Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/464,736

TRANSMISSION PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS AND TERMINAL

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Sep 11, 2023
Priority
Mar 16, 2021 — CN 202110280793.7 +1 more
Examiner
HAN, CLEMENCE S
Art Unit
2414
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allowance Rate
1032 granted / 1136 resolved
+32.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +5% lift
Without
With
+5.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
1158
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
§103
34.6%
-5.4% vs TC avg
§102
28.0%
-12.0% vs TC avg
§112
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1136 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, 3, 5 and 7 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 between an end position of a resource set corresponding to uplink transmission before an uplink-downlink switching and a start position of a resource set corresponding to downlink operation after the uplink-downlink switching is less than an uplink- downlink switching period, or in a case that an interval between an end position of a resource set corresponding to downlink operation before an uplink-downlink switching and a start position of a resource set corresponding to uplink transmission after the uplink-downlink switching is less than an uplink-downlink switching period (“a gap between downlink and uplink transmissions for a UE is smaller than the desired gap size by being less than a certain number of symbols” in [0076]), wherein the first operation comprises at least one of the following: quitting uplink transmission on the resource set corresponding to uplink transmission before an uplink-downlink switching; quitting transmission on the resource set corresponding to uplink transmission after the uplink-downlink switching (“any portion of the uplink transmission that extends into that gap, such as by being scheduled for a symbol earlier than the gap, may be punctured … If the puncturing results in a number of remaining symbols in the UL transmission being lower than a threshold number (e.g., two) of symbols then the UL transmission may be dropped” in [0076]). 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. 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 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei et al. in view of Dai et al. (US Pub. 2021/0288753). Regarding claims 2 and 6, Wei teaches the limitations in claims 1 and 5 as shown above. Wei also teaches the downlink operation comprises at least one of downlink reception, downlink measurement, or downlink monitoring (“The downlink transmission may be scheduled for reception by a mobile device” in [0065]). Wei, however, does not teach the performing, by a terminal, a first operation comprises: performing, by the terminal, the first operation based on at least one of the following: capability of the terminal; type of the terminal; processing timeline of the terminal. Dai 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: capability of the terminal; type of the terminal; processing timeline of the terminal (“The second capability indication is used to indicate that the terminal supports puncturing of the overlapping (overlap) symbol” in [0074]). 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 the performing, by a terminal, a first operation comprises: performing, by the terminal, the first operation based on at least one of the following: capability of the terminal; type of the terminal; processing timeline of the terminal as taught by Dai in order to let the source base station know that the terminal supports puncturing of the overlapping symbol [0074]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 9, 11-13 and 15-20 are allowed. 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 9, 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 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 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 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
May 19, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 13, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750188
SHARED DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNAL FOR PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL AND PHYSICAL DOWNLINK SHARED CHANNEL TRANSMISSIONS
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750713
RESOURCE MEASUREMENT RESTRICTION FOR BEAM MANAGEMENT
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12739846
CONTROL CHANNEL HANDLING FOR ENHANCED CROSS-CARRIER SCHEDULING
3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12733032
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING TRANSMISSION CANCELLATION INDICATION MONITORING
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12726927
TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
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
91%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+5.2%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1136 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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