Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/560,220

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INACTIVITY TIMER HANDLING

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 10, 2023
Priority
May 10, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2021092782
Examiner
KAUR, PAMIT
Art Unit
2416
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Lenovo (United States) Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
512 granted / 638 resolved
+22.3% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+19.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
657
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
§103
65.0%
+25.0% vs TC avg
§102
17.9%
-22.1% vs TC avg
§112
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 638 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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, corresponding to claims 1-7, 16-18, in the reply filed on 03/26/2026 is acknowledged. 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)1,2,5-7, 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Freda (US 2023/0063472 A1) Regarding claim 1, Freda teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE (see para 0038 “1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 1.”) to: select at least one logical channel (LCH) for transmitting sidelink data to another UE (para 981 “ TX WTRU may transmit data for which the LCH is configured”) determine whether to start an inactivity timer, which is enabled, for transmission of the sidelink data based on an inactivity timer configuration of at least one quality of service (QoS) of the at least one LCH contained in the sidelink data (see para 0262 “. A WTRU may further start an inactivity timer upon reception of SCI indicating a particular DRX configuration, where the value of the inactivity timer may be determined based in the indicated configuration.”; see para 0286 “a WTRU may determine the value of a timer (e.g. on-duration, inactivity timer, etc.) which determines whether it is active or not based on the priority and/or other received QoS parameter” See para 0740 “The period of time may further be configured per QoS and/or per LCH”); and in response to determining to start the inactivity timer, start the inactivity timer for the transmission of the sidelink data. (see para 0249 “A WTRU may further start an inactivity timer upon reception of SCI indicating a particular transmission type”; see para 0481 “start an activity timer (i.e. on-duration timer, inactivity timer) for the subsequent reception of PSCCH and PSSCH”) Regarding claim 16, A method performed by a user equipment (UE)( see para 0262 “. A WTRU”), comprising: selecting at least one logical channel (LCH) for transmitting sidelink data to another UE (para 981 “ TX WTRU may transmit data for which the LCH is configured”) determining whether to start an inactivity timer, which is enabled, for transmission of the sidelink data based on an inactivity timer configuration of at least one quality of service (QoS) of the at least one LCH contained in the sidelink data (see para 0262 “. A WTRU may further start an inactivity timer upon reception of SCI indicating a particular DRX configuration, where the value of the inactivity timer may be determined based in the indicated configuration.”; see para 0286 “a WTRU may determine the value of a timer (e.g. on-duration, inactivity timer, etc.) which determines whether it is active or not based on the priority and/or other received QoS parameter” See para 0740 “The period of time may further be configured per QoS and/or per LCH”); and in response to determining to start the inactivity timer, start the inactivity timer for the transmission of the sidelink data. (see para 0249 “A WTRU may further start an inactivity timer upon reception of SCI indicating a particular transmission type”; see para 0481 “start an activity timer (i.e. on-duration timer, inactivity timer) for the subsequent reception of PSCCH and PSSCH”) Regarding claim 2 and 17, (Currently Amended) The UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to start the inactivity timer based on the inactivity timer configuration of at least one QoS of the at least one LCH contained in the sidelink data by starting the inactivity timer for the transmission of the sidelink data based on: a specific QoS of a specific LCH of the at least one LCH is being configured with the inactivity timer; or every QoS of the at least one LCH is being configured with the inactivity timer (See para 0740 “The period of time may further be configured per QoS and/or per LCH….para 0741 “For example, the WTRU may determine the inactivity period to be transmitted in the inactivity command based on the LCHs configured at the WTRU.”) Regarding claim 5, Freda teaches wherein an active time definition is per LCH, and wherein for a specific LCH configured with the inactivity timer, the active time definition includes a duration of that the inactivity timer is running (see para 0267 “For example, a WTRU may be configured with a mapping of SLRB or LCH to activity behavior configuration”; para 0640 “a WTRU may be configured with a SLRB or LCH configuration associated with whether a WTRU should transmit data on an active resource, or whether it is able to transmit data from that LCH on other resources (provided possibly other conditions discussed as part of this solution—e.g. timer—is also satisfied).”); and wherein for another specific LCH not configured with the inactivity timer, the active time definition does not include a duration of that the inactivity timer is running (see para 0640 “A WTRU may further be configured with a logical channel prioritization (LCP) restriction such that it cannot multiplex the data/LCHs which allow transmission outside of the active resources and data/LCHs which are required to be transmitted on active resources. [0644] c. Such LCP restriction may further be applicable as long at the TX WTRU has not received indication from the RX WTRU that it has started its inactivity timer. For example, such LCP restriction may be applicable until the TX WTRU has received an indication from the peer WTRU (e.g. HARQ feedback, CQI request/report, RRC message, MAC CE, etc.) which may indicate that the RX WTRU is no longer in DRX or is monitoring resources outside its normal DRX active period (e.g. inactivity timer is running). Regarding claim 6, Freda (US 20230063472 A1) teaches to cause the UE to: transmit a sidelink control information (SCI) to the another UE, wherein the SCI includes a field of indicating to the another UE whether to start the inactivity timer. (see para 0288 “Specifically, a WTRU may start an inactivity timer upon reception of an SCI”; see para 0722 “the TX WTRU may send an inactivity command (as described elsewhere herein) to change the activity behavior at the receiving peer WTRU. .. a WTRU may transmit a flag, command, or indication (in PC5-RRC, MAC CE or MAC header, or SCI) to trigger a change in the activity behavior/DRX configuration at the peer WTRU(s)”) Regarding claim 7, Freda teaches transmit a sidelink control information (SCI) to the another UE during a duration of an on- duration timer (see para 0210 “If the WTRU is ON-duration, the WTRU may decode SCI-2”), wherein the on-duration timer is associated with another QoS configured with the inactivity timer (See para 0249 “For example, a WTRU may start multiple on-duration timers, where each such timer is associated with each of its transmission types and is started when the WTRU wakes up for PSCCH monitoring for scheduling according to corresponding DRX cycle. A WTRU may further start an inactivity timer upon reception of SCI indicating a particular transmission type, where the value of the inactivity timer may be determined based in the indicated configuration.”) Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3, 4, 18 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAMIT KAUR whose telephone number is (571)270-5665. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM. 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, NOEL BEHARRY can be reached at 5712705630. 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. /PAMIT KAUR/Examiner, Art Unit 2416
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 10, 2023
Application Filed
May 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Aug 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 12, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

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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
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+19.7%)
3y 3m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 638 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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