Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/591,630

TRANSMISSION PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS, TERMINAL, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Feb 29, 2024
Priority
Aug 30, 2021 — CN 202111005804.7 +1 more
Examiner
FIGUEROA, MARISOL
Art Unit
2643
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
580 granted / 729 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+2.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
747
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
§103
55.5%
+15.5% vs TC avg
§102
20.0%
-20.0% vs TC avg
§112
9.0%
-31.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 729 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . 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. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Species IV (claims 7-10) in the reply filed on 07/09/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 3, 4, and 6 are withdrawn from consideration. Title of the Invention The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. 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. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the claimed invention is not clear and does not completely define the boundaries of the invention. Regarding independent claim 1, the claim initially recites the limitation of “determining, by a terminal, first resource information for first data, the first resource used to re-evaluate or preempt a target resource” in lines 2-3. Then, the claim further recites that the “first resource information” is associated with first target information that comprises “whether the first data enables periodic reservation” and “in case that the first data enables periodic reservation, the first information is determined based on first sensing and second sensing”. The above-mentioned steps regarding the relationship between the determination of the “first resource information” and its underlying condition is unclear and contradictory. Specifically, lines 2-3 recite that terminal determines “first resource information”. The claim later specifies that this information includes target information that indicates “whether the first data enables periodic reservation”. However, lines 11-12 includes a conditional limitation “in case that the first data enables periodic reservation, the first information is determined based on the first sensing and second sensing”. This creates a contradiction because the claim states that ascertaining whether periodic reservation is based on the determined “first resource information” but subsequently requires that determining “first resource information” is conditional upon, and performed after, establishing that periodic reservation is enabled. Therefore, the claims do not clearly define the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. **Note: this applies to independent claims 17 and 20 which includes the same subject matter. Regarding claims 5, 8, 9, 10, and 14-16, the claims are directed to “determining wherein the first resource satisfies at least one of” and list multiple different conditions and each condition is associated with different ways to determine the “first resource information” and thus the claims fail to particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention. 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. Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 17, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KO (WO 2022/191678, see electronic translation). Regarding claim 1, Ko discloses a transmission processing method, comprising: determining, by a terminal, first resource information for first data, the first resource information being used to re-evaluate or preempt a target resource (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot for selecting and performing partial sensing; after the selecting the terminal may perform re-evaluation or pre-emption procedure based on the result of the sensing); wherein the first resource information is associated with first target information, and the first target information comprises: whether the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)); and information related to second data, the second data being different from the first data (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot (i.e., second data)), wherein in a case that the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)), the first resource information is determined based on first sensing and second sensing, wherein the first sensing is periodic based partial sensing (PBPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device performs a first periodic based partial sensing associated with the at least second SL resource), and the second sensing is continuous partial sensing (CPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27;the first device performs first contiguous partial sensing on the at least one first candidate slot). Regarding claim 2, Ko discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first resource information comprises at least one of the following resource information: a resource selection method, a resource sensing method, to-be-sensed resources (page 1, lines 37-46; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool, including information regarding candidate slots in which the first device performs partial sensing, thus the information includes information about the to-be-sensed resources), a resource size, a minimum number of resource sizes, a maximum number of resource sizes, a resource location, a resource sensing trigger time, or a resource selection trigger time. Regarding claim 7, Ko discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the information related to the second data comprises at least one of the following: whether being periodic traffic; whether periodic reservation is enabled; resource information for selection or reselection; or resource information for re-evaluation or pre-emption (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool, the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot for selecting (i.e., resource information for selection or reselection) and performing partial sensing; after the selecting the terminal may perform re-evaluation or pre-emption procedure based on the result of the sensing). Regarding claim 8, Ko discloses the method according to claim 7, wherein the first resource information satisfies at least one of the following: in a case that the second data enables periodic reservation or is periodic traffic (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool3 ), the first resource information is determined based on at least one of first sensing of the second data, second sensing of the second data, and second sensing of the first data (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device performs a first periodic based partial sensing associated with the at least second SL resource); in a case that the second data does not enable