Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/616,746

METHODS, DEVICES, AND SYSTEMS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING SIGNAL FOR PAGING MESSAGES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 26, 2024
Priority
Nov 05, 2021 — continuation of PCTCN2021129033
Examiner
DIABY, MOUSTAPHA
Art Unit
2683
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
519 granted / 620 resolved
+21.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
640
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
86.9%
+46.9% vs TC avg
§102
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
§112
2.5%
-37.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 620 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 . Amendment, submitted on 05/13/2026, has been received, entered, and made of record. Currently, claims 1, 3-5, 7, 11-12, 17, 21, and 24-34 remain pending in the application. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed on 05/13/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1, 3-5, 7, 11-12, 17, 21, and 24-34 under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of new prior art. 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, 3-5, 7, 11-12, 17, 21, and 24-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(2) as being anticipated by TSENG et al. (hereinafter referred to as TSENG, US 2023/0108646 A1). Referring to claim 1, TSENG discloses a method for wireless communication (fig.8) comprising: determining, by a user equipment (UE), a paging early indication occasion (PEI-O) based on at least one of the following: a reference location, a synchronization signal burst (SS burst) associated with the reference location, or an offset (fig.8, [0030]-[0035] and [0043]) (Note: user equipment (UE) determines a Paging Early Indicator opportunity (PEI-O) based at least on a configuration indicating a PEI offset value associated with a corresponding paging frame, and a reference location using frame-level offset for each PF/PO. For example, UE determines which offset to use (e.g. use offset[n] if its PF is the n-th frame in the SMTC period), and subtracts the offset from the SFN of its PF to find the PEI-carrying frame); and monitoring, by the UE, a paging early indication (PEI) in the PEI-O, wherein the PEI indicates information for at least one paging occasion (PO) (fig.8 and [0043]) (Note: the UE monitors the PEI on the PEI-carrying radio frame. The PEI indicates whether there is a paging opportunity (PO) in the corresponding PF, and the UE monitors the PO in the corresponding PF when the PEI indicates positive paging). Referring to claim 3, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein: at least one of the following: the reference location, the SS burst associated with the reference location, or the offset, is determined by a condition, wherein the condition comprises at least one of the following: at least one PEI-O related configuration in a system information block (SIB); a number of POs associated with the PEI; a number of paging frames (PFs) associated with the PEI; a configuration of the offset; a search space of the PEI; a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) of the PEI; a payload size of the PEI; a number of bits for a paging indication field of the PEI; a number of sub-groups in one PO indicated by the PEI; a sub-grouping method; a UE type of the UE; a UE capability of the UE; a coverage level; a type of discontinuous receiving (DRX); a frequency range; or a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) ([0032]-[0035]) (Note: the reference location is determined using frame-level offset for each PF/PO, and a configuration of the offset. That is, for PO in Frame #6, the PEI frame-level offset is 5, UE can find its corresponding PEI in radio frame #1 (6−5=1)). Referring to claim 4, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the reference location is associated with at least one of the following: a paging occasion (PO), a paging occasion group, a radio frame (RF), a paging frame (PF), or a SS burst ([0032]-[0035]) (Note: the reference discloses reference location is associated with at least a paging occasion (PO), a paging frame (PF), or a SS burst). Referring to claim 5, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein: the offset comprises a first offset to determine the reference location, wherein the first offset comprises at least one of the following: an offset from the reference location to a PF of a target PO; an offset from the reference location to a PF of a target PO group; an offset from the reference location to the target PO; or an offset from the reference location to the target PO group; the offset comprises a second offset, wherein the second offset is an offset from the PEI-O to the SS burst related to the reference location; or the offset comprises a third offset, wherein the third offset is an offset from the PEI-O to the reference location ([0034]-[0035) (Note: The reference discloses determining PEI location using frame-level offset for each PF/PO, wherein UE determines which offset to use (e.g. use offset[n] if its PF is the n-th frame in the SMTC period), and subtracts the offset from the SFN of its PF to find the PEI-carrying frame (an offset from the reference location to the target PO)). Referring to claim 7, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein: the offset comprises a third offset, wherein the third offset is an offset from the PEI-O to the reference location ([0032]-[0034]) (Note: The offset may be a symbol-level offset from the reference point to the start of the first PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PEI-O). Referring to claim 11, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein: the condition comprises a number of POs associated with the PEI and a number of paging frames (PFs) associated with the PEI; and when the PEI is configured to indicate one or more PO in one PF, the PEI-O is determined by one of the following: the reference location determined by a first offset, wherein the reference location is a RF; a L-th SS burst before the