Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/682,289

TERMINAL, RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND BASE STATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 08, 2024
Examiner
O CONNOR, BRIAN T
Art Unit
2465
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
NTT Docomo Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
753 granted / 885 resolved
+27.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
921
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.0%
-33.0% vs TC avg
§103
45.5%
+5.5% vs TC avg
§102
33.1%
-6.9% vs TC avg
§112
9.1%
-30.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 885 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 . This office action is in response to Applicant’s preliminary amendments filed on 02/08/2024 and 09/15/2025. Claims 10-14 are currently pending. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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. Claims 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MolavianJazi et al. (US 2022/0210844 A1; hereafter MOZI). With respect to claim 10, MOZI discloses a terminal (116 in FIG. 1; 116 in FIG. 3) comprising: a receiver (310, 325 in FIG. 3) that receives a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission to at least one of a serving cell and a different cell than the serving cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]); and a processor (340 in FIG. 3) that, when the PRACH transmission is performed based on the PDCCH, controls the PRACH transmission based on power information related to a synchronization signal block (SSB) corresponding to a given cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]), wherein the processor determines a PRACH configuration applied to the PRACH transmission, based on a cell that receives an SSB quasi-co-located (QCLed) with a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) QCLed with a demodulation reference signal of the PDCCH (1020, 1030 in FIG. 10; paragraphs [0131], [0132], [0212]). With respect to claim 10, MOZI further discloses the terminal according to claim 10, wherein the different cell than the serving cell is configured by a physical cell ID that is different from a physical cell ID of the serving cell (paragraph [0134] and [0135]). With respect to claim 12, MOZI discloses a radio communication method for a terminal (116 in FIG. 1; 116 in FIG. 3), comprising: receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission to at least one of a serving cell and a different cell than the serving cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]); when the PRACH transmission is performed based on the PDCCH, controlling the PRACH transmission based on power information related to a synchronization signal block (SSB) corresponding to a given cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]); and determining a PRACH configuration applied to the PRACH transmission, based on a cell that receives an SSB quasi-co-located (QCLed) with a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) QCLed with a demodulation reference signal of the PDCCH (1020, 1030 in FIG. 10; paragraphs [0131], [0132], [0212]). With respect to claim 13, MOZI discloses a base station (102, 103 in FIG. 1; 102 in FIG. 2) comprising: a transmitter (210b, 210n, 215 in FIG. 2) that transmits a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission to at least one of a serving cell and a different cell than the serving cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]); and a processor (225 in FIG. 2) that, when the PRACH transmission is performed based on the PDCCH, controls the PRACH transmission based on power information related to a synchronization signal block (SSB) corresponding to a given cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]), wherein the processor (225 in FIG. 2) notifies a PRACH configuration applied to the PRACH transmission, based on a cell that transmits an SSB quasi-co-located (QCLed) with a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) QCLed with a demodulation reference signal of the PDCCH (1020, 1030 in FIG. 10; paragraphs [0131], [0132], [0212]). With respect to claim 14, MOZI discloses a system comprising a terminal (116 in FIG. 1; 116 in FIG. 3) and a base station (102, 103 in FIG. 1; 102 in FIG. 2), wherein the terminal (116 in FIG. 1; 116 in FIG. 3) comprises: a receiver (310, 325 in FIG. 3) that receives a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission to at least one of a serving cell and a different cell than the serving cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]); and a processor (340 in FIG. 3) that, when the PRACH transmission is performed based on the PDCCH, controls the PRACH transmission based on power information related to a synchronization signal block (SSB) corresponding to a given cell (PRACH#1, PRACH#2, SSB detection in FIG. 6; paragraph [0087]), wherein the processor (340 in FIG. 3) determines a PRACH configuration applied to the PRACH transmission, based on a cell that receives an SSB quasi-co-located (QCLed) with a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) QCLed with a demodulation reference signal of the PDCCH (1020, 1030 in FIG. 10; paragraphs [0131], [0132], [0212]), and the base station (102, 103 in FIG. 1; 102 in FIG. 2) comprises: a transmitter (210b, 210n, 215 in FIG. 2) that transmits the PDCCH. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian T O'Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-1081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri Flex 10am-6:30pm. 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, Gary Mui can be reached at 571-270-1420. 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. /BRIAN T O CONNOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 January 24, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 08, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12598515
NETWORK ENTITIES FOR ENHANCED QOS MONITORING
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12574177
IMPROVED TRIGGER FRAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12557090
UPLINK CHANNEL TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND BASE STATION, TERMINAL AND STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12550129
TRIGGER BASED NULL DATA PACKET TRANSMISSION METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 10, 2026
Patent 12549993
ENHANCED USER EQUIPMENT REPORT
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 10, 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
85%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+8.4%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 885 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