Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/858,930

USER EQUIPMENT AND COMMUNICATION METHODS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Apr 26, 2022 — JP 2022-072435 +1 more
Examiner
HENSON, JAMAAL R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
689 granted / 815 resolved
+24.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
44 currently pending
Career history
870
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.5%
-35.5% vs TC avg
§103
45.2%
+5.2% vs TC avg
§102
19.3%
-20.7% vs TC avg
§112
22.5%
-17.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 815 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 . Disposition of Claims Applicants submission dated 10/22/2024, the status of the claims are: claims 12-15 are pending; claims 1-11 have been cancelled, via the amendment dated 10/22/2024. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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)(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. Claim(s) 12 -15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Si et al. (US 2023/0299892 A1). Regarding claims 12 and 15, Si discloses: a user equipment (UE) (fig.1 element UE, and par.[0005] describes user equipment), comprising: reception circuitry (fig.3 depicts reception circuitry at 305) configured to receive, from another UE, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (par.[0005] describes the reception of the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) which is a Sidelink shared channel received from a TX Sidelink UE) on one or multiple resource block (RB) sets (par.[0005] describes Resource Blocks Sets, par.[0080]) in a frequency domain (par.[0005] the resource block sets, it is noted that resource block occupy frequency in the frequency domain, and time resources in the time domain as well), each RB set being defined by a starting common RB and an ending common RB in the frequency domain (par.[0005] describes the RB set comprising a uniform interval, par.[0088] describes the RB set as comprising a certain number of resource blocks, at a specific subcarrier spacing granularity, such that each set has a starting common RB and an ending common RB. That is, the RB sets are separated by a SCS, such that a start RB is assigned after the SCS and the ending RB starts before the beginning of the next SCS, also see lowest/highest index par.[0188]); and control circuitry (fig.3 depicts a processor at element 340) configured to determine, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resource (par.[0005] which recites, in part, “. The processor is further configured to determine, based on an intersection between the interlace and the RB set, a second set of RBs for a PSFCH”) for a HARQ feedback transmission in response to the reception of the PSSCH (par.[0005] which recites, in part, “The transceiver is further configured to transmit, after successfully performing the SL channel access procedure, the PSFCH carrying the HARQ feedback in the second set of RBs.”), wherein the PSFCH resource in frequency domain corresponds to an interlace within a first RB set (par.[0089] which recites, in part, “an example of a PSFCH transmission occupying one or multiple interlaces in the frequency domain, each interlace corresponding to a set of RBs 901 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.”), and the first RB set is determined as an RB set with a lowest RB set index amongst the one or multiple RB sets (par.[0188] which describes the RB set for PSFCH corresponding to the RB set for the PSSCH, which can be the lowest index RB-set). Regarding claim 13, Si discloses: wherein the PSFCH resource is determined as resource blocks of the interlace within the first RB set (par.[0089] which recites, in part, “an example of a PSFCH transmission occupying one or multiple interlaces in the frequency domain, each interlace corresponding to a set of RBs 901 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.”). Regarding claim 14, Si discloses: wherein the interlace for the PSFCH resource is determined based on a lowest interlace index that is allocated to the PSSCH (par.[0188] which describes the RB set for PSFCH corresponding to the RB set for the PSSCH, which can be the lowest index RB-set). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lei et al. (US 2023/0136864 A1) “Method and Apparatus for Transmitting HARQ-ACK Feedback for Sidelink Communication” Park et al. (US 2025/0016798 A1) “Method and Device for Transmitting/Receiving Sidelink Information in Unlicensed Band” Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMAAL HENSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5339. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thu: 7:30 am - 6:30 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, Derrick Ferris can be reached at (571)272-3123. 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. JAMAAL HENSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 2411 /JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 22, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12706851
Systems and Methods for Link State Flooding Transmitter-Based Flow Control
2y 0m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12695557
FULL-DUPLEX OPERATIONS FOR USER EQUIPMENTS
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12684485
ENHANCED WAKE-UP SIGNAL HANDLING
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12676718
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION REPORT IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
3y 3m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12677348
DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION DETERMINING METHOD AND DEVICE, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 10m 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
84%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+3.8%)
2y 4m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 815 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