reference location, wherein the reference location is determined by a first offset; the L-th SS burst in a duration; or a third offset from the PEI-O to a reference location, wherein the reference location is the target PO ([0030]-[0035]) (Note: the reference discloses a number of POs associated with the PEI and a number of paging frames (PFs) associated with the PEI; and when one PEI is configured to indicate a plurality of POs in a plurality of PFs, the PEI-O is determined by one of the following: the reference location determined by a first offset, wherein the reference location is a RF). Referring to claim 12, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein: the condition comprises a number of POs associated with the PEI and a number of paging frames (PFs) associated with the PEI; and when one PEI is configured to indicate a plurality of POs in a plurality of PFs, the PEI-O is determined by one of the following: the reference location determined by a first offset, wherein the reference location is a RF; a L-th SS burst before the reference location, wherein the reference location is determined by a first offset; the L-th SS burst in a duration, wherein the duration is a period from the reference location to the target PO, and the reference location is determined by a first offset; the L-th SS burst before the reference location, wherein the reference location is a target PO; or a third offset from the PEI-O to the reference location, wherein the reference location is the target PO ([0030]-[0035]) (Note: the reference discloses a number of POs associated with the PEI and a number of paging frames (PFs) associated with the PEI; and when one PEI is configured to indicate a plurality of POs in a plurality of PFs, the PEI-O is determined by one of the following: the reference location determined by a first offset, wherein the reference location is a RF). Referring to claim 17, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein: at least one of the first offset or the third offset comprises a list of offsets, each PO corresponds to one offset in the list of offsets, each PO group corresponds to one offset in the list of offsets, or each PF corresponds to one offset in the list of offsets ([0034]) (Note: a set of PEI offsets is broadcasted by the network, and the value of PEI offsets is determined by the number of radio frames in an SMTC period. UE determines which offset to use (e.g. use offset[n] if its PF is the n-th frame in the SMTC period), and subtracts the offset from the SFN of its PF to find the PEI-carrying frame). Referring to claim 21, TSENG discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein: the UE does not expect the PEI to overlap with the SS burst in a time domain; or the UE does not expect the PEI to overlap with a target PO in the time domain ([0025] and [0032]) (Note: PEIs are always transmitted and are located near SSB bursts in a time domain). Referring to claim 24, TSENG discloses a method for wireless communication, comprising. sending, by a base station (fig.7, gNB 702) to a user equipment (UE) (fig.7, UE 701), a paging early indication (PEI) in a PEI occasion (PEI-O) (fig.8), wherein: the PEI-O is determined by at least one of the following: a reference location, a synchronization signal burst (SS burst) associated with the reference location, or an offset (fig.8 and [0043]) (Note: user equipment (UE) determines a Paging Early Indicator opportunity (PEI-O) based on a configuration indicating a PEI offset value associated with a corresponding paging frame); and the PEI indicates information for at least one paging occasion (PO) (fig.8 and [0043]) (Note: the UE monitors the PEI on the PEI-carrying radio frame. The PEI indicates whether there is a paging opportunity (PO) in the corresponding PF). Referring to claim 25, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 3 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 26, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 4 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 27, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 5 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 28, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 7 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 29, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 17 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 30, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 21 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 31, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 1 is applicable herein. TSENG further discloses an apparatus (fig.2, wireless device 211) comprising: a memory (fig.2, Memory 212) storing instructions (fig.2, Program 220); and a processor (fig.2, Processor 213) in communication with the memory, wherein the processor executes the instructions ([0027]). Referring to claim 32, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 5 is applicable herein. Referring to claim 33, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 24 is applicable herein. TSENG further discloses an apparatus (fig.2, base station 201) comprising: a memory (fig.2, Memory 202) storing instructions (fig.2, Program 210); and a processor (fig.2, Processor 203) in communication with the memory, wherein the processor executes the instructions ([0026]). Referring to claim 34, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 5 is applicable herein. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOUSTAPHA DIABY whose telephone number is (571)270-1669. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 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, ABDERRAHIM MEROUAN can be reached at (571) 270-5254. 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. /MOUSTAPHA DIABY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 26, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 13, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+10.0%)
2y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 620 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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