Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 23, 2026
Application No. 18/703,250

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Final Rejection §102§103§112
Filed
Apr 19, 2024
Priority
Oct 21, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2021125447
Examiner
AHSAN, UMAIR
Art Unit
2647
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
295 granted / 421 resolved
+8.1% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+30.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
457
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.6%
-36.4% vs TC avg
§103
56.8%
+16.8% vs TC avg
§102
15.5%
-24.5% vs TC avg
§112
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 421 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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 . Priority All claims have priority date of filing of 10/21/2021 of PCT application PCT/CN2021/125447. Response to Amendment Office action in response to amendment entered 7/21/2026. Claims 1, 11 and 19 are amended, claims 6, 10, 16-18, 22-23, 25 and 27 are previously canceled; claims 1-5,7-9,11-15,19-21,24,26 and 28-29 remain pending in this application. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments filed 7/21/2026 with respect to all claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-5,7-9,11-15,19-21,24,26 and 28-29 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. Claims 1, 11 and 19 are amended to recite wherein the N value is used to determine a System Frame Number (SFN) where the PTW start point is located. The omitted steps are the apparatus or entity which perform said determination of SFN. Thus not only omitted essential steps necessary to perform the invention but also rendering the claim unclear. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-5,7, 9,11-15,19-20,24,26 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017121197 A1 LIU, XU et al. (see attached translation). Consider Claims 1, 11 and 19 Liu teaches A method for transmitting information performed by a first base station (Pg. 2 “a method for monitoring, sending, paging, and paging a narrowband Internet of Things terminal, and a base station, a terminal, and a computer storage medium.”), and comprising: sending indication information indicating an N value (Pg. 4 “The base station determines . . .and sends the paging parameter corresponding to the determined paging frame interval to the terminal. . .”), wherein the N value is a number of candidate positions of paging time window (PTW) start point of a hyper frame (pg. 3 “The paging parameter includes at least a paging frame interval, a location of a starting PO in the PF, a discontinuous reception DRX cycle, and an initial length of the PTW.”; pg. 4 “The terminal measures the coverage level, and determines the PTW length according to the mapping relationship between the coverage level and the PTW length, according to the extended discontinuity reception period TeDRX and the discontinuous reception period. TDRX calculates the time domain location information of the PF.”); And, wherein the N value is used to determine a System Frame Number (SFN) where the PTW start point is located (Optionally, the determining, by using the paging parameter, the radio frame occupied by the paging frame PF in the PTW that can be used to send the paging message includes: The system frame number SFN .sub.PF of the radio frame occupied by all the PFs in the PTW that can be used to send the paging message is calculated by the following formula; (SFN .sub.PF -i)=PTW .sub.start +k .sub.1 *T+k .sub.2 ; alternatively, SFN .sub.PF =PTW .sub.start +k .sub.1 *T+k .sub.2 ; Where i=[1,M-1], k .sub.2 =(TdivN)*(UE_IDmodN); M is the number of radio frames in the paging frame interval broadcast by the basestation, and the PF .sub.interval is the PF interval. PTW .sub.start represents the system frame number of the starting radio frame of the PTW, and the PTW .sub.length is the.sub.length of the PTW; T is the DRX cycle of the terminal, represented by the number of radio frames). And for the same reasons as cited, also teaches Claim 11, A method for determining paging parameter, performed by user equipment (UE) (Pg. 3-4 determination operations also performed by UE) And for the same reasons as cited, also teaches Claim 19, A method for transmitting information, performed by a core network (Liu Pg. 5 and others embodiments with MME). Consider Claims 2 and 12 Liu teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the N value comprises at least one of: a first N value, being the number of candidate positions of radio access network (RAN) PTW start point of a hyper frame; or a second N value, being the number of candidate positions of core network (CN) PTW start point of a hyper frame (See Claim 1 ). Examiner notes for the record additional art not relied on in the rejection: US 20230337184 A1 LI; Haitao et al. ¶110 “when both the first H-SFN and the second H-SFN include the first paging occasion, in the hyper frame corresponding to the first paging occasion, the monitoring PTWs of the CN paging target and the RAN paging target overlap, so that the terminal may monitor both monitoring targets at the same time within the shortest monitoring timing, which reduces the resource consumption of the