Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/696,038

METHODS, DEVICES, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM FOR COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 27, 2024
Examiner
BEYEN, ZEWDU A
Art Unit
2461
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
NEC Corporation
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
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) 19-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SRIDHARAN to (US 20220385395 A1) Regarding claims 19,23 SRIDHARAN teaches a method performed by a terminal device, comprising:receiving downlink control information (DCI) indicating a value, ([0079] Discloses a base station (e.g., base station 110) may transmit information, such as an RV index, to the UE. For example, the base station may transmit the RV index for a PUSCH communication in DCI that schedules the PUSCH communication. The RV index may indicate a sequence of RVs to be applied to a corresponding sequence of occasions, such as a sequence of PUSCH transmission occasions, a sequence of slots, or a sequence of segments. Further, [0131] discloses the UE may receive, an indication of one or more sets of contiguous time domain resources for a multi-slot transmission (MST) occasion that spans at least multiple slots… indication may be provided via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, MAC signaling, DCI) wherein the value corresponds to a first number of slots allocated for transport block processing for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH);( [0157]…c is the number of scheduled code blocks of the transport block if CBGTI is present in the DCI scheduling the transport block) and performing rate matching for each code block of a transport block for the PUSCH( [0149] discloses the UE may perform rate matching across each slot of the first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion) when the first number is larger than 1, by determining an index of starting coded bit in a slot within the first number of slots based on a redundancy version number ([0148] A UE may use the first type of multi-slot PUSCH transmission, … to transmit encoded bits of a PUSCH that spans multiple slots, including slot 0 and slot 1.., a first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015 spans a set of two contiguous slots and includes bits that correspond to RV0. The UE may obtain respective sets of encoded bits 1020 and 1025 for the first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015 from a circular buffer based at least in part on a starting position indicated by the RV index) and a total number of coded bits for transmission of the transport block in a previous slot(s) within the first number of slots([0150] discloses the UE may select a first set of encoded bits 1025 of the selected bits for transmission via a first slot (slot 0) of the multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion and a second set of encoded bits 1030 of the selected bits for transmission via a second slot (slot 1) of the multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015..[0160]-[0161] rate matching output bit sequence e.sub.k may be determined ..) assuming no uplink channel information (UCI) multiplexing([0085] Discloses …unaware that UCI should be transmitted) Regarding claims 20,24 SRIDHARAN teaches receiving a configuration indicating the first number of slots allocated for a transport block for a PUSCH([0131] discloses the UE may receive, an indication of one or more sets of contiguous time domain resources for a multi-slot transmission (MST) occasion that spans at least multiple slots… indication may be provided via radio resource control (RRC) signaling) and number of repetitions for the transport block, via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling([0191] … the network node may configure the UE for RV bundling via RRC signaling of an RV bundling factor.. [0193]…the UE may transmit a first number of PUSCH repetitions (e.g., based at least in part on the RV bundling size) in a first RV bundle using a first RV (e.g., RV0)) Regarding claims 21, SRIDHARAN teaches a method performed by a network device,([0049] discloses base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs) comprising: transmitting, to a terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) indicating a value, ([0079] Discloses a base station (e.g., base station 110) may transmit information, such as an RV index, to the UE. For example, the base station may transmit the RV index for a PUSCH communication in DCI that schedules the PUSCH communication. The RV index may indicate a sequence of RVs to be applied to a corresponding sequence of occasions, such as a sequence of PUSCH transmission occasions, a sequence of slots, or a sequence of segments. Further, [0131] discloses the UE may receive, an indication of one or more sets of contiguous time domain resources for a multi-slot transmission (MST) occasion that spans at least multiple slots… indication may be provided via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, MAC signaling, DCI) wherein the value corresponds to a first number of slots allocated for transport block processing for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); ( [0157]…c is the number of scheduled code blocks of the transport block if CBGTI is present in the DCI scheduling the transport block) and receiving bits for a transport block for the PUSCH,([0077] Discloses he UE may encode information bits 410, parity bits 415, or a combination of information bits 410 and parity bits 415 into a set of encoded bits and may transmit the set of encoded bits. The particular bits that are selected to be included in the set of encoded bits for a PUSCH repetition depend on (or are defined by) the RV of that PUSCH repetition) wherein the bits are subject to rate matching for each code block of the transport block for the PUSCH ( [0149] discloses the UE may perform rate matching across each slot of the first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion) when the first number is larger than 1, by determining an index of starting coded bit in a slot within the first number of slots based on a redundancy version number ([0148] A UE may use the first type of multi-slot PUSCH transmission, … to transmit encoded bits of a PUSCH that spans multiple slots, including slot 0 and slot 1.., a first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015 spans a set of two contiguous slots and includes bits that correspond to RV0. The UE may obtain respective sets of encoded bits 1020 and 1025 for the first multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015 from a circular buffer based at least in part on a starting position indicated by the RV index) and a total number of coded bits for transmission of the transport block in a previous slot(s) within the first number of slots([0150] discloses the UE may select a first set of encoded bits 1025 of the selected bits for transmission via a first slot (slot 0) of the multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion and a second set of encoded bits 1030 of the selected bits for transmission via a second slot (slot 1) of the multi-slot PUSCH transmission occasion 1015..[0160]-[0161] rate matching output bit sequence e.sub.k may be determined ..) assuming no uplink channel information (UCI) multiplexing([0085] Discloses …unaware that UCI should be transmitted) Regarding claim 22, SRIDHARAN teaches transmitting a configuration indicating the first number of slots allocated for a transport block for a PUSCH([0131] discloses the UE may receive, an indication of one or more sets of contiguous time domain resources for a multi-slot transmission (MST) occasion that spans at least multiple slots… indication may be provided via radio resource control (RRC) signaling) and number of repetitions for the transport block, via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling([0191] … the network node may configure the UE for RV bundling via RRC signaling of an RV bundling factor.. [0193]…the UE may transmit a first number of PUSCH repetitions (e.g., based at least in part on the RV bundling size) in a first RV bundle using a first RV (e.g., RV0)). 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
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 27, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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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
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.

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