Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/902,060

COMMUNICATION METHOD, TERMINAL DEVICE, NETWORK DEVICE, AND COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 30, 2024
Priority
Apr 08, 2022 — continuation of PCTCN2022085846
Examiner
KURIAN, ANDREW SHAJI
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 5m
Est. Remaining
58%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
13 granted / 19 resolved
+8.4% vs TC avg
Minimal -10% lift
Without
With
+-10.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
69
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
73.7%
+33.7% vs TC avg
§102
25.8%
-14.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 19 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 . Drawings The drawings were received on 9/30/2024. These drawings are accepted. Specification The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US 20230114310 A1). Regarding claim 1, Xu et al. anticipates a terminal device, comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive first information (Paragraph 40, 61, 78, The passage teaches the UE receiving information and parameters from the BS that configure operation of the configured grant resource), wherein the first information is used to configure a first resource (Paragraph 40, 61, 78, The received information and parameters configure the configured grant resource by defining its operational characteristics, including slots, PUSCHs, HARQ processes, and repetition factor), the first resource is a configured grant CG resource (Paragraph 39-40, 61, The passage expressly teaches that the configured resource being configured for the UE is a configured grant resource), multiple CG PUSCHs are configured for the first resource in one CG period (Paragraph 40-41, 44, 61, 69, teaches configuring a configured grant resource period having multiple slots and multiple PUSCHs per slot, thereby configuring multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a single configured grant period); and perform data transmission by using at least one of the multiple CG PUSCHs (Paragraph 39, 61, 64, 66, 69, 71, 76, 102, teaches the UE transmitting data transport blocks using configured grant PUSCHs, including transmission on one or more configured PUSCHs within the configured grant resource). Regarding claim 2, Xu et al. anticipates the multiple CG PUSCHs correspond to at least one hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process ID (Paragraph 40, 41, 44, 61, 67, 69, 71, 76, 84, 90, 92-93, 102, The passage explicitly teaches that multiple configured grant PUSCHs are each associated with HARQ processes and corresponding HARQ process IDs, including assigning HARQ process IDs to individual PUSCHs and groups of PUSCHs within configured grant periods). Regarding claim 3, Xu et al. anticipates determine, by the terminal device, a HARQ process ID of the multiple CG PUSCHs in the one CG period (Paragraph 40, 41, 44, 61, 67, 76, 89-90, 92-93, 101, the UE (terminal device) determines the HARQ process ID assignment for configured grant PUSCHs, including calculating a starting HARQ process ID and deriving the HARQ process ID associated with each of the multiple configured grant PUSCHs transmitted during a configured grant period ). Regarding claim 4, Xu et al. anticipates the HARQ process ID of the multiple CG PUSCHs in the one CG period is determined by the terminal device based on a pre-defined rule (Paragraph 41, 42, 44, 61, 76, 90, 93, 101, The passage teaches that the terminal device determines the HARQ process IDs for multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a configured grant period by applying predefined algorithmic rules and formulas based on configured parameters (e.g., Y, L, periodicity, current symbol, repetition factor), with the resulting rule assigning HARQ process IDs to the multiple PUSCHs transmitted during the CG period). Regarding claim 5, Xu et al. anticipates a HARQ process ID of a first CG PUSCH in the multiple CG PUSCHs is related to a first factor, or is determined based on a first formula, and the first CG PUSCH is a specific CG PUSCH or any CG PUSCH in the multiple CG PUSCHs (Paragraph 42, 61, 71, 76, 84, 90, 93, 101, the HARQ process ID for a first configured grant PUSCH is determined using one or more factors (e.g., L, Y, current symbol, periodicity, repetition factor) and explicit mathematical formulas, with the starting HARQ process ID assigned to the first/specific PUSCH and subsequent HARQ process IDs determined for the remaining configured grant PUSCHs). Regarding claim 6, Xu et al. anticipates the first factor comprises at least one of following: a quantity of resources that are concurrently scheduled, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a scheduled resource, a quantity of resources in one period, a quantity of HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one period, a time domain start position of a resource, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a resource, an offset of a HARQ process corresponding to a resource, a quantity of flows, or a quantity of logical channels LCH (Paragraph 40, 41, 