Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/187,626

CONTROL INFORMATION TRANSMISSION METHOD AND DEVICE FOR NETWORK COOPERATIVE COMMUNICATION OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 21, 2023
Examiner
DEAN, RAYMOND S
Art Unit
2645
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allow Rate
618 granted / 883 resolved
+8.0% vs TC avg
Strong +15% interview lift
Without
With
+15.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
48 currently pending
Career history
931
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.6%
-36.4% vs TC avg
§103
64.2%
+24.2% vs TC avg
§102
19.2%
-20.8% vs TC avg
§112
7.5%
-32.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 883 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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on February 9, 2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Applicants’ remarks, filed January 13, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 6, 11, 14 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Nguyen et al. (KR 20180012820). Nguyen teaches a single TPC command field with a bit-width of two-bits (Sections 0008, 0073), one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power of the second PUCCH (Sections 0008, 0073). 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. Claim(s) 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao et al. (US 2022/0201619) in view of Gao et al. (US 2023/0262608) and in further view of Nguyen et al. (KR 20180012820) Regarding Claim 1, Yao teaches a method performed by a terminal to transmit an uplink channel in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving configuration information related to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) power control through radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Section 0169, RRC signaling indicates power control parameter information for the PUCCH); identifying, based on the configuration information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0170, power control information for PUCCH (See Section 0169) power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 0 and power control information for PUCCH power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 1). Yao does not teach receiving activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling; identifying, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node; receiving downlink control information (DCI), which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command and includes either a single TPC command field with a bit width of two-bits, or a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH; determining transmission powers for PUCCH repetitions, the PUCCH repetitions including a first PUCCH associated with the first node and a second PUCCH associated with the second node and transmitting the PUCCH repetitions based on the determined transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches receiving activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling (Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); identifying, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0018, power control parameters, Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP); receiving downlink control information (DCI) that is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command (Sections 0200, 0202) and includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); determining transmission powers for PUCCH repetitions, the PUCCH repetitions including a first PUCCH associated with the first node and a second PUCCH associated with the second node; and transmitting the PUCCH repetitions based on the determined transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted, Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); determining transmission, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Yao combination does not teach wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information Nguyen, which also teaches the use of PUCCHs, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH (Sections 0008, 0073), and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field (Sections 0008, 0073, renders a scenario wherein the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Yao combination with the above features of Nguyen for the purpose of providing efficient PUCCH resource allocation/collision handling for enhanced flexible scheduling as taught by Nguyen. Regarding Claim 6, Yao teaches a method performed by a base station to receive an uplink channel in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: transmitting to a terminal configuration information related to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) power control through radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Section 0169, RRC signaling indicates power control parameter information for the PUCCH, UE receives RRC signaling from the base station); identifying, based on the configuration information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0170, power control information for PUCCH (See Section 0169) power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 0 and power control information for PUCCH power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 1). Yao does not teach transmitting, to the terminal, activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling; transmitting, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI), which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command and includes either a single TPC command field with a bit width of two-bits, or a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH associated with a first node and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH associated with a second node; and receiving, from the terminal, PUCCH repetitions based on transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, the PUCCH repetitions including the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH, wherein first information for a PUCCH power control associated with the first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with the second node are identified based on the activation information, wherein, as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to a determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches transmitting, to the terminal, activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling (Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); transmitting, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command (Sections 0200, 0202) and includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH associated with a first node and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH associated with a second node (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); and receiving, from the terminal, PUCCH repetitions based on transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, the PUCCH repetitions including the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted, Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations), identifying, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0018, power control parameters, Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP), and wherein in case that the DCI includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)), the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Yao combination does not teach wherein, as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to a determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Nguyen, which also teaches the use of PUCCHs, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH (Sections 0008, 0073), and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field (Sections 0008, 0073, renders a scenario wherein the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Yao combination with the above features of Nguyen for the purpose of providing efficient PUCCH resource allocation/collision handling for enhanced flexible scheduling as taught by Nguyen. Regarding Claim 11, Yao teaches a terminal that transmits an uplink channel in a wireless communication system, comprising: a