Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/777,377

RESOURCE CONFIGURATION METHOD, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jul 18, 2024
Priority
Jan 19, 2022 — CN 202210062080.8 +1 more
Examiner
CRIGLER, RYAN ALEXANDER
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
2 granted / 2 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
13
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
97.1%
+57.1% vs TC avg
§102
2.9%
-37.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 2 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 . Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN 202210062080, filed on Jan. 19, 2022. 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. Claims 1-5, 11-15, 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (EP 3913844 A1), hereinafter Lee. Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches, A method for communication, comprising: receiving, from a base station, edge position information of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource; (Figure 5, label 508, paragraph 0058 – The reception of edge position information associated with a PUCCH transmission. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU) receiving PUCCH resource information, wherein the PUCCH resource information is used to determine a PUCCH resource index in a PUCCH resource set configuration table; and (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU) determining the PUCCH resource according to the edge position information and a physical resource block offset that corresponds to the PUCCH resource index. (paragraph 0062 – The resource frame and offset are used to avoid PUCCH resource collision.) Regarding claim 2, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the edge position information indicates a lower edge of an uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP), and determining the PUCCH resource comprises determining the PUCCH resource in increasing order with physical resource block (PRB) from the lower edge of the UL BWP; or wherein the edge position information indicates an upper edge of an UL BWP, and determining the PUCCH resource comprises determining the PUCCH resource in decreasing order with PRB from the upper edge of the UL BWP. (Figure 6, label 610, paragraphs 0060-0063 – The edge position as shown can be in either increasing or decreasing order from the edges of the PUCCH resource.) Regarding claim 3, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the edge position information is received in a base station signaling comprising at least one of the following: a remaining minimum system information SIB1, downlink control information DCI, and other system information. (paragraph 0058 – The edge position information can have a DCI indicator associated with the PUCCH transmission.) Regarding claim 4, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the edge position information comprises at least one of the following cases: an upper edge of an uplink BWP, a lower edge of the uplink BWP, both sides of the uplink BWP, or an upper edge of an uplink BWP, a lower edge of an uplink BWP, or one side of an uplink BWP, the both sides of an uplink BWP. (Figure 5, label 508 – The edge position can be at a lower or upper edge of the BWP.) Regarding claim 5, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the PUCCH resource set configuration table comprises at least one of the following: a common PUCCH resource set configuration table of a conventional NR UE, or a dedicated PUCCH resource set configuration table, wherein the PUCCH resource comprises at least one of the following: (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. a common PUCCH resource, a PUCCH resource corresponding to an MSG4 message, and a PUCCH resource corresponding to an MSGB message. (paragraph 0108 – The PUCCH resource can be a MSG4 message). Regarding claim 11, Lee teaches, A method for communication, comprising: transmitting to a terminal device, edge position information of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource; and (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU) transmitting to the terminal device, PUCCH resource information, wherein the PUCCH resource information is used to determine a PUCCH resource index in a PUCCH resource set configuration table, wherein the edge position information and a physical resource block offset that corresponds to the PUCCH resource index are used to determine the PUCCH resource. (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. paragraph 0062 – The resource frame and offset are used to avoid PUCCH resource collision. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU). Regarding claim 12, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 11, wherein the edge position information indicates a lower edge of an uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP), and the PUCCH resource is determined in increasing order with physical resource block (PRB) from the lower edge of the UL BWP; or wherein the edge position information indicates an upper edge of an UL BWP, the PUCCH resource is determined in decreasing order with PRB from the upper edge of the UL BWP. (Figure 6, label 610, paragraphs 0060-0063 – The edge position as shown can be in either increasing or decreasing order from the edges of the PUCCH resource.) Regarding claim 13, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 11, wherein the edge position information is transmitted in a base station signaling comprising at least one of the following: a remaining minimum system information SIB1, downlink control information DCI, and other system information. (paragraph 0058 – The edge position information can have a DCI indicator associated with the PUCCH transmission.) Regarding claim 14, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 11, wherein the edge position information comprises at least one of the following cases: an upper edge of an uplink BWP, a lower edge of the uplink BWP, both sides of the uplink BWP, or an upper edge of an uplink BWP, a lower edge of an uplink BWP, or one side of an uplink BWP, the both sides of an uplink