Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/850,505

UPLINK TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 24, 2024
Priority
Mar 30, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022084195
Examiner
MOREAU, AUSTIN J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
275 granted / 353 resolved
+17.9% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+28.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
375
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.6%
-30.4% vs TC avg
§103
66.8%
+26.8% vs TC avg
§102
11.5%
-28.5% vs TC avg
§112
8.4%
-31.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 353 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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. This action is in response to preliminary amendments filed on 9/24/2024. Claims 1-14, 16-17, & 23-26 have been examined and are rejected. Priority This application is a 371 of PCT/CN2022/084195 filed 3/30/2022. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/3/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-14, 16-17, & 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Huang et al. (US 2021/0360670 A1). With regard to Claim 1, Huang teaches: An uplink transmission method, performed by a terminal, and comprising: receiving a configuration signaling, for configuring an uplink subband in a designated time unit, transmitted by a base station; (a UE receives, from a base station, a configuration message indicating a TTI format for each TTI of a set of TTIs that includes a first TTI having a TTI format specifying an uplink resource and a downlink resource separated in a frequency domain, wherein the TTIs may be examples of slots or other transmission durations and may include uplink resources and downlink resources [Huang: 0153; 0118], and wherein the set of TTIs includes TTI formats (i.e. a designated time unit) including downlink TTIs (denoted by “D”), an SBFD TTI, uplink TTIs (denoted by “U”), and one or more flexible TTIs (denoted by “S”) [Huang: 0128]); wherein the designated time unit is adjacent to an uplink resource in time domain and after an uplink time unit; (TTI2 (i.e. designated time unit) is adjacent to TTI3 which is an uplink TTI and after the uplink resource of TTI1 [Huang: Fig. 4]); PNG media_image1.png 634 990 media_image1.png Greyscale and a transmission direction of the designated time unit is not designated as an uplink direction; (TTI2 (i.e. designated time unit) is a subband full duplex (SBFD) slot which is a TTI format that includes uplink resources and downlink resources separated in the frequency domain [Huang: 0128; 0005]); and determining, based on the configuration signaling, the uplink subband for uplink transmission in the designated time unit; (the UE may schedule communications with the base station based on the indicated TTI format [Huang: 0221]). With regard to Claim 2, Huang teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink time unit is an uplink symbol, and the designated time unit comprises a slot or a plurality of consecutive slots that are adjacent to the uplink resource in the time domain and after the uplink symbol; (TTI2 (i.e. designated time unit) is adjacent to TTI3 which is an uplink TTI and after the uplink resource of TTI1 comprising uplink symbols [Huang: Fig. 4]); PNG media_image1.png 634 990 media_image1.png Greyscale With regard to Claim 3, Huang teaches: The method of claim 2, wherein the designated time unit comprises a downlink slot, or a downlink symbol and a slot for a variable symbol, wherein the variable symbol is a symbol with a variable transmission direction; (TTI2 (i.e. designated time unit) is a subband full duplex (SBFD) slot which is a TTI format that includes uplink resources and downlink resources separated in the frequency domain [Huang: 0128; 0005; Fig. 4]). With regard to Claim 4, Huang teaches: The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, based on a time division duplex uplink and downlink configuration message transmitted by the base station, a transmission direction of each time unit; (the TTI formats include downlink TTIs (denoted by “D”), an SBFD TTI, uplink TTIs (denoted by “U”), and one or more flexible TTIs (denoted by “S”), wherein the configuration message may be an example of a radio resource control (RRC) message, a medium access control, control element (MAC-CE) message, a slot format indication (SFI) message, or the like [Huang: 0118-19], and wherein the carriers may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications in a TDD mode [Huang: 0081]). With regard to Claim 5, Huang teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink subband is continuous in the time domain; (the uplink resources may be contiguous [Huang: 0118]). With regard to Claim 6, it appears substantially similar to the limitations recited by claim 1 and consequently does not appear to teach or further define over the citations provided for said claim. Accordingly, claim 6 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. With regard to Claim 7, Huang teaches: The method of claim 6, wherein the scheduling signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling. With regard to Claims 8-14, 16-17, & 23-26, they appear substantially similar to the limitations recited by claims 1-5 and consequently do not appear to teach or further define over the citations provided for said claims. Accordingly, claims 8-14, 16-17, & 23-26 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 1-5. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Rudolf et al. (US 2023/0292294 A1), see Fig. 7: PNG media_image2.png 676 928 media_image2.png Greyscale In the case of amendments, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and support, for ascertaining the metes and bounds of the claimed invention. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AUSTIN J MOREAU whose telephone number is (571) 272-5179. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 - 6:00 ET. 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, Rebecca Song can be reached on 571-270-3667. 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. /AUSTIN J MOREAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 24, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 05, 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
78%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+28.4%)
2y 8m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 353 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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