Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 19/113,127

TIMER HANDLING FOR DATA TRANSMISSION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 19, 2025
Priority
Sep 30, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022123263
Examiner
PERRY, VICTOR NICHOLAS
Art Unit
2111
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
9 granted / 9 resolved
+45.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
46
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
85.4%
+45.4% vs TC avg
§102
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
§112
3.1%
-36.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 9 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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. 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 14 – 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Babaei (US 2019/0253197 A1) in view of Suzuki (US 2015/0289246 A1). In regards to claim 14, Babaei teaches: One or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in a memory, perform operations comprising: receiving a single uplink grant that schedules a plurality of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions; (0308, in response to the configured grant type 2 activation, the MAC entity may store the uplink grant for this serving cell and the associated HARQ information as configured uplink grant; the MAC entity may initialize or re-initialize the configured uplink grant for this serving cell to start in the associated PUSCH duration and to recur;) and starting a single timer for a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes is associated with a PUSCH transmission of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions. (0321, a single timer value may be used for all timers associated with all HARQ process corresponding to configured uplink grants.) Babaei fails to teach: instructing radio frequency (RF) circuitry to transmit the plurality of PUSCH transmissions in accordance with the single uplink grant; However, Suzuki teaches: instructing radio frequency (RF) circuitry to transmit the plurality of PUSCH transmissions in accordance with the single uplink grant; (0184, The demultiplexing portion 1055 demultiplexes the signal which is input from the radio reception portion 3057, into signals such as the PUCCH, the PUSCH, and the uplink reference signal.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify wireless device configured for uplink transmissions of Babaei with the teaching of Suzuki, which teaches an apparatus that sets a first UL-DL configuration in order to improve radio efficiency. (Suzuki: 0012, capable of efficiently performing DRX in a radio communication system which employs dynamic TDD;) In regards to claim 15, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: wherein the single timer is a configured grant timer or a configured grant retransmission timer associated with the plurality of HARQ processes. (0348, the configured grant timer (for the first HARQ process) may be further (re)-started in response to the transmitting the second packet.) In regards to claim 16, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: wherein the single uplink grant is a configured grant or a dynamic grant. (0299, dynamic grant in the uplink: configured grant type 1 where an uplink grant may be provided by RRC, and stored as configured uplink grant;) In regards to claim 17, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei fails to teach: wherein each of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions has a different start time. However, Suzuki teaches: wherein each of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions has a different start time. (0389, The high layer (RRC) controls the DRX operation by setting the following plurality of timers and value of drxStartOffset. The high layer (RRC) optionally sets drxShortCycleTimer and shortDRX-Cycle.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify wireless device configured for uplink transmissions of Babaei with the teaching of Suzuki, which teaches an apparatus that sets a first UL-DL configuration in order to improve radio efficiency. (Suzuki: 0012, capable of efficiently performing DRX in a radio communication system which employs dynamic TDD;) In regards to claim 18, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: wherein the single timer starts at a time corresponding to: a beginning of a first PUSCH transmission of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions, a beginning of a second PUSCH transmission of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions, a termination of the first PUSCH transmission of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions, or a termination of the second PUSCH transmission of the plurality of PUSCH transmissions. (0325, the configured grant configuration parameters may comprise a first timer value of a first timer. The first timer may be a configured grant timer. In an example, the first timer may be associated with a HARQ process. In an example, each HARQ process in a plurality of HARQ processes may be associated with a timer. In an example, the plurality of HARQ processes may be used for configured uplink grants. In an example, the timers associated with the plurality of HARQ processes may be configured with a single timer value.) In regards to claim 19, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: the operations further comprising: refraining from performing a new transmission using one or more configured grant resources associated with one or more HARQ processes of the plurality of HARQ processes while the single timer is running. (0342, the one or more second conditions may comprise a phr-ProhibitTimer expiring or being expired, when the MAC entity has UL resources for new transmission;) In regards to claim 20, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: wherein a duration of the single timer is preconfigured. (0325, the timers associated with the plurality of HARQ processes may be configured with a single timer value.) In regards to claim 21, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei fails to teach: wherein a duration of the single timer is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. However, Suzuki teaches: wherein a duration of the single timer is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (0389, The high layer (RRC) controls the DRX operation by setting the following plurality of timers and value of drxStartOffset. The high layer (RRC) optionally sets drxShortCycleTimer and shortDRX-Cycle.