink switching (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4), and the second resource set is a resource set corresponding to uplink transmission or downlink operation after the uplink-downlink switching (see uplink transmission 402 in Figure 4). Regarding claims 2 and 6, Wei teaches the performing, by a terminal, a first operation comprises: performing, by the terminal, the first operation based on at least one of the following: configuration of a network-side device; capability of the terminal; type of the terminal; processing timeline of the terminal; configuration mode or scheduling mode for uplink transmission; information contained in uplink transmission; configuration mode or scheduling mode for downlink operation; or information contained in downlink operation (see “The gap size may be updated by the eNB using RRC or MAC CE” in [0064] and (“The puncturing may result in the dropping of information in symbols at the end of the downlink transmission and/or the beginning of the uplink transmission such that the scheduled gap size is effectively increased in size to be at least as large as the desired gap size” in [0067]); wherein the uplink transmission is uplink transmission on the first resource set and/or the second resource set (see uplink transmission 402 in Figure 4); and the downlink operation is downlink operation on the first resource set and/or the second resource set (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4). Regarding claims 3 and 7, Wei teaches in a case that a first switching period and a second switching period cover uplink timing advance (“The desired gap size may be determined based, at least in part, on an estimated uplink timing advanced (TA) value” in [0064]), the uplink-downlink switching period comprises at least one of the first switching period (see gap 403 in Figure 4) or the second switching period; or in a case that a first switching period and a second switching period do not cover uplink timing advance, the uplink-downlink switching period comprises at least one of first determined time or second determined time, wherein the first determined time is a sum of the first switching period and the uplink timing advance, and the second determined time is a difference between the second switching period and the uplink timing advance; wherein the first switching period (see gap 403 in Figure 4) is a switching period for the terminal to switch from downlink operation (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4) to uplink transmission (see uplink transmission 402 in Figure 4); and the second switching period is a switching period for the terminal to switch from uplink transmission to downlink operation. Regarding claims 4 and 8, Wei teaches X1 is determined based on at least one of subcarrier spacing for current transmission or reception, the first switching period, or the second switching period (“The puncturing may result in the dropping of information in symbols at the end of the downlink transmission and/or the beginning of the uplink transmission such that the scheduled gap size is effectively increased in size to be at least as large as the desired gap size” in [0067]); and/or Y1 is determined based on at least one of subcarrier spacing for current transmission or reception, the first switching period, or the second switching period (“The puncturing may result in the dropping of information in symbols at the end of the downlink transmission and/or the beginning of the uplink transmission such that the scheduled gap size is effectively increased in size to be at least as large as the desired gap size” in [0067]). Regarding claim 9, Wei teaches a terminal, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps are implemented: in a case that a first condition is satisfied, determining that resource for uplink transmission conflicts with resource for downlink operation (“a gap between particular downlink and uplink transmissions is smaller than the determined certain number of symbols for the gap” in [0065]), wherein the terminal is a half duplex terminal in a frequency division duplex FDD system (“half-duplex FDD (HD-FDD) Type A user equipment” in [0001]), and the downlink operation comprises at least one of downlink reception, downlink measurement, or downlink monitoring (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4); wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: time domain resource for uplink transmission and time domain resource for downlink operation overlap at least partially; an interval (“a gap between downlink and uplink transmission” in step 301 in Figure 3) between an end position of a first resource set and a start position of a second resource set is less than (“a gap between particular downlink and uplink transmissions is smaller than the determined certain number of symbols for the gap” in [0065]) a first switching period (“a certain number of symbols for a gap separating uplink and downlink transmissions” in step 300 in Figure 3); and the interval between the end position of the first resource set and the start position of the second resource set is less than a second switching period; wherein the first resource set is resource used for the uplink transmission and/or the downlink operation before an uplink-downlink switching (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4), and the second resource set is resource used for the uplink transmission and/or the downlink operation after the uplink-downlink switching (see uplink transmission 402 in Figure 4); the first switching period is a switching period for the terminal to switch from downlink operation to uplink transmission (see gap 403 in Figure 4); or the second switching period is a switching period for the terminal to switch from uplink transmission to downlink operation. Regarding claim 10, Wei teaches after the determining, by a terminal, that resource for uplink transmission conflicts with resource for downlink operation, further comprising: performing a second behavior in a case that no first DCI is configured for the terminal (“at least one of the uplink and downlink transmissions may be punctured based on the determination that the schedule gap is smaller than the desired gap” in [0067], also note there is no DCI configured for the terminal); or performing a third behavior in a case that first DCI is configured for the terminal and the first DCI is properly detected; or performing a fourth behavior in a case that first DCI is configured for the terminal and the first DCI is not detected; wherein the second behavior is determined based on at least one of the following: configuration mode or scheduling mode for uplink transmission (“One such mode is HD-FDD, in which transmit and receive operations are not performed simultaneously” in [0089]); configuration mode or scheduling mode for downlink operation (“One such mode