Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/812,860

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND TERMINAL DEVICE

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Aug 22, 2024
Priority
Feb 25, 2022 — continuation of PCTCN2022077930
Examiner
AMBAYE, MEWALE A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
778 granted / 850 resolved
+31.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
870
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§103
58.4%
+18.4% vs TC avg
§102
12.1%
-27.9% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 850 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DEATAILED 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 . This communication is response to claims filed on 09/09/26. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Claims 1-10 & 12-20 are amended. Claims 15, 13 & 15 are canceled. Response to Arguments Applicants’ amendment filed on 09/09/26, regarding a specification objection (title) has been considered and is persuasive . Therefore, the specification to the claim is withdrawn. Applicants’ amendment filed on 09/09/26, regarding a claim objection (4, 7-9 & 13-20) has been considered and is persuasive . Therefore, the objection to the claim is withdrawn. 8. Applicant's arguments and amendment filed on 08/12/26, regarding to a 102 & 103 rejection have been fully considered but they are moot with the new ground of rejection necessitated by applicant’s amendment. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 9. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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. 10. Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10, 12-14 & 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (hereinafter referred as Liu) International Publication No. WO 2019/199391 A1, in view of Jung et al. (hereinafter referred as Jung) International Publication No. WO 2021/150075 A1. Regarding claims 1 & 13: Liu discloses a terminal device (See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE))/method, comprising: at least one processor (See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE) includes processor), and at least one memory (See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE) includes processor includes memory) including a computer program, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured with the computer program, to cause the terminal device at least to: perform radio resource management (RRM) measurement through a wake-up receiver (WUR) to obtain a first RRM measurement result (See Para. 00112-00115; the UE performs RRM measurement in relaxed RRM measurement mode, including, one RRM measurement for multiple DRX cycles. it further teaches performing cell reselection “based on the RRM measurement), perform a first operation based on the first RRM measurement result (See Para. 00122; based on the RRM measurement,” the UE may reselect a second cell. Thus, Liu expressly teaches an operation based upon an RRM measurement result), Liu does not explicitly disclose perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold; where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold, the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold. However, Jung from the same field of endeavor discloses perform a first operation based on the first RRM measurement result (See FIG. 17; operations 1710-1730; the terminal identifies satisfaction of low-mobility/not-cell-edge criteria and determines whether to perform frequency measurement based on that identification); perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold (See FIG. 17 & Para. 0420-0422; SsearchThresholdP for Srxlev and SsearchThresholdQ for Squal as thresholds for relaxed frequency measurement. The terminal compares Srxlev against SsearchThresholdP and Squal against SsearchThresholdQ to determine satisfaction of the criterion); where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold (See Figs 16-17 and related paragraph & Para. 0034-0036; SsearchThresholdP may be ≤ SIntraSearchP and SnonIntraSearchP, and SsearchThresholdQ may be ≤ their corresponding Q thresholds), the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold (See Para. 0291-0292; identifies SnonIntraSearchP/Q as thresholds for an inter-frequency or inter-RAT frequency). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold; where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold, the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claims 2 & 14: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the terminal device/method. Furthermore, Liu discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the first operation comprises one or more of cell reselection (See Para. 00121; based on the RRM measurement, the UE may reselect a second cell). Regarding claim 3: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the method, wherein a first adjustment parameter is used to adjust the first RRM measurement result; or a first adjustment parameter is used to reduce the first RRM measurement result (See FIG. 16 & related paragraphs: alpha = Srxlev – Qrxlevmeas and corresponding: beta = Squal – Qqualmeas). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein a first adjustment parameter is used to adjust the first RRM measurement result; or a first adjustment parameter is used to reduce the first RRM measurement result as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claims 5 & 16: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the terminal device/method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the first RRM measurement result comprises a plurality of measurement quantities (See FIG. 16; Jung uses at least Srxlev (receive-level quantity) and Squal (quality quantity)), a first measurement quantity in the plurality of measurement quantities corresponds to a first adjustment parameter in a plurality of adjustment parameters, and different measurement quantities in the plurality of measurement quantities correspond to different adjustment parameters or a same adjustment parameter in the plurality of adjustment parameters threshold (See Figs 16-17 and related paragraph & Para. 0034-0036; SsearchThresholdP may be ≤ SIntraSearchP and SnonIntraSearchP, and SsearchThresholdQ may be ≤ their corresponding Q thresholds) ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the first RRM measurement result comprises a plurality of measurement quantities, a first measurement quantity in the plurality of measurement quantities corresponds to a first adjustment parameter in a plurality of adjustment parameters, and different measurement quantities in the plurality of measurement quantities correspond to different adjustment parameters or a same adjustment parameter in the plurality of adjustment parameters threshold as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claims 6 & 17: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the terminal device/method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein a first adjustment parameter is used to adjust the first RRM measurement threshold (See FIG. 17; SsearchThresholdP ≤ SIntraSearchP + alpha). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein a first adjustment parameter is used to adjust the first RRM measurement threshold as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claim 7: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the second RRM measurement threshold is obtained by adjusting the first RRM measurement threshold using the first adjustment parameter (See FIG. 16; SsearchThresholdP ≤ SnonIntraSearchP + alpha, where: alpha = Srxlev – Qrxlevmeas). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the first RRM measurement threshold is a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion, and a first adjustment parameter is used to adjust an evaluation duration in the low-mobility criterion as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claim 8: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of following a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion (See Para. 0279-0280; Jung identifies SsearchDeltaP as the threshold for variation of Srxlev in the low-mobility criterion). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of following a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claims 10 & 18: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the first RRM measurement threshold is a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion, and the first adjustment parameter is used to adjust an evaluation duration in the low-mobility criterion (See Para. 0279-0280; Jung identifies SsearchDeltaP as the threshold for variation of Srxlev in the low-mobility criterion). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the first RRM measurement threshold is a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion, and the first adjustment parameter is used to adjust an evaluation duration in the low-mobility criterion as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claims 12 & 19: The combination of Liu and Jung disclose the method. Furthermore, Jung discloses the terminal device/method, wherein the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of following measurement thresholds: a cell reselection threshold, a measurement threshold in a not-cell-edge criterion, and a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion (See FIGs. 6 & 8-13; identifies relaxed neighboring-cell measurement for cell-reselection evaluation). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of following measurement thresholds: a cell reselection threshold, a measurement threshold in a not-cell-edge criterion, and a measurement threshold in a low-mobility criterion as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Regarding claim 20: Liu discloses a chip See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE)), comprising: a processor (See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE) includes processor) configured to invoke a program from a memory (See FIG. 13 & Para. 00117; a User Equipment (UE) includes processor includes memory) to cause a device installed with the chip to perform steps of: performing, by a terminal device, radio resource management (RRM) measurement through a wake-up receiver (WUR) to obtain a first RRM measurement result (See Para. 00112-00115; the UE performs RRM measurement in relaxed RRM measurement mode, including, one RRM measurement for multiple DRX cycles. it further teaches performing cell reselection “based on the RRM measurement), performing, by the terminal device, a first operation based on the first RRM measurement result See Para. 00122; based on the RRM measurement,” the UE may reselect a second cell. Thus, Liu expressly teaches an operation based upon an RRM measurement result). Liu does not explicitly disclose perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold; where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold, the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold. However, Jung from the same field of endeavor discloses perform a first operation based on the first RRM measurement result (See FIG. 17; operations 1710-1730; the terminal identifies satisfaction of low-mobility/not-cell-edge criteria and determines whether to perform frequency measurement based on that identification); perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold (See FIG. 17 & Para. 0420-0422; SsearchThresholdP for Srxlev and SsearchThresholdQ for Squal as thresholds for relaxed frequency measurement. The terminal compares Srxlev against SsearchThresholdP and Squal against SsearchThresholdQ to determine satisfaction of the criterion); where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold (See Figs 16-17 and related paragraph & Para. 0034-0036; SsearchThresholdP may be ≤ SIntraSearchP and SnonIntraSearchP, and SsearchThresholdQ may be ≤ their corresponding Q thresholds), the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold (See Para. 0291-0292; identifies SnonIntraSearchP/Q as thresholds for an inter-frequency or inter-RAT frequency). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include perform a first operation based on second RRM measurement threshold; where the second RRM measurement threshold is different from a first RRM measurement threshold, the first RRM measurement threshold comprises one or more of the following: an intra-frequency measurement threshold or an inter-frequency/inter-system measurement threshold as taught by Jung in the system Liu to relax frequency measurement by a terminal in a wireless communication system by effectively providing a service in a mobile communication system (See Technical-Field; lines 2-3). Allowable Subject Matter 11. Claims 4, 9, 11 & 15 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 12. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. 13. The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. A. Li et al. 2022/0007225 A1 (Title: Method for measurement relaxation, user equipment..…) (See Abstract, Para. 0012 & 0037-0038). B. Jung et al. 2021/0235344 A1 (Title: Method and apparatus for relaxing RRM measurement in…) (See abstract, Para. 0006 & 00813-0016). C. Koskinen et al. 2024/0224103 A1 (Title: RRM link monitoring measurements for redcap UE…) (See FIG. 1, Para. 0046, 0050 & 0160). 14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEWALE A AMBAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-1076. The examiner can normally be reached on M.F 6a.m.-2p.m.. 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, Ian Moore can be reached on (571)272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MEWALE A AMBAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Sep 09, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 18, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (-1.3%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 850 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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