61, 69-70, scheduling-related factors include the number of HARQ processes, the number of resources within a configured grant period (slots and PUSCHs), the subset and quantity of HARQ process IDs used in a period, the time-domain starting position of the resource via SLIV, and the starting offset associated with the configured grant resource). Regarding claim 7, Xu et al. anticipates the first resource is a CG resource, multiple CG physical uplink shared channels PUSCH are configured for the CG resource in one period, and the first formula is related to one or more of following items, or the first formula comprises at least one of following items: a quantity of CG PUSCHs in one CG period; a quantity of different HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one CG period; a time domain start position of an uplink CG resource; a quantity of HARQ process IDs of the first CG PUSCH; an offset of a HARQ process of the first CG PUSCH; a quantity of HARQ processes of the first resource; or an offset of a HARQ process of the first resource (Paragraph 39-44, 61, 69-70, 89-101, a configured grant resource having multiple PUSCHs within a configured grant period and expressly discloses formulas based on the quantity of CG PUSCHs, quantity of HARQ process IDs used, quantity of HARQ processes, time-domain start position (SLIV/current symbol), and starting/offset HARQ process ID for the first PUSCH and configured grant resource). Regarding claim 8, Xu et al. anticipates the first formula comprises one or more of following: HARQ process ID of the first transmission resource = M*{[floor(CURRENT_symbol/periodicity)] modulo nrofHARQ-processes}; or HARQ process ID of the first transmission resource = M*{[floor(CURRENT_symbol/periodicity)] modulo nrofHARQ-processes + harq-procID-Offset2}; wherein M is the quantity of the CG PUSCHs in the one CG period, or M is the quantity of the different HARQ process IDs that are to be used in the one CG period, CURRENT_symbol is the time domain start position of the uplink CG resource, nrofHARQ-processes is the quantity of the HARQ processes of the first resource, and harq-procID-Offset2 is the offset of the HARQ process of the first resource (Paragraph 69, 70, 90, 101, determining a HARQ process ID for the first configured-grant transmission resource using a mathematical formula based on the current symbol, configured grant periodicity, configured number of HARQ processes, and a scaling factor derived from the number of PUSCHs/HARQ process IDs within the configured grant period). Regarding claim 9, Xu et al. anticipates a HARQ process ID of another transmission resource in the multiple transmission resources except the first transmission resource is related to a second factor, or is determined based on a second formula (Paragraph 61, 76, 90, 93, HARQ process IDs for transmission resources after the first transmission resource are determined from the starting HARQ process ID using the formula [(starting HARQ process ID)+J] modulo [Y], with the process IDs also being related to parameters such as J, repetition factors, and other parameters that govern assignment across multiple transmission resources). Regarding claim 10, Xu et al. anticipates the second factor comprises at least one of following: a quantity of resources that are concurrently scheduled, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a scheduled resource, a quantity of resources in one period, a quantity of HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one period, a time domain start position of a resource, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a resource, an offset of a HARQ process corresponding to a resource, an offset of the another transmission resource relative to the first transmission resource, a quantity of flows, or a quantity of LCHs (Paragraph 40, 41, 61, 64, 69, 70, 90, transmission behavior is determined using scheduling-related parameters including the number of HARQ processes, the number of resources (slots and PUSCHs) within a period, the number of HARQ process IDs used in a period, the time-domain starting position (SLIV) of a resource, and resource offsets, each of which falls within the recited second-factor alternatives). Regarding claim 11, Xu et al. anticipates a HARQ process ID of another transmission resource in the multiple transmission resources except the first transmission resource is the HARQ process ID of the first transmission resource plus an offset of the another transmission resource relative to the first transmission resource (Paragraph 39-41, 90, 93, assigning HARQ process IDs to multiple transmission resources by first determining a starting HARQ process ID for a first transmission resource and assigning subsequent transmission resources HARQ process IDs derived from the starting HARQ process ID plus an incrementing offset value (J)). Regarding claim 12, Xu et al. anticipates the first resource is a CG resource, multiple CG PUSCHs are configured for the CG resource in one period, and the second formula is related to one or more of following items, or the second formula comprises at least one of following