terminal.” US 20240334461 A1 Lyazidi; Yazid et al. ¶94 “ the gNB-CU sends information on RedCap UE to the gNB-DU during the F1 PAGING message. This may include: (i) indication on RedCap UE identification as above; (ii) Redcap UE capabilities for paging; (iii) Paging eDRX information such eDRX cycle and PTW, for RAN-triggered or CN-triggered paging.” Consider Claims 3 and 20. Liu teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the indication information indicating the N value comprises at least one of: sending the indication information to user equipment (UE) (See claim 1); or sending the indication information to a second base station, wherein the second base station comprises adjacent base station(s) of the first base station (not positively recited, and otherwise obvious within 103 framework over Liu). Consider Claims 4 and 14. Liu teaches The method according to claim 3, wherein the indication information is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message or a system message (pg. 9 “When the system message is broadcast. . .”). Consider Claims 5 and 24. Liue teaches The method according to claim 3, further comprising: receiving auxiliary information sent by the UE ; and determining the N value based on the auxiliary information (pg. 4 “The terminal forwards at least one of the measured coverage level and the PTW length, and at least one of the TeDRX andthe TDRX to the base station through the MME;”) wherein the auxiliary information comprises at least one of: first information for the first base station to determine the number of the candidate positions of RAN PTW start point of a hyper frame; or, second information for a core network to determine the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of a hyper frame (pg. 4 “The terminal forwards at least one of the measured coverage level and the PTW length, and at least one of the TeDRX and the TDRX to the base station through the MME;”) Claim 6 (canceled) Consider Claim 7. Liu teaches The method according to claim 3, further comprising: receiving the indication information indicating the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of a hyper frame sent by a core network (Fig. 18, ¶188 “At block 1820, the method 1800 may include negotiating with the UE a short paging configuration. The base station may perform the negotiations, or the negotiations may be performed by the core network and then communicated to the base station.” emphasis added). Claim 10 (canceled) Consider Claim 13. Liu teaches The method according to claim 11, wherein receiving the indication information indicating the N value comprises at least one of: receiving the indication information sent by a first base station; or receiving the indication information sent by a core network (See claim 1 base station). Claims 16.-18. (canceled) Claim 22.-23. (canceled) Claim 25. (canceled) Consider Claim 26. Liu teaches An apparatus for-use in UE, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and a memory configured to store an instruction executable by the processor; wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to load and execute the instruction, wherein the instruction causes the one or more processors to collectively execute the method for determining paging parameter according to claim 11 (Pg. 20 processor memory etc.). Claim 27. (canceled) Consider Claim 28. Liu teaches A communication device for use in a first base station, the communication device comprising one or more processors; a memory; and an executable program stored on the memory; wherein the executable program when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to collectively execute the method for transmitting information according to claim 1 (Pg. 20 processor memory etc.) Consider Claim 29. Liu teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing an executable program, wherein the executable program, when executed by a processor, implements steps of the method for transmitting information according to claim 1 (Pg. 20 processor memory etc.) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 9 and 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2017121197 A1 LIU, XU et al. in view of US 20160044578 A1 Vajapeyam; Madhavan Srinivasan et. al. Consider Claim 9. Liu does not explicitly disclose however Vajapeyam teaches The method according to claim 3, wherein sending the indication information to the UE comprises at least one of: sending, based on indication of a core network (¶188 “the method 1800 may include negotiating with the UE a short paging configuration. The base station may perform the negotiations, or the negotiations may be performed by the core network and then communicated to the base station.” Emphasis added), the indication information for a single UE (¶109 “As described above, the cell may broadcast a default eI-DRX cycle value.”); or sending, based on the indication of the core network, the indication information for all the UE in a cell (¶109 “As described above, the cell may broadcast a default eI-DRX cycle value. Additionally or alternatively, a non-legacy UE 115 may request a different UE-specific eI-DRX cycle value (e.g., via RRC signaling, etc.).”). Consider Claim 15. Liu does not explicitly disclose however Vajapeyam teaches The method according