is HD-FDD, in which transmit and receive operations are not performed simultaneously” in [0089]); wherein the uplink transmission is uplink transmission on the first resource set and/or the second resource set (see uplink transmission 402 in Figure 4); and the downlink operation is downlink operation on the first resource set and/or the second resource set (see downlink transmission 401 in Figure 4); information contained in uplink transmission; or information contained in downlink operation; the third behavior comprises: performing, on a first FDD frequency band, conflict processing on overlapped resource between downlink operation configured or scheduled by a network and a dynamic flexible symbol indicated by the first DCI, wherein the first FDD frequency band comprises an FDD downlink frequency band and an FDD uplink frequency band, and the overlapped resource is overlapped resource between the time domain resource for uplink transmission and the time domain resource for downlink operation; and the fourth behavior comprises: performing processing on the first FDD frequency band based on a fifth behavior, wherein the fifth behavior is a behavior of the terminal in a case that the first DCI is not detected in a time division duplex system. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei et al. in view of Vivo, Guangdong Genius (R1-2100449, “Discussion on UE Complexity reduction” as submitted by the applicant with IDS received on 12/31/2024). Regarding claim 13, Wei teaches the limitations in claim 10 as shown above. Wei, however, does not teach in a case that uplink transmission or downlink operation on the first resource set is configured by RRC or uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set is configured by RRC, the second behavior comprises one of the following: quitting uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set; quitting uplink transmission; quitting receiving or transmitting last X2 symbols of the first resource set; quitting receiving or transmitting first Y2 symbols of the second resource set; and quitting downlink operation. Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches in a case that uplink transmission or downlink operation on the first resource set is configured by RRC (see “RRC D vs. Dynamic U” in third row in Table 2 in section 4) or uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set is configured by RRC, the second behavior comprises one of the following: quitting uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set; quitting uplink transmission; quitting receiving or transmitting last X2 symbols of the first resource set; quitting receiving or transmitting first Y2 symbols of the second resource set; and quitting downlink operation (see “Dropping RRC D” in third row in Table 2 in section 4). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wei to have in a case that uplink transmission or downlink operation on the first resource set is configured by RRC or uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set is configured by RRC, the second behavior comprises one of the following: quitting uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set; quitting uplink transmission; quitting receiving or transmitting last X2 symbols of the first resource set; quitting receiving or transmitting first Y2 symbols of the second resource set; and quitting downlink operation as taught by Vivo, Guangdong Genius in order to handle the DL/UL collisions for RedCap UE operating in HD-FDD (section 4). Regarding claim 15, Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches in a case that uplink transmission or downlink operation on the first resource set is dynamically scheduled (see “Dynamic D vs. Dynamic U” in second row in Table 2 in section 4), or uplink transmission or downlink operation on the second resource set is dynamically scheduled, the second behavior comprises: determining that network scheduling or network configuration is erroneous (see “Error case” in second row in Table 2 in section 4). Regarding claim 16, Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches in a case that the downlink operation is dynamically scheduled, the uplink transmission is configured by RRC, (see “RRC U vs. Dynamic D” in fourth row in Table 2 in section 4) and the downlink operation and the uplink transmission correspond to different resource sets (downlink and uplink are separated by DL-to-UL and UL-to-DL switching time, see section 4), the second behavior comprises: in a case that an interval between a start symbol corresponding to the uplink transmission and a last symbol for scheduling signaling of the downlink operation is greater than or equal to a processing timeline of the terminal, quitting, by the terminal, the uplink transmission or performing rate matching on first Y3 symbols of the resource set corresponding to the uplink transmission; or in a case that an interval between a start symbol corresponding to the uplink transmission and a last symbol for scheduling signaling of the downlink operation is less than a processing timeline of the terminal, quitting, by the terminal, the downlink operation or puncturing first Y3 symbols of the resource set corresponding to the uplink transmission; or determining that network scheduling or network configuration is erroneous (see “otherwise, error case” in fourth row in Table 2 in section 4); and performing rate matching on last X3 symbols of the downlink operation. Regarding claim 17, Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches the uplink transmission is transmission other than physical random access channel PRACH transmission (see PUSCH and PUCCH in section 4). Regarding claim 18, Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches in a case that uplink transmission is dynamically scheduled, downlink operation is configured by RRC (see “RRC D vs. Dynamic U” in third row in Table 2 in section 4), and the downlink operation and the uplink transmission correspond to different resource sets (downlink and uplink are separated by DL-to-UL and UL-to-DL switching time, see section 4), the second behavior comprises: quitting the downlink operation (see “Dropping RRC D” in third row in Table 2 in section 4); or not performing the downlink operation on first Y4 symbols of the resource set corresponding to the downlink operation; or performing rate matching on last X4 symbols of the resource set corresponding to the uplink transmission; or determining that the dynamic scheduling is erroneous network scheduling. Regarding claim 19, Vivo, Guangdong Genius teaches a signal transmitted by the downlink operation is a signal other than at least one of the following: an SSB indicated to the terminal through a SIB1; or a control resource set configured by a MIB for a Type® PDCCH common search space (see PDSCH and PDCCH in section 4). Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei et al. in view of Choi et al. (US Pub. 2020/0214006). Regarding claim 20, Wei teaches the limitations in claim 9 as shown above. Wei, however, does not teach when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining valid resource based on indication information, wherein the indication information comprises at least one of system information, RRC signaling, or L1 signaling; or determining that all uplink resource and all downlink resource are valid resource; wherein the valid resource is resource used by the terminal for uplink, downlink, and/or flexible transmission. Choi teaches when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining valid resource based on indication information, wherein the indication information comprises at least one of system information, RRC signaling, or L1 signaling; or determining that all uplink resource and all downlink resource are valid resource; wherein the valid resource is resource used by the terminal for uplink, downlink, and/or flexible transmission (“determine whether transmission of an uplink radio signal or reception of a downlink radio signal is valid in a slot in which at least one of a downlink symbol for downlink transmission, a flexible symbol, or an uplink symbol for uplink transmission is configured” in [0036]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wei to have when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining valid resource based on indication information, wherein the indication information comprises at least one of system information, RRC signaling, or L1 signaling; or determining that all uplink resource and all downlink resource are valid resource; wherein the valid resource is resource used by the terminal for uplink, downlink, and/or flexible transmission as taught by Choi in order to perform transmission of the uplink radio signal or reception of the downlink radio signal [0036]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 11, 12 and 14 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art in the record does not disclose, with respect to claim 11, after the determining, by a terminal, that resource for uplink transmission conflicts with resource for downlink operation, further comprising after performing a third behavior in a case that first DCI is configured for the terminal and the first DCI is properly detected wherein the third behavior comprises: performing, on a first FDD frequency band, conflict processing on overlapped resource between downlink operation configured or scheduled by a network and a dynamic flexible symbol indicated by the first DCI, wherein the first FDD frequency band comprises an FDD downlink frequency band and an FDD uplink frequency band, and the overlapped resource is overlapped resource between the time domain resource for uplink transmission and the time domain resource for downlink operation, performing the second behavior in a case that no first DCI is configured for the terminal wherein the second behavior is determined based on at least one of the following: configuration mode or scheduling mode for uplink transmission; configuration mode or scheduling mode for downlink operation; wherein the uplink transmission is uplink transmission on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; and the downlink operation is downlink operation on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; information contained in uplink transmission; or information contained in downlink operation as claimed. The prior art in the record does not disclose, with respect to claim 12, after the determining, by a terminal, that resource for uplink transmission conflicts with resource for downlink operation, further comprising after performing a fourth behavior in a case that first DCI is configured for the terminal and the first DCI is not detected wherein the fourth behavior comprises: performing processing on the first FDD frequency band based on a fifth behavior, wherein the fifth behavior is a behavior of the terminal in a case that the first DCI is not detected in a time division duplex system, performing the second behavior in a case that no first DCI is configured for the terminal wherein the second behavior is determined based on at least one of the following: configuration mode or scheduling mode for uplink transmission; configuration mode or scheduling mode for downlink operation; wherein the uplink transmission is uplink transmission on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; and the downlink operation is downlink operation on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; information contained in uplink transmission; or information contained in downlink operation as claimed. The prior art in the record does not disclose, with respect to claim 14, after the determining, by a terminal, that resource for uplink transmission conflicts with resource for downlink operation, further comprising in a case that uplink transmission on the first resource set or the second resource set is dynamically scheduled or configured by RRC, performing the second behavior in a case that no first DCI is configured for the terminal wherein the second behavior is determined based on at least one of the following: configuration mode or scheduling mode for uplink transmission; configuration mode or scheduling mode for downlink operation; wherein the uplink transmission is uplink transmission on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; and the downlink operation is downlink operation on the first resource set and/or the second resource set; information contained in uplink transmission; or information contained in downlink operation wherein the second behavior comprises: quitting uplink transmission in a case that downlink operation on the first resource set or the second resource set comprises at least one of the following: a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel signal block SSB indicated to the terminal through a system information block SIB1; a control resource set configured by a main information block MIB for a Type0 PDCCH common search space; or a valid tracking reference signal obtained based on at least one of system information, higher layer signaling, or dynamic signaling as claimed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLEMENCE S HAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3158. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM EST. 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, Edan Orgad can be reached at (571)272-7884. 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. /CLEMENCE S HAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 11, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+5.3%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1107 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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