Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/850,701

TERMINAL APPARATUS, BASE STATION APPARATUS, AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 25, 2024
Priority
Apr 01, 2022 — JP 2022-061682 +1 more
Examiner
ASRES, HERMON
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
302 granted / 376 resolved
+20.3% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
397
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
13.5%
-26.5% vs TC avg
§103
53.5%
+13.5% vs TC avg
§102
15.4%
-24.6% vs TC avg
§112
9.7%
-30.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 376 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/25/2024 and 03/11/2026 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 § 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. Claims 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0100327) in view of Guo (US PGPub 2022/0141803). As per claim 4, Zhang teaches a terminal (Zhang, see paragraph [0013], electronic device) apparatus comprising: a reception unit configured to receive a PDCCH in which DCI for scheduling a PUSCH is mapped (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], at 430, transmitting or encoding for transmission, to the UE, control signaling to control the PUSCH transmission of the UE, which includes at least one parameter to indicate the selected precoder (Note; the UE receives it)) and a transmission unit configured to transmit the PUSCH, (Zhang, see paragraph [0064], transmitting, or encoding for transmission, to the UE, control signaling to control the PUSCH transmission of the UE, which includes at least one parameter to indicate the selected precoder) an RRC parameter for determining a codebook used for precoding for the PUSCH is configured (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], the control signaling may include RRC signaling. The RRC signaling may also be included in DCI, which includes a TPMI and a TRI to indicate the selected precoder. In a further embodiment, the control signaling may include the RRC signaling and UL grant) the RRC parameter indicates one or multiple numbers of second antenna ports (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], the RRC signaling may include parameters to indicate a selection of antenna ports to be used by the UE for UL transmission, for example, a codebook subset). Zhang doesn’t explicitly teach capability information of the terminal device wherein the capability information of the terminal device is one or more numbers of first antenna port and also the one or multiple numbers of the first antenna ports are same as the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports. In analogous art Guo teaches capability information of the terminal device wherein the capability information of the terminal device is one or more numbers of first antenna port and also the one or multiple numbers of the first antenna ports are same as the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports (Guo, see paragraph [0038], In the SRS resource set, the UE can be configured with one or two SRS resources and those two SRS resources shall have the same number of antenna ports. For codebook based PUSCH transmission, the UE can be configured with a codebook subset through RRC parameter codebookSubset). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the teaching of Guo and apply them on the teaching of Zhang as doing so would help the UE determining its PUSCH transmission precoder. (Guo, see paragraph [0038]). As per claim 5, Zhang-Guo teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the RRC parameter indicates the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports of a first dimension and a second dimension (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], the control signaling may include the RRC signaling and UL grant. In that case, the RRC signaling may include parameters to indicate a selection of antenna ports to be used by the UE for UL transmission, for example, a codebook subset). As per claim 6, Zhang teaches a base station apparatus (Zhang, see paragraph [0051], base station 310) for communicating with a terminal apparatus, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a PDCCH in which DCI for scheduling a PUSCH is mapped; (Zhang, see paragraph [0064], transmitting, or encoding for transmission, to the UE, control signaling to control the PUSCH transmission of the UE, which includes at least one parameter to indicate the selected precoder) and a reception unit configured to receive the PUSCH, (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], at 430, transmitting or encoding for transmission, to the UE, control signaling to control the PUSCH transmission of the UE, which includes at least one parameter to indicate the selected precoder (Note; the UE receives it)) an RRC parameter for determining a codebook used for precoding for the PUSCH is configured, the RRC parameter indicates one or multiple numbers of second antenna ports, (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], the RRC signaling may include parameters to indicate a selection of antenna ports to be used by the UE for UL transmission, for example, a codebook subset). Zhang doesn’t explicitly teach capability information of the terminal device wherein the capability information of the terminal device is one or more numbers of first antenna port and also the one or multiple numbers of the first antenna ports are same as the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports. In analogous art Guo teaches capability information of the terminal device wherein the capability information of the terminal device is one or more numbers of first antenna port and also the one or multiple numbers of the first antenna ports are same as the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports (Guo, see paragraph [0038], In the SRS resource set, the UE can be configured with one or two SRS resources and those two SRS resources shall have the same number of antenna ports. For codebook based PUSCH transmission, the UE can be configured with a codebook subset through RRC parameter codebookSubset). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the teaching of Guo and apply them on the teaching of Zhang as doing so would help the UE determining its PUSCH transmission precoder. (Guo, see paragraph [0038]). As per claim 7, Zhang-Guo teaches the base station apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the RRC parameter indicates the one or multiple numbers of the second antenna ports of a first dimension and a second dimension (Zhang, see paragraph [0058], the control signaling may include the RRC signaling and UL grant. In that case, the RRC signaling may include parameters to indicate a selection of antenna ports to be used by the UE for UL transmission, for example, a codebook subset). As per claim 8, [Rejection rational for claims 4 and 6 is applicable]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HERMON ASRES whose telephone number is (571)272-4257. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9AM to 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, Vivek Srivastava can be reached at (571)272-7304. 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. /HERMON ASRES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2449
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 25, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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3y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677300
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CLUSTER COMPUTING
1y 5m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
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
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+19.0%)
3y 0m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 376 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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