to claim 13, further comprising at least one of: determining, in response to determining that the indication information is not received, the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of a hyper frame according to a first preset value; determining, in response to determining that the indication information is not received, the number of the candidate positions of RAN PTW start point of a hyper frame according to a second preset value; determining, in response to determining that the indication information is not received, the number of the candidate positions of RAN PTW start point of the hyper frame according to the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of the hyper frame; sending auxiliary information; wherein the auxiliary information comprises at least one of: first information for the first base station to determine the number of the candidate positions of RAN PTW start point of the hyper frame; or, second information for the core network to determine the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of the hyper frame (¶135 “UE eI-DRX negotiation module 905 may send a request to either a base station or a core network to provide an adjusted eI-DRX cycle or additional page message” emphasis added; Fig. 16 UE method, 1615; Fig. 18 base station/core network method, 1810); determining a position of an RAN PTW start point according to the number of the candidate positions of RAN PTW start point of the hyper frame and a non-activated state eDRX period (Fig. 3, ¶90 “Thus, the extended SFN cycle, indexed by the hyper SFN and legacy SFN, spans 65,536 frames.” ¶93 “The UE 115-a may then enter eI-DRX mode of operation for receiving paging from the network at 235. Thus, the UE 115-a may follow the determined [paging frames] PFs and Paging Occasions (POs) for eI-DRX operation at 235.”; Fig. 4 timing diagram with legacy paging occasions ¶96—97 formulae for calculating PFs and POs; Figs. 5—7 other timing diagrams); or monitoring, within an overlapping time period of an RAN PTW and a CN PTW, an RAN paging message and a CN paging message (¶72 “The UE 115 also listens to paging messages in idle mode. . .Monitoring for paging messages includes monitoring the PDCCH at predetermined intervals for paging control messages. . .” ¶93 “ the UE 115-a may follow the determined PFs and Paging Occasions (POs) for eI-DRX operation at 235,” ¶95 core network paging message, ¶111 base station paging message) Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U WO 2017121197 A1 LIU, XU et al. in view of US 20230422210 A1 LI; Haitao et al. Consider Claim 8. Liue teaches The method according to claim 7, further comprising: determining the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of the hyper frame according to a first preset value (Page 10: “One way: to follow the form of the original LTE protocol, to ensure that there are at most 4 POs in a PF (possibly 1 or 2 or 4),and the length of the PF can be selected as 80 ms”) Liu does not explicitly teach the determining is in response to determining that the indication information indicating the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of the hyper frame sent by the core network is not received. Li teaches the determining, in response to determining that the indication information indicating the number of the candidate positions of CN PTW start point of the hyper frame sent by the core network is not received ([0058] Some parameters in the above formulas are explained below. [0059] T: a DRX cycle for the terminal device to receive paging. The network device will broadcast a default DRX cycle. If the RRC/high layer configures a UE specific DRX cycle for the terminal device, the minimum of the DRX cycle broadcast by the network device and the UE specific DRX cycle configured by RRC/high layer is used as the DRX cycle of the terminal device. If the RRC/high layer does not configure the UE specific DRX cycle for the terminal device, the DRX cycle broadcast by the network device is used as the DRX cycle of the terminal device). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of Liu to include the noted teachings of Li in order to the time for monitoring the paging by the terminal is shortened (Li Abstract) Claim(s) 8 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2017121197 A1 LIU, XU et al. in view of US 20240179792 A1 HÖGLUND; Andreas et al. Consider Claim 21. Liue teaches The method according to claim 20, further comprising at least one of: indicating the base station to send the indication information for a single UE; or indicating the base station to send the indication information for all the UE in a cell ((Pg. 4 “The base station determines . . .and sends the paging parameter corresponding to the determined paging frame interval to the terminal. . .”)). Liu does not teach the indicating, in response to sending the indication information to the base station. HÖGLUND teaches the indicating, in response to sending the indication information to the base station (Figs. 6A, 8A, ¶112 “The CN node transmits eDRX assistance information 604 containing parameter values used for CN eDRX (cycle length, PTW, etc.) to the RAN node 400. The RAN node 400 then generates a RAN eDRX configuration at block 605 taking the eDRX assistance information