Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/517,950

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION SIZE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 22, 2023
Examiner
TON, DANG T
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allow Rate
526 granted / 593 resolved
+30.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+0.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
626
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
50.8%
+10.8% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 593 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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. 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 1,5,and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) in view of Chen et al. (2015/0103777). For claims 1,5,and 8 ,Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) discloses a method comprising the steps of determining a payload size of a first downlink control information (DCI) format that is the same as a payload size of a second DCI format ( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48) , wherein the first DCI format is for scheduling an uplink carrier and carries a first carrier indication and the second DCI format is for scheduling a downlink carrier and carries a second carrier indication ( See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023); and monitoring DCI in the first DCI format ( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48 and See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023). For independent claim 1, Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) discloses all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network. Chen et al. (2015/0103777) from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network ( See the differences F1 and F2 of uplink and downlink in Figure 2a). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network as taught by Chen et al. in the communication network of Translation of Guan et al. for the purpose of using the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network. For independent claim 8 is rejected for the same reason as claim 1. For dependent claim 5, Translation of Guan et al. also disclose wherein the first carrier indication indicates a carrier in a secondary cell and the second carrier indication indicates a carrier in a primary cell; and wherein determining the payload size of the first DCI format comprises determining that the payload size of the first DCI format is an information bit quantity of the second DCI format( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48 and See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023). 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 15 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Translation of Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) in view of Chen et al. (2015/0103777) in view of Nam ( 2016/0157218). For independent claim 15, Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) discloses a method comprising the steps of determining a payload size of a first downlink control information (DCI) format that is the same as a payload size of a second DCI format ( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48) , wherein the first DCI format is for scheduling an uplink carrier and carries a first carrier indication and the second DCI format is for scheduling a downlink carrier and carries a second carrier indication ( See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023); and monitoring DCI in the first DCI format ( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48 and See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023). For independent claim 15, Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) discloses all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network. Chen et al. (2015/0103777) from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network ( See the differences F1 and F2 of uplink and downlink in Figure 2a). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use wherein the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network as taught by Chen et al. in the communication network of Translation of Guan et al. for the purpose of using the first carrier indication is different from the second carrier indication in the communication network. For claim 15, Translation of Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) in view of Chen et al. (2015/0103777) in view of Nam ( 2016/0157218) disclose all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of memory and processor in a communications network. Nam et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of the memory and processor ( See paragraphs 0014 and 0052). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use memory and as taught by Nam et al. in the communication network of Translation of Translation of Guan et al. ( EP 2706807) in view of Chen et al. (2015/0103777 for the purpose of storing codes in the memory to execute the process by the processor. For dependent claim 19, Translation of Guan et al. also disclose wherein the first carrier indication indicates a carrier in a secondary cell and the second carrier indication indicates a carrier in a primary cell; and wherein determining the payload size of the first DCI format comprises determining that the payload size of the first DCI format is an information bit quantity of the second DCI format( See details of paragraph 0016 and paragraph 0006 lines 15-48 and See details of paragraphs 0017 to 0023). The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wang et al. ( 12/464,564) is cited to show a system which is considered pertinent to the claimed invention. Claims 2-4,6,7,9-14,16,17,18,and 20 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANG T TON whose telephone number is (571)272-3171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 5:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. /DANG T TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /D.T.T/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 22, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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
89%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+0.7%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 593 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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