transceiver; memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receive configuration information related to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) power control through radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Section 0169, RRC signaling indicates power control parameter information for the PUCCH, typical UEs comprise transceivers, memories, and processors that run executable code stored in said memories); identify, based on the configuration information, first information for the PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for the PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0170, power control information for PUCCH (See Section 0169) power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 0 and power control information for PUCCH power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 1). Yao does not teach receive activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling; identify, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node; receive downlink control information (DCI), which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command and includes either a single TPC command field with a bit width of two-bits, or a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH; determine transmission powers for PUCCH repetitions, the PUCCH repetitions including a first PUCCH associated with the first node and a second PUCCH associated with the second node and transmit the PUCCH repetitions based on the determined transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches receive activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling (Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); identify, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0018, power control parameters, Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP); receive downlink control information (DCI) that is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command (Sections 0200, 0202) and includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); determine transmission powers for PUCCH repetitions, the PUCCH repetitions including a first PUCCH associated with the first node and a second PUCCH associated with the second node; and transmit the PUCCH repetitions based on the determined transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted, Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); determine transmission, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Yao combination does not teach wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information Nguyen, which also teaches the use of PUCCHs, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH (Sections 0008, 0073), and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field (Sections 0008, 0073, renders a scenario wherein the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Yao combination with the above features of Nguyen for the purpose of providing efficient PUCCH resource allocation/collision handling for enhanced flexible scheduling as taught by Nguyen. Regarding Claim 14, Yao teaches a base station that receives an uplink channel in a wireless communication system, comprising: a transceiver; a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store instructions for operations executed by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to control the transceiver to: transmit, to a terminal, configuration information related to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) through radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Section 0169, RRC signaling indicates power control parameter information for the PUCCH, UE receives RRC signaling from the base station, Section 0170, power control information for PUCCH (See Section 0169) power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 0 and power control information for PUCCH power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 1, typical base stations comprise processors and memory that store executable code run by said processors). identify, based on the configuration information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0170, power control information for PUCCH (See Section 0169) power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 0 and power control information for PUCCH power control (See Section 0169) associated with TRP 1). Yao does not teach transmit, to the terminal, activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling; transmit, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI), which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command and includes either a single TPC command field with a bit width of two-bits, or a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH associated with a first node and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH associated with a second node; and receive, from the terminal, PUCCH repetitions based on transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, the PUCCH repetitions including the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH, wherein first information for a PUCCH power control associated with the first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with the second node are identified based on the activation information, wherein, as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to a determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches transmit, to the terminal, activation information for activating two spatial relation information for a PUCCH resource through medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling (Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations); transmit, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) which is associated with a transmit power control (TPC) command (Sections 0200, 0202) and includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH associated with a first node and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH associated with a second node (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)); and receive, from the terminal, PUCCH repetitions based on transmission powers and two spatial relation information activated by the MAC-CE signaling, the PUCCH repetitions including the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted, Section 0017, up to 64 spatial relations), identify, based on the activation information, first information for a PUCCH power control associated with a first node and second information for a PUCCH power control associated with a second node (Section 0018, power control parameters, Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP), and wherein in case that the DCI includes a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and a second field corresponding to the second PUCCH (there will be fields in the DCI for the TPC commands, which correspond to power control information, for each TRP (Sections 0200, 0202)), the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information (Sections 0200, 0202, the power of the PUCCH for each TRP is determined based on the power control information for the PUCCH for each TRP, the PUCCH will be transmitted). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Yao combination does not teach wherein, as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to a determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein, as a response to the DCI including a first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the first information and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field and the second information. Nguyen, which also teaches the use of PUCCHs, wherein as a response to the DCI including the single TPC command field with the bit width of two-bits, one value of the single TPC command field is applied to the determination of both a transmission power for the first PUCCH and a transmission power for the second PUCCH (Sections 0008, 0073), and wherein, as a response to the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field (Sections 0008, 0073, renders a scenario wherein the DCI including the first field corresponding to the first PUCCH and the second field corresponding to the second PUCCH, the transmission power for the first PUCCH is determined based on the first field and the transmission power for the second PUCCH is determined based on the second field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Yao combination with the above features of Nguyen for the purpose of providing efficient PUCCH resource allocation/collision handling for enhanced flexible scheduling as taught by Nguyen. Regarding Claims 3, 8, 13, The above Yao combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 1, 6, 11. Yao further teaches wherein the first information includes a first identifier of the first information (Sections 0169, 0170, there will be identification of power control information) and wherein the second information includes a second identifier of the second information (Sections 0169, 0170, there will be identification of power control information). Yao combination does not teach and a first closed loop index and a second closed loop index, and wherein the first closed loop index and the second closed loop index are configured to different values. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches a first closed loop index and a second closed loop index, and wherein the first closed loop index and the second closed loop index are configured to different values (Section 0137, a plurality of closed loop indexes, which can be different values due to the closed loop index range). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao combination with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Regarding Claims 4, 9, The above Yao combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 1, 6. Yao combination does not teach transmitting the first PUCCH for the first node using the transmission for the first PUCCH /receiving the first PUCCH for the first node using the transmission for the first PUCCH; and transmitting the second PUCCH for the second node using the transmission power for the second PUCCH/ receiving the second PUCCH for the second node using the transmission power for the second PUCCH, and wherein the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are located in different slots or are located in non-overlapping time periods within one slot. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches transmitting the first PUCCH for the first node using the transmission for the first PUCCH /receiving the first PUCCH for the first node using the transmission for the first PUCCH (Sections 0046, slots, Sections 0200, 0202, power control information), and transmitting the second PUCCH for the second node using the transmission power for the second PUCCH/ receiving the second PUCCH for the second node using the transmission power for the second PUCCH (Sections 0046, slots, Sections 0200, 0202, power control information), and wherein the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are located in different slots or are located in non-overlapping time periods within one slot (Section 0046, repeated multiple times over multiple slots). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao combination with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Claim(s) 2, 7, 12, 15, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao et al. (US 2022/0201619) in view of Gao et al. (US 2023/0262608) in view of Nguyen et al. (KR 20180012820), as applied to Claims 1, 6, 11, 14 set forth above, and further in view of Venugopal et al. (US 2020/0314829) Regarding Claims 2, 7, 12, 15, The above Yao combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 1, 6, 11, 14. Yao combination does not teach wherein the activation information includes an identifier (ID) of the PUCCH resource and IDs of the two spatial relation information corresponding to the PUCCH resource. Venugopal, which also teaches the use of a PUCCH, teaches wherein the activation information includes an identifier (ID) of the PUCCH resource (Section 0071, PUCCH resource ID) and IDs of the two spatial relation information corresponding to the PUCCH resource (Section 0071, resource set ID, spatial relation indication or identification). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Yao combination with the above features of Venugopal for the purpose of minimizing the signaling overhead for updating and configuring the spatial relationship for multiple resources and/or channels as taught by Venugopal. Claim(s) 5, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao et al. (US 2022/0201619) in view of Gao et al. (US 2023/0262608) in view of Nguyen et al. (KR 20180012820), as applied to Claims 1, 6 set forth above, and further in view of Yang et al. (US 2020/0015250) Regarding Claims 5, 10, The above Yao combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 1, 6. Yao combination does not teach receiving/transmitting information on a number of repetitions of the PUCCH repetitions, wherein a PUCCH repeatedly transmitted in a non-overlapping time resource as many times as the number of repetitions, wherein a transmission power, determined based on the first information and the DCI, is applied to odd-numbered PUCCH transmission, and wherein a transmission power, determined based on the second information and the DCI, is applied to even-numbered PUCCH transmission. Gao, which also teaches power control in a multiple TRP environment, teaches receiving/transmitting information on a number of repetitions of the PUCCH repetitions (Section 0046, each repetition towards a different TRP thus there will be repetition information), wherein a PUCCH is repeatedly transmitted in a non-overlapping time resource as many times as the number of repetitions (Section 0046, repeated multiple times over multiple slots, each repetition towards a different TRP). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao combination with the above features of Gao for the purpose of providing more accurate per TRP power control as taught by Gao. Yao combination does not teach wherein a transmission power, determined based on the first information, is applied to odd-numbered PUCCH transmission, and wherein a transmission power, determined based on the second information, is applied to even-numbered PUCCH transmission. Yang, which also teaches the use of PUCCHs, teaches wherein a transmission power, determined based on the first information, is applied to odd-numbered PUCCH transmission, and wherein a transmission power, determined based on the second information, is applied to even-numbered PUCCH transmission (Section 0084, power control information). It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Yao combination with the above features of Yang for the purpose of improving feedback support methods as taught by Yang. The combination of Gao and Yang teaches wherein a transmission power, determined based on the first information and the DCI, is applied to odd-numbered PUCCH transmission, and wherein a transmission power, determined based on the second information and the DCI, is applied to even-numbered PUCCH transmission. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND S DEAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7877. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 6:00-2:30, EST. 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, Anthony S Addy can be reached at 571-272-7795. 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. /RAYMOND S DEAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 Raymond S. Dean March 2, 2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 21, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Aug 01, 2025
Interview Requested
Aug 21, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 21, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Sep 02, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 14, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Jan 13, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 09, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 17, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+15.3%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 883 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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