items: a quantity of CG PUSCHs in one CG period; a quantity of different HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one CG period; a time domain start position of an uplink CG resource; a quantity of HARQ processes of the first resource; an offset of a HARQ process of the first resource; a quantity of HARQ process IDs of the first transmission resource; an offset of a HARQ process of the first transmission resource; or an offset of the another transmission resource relative to the first transmission resource (Paragraph 39-42, 44, 61, 69-70, 89-90, 93, 101, configured grant resource having multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a configured grant period and discloses formulas for determining HARQ process IDs that are based on the quantity of PUSCHs in the configured grant period, the quantity of HARQ processes and HARQ process IDs used in the configured grant resource, the time-domain starting position of the uplink configured grant resource, the starting HARQ process ID corresponding to a HARQ process offset for the first transmission resource, and the relative ordering of subsequent transmission resources). Regarding claim 13, Xu et al. anticipates the second formula comprises one or more of following: HARQ process ID of the another transmission resource = M*{[floor(CURRENT_symbol/periodicity)] modulo nrofHARQ-processes} + offset N; or HARQ process ID of the another transmission resource = M*{[floor(CURRENT_symbol/periodicity)] modulo nrofHARQ-processes + harq-procID-Offset2} + offset N; wherein M is the quantity of the CG PUSCHs in the one CG period, or M is the quantity of the different HARQ process IDs that are to be used in the one CG period, CURRENT_symbol is the time domain start position of the uplink CG resource, nrofHARQ-processes is the quantity of the HARQ processes of the first resource, harq-procID-Offset2 is the offset of the HARQ process of the first resource, and offset N is the offset of the another transmission resource relative to the first transmission resource (Paragraph 69, 89-90, 101, determining HARQ process IDs using a mathematical formula based on the current symbol, configured grant periodicity, configured HARQ process count, and the number of configured PUSCHs (M), thereby teaching a second HARQ process ID formula that computes HARQ IDs for configured grant transmission resources using the claimed formula variables). Regarding claim 14, Xu et al. anticipates a network device, comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: transmit first information to a terminal device, wherein the first information is used to configure a first resource (Paragraph 39-41, 61, 86, The transmitted information and parameters define the characteristics of the configured grant resource, thereby configuring the resource used by the UE), the first resource is a configured grant CG resource (Paragraph 39-41, 61, The disclosed resource is explicitly a configured grant resource provided by the base station to the UE), multiple CG PUSCHs are configured for the first resource in one CG period (Paragraph 40-41, 44, 61, 69, teaches configuring a configured grant resource period having multiple slots and multiple PUSCHs per slot, thereby configuring multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a single configured grant period). Regarding claim 15, Xu et al. anticipates the multiple CG PUSCHs correspond to at least one hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process ID (Paragraph 40, 41, 61, 64, 67, 69, teaches multiple configured grant PUSCHs within configured grant resources, with each PUSCH transmission being associated with a HARQ process identified by a HARQ process ID, thereby teaching that the multiple CG PUSCHs correspond to at least one HARQ process ID). Regarding claim 16, Xu et al. anticipates the HARQ process ID of the multiple CG PUSCHs in the one CG period is determined by the terminal device based on a pre-defined rule (Paragraph 40-42, 61, 76, 90, 93, 101, the terminal device determines the HARQ process IDs for multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a configured grant period by applying predefined mathematical algorithms and mapping rules that assign HARQ process IDs to the PUSCHs in the configured grant resource). Regarding claim 17, Xu et al. anticipates a HARQ process ID of a first CG PUSCH in the multiple CG PUSCHs is related to a first factor, or is determined based on a first formula, and the first CG PUSCH is a specific CG PUSCH or any CG PUSCH in the multiple CG PUSCHs (Paragraph 39-42, 44, 61, 69, 71, 76, 90, 93, 101, determining the HARQ process ID for a first/specific configured grant PUSCH in multiple configured grant PUSCHs by relating the HARQ process ID to factors such as Y, L, repetition factor, periodicity, current symbol, or by calculating it using explicit mathematical formulas). Regarding claim 18, Xu et al. anticipates the first factor comprises at least one of following: a quantity of resources that are concurrently scheduled, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a scheduled resource, a quantity of resources in one