Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/604,398

CHANNEL ACCESS METHOD, AND DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 13, 2024
Priority
Sep 24, 2021 — continuation of PCTCN2021120173
Examiner
WAQAS, SAAD A
Art Unit
2468
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
385 granted / 521 resolved
+15.9% vs TC avg
Strong +39% interview lift
Without
With
+39.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
542
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
74.3%
+34.3% vs TC avg
§102
21.6%
-18.4% vs TC avg
§112
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 521 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 18/604,398 CTNF 85289 DETAILED ACTION This is in response to Applicant’s election of Group I dated 4/14/26. Claims 1-5, 7, 14-18, and 20 have been examined. Claims 6 and 19 have been cancelled. Claims 8-13 have been withdrawn. 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. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 5, 7, 18, and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: an acronym SCI should be spelled out prior to its first use . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-5, 7, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chunhua et al. (EP 3843475; hereafter Chunhua) in view of Wu et al. (WO 2022/046441; hereafter Wu) . Regarding Claim 1 (Currently Amended), A method for channel access, applicable to a first device, comprising: determining a first channel access priority based on a first sidelink priority or sidelink resource configuration information [Chunhua: 0224; the first terminal obtains a channel access priority class; 0225; the first terminal receives the channel access priority class sent by the access network device; 0228; the first terminal has a mapping relationship between one or more pieces of service information and one or more channel access priority classes; the mapping relationship may be preconfigured, or may be configured by the access network device for the first terminal]; performing the channel access on a shared spectrum based on a channel access parameter corresponding to the first channel access priority [Chunhua: shared spectrum == unlicensed spectrum; 0221; it may be understood that, when the first terminal determines that the success occurs in the channel access procedure performed on the unlicensed spectrum, the first terminal may send the data to the second terminal on the first transmission resource; 0227; the first terminal constructs a media access control protocol data unit (Medium access control protocol data unit, MAC PDU) based on the sidelink resource , and determines a channel access priority class based on service information of data included in the MAC PDU of the sidelink resource; 0226; the first terminal obtains the channel access priority class based on a mapping relationship and service information of the data transmitted on the first transmission resource; the mapping relationship includes one or more pieces of service information and a channel access priority class corresponding to each piece of service information in the one or more pieces of service information, and different channel access priority classes correspond to different channel access parameters] ; and sending … a first sidelink channel to a second device when the first device successfully accesses a channel, wherein the first sidelink channel is a channel to be transmitted after the first device successfully accesses the channel [Chunhua: 0240; S203: the first terminal sends the data to the second terminal on the sidelink by using the first transmission resource ; 0239; S201: an access network device sends, to a first terminal, indication information of a first transmission resource used by the first terminal to send data on a sidelink, where the sidelink is a wireless communication link between the first terminal and a second terminal, and the first transmission resource is a resource in an unlicensed spectrum ; 0166; S103: the first terminal performs a channel access procedure on the unlicensed spectrum; 0167; when determining that sidelink data that is allowed to be transmitted by using the unlicensed spectrum arrives, and triggering new sidelink transmission, the first terminal triggers to perform the channel access procedure on the unlicensed spectrum; 0169; the channel access procedure is of per channel (per channel); one unlicensed spectrum may include one or more channels, and the first terminal selects the one or more channels to perform the channel access procedure], and However, Chunhua does not teach sending indication information … to a second device when the first device successfully accesses a channel … the indication information indicates a first shared channel occupancy time. Wu teaches: sending indication information … to a second device when the first device successfully accesses a channel … the indication information indicates a first shared channel occupancy time [Wu: the channel access priority may be associated with a channel access parameter, and the UE may perform the channel access procedure using the channel access parameter associated with the channel access priority for the sidelink transmission; 0025; in some aspects, the channel access parameter may be a contention window size or a channel occupancy time duration ; 0033; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating channel occupancy time (COT) sharing; 0071; the first UE 502 may transmit a transmission on the channel 512; the first UE 502 may also transmit signaling indicating the COT 522. Other devices on the channel receiving the signaling may recognize the COT 522 and may not transmit on the resources in the COT 522, for example, if the other devices are not configured for COT sharing, or are not allowed to share the COT; 0072; in some examples, the second UE may determine that it can share the COT based on COT information indicated in the signaling, e.g., an ID of the first UE 502, a location of the first UE 502, etc.]. It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Chunhua and Wu in order to facilitate COT sharing among the UEs and provide better access for the UEs to transmit on the channel [Wu: 0106]. Regarding Claim 2 (Original), wherein determining the first channel access priority based on the first sidelink priority comprises: determining the first channel access priority based on the first sidelink priority and first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a correspondence between a sidelink priority and a channel access priority [Chunhua: 0226; the first terminal obtains the channel access priority class based on a mapping relationship and service information of the data transmitted on the first transmission resource; the mapping relationship includes one or more pieces of service information and a channel access priority class corresponding to each piece of service information in the one or more pieces of service information, and different channel access priority classes correspond to different channel access parameters; 0228; the first terminal has a mapping relationship between one