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 .
This office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 12/09/2025.
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-15, 17-20, and 22-24 are currently pending.
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 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by WANG et al. (US 2024/0146468 A1; hereafter WANG).
With respect to claim 1, WANG discloses a method for determining resources in carrier switching (Abstract; Title), applied to a network-side device (120 in FIG. 3A; 120 in FIG. 3B; 120 in FIG. 3C; 120 in FIG. 3D) or a terminal (110 in FIG. 3A; 110 in FIG. 3B; 110 in FIG. 3C; 110 in FIG. 3D), comprising:
in a case that a carrier switching is to be performed (paragraphs [0036], [0037], and [0055], see the enabling) on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communicated on a first carrier (paragraphs [0058] and [0059], see the PUCCH group identified for switching),
determining a first PUCCH resource on a second carrier after PUCCH carrier switching in a predetermined manner (paragraph [00598, see the setting of a primary and secondary PUCCH group; 411 , 412, 421, 422 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 13, WANG discloses an apparatus (1000 in FIG. 10) for determining resources in carrier switching (Abstract; Title), the communication processing apparatus for carrier switching being a network-side device (120 in FIG. 3A; 120 in FIG. 3B; 120 in FIG. 3C; 120 in FIG. 3D) or a terminal (110 in FIG. 3A; 110 in FIG. 3B; 110 in FIG. 3C; 110 in FIG. 3D), comprising:
a memory (1020 in FIG. 10), a transceiver (1040 in FIG. 10), and a processor (1010 in FIG. 10);
wherein the memory is configured to store program instructions (1030 in FIG. 10); the transceiver is configured to send and receive data under the control of the processor (1010 in FIG. 10); and
the processor is configured to read the program instructions in the memory (paragraph [0145]) to perform following operation:
in a case that a carrier switching is to be performed (paragraphs [0036], [0037], and [0055], see the enabling) on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communicated on a first carrier (paragraphs [0058] and [0059], see the PUCCH group identified for switching),
determining a first PUCCH resource on a second carrier after PUCCH carrier switching in a predetermined manner (paragraph [00598, see the setting of a primary and secondary PUCCH group; 411, 412, 421, 422 in FIG. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 5-8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17-20, and 22-24 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 12/09/2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1 and 13 under LI have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of WANG.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian T O'Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-1081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri Flex 10am-6:30pm.
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, Gary Mui can be reached at 571-270-1420. 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.
/BRIAN T O CONNOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 March 19, 2026
Prosecution Insights