Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/603,563

RESOURCE RESERVATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND TERMINAL

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 13, 2024
Examiner
BEYEN, ZEWDU A
Art Unit
2461
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
697 granted / 836 resolved
+25.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
875
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
§103
59.0%
+19.0% vs TC avg
§102
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§112
10.4%
-29.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 836 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 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(s) 1-5,10-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Do to (WO2020/101546 A1) from IDS Regarding claims 1,12,16,21 Do teaches terminal, comprising a processor, a memory ([00089] Fig. 8, , fig. 3, wireless device 120 configured for D2D communication with a first wireless device 110. The first wireless device 120 comprises a processing circuitry 703 and a memory 704. The memory contains instructions executable by said processing circuitry) determining, by receive user equipment, to-be-reserved receiving resources;( [0034] discloses performed by a first wireless device 110 for device to device (D2D)communication with a second wireless device; determining 202 a set of wireless communication resources to reserve for a transmission of data from the second wireless device 120 to the first wireless device 110, and reserving 204 the determined set of wireless communication resources and figures 1-8)) and sending, by the receive user equipment, receiving resource reservation signaling,( [ [0057],[0060] UE1 determines 1.1 a set of resources to be used for receiving a transmission from UE2 resources are characterized by time, frequency, and spatial directions…UE1 reserves 1.2 the determined resources for a transmission from UE2 to UE1… reservation may be performed by UE1 sending a first packet to UE2 and to UE3 indicating the reservation of the set of resources)wherein the receiving resource reservation signaling is used to reserve at least one receiving resource of the to-be-reserved receiving resources( [0057] discloses… a set of resources to be used for receiving a transmission from UE2 resources are characterized by time, frequency, and spatial directions…UE1 reserves 1.2 the determined resources for a transmission from UE2 to UE1). Regarding claims 2,13,17 Do teaches wherein the determining, by receive user equipment, to-be-reserved receiving resources comprises: obtaining, by the receive user equipment, a transmission resource of transmit user equipment, and determining the transmission resource of the transmit user equipment as the to-be-reserved receiving resource;( [00061] discloses determination of the resources on which UE1 wants to receive a transmission from UE2 can be achieved via a sensing process performed by UE1. The sensing process can include reading control information from other UEs in the network, such as UE3, to infer which resources are available. The reading of control information typically also includes reading resource reservation messages sent by other UEs such as UE3. The sensing can also include UE1 measuring the signal strength at different resource elements and at different spatial directions of signals sent by the other UEs) Regarding claims 3,14,18 Do teaches wherein the obtaining, by the receive user equipment, a transmission resource of transmit user equipment comprises: or receiving, by the receive user equipment, first signaling sent by the transmit user equipment, wherein the first signaling indicates the transmission resource of the transmit user equipment([0065] discloses message is broadcasted. In some embodiments, the reservation message is sent in a control channel packet, e.g., as a field in the side link control information (SCI) in a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) packet). Regarding claim 4, Do teaches wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, receiving resource reservation signaling comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, the receiving resource reservation signaling in a first time unit, wherein the first time unit comprises any one of the following: being within a T1.sup.th time unit or a T2.sup.th time unit after the receive user equipment receives resource notification signaling of transmit user equipment; ([0057] discloses The reservation may be performed by UE1 sending a first packet to UE2 and to UE3 indicating the reservation of the set of resources. The reservation is performed at T1 and the resources are reserved for a time T2 that is later than T1) Regarding claim 5, Do teaches wherein the receiving resource reserved by the receiving resource reservation signaling is consistent with a transmission resource reserved by transmit user equipment( [0057] discloses… a set of resources to be used for receiving a transmission from UE2 resources are characterized by time, frequency, and spatial directions…UE1 reserves 1.2 the determined resources for a transmission from UE2 to UE1). Regarding claims 10,15,19 Do teaches wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, receiving resource reservation signaling comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, the receiving resource reservation signaling in a first manner, wherein the first manner comprises at least one of the following: carrying the receiving resource reservation signaling by using a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) ([0065] discloses message is broadcasted. In some embodiments, the reservation message is sent in a control channel packet, e.g., as a field in the side link control information (SCI) in a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) packet). Regarding claim 11, Do teaches wherein a time-frequency resource for sending the receiving resource reservation signaling comprises: a time-frequency resource selected by the receive user equipment; ([0057],[0060] UE1 determines 1.1 a set of resources to be used for receiving a transmission from UE2 resources are characterized by time, frequency, and spatial directions)wherein a spatial resource for sending the receiving resource reservation signaling comprises any one of the following: a receive beam of the receive user equipment; ([0057],[0060] UE1 determines 1.1 a set of resources to be used for receiving a transmission from UE2 resources are characterized by time, frequency, and spatial directions). