Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/870,006

USER EQUIPMENT AND METHODS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Nov 27, 2024
Priority
Jul 12, 2022 — JP 2022-111484 +1 more
Examiner
FANG, PAKEE
Art Unit
2469
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
366 granted / 541 resolved
+9.7% vs TC avg
Strong +37% interview lift
Without
With
+36.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
583
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
62.8%
+22.8% vs TC avg
§102
17.7%
-22.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.8%
-29.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 541 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1 - 2 are presented for examination. Specification The title of the invention is objected for not being descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1 -2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claims 1–2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) as failing to comply with the written-description requirement because the originally filed disclosure does not reasonably convey to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the inventor possessed an SCI format 2-C having both a Providing/Requesting indicator set to value 1 and a Resource combinations field indicating the time resources. Although paragraph [0246] generically identifies either a Resource combinations field or a Resource reservation period field as possible first fields, the detailed embodiments treat those fields as mutually exclusive payload alternatives: the Resource combinations field is assigned to the value-0 providing payload (paragraphs [0203]–[0204] and [0247]), whereas the Resource reservation period field is assigned to the value-1 requesting payload (paragraphs [0203], [0210], [0242], and [0248]–[0254]). Beyond the unsupported recitation of the claimed combination, the disclosure provides no SCI bit-field arrangement, encoding or decoding rule, transmitter or receiver operation, or operative embodiment demonstrating that a value-1 requesting message contains a Resource combinations field. Accordingly, the specification describes the two alternative payload structures but does not demonstrate possession, as of the filing date, of the claimed value-1/Resource-combinations hybrid. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claims 1 and 2 must define the metes and bounds of the asserted SCI 2-C operation with reasonable clarity. Please define what acronym SCI 2-C is in the claim. Furthermore, each claim recites a first SCI format 2-C having a Providing/Requesting indicator set to value 1 while also relying on a Resource combinations field to indicate the time resources; however, the specification assigns the Resource combinations field to the value-0 providing payload and assigns the Resource reservation period field to the value-1 requesting payload (paragraphs [0203]–[0204] and [0246]–[0254]). Consequently, it is unclear whether the claims require an otherwise-undisclosed value-1/Resource-combinations hybrid, whether “value 1” was intended to be “value 0,” or whether “Resource combinations field” was intended to be “Resource reservation period field.” Claim 2 is additionally indefinite because the recitations “wherein performing a Type 1 channel access procedure” and “and transmitting the second SCI format 2-C” are grammatical fragments that are not clearly connected to the operative method steps, leaving uncertain whether they constitute required acts and under what conditions they must be performed. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art cannot determine the metes and bounds of claims 1 and 2 with reasonable certainty. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-20240172251-A1 US-20220417988-A1 US-20210092783-A1 US-20230319817-A1 US-20240349335-A1 US-20250220712-A1 US-20230254819-A1 US-20250324449-A1 US-20210289536-A1 US-20190215871-A Inquiries Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to PAKEE FANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3633. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00AM-5:00PM. 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, Armouche, Hadi can be reached on 571-270-3618. 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. /PAKEE FANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 27, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
68%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+36.9%)
3y 0m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 541 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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