Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/425,561

Power Control Parameter Determination Method and Communication Device

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 29, 2024
Examiner
KELLER, MICHAEL A
Art Unit
2446
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
588 granted / 682 resolved
+28.2% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
708
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
§103
56.9%
+16.9% vs TC avg
§102
10.9%
-29.1% vs TC avg
§112
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 682 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is in response to the communication filed on 1/29/2024 Claims 1-20 are pending. Examiner Note The examiner is here to serve, to assist, and to help applicant to the very best of his ability. The Primary Patent Examiner position is a position of serving and it is an honor to externally serve the applicant and attorney and to internally serve junior examiners and supervisors. The goal of the examiner is to work with and assist applicant to move cases along as efficiently as possible. Applicant is encouraged to call examiner to schedule an interview if applicant has any questions about this action, wants to discuss any possible paths forward, has proposed amendments to the claims to run by the examiner, or for any other issues that applicant would like to discuss. Examiner can normally be reached at (571) 270-3863 or michael.keller@uspto.gov, Monday-Friday, from about 6 AM - 10 PM EST and if your call is missed examiner will try to return call quickly, thank you. Priority This application claims priority of CN202110875673.1, filed 7/30/2021. The assignee of record is VIVO MOBILE COMMUNICATION CO., LTD. The listed inventor(s) is/are: Yang, Yu. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1/29/2024 & 9/11/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by 3GPP585 (3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #105-e, R1-2104585, e-Meeting, May 10th – 27th, 2021, please see attached document with the NF office action from March 2026, thank you; hereinafter 3GPP585) For Claim 1, 3GPP585 teaches a power control parameter determination method, comprising: obtaining, by a communication device, at least one group of component carriers configured by a network side device (3GPP585 2.1.1 In previous RAN1 meetings, it was agreed that both joint and separate TCI state indication schemes are supported in Rel-17. Meanwhile, the common RRC configured TCI state pool for joint TCI state indication has been agreed. And it is straightforward to support a common TCI state set activated in a MAC CE for joint TCI state indication scheme); obtaining, by the communication device, first common transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information activated or indicated by the network side device for a first target component carrier group, wherein the first target component carrier group is a group of component carriers in the at least one group of component carriers (3GPP585 2.1.1 As for MAC CE activated TCI state set for separate DL and UL TCI state indication scheme, it seems that a single common TCI state set in MAC-CE is also sufficient, like reusing the TCI state pool activated for PDSCH by MAC CE. A common TCI state set in MAC-CE can comprise at least one TCI state without specifying for DL or UL. In this case, DCI which indicates the TCI state (codepoint) would further indicate the mode for DL or UL. It may be suitable for a DCI without DL assignment and can provide more flexibility. Meanwhile, for DCI with DL assignment, the highest bit of 3-bit TCI field can be used for indicating the mode for DL or UL, and the rest 2-bit is to indicate a TCI state (codepoint). Alternatively, a common TCI state set can comprise at least one TCI state with specifying for DL or UL, which means DL TCI state and UL TCI state are in the same set. In such case, it may be suitable for a normal DCI with DL assignment and without DL assignment but some flexibility especially for DCI without DL assignment may be degraded. Proposal 1: The common TCI state pool in RRC should be supported for both joint and separate DL and UL TCI state indication. Proposal 2: The common TCI state/codepoint set in MAC CE should be supported for both joint and separate DL and UL TCI state indication.); and determining, by the communication device, a target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI state information (3GPP585 2.1.1 Proposal 3: Beam-specific power control (involving P0/alpha, PL RS, and closed loop index) is supported (analogous to Rel.15/16) For PUSCH, PUCCH and SRS resource set (for CB, NCB and AS(antenna switching)), PL-RS is determined according to the indicated UL TCI state or (if applicable) joint TCI state (AltB+AltC is supported) PL-RS can be associated with (but not included in) UL TCI state or (if applicable) joint TCI state If not associated, PL-RS is the periodic DL-RS used as a source RS for determining spatial TX filter or the PL RS used for the UL RS in UL or (if applicable) joint TCI state For PUSCH, PUCCH and SRS resource set (for CB, NCB and AS), other PC parameters (involving P0/alpha and closed loop index) is determined according to the indicated UL TCI state or (if applicable) joint TCI state (AltA) Other PC parameters (involving P0/alpha and closed loop index) can be associated with (but not included in) UL TCI state or (if applicable) joint TCI state), wherein a target unit comprises: a component carrier and/or a bandwidth part (BWP), and one component carrier comprises at least one BWP (3GPP585 2.1.3 Further, for cross-CC beam indication based on a single RRC TCI state pool, we have the following analysis on how to determine QCL-TypeA&D parameters (RSs) in a local (or target) CC/BWP according to the QCL-TypeA&D RS of TCI state in a reference CC/BWP. - QCL-TypeA RS: Considering that QCL-TypeA parameter can NOT be applied for cross-CC indication due to demodulation requirement for accurate time/frequency tracking, the QCL-TypeA RS in a target CC/BWP needs to be located in the local CC/BWP. The QCL-TypeA RS in a target CC/BWP can be obtained according to the QCL-TypeA RS ID indicated by the TCI state in the reference CC/BWP. Specifically, a CC ID for QCL-TypeA RS is absent in a TCI state, and the CC ID for QCL-TypeA RS is determined according to a target CC of the TCI state, which is shown in Figure 1. Please see screenshot of 3GPP585 screenshot below, thank you: PNG media_image1.png 168 1038 media_image1.png Greyscale ). For Claim 2, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the determining, by the communication device, a target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI state information comprises: in a case that the first common TCI state information comprises a first power control parameter identifier, or the first common TCI state information is associated with the first power control parameter identifier, setting the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group to a common power control parameter corresponding to the first power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 3, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the common power control parameter is a power control parameter on a reference target unit in the first target component carrier group, or the common power control parameter is a power control parameter on a preset target unit in the first target component carrier group (3GPP585 2.1.4). For Claim 4, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the setting the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group to a common power control parameter corresponding to the first power control parameter identifier comprises: in a case that it is determined based on the first common TCI state information that a quasi co-location typeD (QCL-typeD) reference signal on each target unit in the first target component carrier group is a common QCL-typeD source reference signal, setting the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group to the common power control parameter corresponding to the first power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 5, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the determining, by the communication device, a target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI state information comprises: in a case that the first common TCI state information comprises a first power control parameter identifier, or