Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/566,776

APPLICABILITY OF SYSTEM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY A CONDITIONAL RECONFIGURATION

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 04, 2023
Examiner
LAM, KENNETH T
Art Unit
2631
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
796 granted / 937 resolved
+23.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
965
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.4%
-32.6% vs TC avg
§103
55.2%
+15.2% vs TC avg
§102
11.7%
-28.3% vs TC avg
§112
15.4%
-24.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 937 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Claim Interpretation Re Claim 13, claim recites “upon the triggering condition being fulfilled: executing the conditional reconfiguration by applying the configuration parameters for the second cell” and it is contingent limitations according to MPEP 2111.04. The examiner interprets the cited limitation as a positive limitation that the method performs the executing step. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 10 recites the limitation " The wireless terminal of claim 9" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear the claim is depended upon claim 9 or claim 1, since there is no “wireless terminal of claim 9”. Therefore, the claim is indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-9, 11-13 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claim 1 which recites the wireless terminal for conditional reconfiguration, the prior art of record discloses receiver circuitry configured to receive, from the first cell, a recon- figuration message comprising a conditional reconfiguration for a second cell, the conditional reconfiguration comprising: a triggering condition, configuration parameters, and a first version of system information. However, the prior art of record neither anticipate nor render obvious the limitation as claimed, with respect to wireless terminal comprising: processor circuitry configured to establish a connection to an access node serving a first cell; receiver circuitry configured to receive, from the first cell, a recon- figuration message comprising a conditional reconfiguration for a second cell, the conditional reconfiguration comprising: a triggering condition, configuration parameters, and a first version of system information; the processor circuitry further configured, upon the triggering condition being fulfilled, to: execute the conditional reconfiguration by applying the configuration parameters for the second cell; and, determine whether or not the first version of the system information is applied for the second cell, based on whether or not a second version of the system information is received from the second cell after receiving the conditional reconfiguration and before executing the conditional re-configuration. The prior art of record, also does not teach or suggest the access node and the method as recited in claim 7 and claim 13 for the same reason as stated for claim 1 above. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wu (US 2023/0388891 A1) – managing UE information after preparing a conditional mobility procedure Awada et al. (US 2022/0361071 A1) – conditional handover for wireless networks Ishii (US 2019/0045379 A1) – on-demand system information for wireless terminal connected state Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH T LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-1862. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 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, Hannah S. Wang can be reached at (571) 272-9018. 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. /KENNETH T LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 04, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (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
85%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+11.0%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 937 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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