periodic reservation or is aperiodic traffic, the first resource information is determined based on at least one of the second sensing of the second data and the second sensing of the first data; or in a case that the second data does not enable periodic reservation or is aperiodic traffic, and that the second data satisfies a first preset condition, the first resource information is determined based on at least one of first sensing of the second data, second sensing of the second data, and second sensing of the first data; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: presence of second sensing and predictable time of arrival; or, wherein in a case that the first resource information is associated with the resource information for selection or reselection for the second data, the first resource information satisfies any one of the following: the first resource information is the same as the resource information for selection or reselection for the second data; or the first resource information uses at least some sensing results corresponding to the resource information for selection or reselection for the second data; or, wherein in a case that the first resource information is associated with the resource information for re-evaluation or pre-emption for the second data, the first resource information satisfies: the first resource information is the same as the resource information for re-evaluation or pre-emption for the second data. Regarding claim 17, Ko discloses a terminal, comprising a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor (page 25, lines 31-42), wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform: determining, by a terminal, first resource information for first data, the first resource information being used to re-evaluate or preempt a target resource (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot for selecting and performing partial sensing; after the selecting the terminal may perform re-evaluation or pre-emption procedure based on the result of the sensing); wherein the first resource information is associated with first target information, and the first target information comprises: whether the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)); and information related to second data, the second data being different from the first data (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot (i.e., second data)), wherein in a case that the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)), the first resource information is determined based on first sensing and second sensing, wherein the first sensing is periodic based partial sensing (PBPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device performs a first periodic based partial sensing associated with the at least second SL resource), and the second sensing is continuous partial sensing (CPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27;the first device performs first contiguous partial sensing on the at least one first candidate slot). Regarding claim 18, Ko discloses the terminal according to claim 15, wherein the first resource information comprises at least one of the following resource information: a resource selection method, a resource sensing method, to-be-sensed resources (page 1, lines 37-46; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool, including information regarding candidate slots in which the first device performs partial sensing, thus the information includes information about the to-be-sensed resources), a resource size, a minimum number of resource sizes, a maximum number of resource sizes, a resource location, a resource sensing trigger time, or a resource selection trigger time. Regarding claim 20, Ko discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory storage medium has a program or instructions (page 25, lines 31-42), when executed by the processor of a terminal, causes the processor of the terminal to perform: determining, by a terminal, first resource information for first data, the first resource information being used to re-evaluate or preempt a target resource (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot for selecting and performing partial sensing; after the selecting the terminal may perform re-evaluation or pre-emption procedure based on the result of the sensing); wherein the first resource information is associated with first target information, and the first target information comprises: whether the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)); and information related to second data, the second data being different from the first data (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device obtains information related to a resource pool (i.e., first resource pool), the resource pool includes at least one first candidate slot (i.e., second data)), wherein in a case that the first data enables periodic reservation (page 24, lines 25-27; the first device may obtain information related to a resource pool including information related to one or more resource reservation periods, for example, periodic resource reservation may be enable for the resource pool (i.e., first data)), the first resource information is determined based on first sensing and second sensing, wherein the first sensing is periodic based partial sensing (PBPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27; the first device performs a first periodic based partial sensing associated with the at least second SL resource), and the second sensing is continuous partial sensing (CPS) (page 1, lines 37-page 2, lines 1-6; page 24, lines 25-27;the first device performs first contiguous partial sensing on the at least one first candidate slot). Prior Art of Record The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. (a) Yoshioka et al. (US 2024/0205752) discloses a terminal including a receiving unit configured to receive a signal from another terminal in a resource pool in which partial sensing is configured and periodic reservation is enabled; a control unit configured to determine candidate resources for resource selection in a resource pool (see abstract). (b)Ye et al. (US 2023/0180185) discloses power saving sensing for reduced sensing UEs using resource re-evaluation and resource pre-emption (see abstract). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARISOL FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-7840. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8:00am-4:30pm. 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, Jinsong Hu can be reached at 571-272-3965. 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. /MARISOL FIGUEROA/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 2643
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 29, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+2.6%)
2y 9m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 729 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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