Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 04, 2026
Application No. 18/496,791

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING EARLY INDICATION BY REDUCED CAPABILITY NR DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 27, 2023
Priority
May 07, 2020 — provisional 63/021,466 +1 more
Examiner
SANTOS, FRANCESCA LIMA
Art Unit
2468
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
6 granted / 7 resolved
+27.7% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
36
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
§103
52.3%
+12.3% vs TC avg
§102
36.5%
-3.5% vs TC avg
§112
8.4%
-31.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 7 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to claims filed on 27 October, 2023 . Claims 1-20 are pending for examination. 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 , 7- 10 and 11 , 13 , 17- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ohara et al. (US 20230104916 A1) (hereinafter Oh ). In regards to claims 1 and 11 , Oh teaches: A method ( Oh , see fig. 20 ) / A system ( Oh , see fig. 22 ) : receiving, by a reduced capability user equipment (UE), a synchronization signal block (Oh, fig. 10, [0106]-[0128]: [0109] Also, preamble indexes corresponding to each SSB group may be grouped for each UE type. In the example of FIG. 10, for example, in a group corresponding to SSB #0, a group of preamble indexes used by a normal UE and a group of preamble indexes used by a Reduced Capability UE are assigned. The same applies to SSB #1. For example, when the user terminal 20, which is a Reduced Capability UE, selects SSB #0, the user terminal 20 selects and uses a preamble index in the group of preamble indexes for the Reduced Capability UE in the group of preamble indexes corresponding to SSB #0.) ; and transmitting, by the reduced capability UE, a Message A message in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) Occasion (PO) (Oh, fig. 4, [0059]-[0066]: [0060] In S11, the user terminal 20 transmits a MessageA ( MsgA ) having a preamble and data to the base station apparatus 10. As an example, the user terminal 20 selects a PRACH resource in the same manner as selection of a PRACH resource in the four-step RACH and sends a preamble in the PRACH resource and transmits data in a PUSCH resource (referred to as PUSCH Occasion) associated with the PRACH resource. Note herein that the preamble and data correspond to Msg1 and Msg3, for example, in the four-step RACH.) , wherein the transmitting of the Message A message comprises transmitting, by the reduced capability UE, payload data (Oh, fig. 4, [0059]-[0066]: [0060] In S11, the user terminal 20 transmits a MessageA ( MsgA ) having a preamble and data to the base station apparatus 10. As an example, the user terminal 20 selects a PRACH resource in the same manner as selection of a PRACH resource in the four-step RACH and sends a preamble in the PRACH resource and transmits data in a PUSCH resource (referred to as PUSCH Occasion) associated with the PRACH resource. Note herein that the preamble and data correspond to Msg1 and Msg3, for example, in the four-step RACH.) , wherein the transmitting in the PO indicates that the reduced capability UE is a reduced capability UE (Oh, fig. 6 and 7, [0079]-[0099], [ 0100 ]-[ 0105 ]: [0105] In addition, multiple preamble indexes in a single RACH occasion (RO) may be divided into multiple groups, and each group may be associated with information of a UE type. In this case, for example, the base station apparatus 10 may notify the user terminal 20 of a group of preamble indexes for notifying that a user terminal is Reduced Capability UE. Alternatively, the group may be predetermined in the specification, etc. For example, the user terminal 20, which is a Reduced Capability UE , selects one preamble index from the group and transmits the preamble.) , and wherein the PO is a member of an extended PO set, and the PO is not a member of a legacy PO set (Oh, fig. 6, [0079]-[0099]: [0082] In the example of FIG. 6, PO #0 to #2 corresponding to RO #0 to #2 are arranged such that PO #0 to #2 do not overlap in the time direction. However, this is an example. For example, PO #0 and PO #1 may be in the same time position with the same time length and without overlapping in frequency positions. That is, PO #0 and PO #1 may be multiplexed by FDM (frequency division multiplexing). In this case, a frequency gap between PO #0 and PO #1 may be absent (i.e., continuous) or there may be a frequency gap between PO #0 and PO #1.) . In regards to claims 7 and 17, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a maximum size of resource blocks for the Message A message (Oh, [0192]-[0195]: [0195] More specifically, for example, a value is notified from the base station apparatus 10 to the user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 determines that the cell of the base station apparatus 10 can be accessed if the information stored in advance