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Do to (WO2020/101546 A1) from IDS in view of Lee to (US 20230199838 A1) Regarding claim 6, Do does not explicitly teach wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, receiving resource reservation signaling comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission However, Lee teaches wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, receiving resource reservation signaling comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission ([0090] discloses transport block (TB) without reservation, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure... the transmitting UE may use an SCI related to a first/initial RB to reserve an SL resource for initial transmission of a second TB, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure) Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Do include sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission, as suggested by Lee. This modification would benefit the system to reliably convey control information. Regarding claim 7, Do does not explicitly teach wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, first receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission; and after each receiving resource reserved by the first receiving resource reservation signaling is used, sending, by the receive user equipment, second receiving resource reservation signaling However, Lee teaches wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission comprises: ([0090] discloses transport block (TB) without reservation, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure... the transmitting UE may use an SCI related to a first/initial RB to reserve an SL resource for initial transmission of a second TB, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure) sending, by the receive user equipment, first receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission; ([0090] discloses transport block (TB) without reservation, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure... the transmitting UE may use an SCI related to a first/initial RB to reserve an SL resource for initial transmission of a second TB, based on the sensing and resource (re)selection procedure) and after each receiving resource reserved by the first receiving resource reservation signaling is used, sending, by the receive user equipment, second receiving resource reservation signaling([0091]discloses the UE may reserve a resource for feedback-based PSSCH retransmission, through signaling related to previous transmission of the same TB. For example, the maximum number of SL resources reserved by one transmission including current transmission may be 2, 3, or 4. For example, the maximum number of SL resources may be identical irrespective of whether HARQ feedback is enabled. For example, the maximum number of HARQ (re)transmissions for one TB may be restricted by a configuration or a pre-configuration) Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Do include wherein the sending, by the receive user equipment, at least one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission comprises: sending, by the receive user equipment, first receiving resource reservation signaling for one transport block (TB) transmission; and after each receiving resource reserved by the first receiving resource reservation signaling is used, sending, by the receive user equipment, second receiving resource reservation signaling, as suggested by Lee. This modification would benefit the system to reliably convey control information. Regarding claim 8, Do does not explicitly teach wherein the method further comprises: determining, by the receive user equipment based on a resource congestion degree, a quantity of receiving resources reserved by one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling or a quantity of receiving resources reserved for current TB transmission However, Lee teaches determining, by the receive user equipment based on a resource congestion degree, a quantity of receiving resources reserved by one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling or a quantity of receiving resources reserved for current TB transmission([0181] discloses when all reserved resources within a period are not used for (actual) SL (packet) transmission (for example, including (or, not including) when (actual) SL (packet) transmission is omitted on a reserved resource by at least one of UL/SL prioritization, and/or LTE SL/NR SL prioritization, and/or congestion control) is being counted as “consecutive unused transmission opportunities) Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Do include determining, by the receive user equipment based on a resource congestion degree, a quantity of receiving resources reserved by one piece of receiving resource reservation signaling or a quantity of receiving resources reserved for current TB transmission, as suggested by Lee. This modification would benefit the system to reliably convey control information. Regarding claim 9, The combination of Do and Lee teaches wherein a transmission resource for the receiving resource reservation signaling and the receiving resource reserved by the receiving resource reservation signaling are time division multiplexed(Lee,[0074] discloses information may be information related to SLSS, a duplex mode (DM), a time division duplex (TDD) uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration, information related to a resource pool, a type of an application related to the SLSS, a subframe offset, broadcast information) Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00. 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, Huy D Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. 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. /ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 13, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603726
ENHANCED FAST CRS RATE MATCHING SELECTION IN DSS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12580702
COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12574829
ACCESS CONTROL METHOD AND COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12574894
Signalling Framework for Virtual Transmission-Reception Point Localization in Wireless Networks
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12562876
Method and Apparatus Including Search Space Switching for Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+14.5%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 836 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month