Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/621,994

METHOD FOR STOPPING MONITORING PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 29, 2024
Examiner
TORRES, MARCOS L
Art Unit
2647
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allow Rate
465 granted / 692 resolved
+5.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
744
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
§103
52.9%
+12.9% vs TC avg
§102
17.8%
-22.2% vs TC avg
§112
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 692 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 . Claim Objections Claims 5, 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claims have typographical errors in the words "swiched" and "seach", also please indicated for what SSSG stands for. For example, search space set group (SSSG). Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claim(s) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhou 20230232410. As to claim 1, Zhou discloses a method for stopping monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (see abstract), performed by a terminal device [UE] or a chip of the terminal device, comprising: receiving first downlink control information (DCI) from a network device on an active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the first DCI is usable to [intended use] indicate the terminal device to stop monitoring a PDCCH within a first duration (see par. 0314 [‘286 par. 0295]), and the PDCCH on which monitoring is stopped includes a type 3 PDCCH in a common search space set and a PDCCH in a terminal device-specific search space set (see par. 0299 [‘286 par. 0280]); running a timer, wherein the timer is usable for BWP switching, and an expiration moment of the timer and a BWP switch delay are earlier than an end moment of the first duration; stopping monitoring the PDCCH within the first duration and before the BWP switch delay ends (see fig. 29; par. 0314 [‘286 par. 0295]); and performing DL BWP switching when the timer expires, and monitoring the PDCCH on a switched-to DL BWP (see fig. 29-30; par. 0314-0316 [‘286 par. 0295-0297]). As to claim 2, Zhou discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the running a timer includes: starting or restarting the timer when the terminal device receives indication information from the network device on the active DL BWP, wherein the indication information is usable to schedule the terminal device to transmit a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or the indication information is usable to indicate the terminal device to perform DL BWP switching, and the indication information is carried in the first DCI or DCI other than the first DCI [repetition] (see fig. 29; par. 0133, 0315). As to claim 3, Zhou discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving the first DCI that is usable to indicate the terminal device to stop monitoring a PDCCH within a first duration includes receiving the first DCI that is usable to indicate the terminal device to stop monitoring a PDCCH within a first duration having a length configured through radio resource control (RRC) (see par. 0313) or indicated by the first DCI (see par. 0314-0316). As to claim 4, Zhou discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving the first DCI that is usable to indicate the terminal device to stop monitoring a PDCCH within a first duration includes receiving the first DCI that is usable to indicate the terminal device to stop monitoring a PDCCH within a first duration having a start at a beginning of next slot for the first DCI (see par. 0314-0316). As to claim 5, Zhou discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: performing PDCCH monitoring on the swi[t]ched-to BWP based on a configured sea[r]ch space set when no SSSG is configured on the switched-to BWP (see par. 0282, 0298-0299, 0309, 0314). As to claim 6, Zhou discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: performing PDCCH monitoring on the swiched-to BWP based on a search space set within a SSSG with an index 0 when at least one SSSG including the SSSG with the index 0 is configured on the switched-to BWP (e.g., search space sets with group index 0) (see par. 0282, 0298-0299, 0308-0309, 0314). Regarding claims 7-15, they are the corresponding terminal device and base station claims of method claims 1-6. Therefore, claims 7-12 are rejected for the same reasons as shown above. The processor and memory can be seen in Zhou fig. 15. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS L TORRES whose telephone number is (571)272-7926. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM M-F. 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, Alison Slater can be reached at (571)270-0375. 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. MARCOS L. TORRES Primary Examiner Art Unit 2647 /MARCOS L TORRES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 29, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+11.4%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 692 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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