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify wireless device configured for uplink transmissions of Babaei with the teaching of Suzuki, which teaches an apparatus that sets a first UL-DL configuration in order to improve radio efficiency. (Suzuki: 0012, capable of efficiently performing DRX in a radio communication system which employs dynamic TDD;) In regards to claim 22, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei fails to teach: the operations further comprising: determining a duration of the single timer based at least on one or more conditions. However, Suzuki teaches: the operations further comprising: determining a duration of the single timer based at least on one or more conditions. (0396, The base station apparatus 3 may transmit an RRC message including parameters/information indicating values of onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, drx-RetransmissionTimer, longDRX-Cycle, drxShortCycleTimer, shortDRX-Cycle, and, drxStartOffset, to the mobile station apparatus 1.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify wireless device configured for uplink transmissions of Babaei with the teaching of Suzuki, which teaches an apparatus that sets a first UL-DL configuration in order to improve radio efficiency. (Suzuki: 0012, capable of efficiently performing DRX in a radio communication system which employs dynamic TDD;) In regards to claim 23, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 22. Babaei teaches: the one or more conditions including (i) a number of PUSCH transmissions scheduled by the single uplink grant, (ii) a spacing of PUSCH transmissions scheduled by the single uplink grant, or (iii) an end time of a last PUSCH transmission scheduled by the single uplink grant. (0233, The wireless device may transmit one or more uplink data package via one or more PUSCH scheduled by the one or more PDCCHs, when successfully detecting the one or more PDCCHs.) In regards to claim 24, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the one or more processors of claim 14. Babaei teaches: wherein the single uplink grant is received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the single uplink grant indicating a start time of the single timer. (0308, an uplink grant may be received at a PDCCH occasion for a serving cell on a PDCCH for the MAC entity's CS-RNTI (e.g., configured scheduling RNTI). In an example, if the NDI in the received HARQ information is 1, the MAC entity may consider the NDI for the corresponding HARQ process not to have been toggled; the MAC entity may stop the ConfiguredGrantTimer for the corresponding HARQ process, if running; and the MAC entity may deliver the uplink grant and the associated HARQ information to the HARQ entity.) With regards to claim 25, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method and corresponds to claim 14 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 26, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 15 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 27, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 16 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 28, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 17 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 29, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 18 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 30, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 19 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 31, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 20 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 32, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the method of claim 25 and corresponds to claim 21 as analyzed accordingly. With regards to claim 33, Babaei in view of Suzuki teaches the apparatus and corresponds to claim 14 as analyzed accordingly. Prior Art Made of Record The prior art mode of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure: Wei (US-2021/0105101-A1): A method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes: receiving, from a base station (BS), a radio resource control (RRC) message that includes a first configuration indicating a first parameter associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP) and a second configuration indicating a second parameter associated with a second BWP; receiving, from the BS, downlink control information (DCI) having a DCI format, the DCI indicating either a data reception or a data transmission on a BWP, and the DCI including a field indicating a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number to be applied by the UE for the data reception or the data transmission; determining whether a bit length of the field is fixed or variable according to the DCI format; and in a case that the bit length of the field is variable, determining the bit length of the field according to one of the first parameter and the second parameter that is associated with the BWP. Chatterjee (US-2021/0203449-A1): Provided herein are mechanisms on response of pre-allocated resource based PUSCH transmission. The disclosure provides an apparatus including processor circuitry. The processor circuitry is to: encode data, for transmission to an access node (AN) over a pre-allocated uplink (UL) resource (PUR) based physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); start a timer once the data is transmitted; and monitor, based on the timer, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to obtain a response of the AN to the transmission of the data. Other embodiments may also be disclosed and claimed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICTOR PERRY whose telephone number is (571)272-6319. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 - 5:00. 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, Mark Featherstone can be reached on (571) 270-3750. 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. /V.P./Examiner, Art Unit 2111 /GUERRIER MERANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111 8/31/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 19, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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
100%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+0.0%)
2y 4m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 9 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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