Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/695,093

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BEAM OPERATION OF IAB NODE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 25, 2024
Priority
Oct 01, 2021 — RE 10-2021-0130839 +2 more
Examiner
CATTUNGAL, AJAY P
Art Unit
2467
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
801 granted / 902 resolved
+30.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
913
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
65.5%
+25.5% vs TC avg
§102
17.3%
-22.7% vs TC avg
§112
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 902 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 . 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)(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) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nilsson et al. (US 2024/0348310 A1). Regarding claims 1, 5, 9, 13, Nilsson et al. discloses a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: determining information indicating a restricted beam which cannot be used for transmission or reception by a distributed unit (DU) of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node connected to the base station (Para 50 and Para 236-237 teaches of determining restricted IAB-DU beams ) ; and transmitting, to the IAB node, a message comprising the information indicating the restricted beam (Para 236 teaches “the parent IAB-DU indicates a number of restricted IAB-DU beams by signaling reference signal indices (e.g., SSBRI, CRI, SRI, for SSB, CSI-RS and SRS beams, respectively) or TCI state IDs to the IAB-DU (e.g., IAB node 16), where each reference signal index or TCI state ID is associated to an IAB-DU beam.“). Regarding claims 2, 6, 10, , Nilsson et al. discloses a method, wherein the message further comprises information on a beam to be used for data transmission or reception by a mobile termination (MT) of the IAB node. (Para 104 teaches “the child IAB node can dynamically report to the parent IAB node a set of recommended beams, not-preferred beams, or both recommended and not-preferred beams of the IAB-MT of the child IAB node.”). Regarding claims 3, 7, 11, 14, Nilsson et al. discloses a method, wherein the information indicating the restricted beam comprises at least one of identification information on a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or identification information on a synchronization signal block (SSB) (Para 236 teaches “the parent IAB-DU indicates a number of restricted IAB-DU beams by signaling reference signal indices (e.g., SSBRI, CRI, SRI, for SSB, CSI-RS and SRS beams, respectively) or TCI state IDs to the IAB-DU (e.g., IAB node 16), where each reference signal index or TCI state ID is associated to an IAB-DU beam.“)., wherein the information indicating the restricted beam is applied in case that the IAB mode operates in a non-time division multiplexing (TDM) mode (Para 236 teaches of operating in (spatial division multiplexing ) SDM mode “ The indicated IAB-DU beams may be restricted for use when the IAB node 16 is operating in SDM mode (but can still be used when operating in TDM mode).”), and wherein the message comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (Para 115 and 128 teaches of using MAC CE for messages). Regarding claims 4, 8, 12, 15, Nilsson et al. discloses a method, further comprising: receiving, from the IAB node, information indicating a recommended beam of the IAB node(Para 104 teaches “the child IAB node can dynamically report to the parent IAB node a set of recommended beams, not-preferred beams, or both recommended and not-preferred beams of the IAB-MT of the child IAB node.”)., wherein the information indicating the recommended beam comprises at least one of identification information on a channel state information reference signal (CSI- RS), identification information on a synchronization signal block (SSB), a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state identifier (ID), or a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI). (Para 236 teaches “the parent IAB-DU indicates a number of restricted IAB-DU beams by signaling reference signal indices (e.g., SSBRI, CRI, SRI, for SSB, CSI-RS and SRS beams, respectively) or TCI state IDs to the IAB-DU (e.g., IAB node 16), where each reference signal index or TCI state ID is associated to an IAB-DU beam.“ These same indices could be used to recommend preferred spatial beams ). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY P CATTUNGAL whose telephone number is (571)270-7525. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00 PM. 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 5712723940. 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. /AJAY CATTUNGAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 25, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §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
89%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.8%)
2y 4m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 902 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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