by the user terminal 20 (here, a numerical value is assumed) is the value (or equal to or greater than the value) . The value notified by the base station apparatus 10 may be equivalent to a value of UE type. ) . In regards to claim 8 and 18, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : a reduced capability user equipment (UE) configured to perform the method (Oh, fig. 9, [0108]) : receiving, by a reduced capability user equipment (UE), a synchronization signal block (Oh, fig. 10, [0106]-[0128]: See above for paragraph [0109]) ; transmitting, by the reduced capability UE, a Message 1 message (Oh, fig. 10, [0109], [0114], [0139]: [0114] (3) In preambles for two-step RACH, preamble groups that are associated with multiple MsgA PUSCH configurations may be reused. For example, a normal UE may use a preamble in a preamble group associated with MsgA PUSCH configuration 1, and a reduced Capability UE may use a preamble in a preamble group associated with MsgA PUSCH configuration 2. [0139] As described above, in the Example 1, the user terminal 20 notifies the base station apparatus 10 of the information of its own UE type when transmitting Msg1 or when transmitting MsgA preamble. ) ; receiving, by the reduced capability UE, a Message 2 message (Oh, fig. 3, [0052]-[0058]: [0056] When the base station apparatus 10 detects a preamble, it transmits a Message2 (Msg2(=RAR)) which is a response to the preamble to the user terminal 20 (S2). The user terminal 20 that receives the Msg2 transmits a Message3 (Msg3) containing predetermined information to the base station apparatus 10 (S3). ) ; and transmitting, by the reduced capability UE, a Message 3 message (Oh, fig. 3, [0052]-[0058]: [0057] The base station apparatus 10 that receives the Msg3 transmits a Message 4 (Msg4) to the user terminal 20 (S4). When the user terminal 20 confirms that the above predetermined information is contained in Msg4, it recognizes that the Msg4 is Msg4 addressed to itself corresponding to the above Msg3 (Content resolution: OK). ) , wherein: the Message 2 message includes a set of candidate uplink resources (Oh, fig. 4, [0059]-[0066]: [0060] In S11, the user terminal 20 transmits a MessageA ( MsgA ) having a preamble and data to the base station apparatus 10. As an example, the user terminal 20 selects a PRACH resource in the same manner as selection of a PRACH resource in the four-step RACH and sends a preamble in the PRACH resource and transmits data in a PUSCH resource (referred to as PUSCH Occasion) associated with the PRACH resource. Note herein that the preamble and data correspond to Msg1 and Msg3, for example, in the four-step RACH. ) , wherein at least one of the resources is within an initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the reduced capability UE (Oh, fig. 6, [0083]-[0099]: [0086] In Reduced Capability UE, functions such as UE Bandwidth reduction, Reduced number of UE RX/TX antennas, Half-Duplex-FDD, Relaxed UE processing time, Relaxed UE processing capacity, etc. are assumed. In other words, the Reduced Capability UE is a UE with reduced bandwidth, fewer transmission/reception antennas, and relaxed processing time, compared to a normal UE. ) , and the transmitting of the Message 3 message comprises transmitting the Message 3 message within a subset of the set of candidate uplink resources (Oh, fig. 18, [0164]-[0169]: [0164] In S302, the user terminal 20 transmits Msg1 to the base station apparatus 10. In S203, the base station apparatus 10 transmits Msg2 to the user terminal 20. In S304, the user terminal 20 transmits Msg3 including the information of the UE type to the base station apparatus 10. [0167] In the example of FIGS. 18 and 19 above, the user terminal 20 notifies the base station apparatus 10 of the information of the UE type as content (also referred to as payload) of Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH, for example. That is, the information of the UE type may be a part of the Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH data. The user terminal 20 may select a UE ID corresponding to the UE type and may include the UE ID in the Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH. In this case, the information of the UE ID for each UE type may be notified in advance from the base station apparatus 10 to the user terminal 20. ) . In regards to claims 9 and 19, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein the transmitting of the Message 3 message comprises transmitting, by the reduced capability UE, an indication that the reduced capability UE is a reduced capability UE message (Oh, fig. 3, [0052]-[0058]: [0057] The base station apparatus 10 that receives the Msg3 transmits a Message 4 (Msg4) to the user terminal 20 (S4). When the user terminal 20 confirms that the above predetermined information is contained in Msg4, it recognizes that the Msg4 is Msg4 addressed to itself corresponding to the above Msg3 (Content resolution: OK). ) . In regards to claims 