the first common TCI state information is associated with the first power control parameter identifier, determining the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 6, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein target power control parameters of target units are not exactly same, and the target power control parameters of the target units are quasi-co-located (QCLed); or target power control parameters of target units are not exactly same, and the target power control parameters of the target units are not all QCLed (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 7, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein the determining the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first power control parameter identifier comprises: in a case that a quasi co-location typeD (QCL-typeD) source reference signal on each target unit in the first target component carrier group is determined according to the first common TCI state information, determining the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 8, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the determining, by the communication device, a target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI state information comprises: in a case that the first common TCI state information comprises multiple first power control parameter identifiers or the first common TCI state information is associated with the multiple first power control parameter identifiers, and a number of the multiple first power control parameter identifiers is same as a number of target units in the first target component carrier group, determining the target power control parameter of each target unit according to a first power control parameter identifier corresponding to the target unit, wherein each target unit corresponds one-to-one to one first power control parameter according to a preset arrangement order or a preset position (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 9, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein that the first common TCI state information comprises the first power control parameter identifier comprises: the first common TCI state information comprises a first common TCI state identifier, and the first common TCI state identifier comprises the first power control parameter identifier; or the first common TCI state information comprises the first power control parameter identifier; and that the first common TCI state information is associated with the first power control parameter identifier comprises: the first common TCI state information comprises a first common TCI state identifier, and the first common TCI state identifier is associated with the first power control parameter identifier; or the first common TCI state information is associated with the first power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 10, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises: obtaining, by the communication device, second common TCI state information activated or indicated by the network side device for a second target component carrier group, wherein the first common TCI state information and the second common TCI state information are different common TCI state information, the second common TCI state information comprises a second power control parameter identifier, or the second common TCI state information is associated with the second power control parameter identifier, and the second target component carrier group is a group of component carriers in the at least one group of component carriers other than the first target component carrier group; and determining a target power control parameter of each target unit in the second target component carrier group according to the second common TCI state information (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 11, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the first power control parameter identifier and the second power control parameter identifier are same (3GPP585 2.1.1, 2.3.4). For Claim 12, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 11, wherein the target power control parameter of each target unit in each of the first target component carrier group and the second target component carrier group is a same common power control parameter, or the target power control parameter of each target unit in each component carrier group is separately determined (3GPP585 2.1.1, 2.3.4). For Claim 13, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 11, wherein the target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group and the target power control parameter of each target unit in the second target component carrier group are a same common power control parameter (3GPP585 2.1.1, 2.3.4). For Claim 14, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the first common TCI state information is used for the at least one group of component carriers (3GPP585 2.1.1, 2.3.4). For Claim 15, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 14, wherein the first common TCI state information comprises or is associated with multiple power control parameter identifiers, each of the power control parameter identifiers corresponds to target units in one group of component carriers, or each of the power control parameter identifiers corresponds to one target unit in the at least one group of component carriers (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 16, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 14, wherein the first common TCI state information comprises or is associated with one power control parameter identifier, and target units of each group of component carriers correspond to the one power control parameter identifier (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 17, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the target power control parameter comprises: a path loss reference signal (PLRS); and a power control parameter set other than the PLRS, wherein the power control parameter set other than the PLRS comprises at least one of the following: target received power, a path loss compensation factor, a closed loop index, or a power control adjustment state value (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim 18, 3GPP585 teaches the method according to claim 17, wherein the determining, by the communication device, a target power control parameter of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI state information comprises: in a case that the first common TCI state information does not comprise a first power control parameter identifier, and the first common TCI state information is not associated with the first power control parameter identifier, determining a quasi co-location typeD (QCL-typeD) reference signal of each target unit in the first target component carrier group according to the first common TCI information, and using the QCL-typeD reference signal of each target unit as the PLRS of the target unit; and/or in a case that the first common TCI state information does not comprise the first power control parameter identifier, and the first common TCI state information is not associated with the first power control parameter identifier, indicating by the network side device the power control parameter set other than the PLRS, or determining the power control parameter set other than the PLRS according to an agreement (3GPP585 2.1). For Claim(s) 19, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 1 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above. For Claim(s) 20, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 1 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above. Citation of Pertinent Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed below, thank you: i. US 20210168030 A1, CONFIGURATION METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATION Please see PTO-892 for additional listing of relevant prior art made of record but not relied upon, thank you. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael Keller at (571)270-3863 or michael.keller@uspto.gov. If attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Gillis can be reached on 571-272-7952. 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. /MICHAEL A KELLER/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 29, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.8%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
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