BWP. (Figure 5, label 508 – The edge position can be at a lower or upper edge of the BWP.) Regarding claim 15, Lee teaches, The method according to claim 11, wherein the PUCCH resource set configuration table comprises at least one of the following: a common PUCCH resource set configuration table of a conventional NR UE, or a dedicated PUCCH resource set configuration table. (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. Regarding claim 21, Lee teaches An electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises: one or more processors; (figure 1b, label 118) a memory for storing one or more programs; (figure 1b, labels 130, 132) wherein the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: receiving, from a base station, edge position information of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource; (Figure 5, label 508, paragraph 0058 – The reception of edge position information associated with a PUCCH transmission. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU) receiving PUCCH resource information, wherein the PUCCH resource information is used to determine a PUCCH resource index in a PUCCH resource set configuration table; and (Figure 5, label 502, 504, paragraphs 0056-0060 – The PUCCH resource information is used for determining a subset of PRBSs for a reduced bandwidth. Paragraphs 0056-0066 – transmission and reception using WTRU) determining the PUCCH resource according to the edge position information and a physical resource block offset that corresponds to the PUCCH resource index. (paragraph 0062 – The resource frame and offset are used to avoid PUCCH resource collision.) Regarding claim 22, Lee teaches, An electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises: one or more processors; (figure 1b, label 118) a memory for storing one or more programs; (figure 1b, labels 130, 132) wherein the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 11. (Covered under rejection of claim 11) Regarding claim 23, Lee teaches, A computer-readable storage medium having one or more programs stored thereon for execution by the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 1. (paragraph 0140 – The steps for any of the features and elements described previously can be executed by a computer-readable medium with processors). 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 6-10, 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Li (US 20240251406 A1). Regarding claim 6, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an additional offset parameter related with the edge position information from the base station; and determining the physical resource block offset further according to the additional offset parameter. Li teaches, The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an additional offset parameter related with the edge position information from the base station; and (paragraph 0037 – The use of a second value set of the offset of the PUCCH resource.) determining the physical resource block offset further according to the additional offset parameter. (paragraph 0035 – The second value set offset is used for PUCCH resource set configuration information.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the additional offset teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to differentiate between a low frequency and high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP (paragraphs 0037, 0043). Regarding claim 7, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 6, wherein the additional offset parameter is configured by a system information block SIB message or downlink control information DCI, the additional offset parameter is configured to adjust the physical resource block offset based on an addition operation or a multiplication operation. Li teaches, The method according to claim 6, wherein the additional offset parameter is configured by a system information block SIB message or downlink control information DCI, the additional offset parameter is configured to adjust the physical resource block offset based on an addition operation or a multiplication operation. (paragraphs 0034, 0037 – In a case where the PUCCH resource set is at a high frequency a different formula is used to determine the PRB index. Paragraph 0038 – The second value can be signaling using DCI or SIB1). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the offset parameter using DCI or SIB teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to include a PUCCH resource for performing acknowledgement feedback and to configure the terminal and network device (paragraphs 0150-0160, figure 2.) Regarding claim 8, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 6, wherein the additional offset parameter comprises at least one of: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 2, -4, or 0. Li teaches, The method according to claim 6, wherein the additional offset parameter comprises at least one of: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 2, -4, or 0. (Table 1, Paragraph 0179 – The PRB offset can be one of 0, 2 or 4 as shown in the table). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the specific parameter values teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to identify possible configurations for the offset depending on the PUCCH configuration (paragraphs 0179, 0180). Regarding claim 9, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the PUCCH resource comprises: determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on any one of: PNG media_image1.png 280 663 media_image1.png Greyscale Li teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the PUCCH resource comprises: determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on any one of: PNG media_image1.png 280 663 media_image1.png Greyscale (paragraph 0183, equation 1 – The PRB index is determined by equation 1.