Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/515,652

Beam Failure Recovery Procedures

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 21, 2023
Examiner
KIM, ANDREW CHANUL
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Ofinno LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
32%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
12%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 32% of cases
32%
Career Allow Rate
8 granted / 25 resolved
-26.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -20% lift
Without
With
+-20.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
67 currently pending
Career history
92
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
64.9%
+24.9% vs TC avg
§102
23.7%
-16.3% vs TC avg
§112
7.6%
-32.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 25 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/17/24 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Priority The instant application claims priority to the Provisional filed on 5/21/2021. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cirik et al. US 20200100311 (hereinafter “ Cirik ”) . As to claim 1 , 10, and 19 (claim 1 is the method claim for the device and non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 10 and 19 respectively) : Cirik discloses: A method comprising: receiving, by a wireless device, one or more messages comprising: a first parameter indicating a first maximum beam failure instance threshold; and a second parameter indicating a second maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“ An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig ) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure . The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB , an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow . The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble. ”, Cirik [03 83 ]) (“ First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304. ”, Cirik [0443]) (“ Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308. ”, Cirik [0444]) triggering a first beam failure recovery based on a first beam failure instance counter reaching the first maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“ First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304. ”, Cirik [0443]) triggering a second beam failure recovery based on a second beam failure instance counter reaching the second maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“ Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308. ”, Cirik [0444]) based on triggering the first beam failure recovery and the second beam failure recovery, transmitting a random-access preamble for a random-access procedure; (“ A wireless device may initiate a random access procedure (e.g., on an SpCell ) for a beamfailure recovery, for example, based on, or in response to, a BFI counter (e.g., BFI_COUNTER) being greater than or equal to a value, such as beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount . The random access procedure may be a contention-based random access procedure. ”, Cirik [0385]) and based on successfully completing the random-access procedure, setting: the first beam failure instance counter to zero; and the second beam failure instance counter to zero. (“The wireless device may reset the BFI_COUNTER to zero, for example, if the random access procedure (e.g., contention-free random access) is successfully completed.”, Cirik [0386]) As to claim 2 , 11, and 20 (claim 2 is the method claim for the device and non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 11 and 20 respectively) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the first maximum beam failure instance threshold is different from the second maximum beam failure instance threshold. (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443]) (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm , −110 dbm , or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message. ”, Cirik [0367]) (“ A wireless device may initiate a random access procedure (e.g., on an SpCell ) for a beamfailure recovery, for example, based on, or in response to, a BFI counter (e.g., BFI_COUNTER) being greater than or equal to a value, such as beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount . The random access procedure may be a contention-based random access procedure. ”, Cirik [0385]) (“ An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig ) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB , an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow . The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble. ”, Cirik [0383]) (“ First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for DL-BWP-1 2404 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ). Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for DL-BWP-2 2408 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ). ”, Cirik [0475]) As to claim 3 and 12 (claim 3 is the method claim for the device in claim 12) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more messages comprise: one or more radio resources control (RRC) messages; one or more medium access control control elements (MAC CE); or one or more downlink control information (DCI). ( “ An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig ) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB , an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow . The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble. ”, Cirik [0383]) As to claim 4 and 13 (claim 4 is the method claim for the device in claim 13) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein: the first beam failure instance counter is based on a first number of reference signals (RSs) having a first channel quality less than a first threshold; and the second beam failure instance counter is based on a second number of the RSs having a second channel quality less than a second threshold. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm , −110 dbm , or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message. ”, Cirik [0367]) (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443]) As to claim 5 and 14 (claim 5 is the method claim for the device in claim 14) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 4, wherein the RSs comprise one or more of: one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs); or one or more channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs). (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS ) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount ) . The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443]) As to claim 6 and 15 (claim 6 is the method claim for the device in claim 15) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 4, wherein one or both of the first threshold and the second threshold comprise: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value; or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) value. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm , −110 dbm , or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message. ”, Cirik [0367]) As to claim 7 and 16 (claim 7 is the method claim for the device in claim 16) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more messages indicate one or more of: the RSs; the first threshold; or the second threshold. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm , −110 dbm , or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message. ”, Cirik [0367]) As to claim 8 and 17 (claim 8 is the method claim for the device in claim 17) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 4, wherein the first number of the RSs comprises a set of RSs with a highest number of beam failure instances. (“At time T.sub.1 3004, the wireless device 3010 may initiate a random access procedure for the beam failure recovery of the cell, for example, after or in response to determining that beam failure instance counter, associated with the cell, has reached a maximum quantity of beam failure instance indications. The wireless device 3010 may select a RS, from the one or more second RSs, for example, after or in response to initiating the random access procedure for the beam failure recovery. The selected RS may be associated with a BFRQ resource, which may be one of one or more BFRQ resources. The BFRQ resource may comprise at least one preamble and at least one channel resource. The at least one channel resource may comprise one or more time resources and/or one or more frequency resources. The selected RS may have a radio quality greater than a second threshold. The second threshold may be based on L1-RSRP, RSRQ, hypothetical BLER, or SINR. The second threshold may be configured by the one or more configuration parameters. At time T.sub.1 3004, the wireless device 3010 may transmit the preamble via the at least one channel resource, for example, after or in response to selecting the RS.”, Cirik [0516]) As to claim 9 and 18 (claim 9 is the method claim for the device in claim 18) : Cirik discloses: The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting one or more capability messages indicating the wireless device supports a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. (“BFR procedures are described. A wireless device may be configured for a BFR procedure based on configuration parameters transmitted by a base station. A wireless device may transmit at least one signal (e.g., a BFR request) to facilitate BFR procedure. For example, a wireless device may transmit at least one signal to facilitate BFR based on the wireless device detecting a beam failure. A wireless device may receive one or more messages from the base station, for example, while waiting for a BFR response to the BFR request. The one or more messages may comprise and/or reconfigure one or more BFR configuration parameters. The wireless device may stop the BFR recovery and initiate a new BFR procedure, for example, after or in response to receiving the one or more messages from the base station. The wireless device may receive a BFR response from the base station, for example, after or in response to initiating the new BFR procedure. By stopping an initial BFR procedure, and initiating a second BFR procedure, the wireless device may recover from the beam failure more quickly and/or consume less power while recovering from a beam failure.”, Cirik [0004]) Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (703)756-5607 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST) . 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 Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-8586 . 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT /A.C.K./ Examiner Art Unit 2471 /MOHAMMAD S ADHAMI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 21, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12490157
TIMING CHANGE AND NEW RADIO MOBILITY PROCEDURE
2y 5m to grant Granted Dec 02, 2025
Patent 12464341
DEVICE, PROCESS, AND APPLICATION FOR DETERMINING WIRELESS DEVICE CARRIER COMPATIBILITY
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 04, 2025
Patent 12439313
INTER-DONOR TOPOLOGY ADAPTATION IN INTEGRATED ACCESS AND BACKHAUL NETWORKS
2y 5m to grant Granted Oct 07, 2025
Patent 12418821
AWARENESS LAYERS FOR MANAGING ACCESS POINTS IN CENTRALIZED WIRELESS NETWORKS
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 16, 2025
Patent 12414023
METHOD AND NETWORK APPARATUS FOR PROVISIONING MOBILITY MANAGEMENT DURING CONGESTION IN A WIRELESS NETWORK
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 09, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
32%
Grant Probability
12%
With Interview (-20.2%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 25 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month