period, a quantity of HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one period, a time domain start position of a resource, a quantity of HARQ processes corresponding to a resource, an offset of a HARQ process corresponding to a resource, a quantity of flows, or a quantity of logical channels LCH (Paragraph 39-41, 61, 69-70, 90, The passage teaches that configured grant operation is based on factors including the number of slots and PUSCH resources within a period, the number of HARQ processes, the number of HARQ process IDs used during a configured grant period, the time-domain starting position and offset of PUSCH resources, and the mapping of HARQ processes to configured resources). Regarding claim 19, Xu et al. anticipates the first resource is a CG resource, multiple CG physical uplink shared channels PUSCH are configured for the CG resource in one period, and the first formula is related to one or more of following items, or the first formula comprises at least one of following items: a quantity of CG PUSCHs in one CG period; a quantity of different HARQ process IDs that are to be used in one CG period; a time domain start position of an uplink CG resource; a quantity of HARQ process IDs of the first transmission resource; an offset of a HARQ process of the first transmission resource; a quantity of HARQ processes of the first resource; or an offset of a HARQ process of the first resource (Paragraph 39-42, 44, 61, 69-70, 89-90, 101, teaches a configured grant resource having multiple PUSCHs within a configured grant period and discloses formulas for determining HARQ process assignments and starting HARQ process IDs based on parameters including the quantity of PUSCHs in the CG period, the quantity of HARQ process IDs and HARQ processes, the starting time-domain position of the first PUSCH, and the starting HARQ process ID that serves as an offset for mapping HARQ processes to configured grant resources). Regarding claim 20, Xu et al. anticipates a communication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, first information (Paragraph 40, 61, 78, The passage teaches the UE receiving information and parameters from the BS that configure operation of the configured grant resource), wherein the first information is used to configure a first resource (Paragraph 40, 61, 78, The received information and parameters configure the configured grant resource by defining its operational characteristics, including slots, PUSCHs, HARQ processes, and repetition factor), the first resource is a configured grant CG resource (Paragraph 39-40, 61, The passage expressly teaches that the configured resource being configured for the UE is a configured grant resource), multiple CG PUSCHs are configured for the first resource in one CG period (Paragraph 40-41, 44, 61, 69, teaches configuring a configured grant resource period having multiple slots and multiple PUSCHs per slot, thereby configuring multiple configured grant PUSCHs within a single configured grant period); and performing, by the terminal device, data transmission by using at least one of the multiple CG PUSCHs (Paragraph 39, 61, 64, 66, 69, 71, 76, 102, teaches the UE transmitting data transport blocks using configured grant PUSCHs, including transmission on one or more configured PUSCHs within the configured grant resource). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Guo et al. (US 20240314771 A1) discloses a terminal device that receives configured grant (CG) configuration information defining multiple PUSCH transmission opportunities within a CG period and performs uplink data transmission using one or more of those configured CG PUSCHs, including multi-TB repetitions and associated HARQ processes. Fu et al. (US 20250024433 A1) discloses configuring a terminal device with a configured grant (CG) resource having multiple CG PUSCH transmission resources within a single CG period, allowing the terminal device to transmit data using at least one of the configured CG PUSCHs to efficiently support variable-rate and multi-flow services. Matsumura et al. (US 20250185011 A1) discloses configuring and controlling PUSCH transmissions, including configured grant PUSCHs, by associating them with SRS resources, beams/panels, priorities, and collision-handling rules to enable efficient uplink data transmission, including simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH operation. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN whose telephone number is (703)756-1878. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm. 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, Ricky Ngo can be reached at (571) 272-3139. 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. /A.S.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2464 /MICHAEL K PHILLIPS/Examiner, Art Unit 2464
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 30, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
58%
With Interview (-10.2%)
3y 4m (~1y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 19 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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