Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/705,488

SENSING SIGNAL SENDING METHOD AND APPARATUS, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 26, 2024
Priority
Oct 26, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2021126282
Examiner
ABELSON, RONALD B
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
1205 granted / 1334 resolved
+32.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -0% lift
Without
With
+-0.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
41 currently pending
Career history
1359
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
59.8%
+19.8% vs TC avg
§102
22.1%
-17.9% vs TC avg
§112
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1334 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 § 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. Claim(s) 1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SELVANESAN US 20230081131 in view of Ko US 20230389121. Regarding claims 1, 12, 13, SELVANESAN teaches determining, by user equipment (UE), a characteristic of a sensing service (UE-B may use the information included in the AIM together with its own sensing results, [0464], AIMs, [0048], distance related assistance information [0051], geographical area related assistance information, [0052]); determining, by the UE based on the characteristic of the sensing service, an unoccupied first sensing resource in sensing resources to be allocated (the UE-B may prioritize resources which, by its own sensing and by the AIM received from the UE-A, are expected to be free, [0464]); and sending the sensing signal based on the first sensing resource (the UE-B may prioritize resources which, by its own sensing and by the AIM received from the UE-A, are expected to be free, [0464]). Note, the UE-B may use its own sensing results to transmit another sensing signal. SELVANESAN is silent on the sensing resources with respect to time cycles and time periods. Specifically, Ko is silent on wherein the sensing resources to be allocated comprise multiple time cycles in a time domain, and each time cycle comprises multiple time periods. Ko makes obvious the limitation wherein the sensing resources to be allocated comprise multiple time cycles in a time domain, and each time cycle comprises multiple time periods (fig. 11, transmission resource based on the channel sensing , the sensing window may consist of active timer periods within a plurality of DRX cycles, and the selection window may consist of active timer periods within a plurality of DRX cycles, [0201]). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of SELVANESAN by wherein the sensing resources to be allocated comprise multiple time cycles in a time domain, and each time cycle comprises multiple time periods, as suggested by Ko. This modification would benefit the system by providing a proven, reliable method for allocating sensing resources. Regarding claims 3, 15, obtaining, by the UE, during the sending of the sensing signal, an occupancy state of the first sensing resource; and in response to the occupancy state of the first sensing resource being occupied, determining, by the UE based on the characteristic of the sensing service, an unoccupied second sensing resource in the sensing resources to be allocated; and sending by the UE, the sensing signal based on the second sensing resource. (the UE-B may prioritize resources which, by its own sensing and by the AIM received from the UE-A, are expected to be free, [0464]). Regarding claims 4, 16, determining, by the UE based on the characteristic of the sensing service, the unoccupied first sensing resource in the sensing resources to be allocated comprises: determining, based on the characteristic of the sensing service, a candidate sensing resource, and obtaining an occupancy state of the candidate sensing resource; and determining, in response to the occupancy state of-the candidate sensing resource being unoccupied, the candidate sensing resource as the first sensing resource (the UE-B may prioritize resources which, by its own sensing and by the AIM received from the UE-A, are expected to be free, [0464]). Regarding claim 10, the characteristic of the sensing service comprises at least one of following: sensing distance ([0051], distance related assistance information), sensing range, size of a sensed object, shape of the sensed object, motion state of the sensed object. 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. Claim(s) 2, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SELVANESAN. The limitation the sensing resources to be allocated are resources on an unlicensed frequency band is obvious given the one or more base stations may serve users in licensed and / or unlicensed bands ([0003]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5, 7-9 and 17, 19-21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RONALD B ABELSON whose telephone number is (571)272-3165. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. /RONALD B ABELSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 26, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 21, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (-0.1%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1334 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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