Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/500,238

COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, BASE STATION, AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Nov 02, 2023
Priority
May 07, 2021 — JP 2021-079346 +1 more
Examiner
BLANTON, JOHN D
Art Unit
2466
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
OA Round
2 (Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
790 granted / 1020 resolved
+19.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1066
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
84.9%
+44.9% vs TC avg
§102
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1020 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-9 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. 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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Guo et al. (US 2023/0354364) (“Guo”). For claims 1, 4, and 7; Guo discloses: a receiver configured to: receive, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including information configuring a plurality of search space set groups (paragraph 17: according to a value of a number of SSSGs (N) or a number of PDCCH skipping duration values (M) indicated via higher layer signaling), receive on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), from the base station, a first downlink control information (DCI) format used for scheduling of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the first DCI format including an information field related to PDCCH monitoring (paragraph 17, 28-29, 311-312: SSSG switching between the SSSGs or the PDCCH skipping, can be triggered via an indication in downlink control information (DCI)… The plurality of capabilities of the wireless communication device can include at least one of: searchSpaceSetGroupSwitchingwithDCI-r17, which indicates whether the wireless communication device supports switching among a plurality of groups of SSSs with DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 monitoring…Indicates whether the wireless communication device 104 or 204 supports switching among N groups of search space sets with DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 monitoring that comprises the following functional components: For example, N=3 and the three SSSGs include group 0, group 1 and a PS SSSG. Monitor DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 with a search space set switching field), and receive on the PDCCH, from the base station, a second DCI format used for scheduling of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the second DCI format including the information field related to the PDCCH monitoring (paragraph 17, 28-29, 311-312: SSSG switching between the SSSGs or the PDCCH skipping, can be triggered via an indication in downlink control information (DCI)… The plurality of capabilities of the wireless communication device can include at least one of: searchSpaceSetGroupSwitchingwithDCI-r17, which indicates whether the wireless communication device supports switching among a plurality of groups of SSSs with DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 monitoring…Indicates whether the wireless communication device 104 or 204 supports switching among N groups of search space sets with DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 monitoring that comprises the following functional components: For example, N=3 and the three SSSGs include group 0, group 1 and a PS SSSG. Monitor DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1 or DCI 0_2 or DCI 1_2 with a search space set switching field); and a controller configured to determine, based on the information configuring the plurality of search space set groups, a number of bits of the information field related to the PDCCH monitoring that is included in the first DCI format and in the second DCI format (paragraph 17-18, 168: A bitwidth of an indication field of the DCI is denoted W, where W is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and is determined according to functions related to the SSSG switching or the PDCCH skipping, or according to a value of a number of SSSGs (N) or a number of PDCCH skipping duration values (M) indicated via higher layer signaling…example for switching between two SSSGs and all search space sets with DCI indication is shown, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure). For claims 2, 5, and 8; Guo discloses: wherein the information used for configuring the plurality of search space set groups includes group indexes of plurality of search space sets (paragraph 17: A bitwidth of an indication field of the DCI is denoted W, where W is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and is determined according to functions related to the SSSG switching or the PDCCH skipping, or according to a value of a number of SSSGs (N)), the controller is configured to determine, based on the group indexes of the plurality of search space sets, the number of bits for the information field related to the PDCCH monitoring that is included in the first DCI format and in the second DCI format (paragraph 17: A bitwidth of an indication field of the DCI is denoted W, where W is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and is determined according to functions related to the SSSG switching or the PDCCH skipping, or according to a value of a number of SSSGs (N) or a number of PDCCH skipping duration values (M) indicated via higher layer signaling). For claims 3, 6, and 9; Guo discloses: wherein the controller is configured to obtain, based on the determined number of bits, a value set in the information field related to the PDCCH monitoring, and control, based on the value set in the information field related to the PDCCH monitoring, start of the PDCCH monitoring according to one search space set group among the plurality of search space set groups (paragraph 6, 23-24, 121: A switching timer can be associated with the normal SSSG or the regular SSSG, and the switching timer can be set as a value configured by a higher layer parameter when the wireless communication device starts monitoring PDCCH according to the normal SSSG or the regular SSSG, or as a value configured by a higher layer parameter when the wireless communication device is monitoring PDCCH according to the normal SSSG or the regular SSSG, and detects any PDCCH, or a PDCCH with scheduling downlink control information (DCI), or a PDCCH with a SSSG switching indication). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang et al. (US 2024/0121797); Zhang discloses after receiving a predefined value of a search space set switching field in a GC-PDCCH, a UE will perform a search space set group switching procedure, which includes that the UE will stop monitoring PDCCH according to search space sets with a first search space set group index and starts monitoring PDCCH according to search space sets with a second search space set group index, the BS can maintain more than one CO simultaneously, and the UE can monitor PDCCH candidates in different CORESETs, which correspond to different COs.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 JOHN D BLANTON whose telephone number is (571)270-3933. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-6pm EST, Mon-Thu. 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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at 571-272-7969. 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. /JOHN D BLANTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 02, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Mar 04, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
78%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+8.2%)
2y 11m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1020 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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