Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/559,687

PUCCH CARRIER-SWITCHING FOR SEMI-STATICALLY CONFIGURED PERIODIC PUCCH

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Nov 08, 2023
Priority
May 11, 2021 — provisional 63/187,340 +1 more
Examiner
TRAN, PHUC H
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
OA Round
2 (Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
959 granted / 1046 resolved
+33.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
1083
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
51.7%
+11.7% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1046 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Response to Amendment Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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) 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a2) as being anticipated by Li et al. (Pub. No. 20220182899). * Regarding to optional language in the claims such as “any one of steps”, only one selected to exam. - With respect to claims 17, 19, Li teaches a user equipment for transmitting a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of claim 1 such as transmitting the PUCCH via first cell or the second cell in accordance with the patterns (e.g. Fig. 3 block 103); and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (e.g. the UE have it’s own power to supply the processing circuitry). - With respect to claim 18, Li teaches a network node for receiving a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of claim 9 such as receiving the PUCCH via the first cell or the second cell in accordance with the pattern (e.g. Fig 8 block 203 receive PUCCH via serving cell); power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (e.g. the power supply in the network device in Fig. 1). 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. Claim(s) 5-8, 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dinan (Pub. No. 2016027110). - With respect to claims 5, 13, Dinan teaches a method performed by a user equipment for transmitting periodically configured a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, (e.g. abstract discloses the PUCCH) the method comprising: receiving configuration information from a network node, the configuration information indicating (e.g. the Fig. 18 shows the step 1810 where receive message from Base station): a plurality of cells available for transmitting the periodic PUCCH, the plurality of cells including a first cell and a second cell (e.g. abstract discloses “A plurality of cells comprise a primary cell with a primary physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a PUCCH secondary cell with a secondary PUCCH”; and Fig. 10 shows cell with PCell and SCell and par. 56 disclose “A first group of cells may employ a PUCCH on the PCell and may be called PUCCH group 1 or a primary PUCCH group. A second group of cells may employ a PUCCH on an SCell and may be called PUCCH group 2 or a secondary PUCCH group”), and a first periodic occasion for transmitting the PUCCH using the first cell and a second periodic occasion for transmitting the PUCCH using the second cell (e.g. par. 83-84 discloses “When PUCCH groups are configured, SR resources may be configured on PCell, PUCCH SCell, or both. The possibility to have SR resources in PUCCH SCell(s) may allow better distribution of SR load among the serving cells. In an example configuration, an SR for a UE may be transmitted on a serving cell, e.g. either on the PCell or on a given PUCCH SCell”); and transmitting, based on the configuration information, the PUCCH during the first periodic occasion using the first cell or during the second periodic occasion using the second cell (e.g. the PUCCH transmit mot SCell; Fig. 10 at SCell2; see par. 56 discloses “A second group of cells may employ a PUCCH on an SCell and may be called PUCCH group 2 or a secondary PUCCH group. One, two or more PUCCH groups may be configured. In an example, cells may be grouped into two PUCCH groups, and each PUCCH group may include a cell with PUCCH resources. A PCell may provide PUCCH resources for the primary PUCCH group and an SCell in the secondary PUCCH group may provide PUCCH resources for the cells in the secondary PUCCH group”). Dinan implicitly teaches the period occasions, but Dinan teaches the need flexibility in configuring SR resource on PCell, SCell or both (see par. 166). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to consider the flexibility of configuring SR resource as the period occasions for configuring the resource in wireless communication. - With respect to claims 6, 14, Dinan teaches the transmitting the PUCCH includes transmitting the PUCCH during the first periodic occasion when the first periodic occasion overlaps the second periodic occasion (e.g. Fig. 14 shows the overlap). - With respect to claims 7, 15, Dinan teaches the transmitting the PUCCH includes transmitting the PUCCH during the first periodic occasion when a first slot, associated with the first cell and including the first periodic occasion, overlaps a second slot, associated with the second cell and including the second periodic occasion (e.g. par. 106-107 and Fig. 14). - With respect to claims 8, 16, Dinan teaches providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via transmission to the network node (e.g. Fig. 9 shows the communication between UE and eNB and par. 103). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-3, 9-11 are allowed. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892. . Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular paragraphs or columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. 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 PHUC H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3172. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 Flex. 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, Sujoy K. Kundu can be reached at 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. /PHUC H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 08, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Mar 04, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Jul 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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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
92%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+2.3%)
2y 9m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1046 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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