Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/595,264

TECHNOLOGIES FOR BEAM CONFIGURATION AND INDICATION FOR LOWER-LAYER TRIGGERED MOBILITY

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Mar 04, 2024
Priority
Apr 07, 2023 — provisional 63/458,041
Examiner
DUONG, DUC T
Art Unit
2467
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
692 granted / 774 resolved
+31.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
793
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.6%
-32.4% vs TC avg
§103
35.2%
-4.8% vs TC avg
§102
34.8%
-5.2% vs TC avg
§112
12.6%
-27.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 774 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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 19 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 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. 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 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bai et al (US Publication 2024/0146487 A1). Regarding to claim 19, Bai discloses a baseband processor 1324 (fig. 13) comprising: processing circuitry (pages 17-19 paragraph 0136) to: process 712 (fig. 7) configuration information to configure a transmission configuration indicator TCI (page 7 paragraph 0120) state associated with a candidate cell 708 (page 11 paragraph 0094); generate 723, for transmission to a serving cell 706, a measurement report based on measurements of one or more reference signals (page 12 paragraph 0095); select a reference signal from the one or more reference signals based on a predefined rule (fig. 8 page 12 paragraph 0100; mapping); determine the reference signal is associated with the TCI state (page 12 paragraph 0100); and activate 744 the TCI state for communication with the candidate cell based on said selecting the reference signal and determining the reference signal is associated with the TCI state (page 12 paragraph 0098); and interface circuitry 1322 coupled with the processing circuitry (page 17 paragraph 0136), the interface circuitry to output the measurement report (page 12 paragraph 0095). Regarding to claim 20, Bai discloses select the reference signal associated with a highest layer 1 - reference signal receive power (L1-RSRP) value of the one or more reference signals (page 9 paragraph 0079). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-18 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach or make obvious for “processing second configuration information to configure the candidate cell, wherein the first configuration information is independent from the second configuration information; processing a beam-indication message received from the serving cell, wherein the beam indication message is to indicate a TCI state from the TCI state list”, when such second configuration information and beam indication message are considered within the specific combination of steps recited in the method of claims 1 and 12. 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 Duc T Duong whose telephone number is (571)272-3122. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri; 9am-6pm. 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached at (571)272-3940. 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. /DUC T DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 04, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 12, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+2.2%)
2y 10m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 774 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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