10 and 20, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein: the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a maximum transport block size for Message 3 (Oh, fig. 10, [0106]-[0117]: [0112] (1) Groups of preamble group A/B are reused according to Msg3 sizes. In this case, for example, a normal UE uses a preamble in the preamble group A and the Reduced Capability UE uses a preamble in the preamble group B. A and B may be the opposite of this example. ) ; the transmitting of the Message 3 message comprises transmitting payload data (Oh, fig. 18 and 19, [0167]-[0170]: [0167] In the example of FIGS. 18 and 19 above, the user terminal 20 notifies the base station apparatus 10 of the information of the UE type as content (also referred to as payload) of Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH, for example. That is, the information of the UE type may be a part of the Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH data. The user terminal 20 may select a UE ID corresponding to the UE type and may include the UE ID in the Msg3/ MsgA PUSCH. In this case, the information of the UE ID for each UE type may be notified in advance from the base station apparatus 10 to the user terminal 20. ) ; and the payload data has a size less than or equal to the maximum transport block size (Oh, fig. 16, [0130]-[0149] , [0287] : [0287] TTI may be transmission time unit of a data packet (a transport block), a code block, a codeword, and the like that are subjected to channel coding, or may be processing unit of scheduling, link adaptation, and the like. Note that, when TTI is applied, a time zone in which the transport block, the code block, the codeword, and the like are actually mapped (for example, the number of symbols) may be shorter than TTI .). 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness . Claims 2 -4 and 12 -14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohara et al. (US 20230104916 A1) (hereinafter Oh ) as applied to claim s 1 /8/11/18 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 20250219748 A1) (hereinafter Lee ). In regards to claims 2 and 12, Lee teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : Thus, Oh does not explicitly teach wherein the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a maximum transport block size for the Message A message Similar to the system of Oh, Lee teache s that following reception of synchronization information, the UE receives systeminformationblocktype1 (SIB1), which includes system information defining availability and scheduling parameters for subsequent message reception , which can be seen as, wherein the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a maximum transport block size for the Message A message ( Lee , fig. 14 , [ 0138 ]-[ 0149 ]: [0145] System information (SI) is divided into MasterInformationBlock (MIB) and a plurality of SystemInformationBlocks (SIBs). [0146] MIB is always transmitted on a BCH with a period of 80 ms and is repeated within 80 ms , and includes parameters necessary to acquire SystemInformationBlockType1 (SIB1) from the cell; [0147] SIB1 is transmitted with periodicity and repetition on the DL-SCH. SIB1 includes information on availability and scheduling (e.g., periodicity, SI-window size) of other SIBs. In addition, whether these (that is, other SIBs) are provided based on a periodic broadcast or according to a request is indicated. When the other SIBs are provided according to the request, SIB1 includes information for performing an SI request; [0148] SIBs other than SIB1 are carried in a SystemInformation (SI) message transmitted on the DL-SCH. Each SI message is transmitted in a time domain window (called an SI-window) occurring periodically; [0149] For a PSCell and secondary cells, the RAN provides a necessary SI by dedicated signaling. Nevertheless, the UE shall the MIB of the PSCell in order to obtain SFN timing (which may be different from MCG) of the SCH. When a related SI for the secondary cell is changed, the RAN releases and adds a related secondary cell. For the PSCell , the SI may be changed only by reconfiguration with Sync.) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Oh with Lee to provide system information via SIB1 following synchronization , because Lee teaches that a UE receives SIB1 after synchronization as part of a normal initial access procedure (Lee, [0151]) . Using SIB1 as taught by Lee would have allowed the UE in Oh to receive system configuration information, such as parameters controlling UE operation to reduce power consumption (Lee, [0182]) . In regards to claims 3 and 13, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein the SIB1 further specifies that the PO is the member of the extended PO set (Oh, fig. 6, [0079]-[0099]: [0082] In the example of FIG. 6, PO #0 to #2 corresponding to RO #0 to #2 are arranged such that PO #0 to #2 do not overlap in the time direction. However, this is an example. For example, PO #0 and PO #1 