Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/807,878

METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING OR RECEIVING UPLINK CONTROL CHANNEL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Aug 16, 2024
Priority
Aug 11, 2017 — RE 10-2017-0102653 +6 more
Examiner
ELPENORD, CANDAL
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
986 granted / 1098 resolved
+29.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1122
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
77.9%
+37.9% vs TC avg
§102
8.8%
-31.2% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1098 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 . Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 21-34 (Instant application 18/807,878) are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,074,747, claims 1-17 of U.S. 11,689,403, claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,240,081. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patented claims disclose obvious variants of the pending claims as shown below. Instant Application 18/807,878 US 12,074,747 21. A User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: a processor is configured to: transmit uplink control information (UCI) which includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information representing a response to a downlink channel having been received from a base station, a scheduling request (SR) representing whether to request for uplink resource allocation, and a beam recovery request (BR) indicating whether to request for recovery from a beam failure, when a number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2, transmit the UCI using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 generated by cyclic-shifting a base sequence based on a second cyclic shift (CS) value, wherein a first CS value is determined based on the HARQ-ACK information, wherein a CS offset is determined based on the SR, wherein the second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting the base sequence to be used in a PUCCH based on the first CS value and the CS offset, when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, transmit the UCI using a PUCCH format 2, wherein when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, the UCI includes one or more bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, one or more bits representing the SR, and one or more bits representing BR, wherein each of transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 and transmission resource of the PUCCH format 2 are one or two symbols in a time domain, wherein a PUCCH resource for the SR and a PUCCH resource for the BR are independently configured. Difference: The applicant merely broadens the scope of the claim by deleting “wherein a transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 is one resource block defined by 12 subcarriers in a frequency domain.” 1. A User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: a processor is configured to: transmit uplink control information (UCI) which includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information representing a response to a downlink channel having been received from a base station, a scheduling request (SR) representing whether to request for uplink resource allocation, and a beam recovery request (BR) indicating whether to request for recovery from a beam failure, when a number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2, transmit the UCI using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 generated by cyclic-shifting a base sequence based on a second cyclic shift (CS) value, wherein a first CS value is determined based on the HARQ-ACK information, wherein a CS offset is determined based on the SR, wherein the second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting the base sequence to be used in a PUCCH based on the first CS value and the CS offset, wherein a transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 is one resource block defined by 12 subcarriers in a frequency domain, when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, transmit the UCI using a PUCCH format 2, wherein when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, the UCI includes one or more bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, one or more bits representing the SR, and one or more bits representing BR, wherein each of the transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 and transmission resource of the PUCCH format 2 are one or two symbols in a time domain, wherein a PUCCH resource for the SR and a PUCCH resource for the BR are independently configured. 22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the second CS value is any one among a plurality of CS values determined according to the CS offset and a number of bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, the plurality of CS values are configured with CS values that are different from each other and increased by an identical interval based on a smallest CS value among the plurality of CS values, and a size of the interval remains constant regardless of whether the SR is positive or negative. 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the second CS value is any one among a plurality of CS values determined according to the CS offset and a number of bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, the plurality of CS values are configured with CS values that are different from each other and increased by an identical interval based on a smallest CS value among the plurality of CS values, and a size of the interval remains is-constant regardless of whether the SR is positive or negative. 23. The UE of claim 22, wherein the base sequence is cyclic-shifted with N CS values which are different from each other, the HARQ-ACK information comprises m bits, and the size of the interval is N/(2^m). 3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the base sequence is cyclic-shifted with N CS values which are different from each other, the HARQ-ACK information comprises m bits, and the size of the interval is N/(2{circumflex over ( )}m). 24. The UE of claim 23, wherein m is 2, and N is 12. 4. The UE of claim 3, wherein m is 2, and N is 12. 25. The UE of claim 24, wherein when the SR is the positive SR, the CS offset is 1, and when the SR is the negative SR, the CS offset is 0. 5. The UE of claim 4, wherein when the SR is the positive SR, the CS offset is 1, and when the SR is the negative SR, the CS offset is 0. 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein when the SR is the negative SR, the second CS value is one among 0, 3, 6, and 9. 6. The UE of claim 5, wherein when the SR is the negative SR, the second CS value is one among 0, 3, 6, and 9. 27. The UE of claim 26, wherein when the SR is the positive SR, the second CS value is one among 1, 4, 7, and 10. 7. The UE of claim 6, wherein when the SR is the positive SR, the second CS value is one among 1, 4, 7, and 10. 