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the calculation of PRB index teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to calculate the PRB index using the offset and other information sent by the network device (DCI). Regarding claim 10, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 6, wherein determining the PUCCH resource comprises: determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on: PNG media_image2.png 78 593 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 332 658 media_image3.png Greyscale Li teaches, The method according to claim 6, wherein determining the PUCCH resource comprises: determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on: PNG media_image2.png 78 593 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 332 658 media_image3.png Greyscale (paragraph 0185, equation 3 – The PRB index is determined by equation 3.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the calculation of PRB index teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to calculate the PRB index using the offset and other information sent by the network device (DCI). Regarding claim 16, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 11, further comprising: transmitting an additional offset parameter related with the edge position information to the terminal device, wherein the physical resource block offset is further determined according to the additional offset parameter. Li teaches, transmitting an additional offset parameter related with the edge position information to the terminal device, wherein the physical resource block offset is further determined according to the additional offset parameter. (paragraph 0035 – The second value set offset is used for PUCCH resource set configuration information. paragraph 0037 – The use of a second value set of the offset of the PUCCH resource.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the additional offset teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to differentiate between a low frequency and high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP (paragraphs 0037, 0043). Regarding claim 17, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 16, wherein the additional offset parameter is configured by a system information block SIB message or downlink control information DCI, the additional offset parameter is configured to adjust the physical resource block offset based on an addition operation or a multiplication operation. Li teaches, The method according to claim 16, wherein the additional offset parameter is configured by a system information block SIB message or downlink control information DCI, the additional offset parameter is configured to adjust the physical resource block offset based on an addition operation or a multiplication operation. (paragraphs 0034, 0037 – In a case where the PUCCH resource set is at a high frequency a different formula is used to determine the PRB index. Paragraph 0038 – The second value can be signaling using DCI or SIB1). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the offset parameter using DCI or SIB teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to include a PUCCH resource for performing acknowledgement feedback and to configure the terminal and network device (paragraphs 0150-0160, figure 2.) Regarding claim 18, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 16, wherein the additional offset parameter comprises at least one of: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 2, -4, or 0. Li teaches, The method according to claim 16, wherein the additional offset parameter comprises at least one of: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 2, -4, or 0. (Table 1, Paragraph 0179 – The PRB offset can be one of 0, 2 or 4 as shown in the table). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the specific parameter values teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to identify possible configurations for the offset depending on the PUCCH configuration (paragraphs 0179, 0180). Regarding claim 19, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 11, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined by determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on any one of: PNG media_image4.png 176 632 media_image4.png Greyscale PNG media_image5.png 107 636 media_image5.png Greyscale Li teaches, The method according to claim 11, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined by determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on any one of: PNG media_image4.png 176 632 media_image4.png Greyscale PNG media_image5.png 107 636 media_image5.png Greyscale (paragraph 0183, equation 1 – The PRB index is determined by equation 1.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the calculation of PRB index teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to calculate the PRB index using the offset and other information sent by the network device (DCI). Regarding claim 20, Lee fails to teach, The method according to claim 16, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined by determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on: PNG media_image6.png 484 652 media_image6.png Greyscale Li teaches, The method according to claim 16, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined by determining a PRB index of the PUCCH based on: PNG media_image6.png 484 652 media_image6.png Greyscale (paragraph 0185, equation 3 – The PRB index is determined by equation 3.) It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the calculation of PRB index teachings of Li. The purpose of doing so is to calculate the PRB index using the offset and other information sent by the network device (DCI). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryan Crigler whose telephone number is (571)272-9376. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm. 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, Nicholas A. Jensen can be reached at (571) 270-5443. 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. /RYAN ALEXANDER CRIGLER/Examiner, Art Unit 2472 /NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 18, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
100%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+0.0%)
2y 6m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 2 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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