Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/716,322

INTEGRATED SENSING AND COMMUNICATION (ISAC) CONFIGURATION DESIGN

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jun 04, 2024
Priority
Nov 18, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022132884
Examiner
LAFONTANT, GARY
Art Unit
2646
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allowance Rate
340 granted / 465 resolved
+11.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+1.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
495
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
75.2%
+35.2% vs TC avg
§102
19.8%
-20.2% vs TC avg
§112
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 465 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 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 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) 1-10, 13,15-18, 42 and 43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manolakos (US 2022/0065978 A1). Regarding Claim 1, 42 Manolakos discloses a method for wireless communication (See [Abstract]; Usage of PRS signal for positioning measurements), comprising: communicating (See Fig.1;(192); [0006-0007]; sidelink communication), by a first wireless communication device (Fig.1(190)) to a second wireless communication device (Fig.1(104)), a signal including a configuration information (See Fig.1; (192); [0008]; [0091]; a UE configured to support positioning of the UE in a wireless network, includes a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with entities in the wireless network); and performing, by the second wireless communication device (Fig.1(104)), an operation that combines a sensing functionality (See [0008]; configured to perform positioning measurements) and a communication functionality (See [0008]; the at least one processor is configured to: receive positioning assistance data comprising a first set of information related to positioning reference signals (PRS) and a second et of information related to non-positioning reference signals (non-PRS)), using the configuration information (See Fig.1; (192); [0008]; a UE configured to support positioning of the UE in a wireless network, includes a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with entities in the wireless network) for at least one use case(s) (See [0008]; [0054]; UE is configured to communicate, take measurements and report UE position). Note: Regarding claim 42, 43 a UE comprises processor (Fig,10(1002) and memory Fig.10(1004) Regarding Claim 2, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the wireless communication device is at least one of: a user equipment (UE) (See [Abstract]; UE in sidelink configuration)), a network node (Fig.1(170); core network comprises network node), a base station (FIg.1(102)), a transmission/reception point (TRP) (See [0104]; TRP), a local server (Fig.9(270)), a sensing function (SF) (See [0102]; measurements), or a Location Management Function (LMF) (Fig.1(172); Location Server). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 3, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a signal (See [0008]; [0054]; UE receiving PRS signals to be use for measurements), a signal set (See [0008]; [0054]; receive positioning assistance data comprising a first set of information related to positioning reference signals (PRS) and a second set of information related to non-positioning reference signals (non-PRS)) a sensing method (See [0054]; [0102]; CRS signal), a transmission/reception point (TRP) (See [0054]; [0104]; TRP detectable) , a resource (See Fig.5; [0086]; [0095]; resource), a resource set (See Fig.5; [0086]; [0095]; resource set), a parameter (See Fig.4; [0084]; Time and frequency carrier), a beam information (See [0054]; Beam Configuration), a direction information (See [0054]; Beam Sweeping), or a list of wireless communication devices (See [0054]; UEs acquires configuration signal). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 4, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the at least one use case(s) comprises at least of: communication (See [0008]; [0054]; UE is configured to communicate), positioning (See [0008]; [0054]; UE is configured to report UE position). , or sensing (See [0008]; [0054]; UE is configured to take measurements). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 5, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the resource or the resource set is configured for: sensing (See [0095-0096]; resources for measuring position data)) and/or communication (See [0095-0096]; resourc4es to communicate with other devices), or measurement of sensing (See [0095-0096]; (See [0095-0096]; resources for measuring position data)) ) and/or communication (See [0095-0096]; (See [0095-0096]; resourc4es to communicate with other devices ). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 6, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the parameter is related to at least one of time domain of the signal (See Fig.4; [0083-0085]; signal with time domain resources), frequency domain of the signal (See Fig.4; [0083-0085]; signal with frequency domain resources),, coding domain of the signal (See [0079]; code and decode data), spatial domain of the signal (See [0078]; spatial processing), the resource (See Fig.4; [0083-0085]; slot, subframe RB represent resources)), the resource set (See Fig.4; [0083-0085]; time and frequency domain), or a sensing mode (See [0084-0085]; measurements of signal). Regarding Claim 7, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the beam information or direction information is configured for sensing (See [0085-0086]; [0090-0091]; UE is configured to measure scheduled signal in specific direction). Regarding Claim 8, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the beam information (See [0085-0086]; [0090-0091]; beam to be transmitted to UE), the direction information (See [0085-0086]; [0090-0091]; beam transmitted in multiple directions) or the resource (See [0085-0086]; [0090-0091]; resource I set for transmission) is configured per resource or per resource set (See [005090086]; [0090-0091]; The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N ( e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot 414 in the time domain). Regarding Claim 9, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 6 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the sensing mode is related to at least one of: sensing by the first or second wireless communication device (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; measurements are performed through signal sensing by wireless devices), sensing by at least one other wireless communication devices (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs), or jointly sensed by the first or second wireless communication device and the at least one other device(s) (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 10, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 6 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the sensing mode is related to at least one of: the first or second wireless communication device conducting sensing, receiving or transmitting operations (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), the first or second wireless communication device conducting the transmitting operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), and at least one other wireless communication device(s) conducting sensing (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), or receiving operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), the first or second wireless communication device conducting the sensing or receiving operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), and the at least one other wireless communication device(s) conducting transmitting operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), or the at least one other wireless communication device(s) conducting the sensing (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), or receiving operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement), and the other wireless communication device(s) conducting transmitting operation (See [0006-0007]; [0050]; multiple UEs can receive and transmit information to a base station or other UEs in sidelink configurations and perform measurement). (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) Regarding Claim 13, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the configuration information comprising the parameter indicates sensing is supported (See [0134]; UE sends capability information to network about measuring, positioning and reporting). Regarding Claim 15, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the parameter is one or more enumeration value(s) (See [0104-0105]; [0113]; various parameter are used in enumeration), at least one of: one or more enumeration value(s) indicating sensing (See [0104-0105]; [0113]; enumeration is used for selecting different PRS sets that also included measurement)., or one or more enumeration value(s) indicating positioning or communication (See [0104-0105]; [0113]; enumeration is used for selecting different PRS sets). Regarding Claim 16, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 and Manolakos further teaches wherein each use case (See [0008]; [0054]; [0104-0105]; communication, measurements and positioning) maps to at least one configuration information (See [0008]; [0054]; [0104-0105]; UE is configured to communicate with other entities in the network, take measurements and report UE position). Regarding Claim 17, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 16 and Manolakos further teaches wherein more than one use cases (See [0008]; [0054]; [0104-0105]; communication, measurements and positioning) map to a same configuration information (See [0008]; [0054]; [0103-0105]; communication, measurements and positioning can use same configuration to communicate position of a UE to a LPP server). Regarding Claim 18, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 6 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the sensing mode (See [0134]; performing position measurements) is indicated by at least one of: one value indicates that the sensing, receiving, or transmitting operation are conducted at a same wireless communication device (See [0134]; UE provides value capabilities to location network that it can perform PRS signal measurement, combined with different Non-PRS signal measurement to obtain UE position and transmit position reports to location server), or one value indicates that the sensing, receiving, transmitting operation are conducted at different wireless communication devices. (The term “at least one” is used providing option in claim limitation examination) 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) 11, 12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos (US 2022/0065978 A1) in view of Examiner Official Notice. Regarding Claim 11, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 6 and Manolakos further teaches about muting such as using bit value like 0 and 1 to indicate transmission of PRS signal or not (See [0087]; [0105]; muting options). But Manolakos fails to explicitly recite wherein the parameter is 0 indicates the resource or the resource set is used for sensing, wherein the parameter is 1 indicates the resources or the resource set is used for communication or positioning. But It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing on the claim to use above feature to designate sensing, communication or positioning mode for a UE. Regarding Claim 12, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 6 and Manolakos further teaches about muting such as using bit value like 0 and 1 to indicate transmission of PRS signal or not (See [0087]; [0105]; muting options). But Manolakos fails to explicitly recite wherein the parameter is 1 indicates the resource or the resource set is used for sensing, wherein the parameter is 0 indicates the resources or the resource set is used for communication or positioning. But It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing on the claim to use above feature to designate sensing, communication or positioning mode for a UE. Regarding Claim 14, Manolakos teaches all the features with respect to claim 3 and Manolakos further teaches wherein the configuration information comprising the parameter indicates sensing is supported (See [0134]; UE sends capability information to network about measuring, positioning and reporting). But Manolakos fails to explicitly recite wherein the configuration information comprising the parameter indicates sensing is not supported. But It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing on the claim to use above feature to inform a network about not supporting sensing, communication or positioning mode for a UE. 19-41. (Canceled). Note: The following reference Lee (US 12526750 B2) teaches about similar features such as configuring a UE to be able to receive and transmit data to a base station after configuration satisfaction using refence signal measurement (SRS) and resource allocation. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY LAFONTANT whose telephone number is (571)272-3037. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00AM -6:00PM. 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, Jeanette Parker can be reached at 571-2703647. 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. /GARY LAFONTANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 04, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (+1.0%)
2y 5m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 465 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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