Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/804,700

TECHNIQUES FOR ADAPTATION OF HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST RETRANSMISSION HANDLING

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 14, 2024
Priority
Sep 25, 2023 — provisional 63/585,031
Examiner
CATTUNGAL, AJAY P
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
818 granted / 919 resolved
+29.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
922
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
48.3%
+8.3% vs TC avg
§102
30.0%
-10.0% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 919 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 . Specification The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. 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, 7, 9-14 20, 21, and 23-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nam et al (US 2019/0222360 A1). Regarding claims 1, 14, 26, 29, Nam et al. discloses a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: obtaining hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information associated with a network node, wherein the HARQ information indicates whether the network node is configured to perform a retransmission of an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) prior to an end of HARQ processes associated with the network node (See Fig 5 items 510, 515 and Para 90-92 teaches UE receiving a second DCI and determines that the first DCI was lost. UE obtains the HARQ process and receives the MCS index for retransmission); receiving, for a HARQ process associated with a downlink communication from the network node, a retransmission of a transport block (TB) of the downlink communication, wherein the retransmission is associated with a reserved MCS, and wherein full decoding information for the TB is unavailable (Para 90-92 teaches of the UE cannot decode the DCI1 and receiving DCI2 which is used to decode the DCI); and performing, based on the reception of the retransmission of the TB, an action to proceed with the HARQ process, to restart the HARQ process, or to terminate the HARQ process, wherein the action is based on whether the network node is configured to perform the retransmission of the indication of the MCS prior to the end of each HARQ process (Para 97-99 teaches of decoding the retransmission ). Regarding claims 7, 20, Nam et al. discloses a method, further comprising: detecting an event that triggers the obtaining of the HARQ information (Para 39 teaches “ a base station may determine that an acknowledgment of an initial transmission has not been received, and may explicitly indicate all of the control information for decoding the retransmission in DCI for the retransmission, but in the event that sufficient wireless resources are unavailable for such explicit indication the base station may transmit the subset of DCI. The base station may then transmit the explicit DCI information in the event that the UE sends a negative acknowledgment and indication that the initial DCI was lost. In such cases, the UE may be configured to use soft combining of multiple transmissions, which may enhance the likelihood of successful reception at the UE.”). Regarding claims 9, 23, Nam et al. discloses a method, wherein the HARQ information indicates a downlink throughput, and wherein the action is based on whether the downlink throughput satisfies a throughput threshold (Para 58 teaches “In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions).”). Regarding claim 10, Nam et al. discloses a method, wherein the downlink throughput does not satisfy the throughput threshold, and wherein the performance of the action causes the UE to proceed with the HARQ process (Para 58 teaches “In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions).”). Regarding claim 11, Nam et al. discloses a method, wherein the downlink throughput satisfies the throughput threshold, and wherein the performance of the action causes the UE to terminate the HARQ process (Para 58 teaches “In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions).”). Regarding claims 12, 24, Nam et al. discloses a method, wherein performing the action comprises: transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ feedback communication indicating that the full decoding information for the TB is unavailable to restart the HARQ process. (See Fig 5 items 510, 515 and Para 90-92 teaches UE receiving a second DCI and determines that the first DCI was lost. UE obtains the HARQ process and receives the MCS index for retransmission). Regarding claims 13, 25, 27, 30, Nam et al. discloses a method, further comprising: receiving, from the network node and for the HARQ process, an indication of the full decoding information based on the transmission of the HARQ feedback communication. (Para 90-92 teaches of the UE cannot decode the DCI1 and receiving DCI2 which is used to decode the DCI). Regarding claim 28, Nam et al. discloses a method, wherein the HARQ feedback communication is associated with a HARQ state for lost decoding information (See Fig 5 items 510, 515 and Para 90-92 teaches UE receiving a second DCI and determines that the first DCI was lost. UE obtains the HARQ process and receives the MCS index for retransmission); Regarding claim 21, Nam et al. discloses a method, further comprising: wherein the event includes at least one of: reception of a cell configuration, a switch of a subcarrier spacing (SCS), a failure to receive the retransmission of the indication of the MCS, reception of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration, a number of HARQ processes performed satisfying a threshold, reception a radio link control (RLC) configuration, reception of a radio bearer configuration, reception of a quality of service (QoS) configuration, or a switch of a protocol data unit (PDU) session type. (Para 39 teaches “ a base station may determine that an acknowledgment of an initial transmission has not been received, and may explicitly indicate all of the control information for decoding the retransmission in DCI for the retransmission, but in the event that sufficient wireless resources are unavailable for such explicit indication the base station may transmit the subset of DCI. The base station may then transmit the explicit DCI information in the event that the UE sends a negative acknowledgment and indication that the initial DCI was lost. In such cases, the UE may be configured to use soft combining of multiple transmissions, which may enhance the likelihood of successful reception at the UE.”). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-6, 8, 15-19 and 22 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY P CATTUNGAL whose telephone number is (571)270-7525. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00 PM. 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 5712723940. 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. /AJAY CATTUNGAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 14, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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
89%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.7%)
2y 4m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 919 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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