provided by the CN node 500 into consideration. Finally, the RAN node 400 configures the UE 300 with the RAN eDRX configuration at via a message 606.” ¶121 “The eDRX assistance information may include at least one of a DRX cycle length and a paging time window, PTW, associated with the CN eDRX configuration.” ¶11, Table 1 “The Paging DRX cycles are configured by the network:  1) For CN-initiated paging, a default cycle is broadcast in system information; 2) For CN-initiated paging, a UE specific cycle can be configured via NAS signaling; 3) For RAN-initiated paging, a UE-specific cycle is configured via RRC signaling;” thus when CN configures default cycle the indication information is sent for all the UE in cell, and when CN configures UE specific cycle it is sent for the specific UE). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of Liu to include the noted teachings of Li in order to the time for monitoring the paging by the terminal is shortened (Li Abstract). Pertinent Prior Art(s) The prior art made of record though not relied upon in the current rejection is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: CHEN (US 20210168834 A1 CHEN; Xiaohang et al.) (CN 110831172 A (21 February 2020)) (see description, paragraphs [0040]-[0065], [0098]-[0119] and [0124]-[0144]) discloses a determination method, specifically comprising: a network device sending first information (equivalent to sending indication information which indicates an N value), wherein the network device may be a base station, the first information is used for indicating M candidate transmission opportunities of an uplink data channel within a first period, the first period being a period of a semi-persistent scheduling resource on an unlicensed band, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and determining, according to the first information, M (equivalent to the number of candidate locations) candidate transmission opportunities of the uplink data channel within the first period. More specifically, the first information is used for indicating at least one of the following: a first time location of each candidate transmission opportunity within the first period or a first time location of a first candidate transmission opportunity within the first period, a time window length corresponding to the M candidate transmission opportunities, and a time domain resource length set, wherein the first time location comprises at least one of the following: a starting location (equivalent to a time window starting point) and an ending location; the time-domain resource length set comprises at least one time-domain resource length, the at least one time-domain resource length being used for indicating a time domain resource length of each candidate transmission opportunity; and the M candidate transmission opportunities are consecutive or equally spaced in a time domain. US 20230337184 A1 LI; Haitao et al. Abstract The present application discloses a paging monitoring method, a terminal, and a computer device. The method includes determining a first extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle configured by radio access network (RAN) in response to the terminal being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, wherein the first eDRX cycle is configured to monitor RAN paging and/or core network (CN) paging; and monitoring paging based on the first eDRX cycle. According to the method, the terminal monitors the RAN paging and/or the CN paging on the basis of the same extended discontinuous reception cycle, and when the terminal is in the RRC inactive state, the overlap of monitoring timings of the terminal for the RAN paging and the CN paging is improved, the time for monitoring the paging by the terminal is shortened, and the resource consumption of the terminal is reduced. US 20180091993 A1 Siomina; Iona Abstract A wireless device obtains an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) configuration for the wireless device, obtains a minimization of drive tests (MDT) configuration for the wireless device, and adapts at least one of the eDRX configuration and the MDT configuration such that the wireless device completes an MDT measurement according to the MDT configuration within a predetermined number of paging transmission windows (PTWs) associated with the eDRX configuration. The wireless device performs the MDT measurement within the predetermined number of PTWs according to the adapted at least one of the eDRX configuration and the MDT configuration. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UMAIR AHSAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1323. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10-5 PM EST or by emailing UMAIR.AHSAN@USPTO.GOV. 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. UMAIR AHSAN Primary Examiner Art Unit 2647 /UMAIR AHSAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 19, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112
Jul 21, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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3-4
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
99%
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2y 8m (~2m remaining)
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