28. The UE of claim 21, wherein the processor further configured to: when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is a negative BR which requests a recovery from a beam failure, transmit the SR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the SR, and when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is the positive BR, transmit the BR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the BR. 8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor further configured to: when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is a negative BR which requests a recovery from a beam failure, transmit the SR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the SR, and when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is the positive BR, transmit the BR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the BR. 29. A method of wireless communication by a User Equipment (UE) operating in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication method comprising: transmitting uplink control information (UCI) which includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information representing a response to a downlink channel having been received from a base station, a scheduling request (SR) representing whether to request for uplink resource allocation, and a beam recovery request (BR) indicating whether to request for recovery from a beam failure, when a number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2, transmitting the UCI using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 generated by cyclic-shifting a base sequence based on a second CS value, wherein a first CS value is determined based on the HARQ-ACK information, wherein a CS offset is determined based on the SR, wherein the second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting the base sequence to be used in a PUCCH based on the first CS value and the CS offset, and when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, transmitting the UCI using a PUCCH format 2, wherein when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, the UCI includes one or more bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, one or more bits representing the SR, and one or more bits representing BR, wherein each of transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 and transmission resource of the PUCCH format 2 are one or two symbols in a time domain, wherein a PUCCH resource for the SR and a PUCCH resource for the BR are independently configured. Difference: The applicant merely broadens the scope of the claim by deleting “wherein a transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 is one resource block defined by 12 subcarriers in a frequency domain.” 9. A method of wireless communication by a User Equipment (UE) operating in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication method comprising: transmitting uplink control information (UCI) which includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information representing a response to a downlink channel having been received from a base station, a scheduling request (SR) representing whether to request for uplink resource allocation, and a beam recovery request (BR) indicating whether to request for recovery from a beam failure, when a number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2, transmitting the UCI using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 generated by cyclic-shifting a base sequence based on a second CS value, wherein a first CS value is determined based on the HARQ-ACK information, wherein a CS offset is determined based on the SR, wherein the second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting the base sequence to be used in a PUCCH based on the first CS value and the CS offset, wherein a transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 is one resource block defined by 12 subcarriers in a frequency domain, and when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, transmitting the UCI using a PUCCH format 2, wherein when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, the UCI includes one or more bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, one or more bits representing the SR, and one or more bits representing BR, wherein each of the transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 and transmission resource of the PUCCH format 2 are one or two symbols in a time domain, wherein a PUCCH resource for the SR and a PUCCH resource for the BR are independently configured. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the second CS value is any one among a plurality of CS values determined according to the CS offset and a number of bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, the plurality of CS values are configured with CS values that are different from each other and increased by an identical interval based on a smallest CS value among the plurality of CS values, and a size of the interval remains constant regardless of whether the SR is positive or negative. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second CS value is any one among a plurality of CS values determined according to the CS offset and a number of bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, the plurality of CS values are configured with CS values that are different from each other and increased by an identical interval based on a smallest CS value among the plurality of CS values, and a size of the interval remains is constant regardless of whether the SR is positive or negative. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the base sequence is cyclic-shifted with N CS values which are different from each other, the HARQ-ACK information comprises m bits, and the size of the interval is N/(2^m). 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the base sequence is cyclic-shifted with N CS values which are different from each other, the HARQ-ACK information comprises m bits, and the size of the interval is N/(2{circumflex over ( )}m). 32. The method of claim 31, wherein when the SR is a positive SR, the CS offset is 1, and when the SR is the negative SR, the CS offset is 0. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein when the SR is a positive SR, the CS offset is 1, and when the SR is the negative SR, the CS offset is 0. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein when the SR is the negative SR, the second CS value is one among 0, 3, 6, and 9. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein when the SR is the negative SR, the second CS value is one among 0, 3, 6, and 9. 34. The method of claim 29, wherein the transmitting the UCI using the PUCCH format 0 further comprises: when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is a negative BR which requests a recovery from a beam failure, transmitting the SR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the SR, and when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is the positive BR, transmitting the BR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the BR. 