Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/583,586

UNUSED TRANSMISSION OCCASION (UTO) ENABLED TRANSMISSION POWER INCREASE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 21, 2024
Examiner
PATEL, CHANDRAHAS B
Art Unit
2464
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allow Rate
780 granted / 885 resolved
+30.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
918
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.1%
-32.9% vs TC avg
§103
37.5%
-2.5% vs TC avg
§102
44.6%
+4.6% vs TC avg
§112
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 885 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION 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 1-4, 12, 13, 16-20 and 26-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kumar et al. (USPN 11,564,178). Regarding claim 1, Kumar teaches an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory comprising instructions [Fig. 2, 282]; and one or more processors, individually or collectively, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to: obtain first signaling configuring the apparatus with transmission occasions (TOs) [Col. 16, lines 18-39, each RACH occasion is the transmission occasion (TOs) configured by the apparatus, Fig. 4]; output second signaling indicating one or more unused TOs (UTOs) that correspond to one or more of the configured TOs that will be skipped by the apparatus [Col. 16, lines 25-39, determination is made regarding unused RACH occasions which are unused TOs]; and adjust transmit power of a current or future transmission based on the one or more UTOs indicated in the second signaling [Col. 16, lines 25-39, adjusts transmit power based on unused RACH occasions, see in particular lines 36-39 where transmission power offset is determined based on unused RACH occasions]. Regarding claim 2, Kumar teaches the TOs are for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) [Col. 17, lines 21-31, TOs are for transmitting PUSCH]; and the adjustment comprises increasing transmit power of a current or future PUSCH transmission [Col. 17, lines 21-53, increases transmit power by offset for PUSCH transmission]. Regarding claim 3, Kumar teaches the increase is based on a formula for PUSCH power control that increases PUSCH transmission power as a function of the one or more UTOs indicated in the second signaling [Col. 17, lines 41-53, increase is based on number of resource blocks for which power offset maybe necessary]. Regarding claims 4 and 20, Kumar teaches the formula includes at least one parameter whose value depends on the one or more UTOs indicated in the second signaling [Col. 17, lines 41-53, value of parameter depends on number of resource blocks for which power offset will be needed]. Regarding claim 12, Kumar teaches obtaining third signaling configuring the apparatus for the adjustment of the transmit power on at least one of: a per band basis, a per bandwidth part (BWP) basis, a per configured grant (CG) basis, or a per beam basis [Col. 10, lines 38-52]. Regarding claim 13, Kumar teaches the adjustment of the transmit power is triggered based on a location of the apparatus [Col. 15, lines 50-57]. Regarding claim 16, Kumar teaches at least one transceiver configured to receive the first signaling and transmit the second signaling, wherein the apparatus is configured as a user equipment (UE) [Fig. 2, 104]. Regarding claim 17, Kumar teaches apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory comprising instructions [Fig. 2, 282]; and one or more processors, individually or collectively, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to: output first signaling configuring a wireless node with transmission occasions (TOs) [Col. 16, lines 18-39, each RACH occasion is the transmission occasion (TOs) configured by the apparatus, Fig. 4]; and output second signaling configuring the wireless node to adjust transmit power of a current or future transmission based on one or more unused TOs (UTOs) that correspond to one or more of the configured TOs that will be skipped by the wireless node [Col. 16, lines 25-39, adjusts transmit power based on unused RACH occasions, see in particular lines 36-39 where transmission power offset is determined based on unused RACH occasions]. Regarding claim 18, Kumar teaches the TOs are for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) [Col. 17, lines 21-31, TOs are for transmitting PUSCH]. Regarding claim 19, Kumar teaches obtaining third signaling indicating the one or more UTOs, wherein the adjustment is based on a formula for PUSCH power control that increases PUSCH transmission power as a function of the one or more UTOs indicated in the second signaling [Col. 17, lines 41-53, increase is based on number of resource blocks for which power offset maybe necessary]. Regarding claim 26, Kumar teaches the second signaling configures the wireless node for the adjustment of the transmit power on at least one of: a per band basis, a per bandwidth part (BWP) basis, a per configured grant (CG) basis, or a per beam basis [Col. 10, lines 38-52]. Regarding claim 27, Kumar teaches at least one transceiver configured to transmit the first signaling and receive the second signaling, wherein the apparatus is configured as a network entity [Fig. 1, 102]. Regarding claim 28, Kumar teaches a method for wireless communications at a first wireless node, comprising: obtaining first signaling configuring the first wireless node with transmission occasions (TOs [Col. 16, lines 18-39, each RACH occasion is the transmission occasion (TOs) configured by the apparatus, Fig. 4]; outputting second signaling indicating one or more unused TOs (UTOs) that correspond to one or more of the configured TOs that will be skipped by the first wireless node [Col. 16, lines 25-39, determination is made regarding unused RACH occasions which are unused TOs]; and adjusting transmit power of a current or future transmission based on the one or more UTOs indicated in the second signaling [Col. 16, lines 25-39, adjusts transmit power based on unused RACH occasions, see in particular lines 36-39 where transmission power offset is determined based on unused RACH occasions]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-11, 14, 15 and 21-25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nam et al. (US-PGPUB 2019/0230599) teaches obtaining first and second parameters for determining transmit power for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. A third parameter is obtained based on a relationship between the third parameter and the first and second parameters. The PUSCH is transmitted with transmit power calculated based on the first, second and third parameters, where the first parameter comprises an indication of a downlink reference signal, the second parameter comprises an indication of a power control process and the third parameter comprises an open-loop power control index used to obtain a combination of parameter values used to calculate the transmit power. Yoo et al. (US-PGPUB 2018/0213486) teaches determining an absolute transmit power level for transmissions from multiple paired UEs served by a set of base stations using a common set of time/frequency resources. A transmit power control (TPC) command is generated for UEs based on absolute transmit power level. The TPC command is transmitted to UE. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHANDRAHAS PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1211. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:30 - 17:30. 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. /Chandrahas B Patel/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 21, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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
88%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+7.3%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 885 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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