Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 18/862,854

METHOD EXECUTED BY USER EQUIPMENT AND USER EQUIPMENT

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 04, 2024
Priority
May 06, 2022 — CN 202210489896.9 +1 more
Examiner
YAO, KWANG BIN
Art Unit
2473
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
51%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
60%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 51% of resolved cases
51%
Career Allowance Rate
18 granted / 35 resolved
-6.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
54
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
62.5%
+22.5% vs TC avg
§102
17.5%
-22.5% vs TC avg
§112
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 35 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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 10 and 11are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan et al. (US 20210160939 A1) in view of Pan et al. (US 20220007445 A1). Pan et al. (US 20210160939 A1) discloses a communication system comprising: regarding claims 10 and 11, a remote User Equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; and a memory in electronic communication with the processor, wherein instructions stored in the memory are executable to ([0269] “Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4, in one exemplary embodiment of a first UE for establishing a unicast link. The first UE 300 includes a program code 312 stored in the memory 310. The CPU 308 could execute program code 312 to enable the first UE (i) to establish a first sidelink SRB for PC5-S message transmission”): upon requested by upper layers for transmission of PC5-S message, establish a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity, a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and a logical channel of a sidelink Signal Radio Bearer (SL- SRB) ([0219] “The UE shall: [0220] 1> if a PC5-RRC connection establishment for a specific destination is requested by upper layers: [0221] 2> establish PDCP entity, RLC entity and the logical channel of a sidelink SRB for PC5-S message, as specified in sub-clause 9.1.1.X; [0222] 2> establish PDCP entity, RLC entity and the logical channel of a sidelink SRB for PC5-RRC message, as specified in sub-clause 9.1.1.X”). Pan et al. (US 20210160939 A1) does not disclose, but Pan et al. (US 20220007445 A1) discloses: in a case the SL-SRB is for a UE to UE (U2U) Remote UE ([0169], “UE re-establishes the PDCP entity of the SL-SRB1, SL-SRB2, SL-SRB3 and SL-DRBs on the corresponding PC5-RRC connection”; [0395],” FIG. 20 illustrates an example of control plane protocol stacks for UE-to-UE Relay communication according to one embodiment”), apply a first configuration which includes a value of a bearer identity ([0430] “More specifically, UE1 may send a first RRCReconfigurationSidelink message to the Relay UE to establish the 1.sup.st hop SL RLC channel. The first RRCReconfigurationSidelink message sent from UE1 to the Relay UE could include the RB ID of the SL DRB and/or the LCID of the 1.sup.st hop SL RLC channel”), the first configuration further including a channel identity of a PC5 RLC channel which is an egress PC5 RLC channel ([0437], “In step 2610, the first remote UE establishes a first SL RLC channel for transmission from the first remote UE to the relay UE, wherein the first SL RLC channel is identified by a first LCID”); and apply a maping of the SL SRB with the bearer identity to the PC5 RLC channel with the channel identity (“[0439] In the context of the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 25 and 26 and described above, in one embodiment, the first remote UE could deliver the sidelink packet from the SL DRB to the first SL RLC channel based on a mapping of the RB ID and the first LCID. The SL DRB could be mapped to the first SL RLC channel”). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Pan et al. (US 20210160939 A1), by using the features as taught by Pan et al. (US 20220007445 A1), in order to improve the organization, configuration, and routing of PC5-S messages in the UE communication framework of Pan et al. (US 20210160939 A1), thereby enhancing control-plane handling and supporting UE-to-UE relay operation. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Rao et al. (US 11224007 B2) discloses a method to support QoS for unicast and groupcast casting types using sidelink radio bearers over the NR PC5 interface. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KWANG B YAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5. 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. 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. /KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 04, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12764584
RELAY TERMINAL DEVICE MEASUREMENT REPORTING METHOD, AND APPARATUS
2y 9m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12732827
DETERMINING OVERSHOOTING CELLS OF BASE STATIONS BASED ON MACHINE LEARNING
2y 11m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12732998
COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS
2y 3m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12713248
CONTROL SYSTEM, CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAM
2y 11m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12707329
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING SIGNAL AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 9m to grant Granted Aug 11, 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
51%
Grant Probability
60%
With Interview (+8.7%)
2y 9m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 35 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