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmitting the UCI using the PUCCH format 0 further comprises: when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is a negative BR which requests a recovery from a beam failure, transmitting the SR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the SR, and when the number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2 and the BR is the positive BR, transmitting the BR and the HARQ-ACK information through the PUCCH resource for the BR. The closest Prior Arts: YOSHIMURA et al (US 2019/0140876 A1) discloses a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system (fig. 1, wireless communication system 100 which includes base station apparatus 1 and terminal apparatuses 3A, 3B, section 0031-0033), the UE (fig. 1, see, terminal apparatus 13 which wirelessly communicates with base station/eNB 1, section 0031-0033) comprising: (fig. 12, terminal apparatus 3 which includes receive antenna 412/transmit antenna 401 coupled to a processing unit/extracting unit 403/405 and controller 406, section 0155-0156) ; and a processor (fig. 12, controller which is coupled to the processing units and antennas, section 0155-0156) for controlling an operation of the communication module (fig. 12, terminal apparatus 3 which includes receive antenna 412/transmit antenna 401 coupled to a processing unit/extracting unit 403/405 and controller 406, section 0155-0156), wherein the processor (see, the controller of the terminal apparatus which is configured to determine a cyclic shift for transmission on the PUCCH, section 0014-0015, noted: there are values/amounts associated with the cyclic shifts, section 0120-0129) is configured to: determine a first cyclic shift (CS) value (see, the controller of the terminal apparatus which is configured to determine a cyclic shift for transmission on the PUCCH, section 0014-0015, noted: there are values/amounts associated with the cyclic shifts, section 0120-0129) based on hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information (see, the cyclic shift based on the scheduling request (SR) and HAR-ACK, section 0014-0015) representing a response to a downlink channel (see, the cyclic shift depends on DCI, PDCCH received from base station or from which the base station expects, section 0064, 0085, 0142) having been received from a base station (fig. 1, base station apparatus 1, section 0031-0033), determine a CS offset based on request information representing a request to be transmitted from the UE to the base station (see, second cyclic shift value based on a second sequence, section 0014-0015, 0166-0168, 0171, 0120, 0128-0129-diffent cyclic values/amounts in relation to SR that are transmitted to the base station via the PUCCH), determine a second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting a base sequence (see, different cyclic shifts used in the transmission of SR and HARQ-ACK , section 0120, 0128-0129) to be used in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on based on the first CS value and the CS offset (see, generating sequences based on the first cyclic shift value and second cyclic shift value, transmits of SR and HARQ on the PUCCH, section 0014-0015, 0178, 0181, 0120, 0128-0129-transmitted SR with different cyclic shifts/amounts to the base station). Nayeb Nazar et al (US 2020/0067680 A1, Provisional Application No. 62/500,772, filed on May 3, 2017) from a similar field of endeavor (see, the WTRU in the wireless method and apparatus where the UE transmit UL transmission, simultaneous transmission,, the UE sends positive/negative HARQ acknowledgments with different cyclic shifts of the Zadoff-Sequence, section 0052, 0083,0104) discloses: transmit the PUCCH for simultaneous transmission (section 0052-simultanoeus transmission, the PUCCH caries HARQ-ACK with scheduling request (SR), HARQ-ACK values/bits, section 0083, 0088, 0090) of the request information and the HARQ-ACK information using a sequence generated by cyclic-shifting the base sequence based on the second CS value (see, the WTRU uses cyclic shifts with CAZAC sequences of HARQ-ACK, SR bits on the PUCH, section 0091, section 0092-0093-the cyclic shifts (See, CS 1, 4, 7, and 10) with different sequence lengths used in transmitting of HARQ ACK/NAK values). Cho et al (US 2020/0092876 A1) discloses multiplexing of SR PUCCHs with different cyclic shift. Cyclic shifts for the CAZAK sequences to different UEs (section 0046-0048). Cho ‘876 further discloses PUCCH table listing of PUCH formats in relation to UCI types of HARQ-ACK (section 0064) and number of UCI bits that exceeds a certain threshold (section 0071, 0074). Zhou et al (US 2019/0149305 A1) discloses scheduling request (SR) in relation uplink control information (UCI) via PUCCH resources (section 0287) and number of UCI bits in relation to PUCCH format. Cheng et al (US 2014/0301324 A1) discloses device and method for transmission uplink control information (UCI) to a UE, the UE then determines cyclic shifts (i.e., first, second CSs) for transmitting of scheduling request (SR), HARQ-ACK on the PUCCH (section 0035, 0063, 0108, 0127, 0185, 0195, 0204). YAMAMOTO et al (US 2020/0178242 A1) discloses a terminal that calculates PUCCH sequence (cyclic shift pattern) (section 0125). LIU et al (US 2020/0413428 A1) discloses terminal and base station apparatuses for calculating of cyclic shift value in sequence PUCCH format, transmitting of HARQ-ACK and SR (i.e., SR = 1, SR=0) using bit values (Section 0180, 0187, 0206, 0209-0210). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 21-34 allowed if a Terminal Disclaimer (TD) is filed to overcome the Double Patenting Rejection, as set forth in this Office Action. The closest prior arts either singularly or in combination fail to reasonably anticipate or render obvious “when a number of bits of the UCI does not exceed 2, transmit the UCI using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 generated by cyclic-shifting a base sequence based on a second cyclic shift (CS) value, wherein a first CS value is determined based on the HARQ-ACK information, wherein a CS offset is determined based on the SR, wherein the second CS value representing a degree of cyclic-shifting the base sequence to be used in a PUCCH based on the first CS value and the CS offset, when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, transmit the UCI using a PUCCH format 2, wherein when the number of bits of the UCI exceeds 2, the UCI includes one or more bits representing the HARQ-ACK information, one or more bits representing the SR, and one or more bits representing BR, wherein each of transmission resource of the PUCCH format 0 and transmission resource of the PUCCH format 2 are one or two symbols in a time domain, wherein a PUCCH resource for the SR and a PUCCH resource for the BR are independently configured” recited in claim 21, 29. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CANDAL ELPENORD whose telephone number is (571) 270-3123. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am -6 pm M-F. 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, Kwang B Yao can be reached at 571 272-3182. 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. /CANDAL ELPENORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 16, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12684534
BASE STATION DEVICE, USER EQUIPMENT DEVICE, AND RS CONFIGURATION CONTROL METHOD PERFORMED IN EACH DEVICE
3y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12684566
REDUCING INTERFERENCE IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12683729
METHOD FOR HANDLING MULTI-CELL SCHEDULING, USER EQUIPMENT AND BASE STATION
3y 1m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12684602
SCHEDULING INFORMATION BASED ON OPERATING ZONES
3y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12676656
COMMUNICATION METHOD, COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.5%)
2y 6m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1098 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month