may be in the same time position with the same time length and without overlapping in frequency positions. That is, PO #0 and PO #1 may be multiplexed by FDM (frequency division multiplexing). In this case, a frequency gap between PO #0 and PO #1 may be absent (i.e., continuous) or there may be a frequency gap between PO #0 and PO #1. ) . In regards to claims 4 and 14, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein the payload data has a size less than or equal to the maximum transport block size (Oh, fig. 16, [0130]-[0149] , [0287] : [0287] TTI may be transmission time unit of a data packet (a transport block), a code block, a codeword, and the like that are subjected to channel coding, or may be processing unit of scheduling, link adaptation, and the like. Note that, when TTI is applied, a time zone in which the transport block, the code block, the codeword, and the like are actually mapped (for example, the number of symbols) may be shorter than TTI .). Claims 5 -6 and 15 -16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohara et al. (US 20230104916 A1) (hereinafter Oh ) as applied to claim s 1/8/11/18 above, and further in view of Kang et al. ( US 20220086892 A1 ) (hereinafter Ka ) . In regards to claims 5 and 15, Kang teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : Thus, Oh does not explicitly teach wherein the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a modulation coding scheme (MCS) for the Message A message. Similar to the system of Oh, Kang teache s a modulation of an uplink transmission by transforming a codework into a modulated symbol sequence using a modulator applying a modulation scheme such as QAM, wh ich can be seen as, wherein the receiving of the synchronization signal block comprises receiving a System Information Block #1 (SIB1), the SIB1 specifying a modulation coding scheme (MCS) for the Message A message ( Kang , fig. 23 , [ 0630 ]-[ 0634 ]: [0632] Specifically, the codeword may be transformed into a bit sequence scrambled by the scrambler 10100. A scramble sequence used for scrambling may be generated based on an initialization value, and the initialization value may include ID information, etc. of a wireless device. The scrambled bit sequence may be modulated into a modulated symbol sequence by the modulator 10200. A modulation scheme may include pi/2-binary phase shift keying (BPSK), m-phase shift keying (PSK), m-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc. A complex modulated symbol sequence may be mapped to one or more transport layers by the layer mapper 10300. Modulated symbols of each transport layer may be mapped to a corresponding antenna port(s) by the precoder 10400 (precoding). An output z of the precoder 10400 may be obtained by multiplying an output y of the layer mapper 10300 by a precoding matrix W of N*M, where N is the number of antenna ports, and M is the number of transport layers. The precoder 10400 may perform precoding after performing transform precoding (e.g., DFT transform) on complex modulated symbols. Further, the precoder 10400 may perform the precoding without performing the transform precoding. ) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Oh with Kang to apply known modulation techniques to Message A based on the MCS indicated in SIB1, as taught by Kang, which describes conventional signal processing techniques used to improve communication performance (Kang, [0076]) . In regards to claims 6 and 16, Oh teaches: A method (Oh, see fig. 20 ) / A system (Oh, see fig. 22) : wherein the SIB1 further specifies that the PO is the member of the extended PO set (Oh, fig. 6, [0079]-[0099]: [0081] In the example of FIG. 6, for each of PO #0 to #2 corresponding to RO #0 to #2, the time length representing the relative position is specified or configured as A, B, and C, respectively. However, this is an example. A time length representing a common relative position for PO #0 to #2 may be specified or configured. ) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Francesca Lima Santos whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6521 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday thru Friday 7:30am-5pm, ET . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Marcus R Smith can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-1096 . 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. /FRANCESCA LIMA SANTOS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2468 /MARCUS SMITH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 27, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Mar 09, 2026
Interview Requested
Mar 19, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 20, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 23, 2026
Response Filed

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+20.0%)
2y 8m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 7 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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