or more pieces of service information and one or more channel access priority classes; the mapping relationship may be preconfigured, or may be configured by the access network device for the first terminal]. Regarding Claim 3 (Currently Amended), further comprising: determining the first sidelink priority based on a priority of the first sidelink channel [Chunhua: 0226; the first terminal obtains the channel access priority class based on a mapping relationship and service information of the data transmitted on the first transmission resource; the mapping relationship includes one or more pieces of service information and a channel access priority class corresponding to each piece of service information in the one or more pieces of service information, and different channel access priority classes correspond to different channel access parameters]. Regarding Claim 4 (Original), Chunhua teaches that the sidelink is a wireless communication link between the first terminal and a second terminal [Chunhua: 0007]. However, Chunhua does not teach that the first sidelink channel comprises one of:a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH);a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH);a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH); and a sidelink synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the sidelink SSB comprises a sidelink primary synchronization signal, a sidelink secondary synchronization signal and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) . Wu teaches: wherein the first sidelink channel comprises one of:a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH);a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH);a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH); and a sidelink synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the sidelink SSB comprises a sidelink primary synchronization signal, a sidelink secondary synchronization signal and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) [Wu: 0048; the D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH)]. It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Chunhua and Wu in order to facilitate COT sharing among the UEs and provide better access for the UEs to transmit on the channel [Wu: 0106]. Regarding Claim 5 (Original), Chunhua teaches that the sidelink is a wireless communication link between the first terminal and a second terminal [Chunhua: 0007]. However, Chunhua does not teach that “ if the first sidelink channel is a PSSCH, determining the first sidelink priority based on priority information carried in SCI scheduling the PSSCH.” Wu teaches: wherein determining the first sidelink priority based on the priority of the first sidelink channel comprises: if the first sidelink channel is a PSSCH, determining the first sidelink priority based on priority information carried in SCI scheduling the PSSCH [Wu: 0048; the D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) , and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); 0058; the control information may comprise Sidelink Control Information (SCI) ; 0121; at 1204, the UE may determine a channel access priority for a sidelink transmission from a set of channel access priorities; for example, the UE may receive a packet (e.g., from an application) or generate a packet for transmission in the sidelink transmission; the sidelink transmission may be a sidelink data transmission or a sidelink control information transmission ; 0124; the sidelink transmission may have a packet priority from a set of packet priorities associated with the set of channel access priorities; for example, each packet priority of the set of packet priorities may be associated with a channel access priority of the set of channel access priorities]. It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Chunhua and Wu in order to facilitate COT sharing among the UEs and provide better access for the UEs to transmit on the channel [Wu: 0106]. Regarding Claim 7 (Currently Amended), Chunhua teaches that the sidelink is a wireless communication link between the first terminal and a second terminal [Chunhua: 0007]. However, Chunhua does not teach that “… the indication information is carried in SCI ….” Wu teaches: wherein the indication information is carried in SCI, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or proximity communication 5 (PC5) radio resource control (RRC) signaling [Wu: 0058; the control information may comprise Sidelink Control Information (SCI) ; 0121; at 1204, the UE may determine a channel access priority for a sidelink transmission from a set of channel access priorities; for example, the UE may receive a packet (e.g., from an application) or generate a packet for transmission in the sidelink transmission; the sidelink transmission may be a sidelink data transmission or a sidelink control information transmission ; 0124; the sidelink transmission may have a packet priority from a set of packet priorities associated with the set of channel access priorities; for example, each packet priority of the set of packet priorities may be associated with a channel access priority of the set of channel access priorities]. It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Chunhua and Wu in order to facilitate COT sharing among the UEs and provide better access for the UEs to transmit on the channel [Wu: 0106]. Regarding claims 14-18 and 20, which recite the same claim limitations as those in claims 1-5 and 7 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claims 1-5 and 7 is applicable . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xue (US 2023/0036146) teaches that the PSCCH may carry first stage sidelink control information (SCI-1), which may include control information regarding decoding the PSSCH. The SCI-1 may indicate a resource occupancy to facilitate a sensing-based collision avoidance in the Mode 2 [Xue: 0061] . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAAD A WAQAS whose telephone number is (571)270-5642. The examiner can normally be reached 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, Marcus Smith can be reached at (571) 270-1096. 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. SAAD A. WAQAS Primary Examiner Art Unit 2468 /Saad A. Waqas/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 2 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 3 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 4 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 5 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 6 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 7 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 8 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 9 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 10 Art Unit: 2468 Application/Control Number: 18/604,398 Page 11 Art Unit: 2468
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 13, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+39.2%)
3y 5m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 521 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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