Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/567,099

Reduced Sensing Time Configurations for Listen-Before-Talk (LBT)

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Dec 05, 2023
Priority
Aug 16, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2021112713
Examiner
HENEGHAN, MATTHEW E
Art Unit
3992
Tech Center
3900
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
2 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
74 granted / 88 resolved
+24.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
104
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
§103
31.8%
-8.2% vs TC avg
§102
16.8%
-23.2% vs TC avg
§112
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 88 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 . 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. Application The instant application is the national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2021/112713, filed 16 August 2021. In response to the previous office action, claims 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10-15, 17, and 19-30 have been amended; claim 5 has been cancelled; and claim 31 has been added. Claims 1-4 and 6-31 have been examined. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 10,736,140 to Park et al. (hereinafter Park). As per claim 10, Park discloses a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a first downlink control information (DCI) scheduling an uplink (UL) communication (see column 16, lines 34-42); refraining, based on an absence of a channel access parameter in the first DCI, from performing a clear channel assessment (CCA); and transmitting over a shared frequency band, the UL communication without performing the CCA (see column 22, lines 34-38). As per claim 11, Park further discloses monitoring for a second DCI indicating a time resource of a network entity-initiated channel occupancy time (COT); and wherein the transmitting the UL communication comprises: transmitting, based on the monitoring for the second DCI and a type of the UL communication, the UL communication (see column 21, line 65 to column 22, line 21). As per claim 12, Park further discloses the UL communication comprises a UL control signal, the transmitting the UL communication is further based on a transmission power configuration, and the transmission power configuration is based on the monitoring for the second DCI (see column 8, line 56 to column 9, line 8; the control information therein is applicable to all DCIs). As per claim 13, Park further discloses the UL communication is a UL data communication (see column 10, lines 40-55), and the transmitting the UL communication comprises transmitting the UL data communication in the network entity-initiated COT (see column 21, line 65 to column 22, line 21). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-4, 6-9, and 14-31 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 1, no art could be found that discloses or renders obvious “performing, based on an indication to change to a second CCA timing configuration different from the first CCA timing configuration, the CCA based on the second CCA timing configuration.” Claims 14 and 23 are allowable for essentially the same reasons. Claims 2-4, 6-9, 15-22, and 24-31 are allowable based upon their dependence upon allowable claims. Conclusion 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 MATTHEW E HENEGHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3834. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5. 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, Michael Fuelling can be reached at (571)270-1367. 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. /MATTHEW E HENEGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Nov 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jan 27, 2026
Interview Requested
Feb 04, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 04, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Feb 20, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 15, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 06, 2026
Interview Requested
May 19, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

Precedent Cases

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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
84%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+4.0%)
3y 4m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 88 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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