Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/735,088

ANTENNA GROUP POWER LEVEL CAPABILITY INFORMATION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 05, 2024
Priority
Sep 22, 2023 — provisional 63/584,724
Examiner
REDDIVALAM, SRINIVASA R
Art Unit
2477
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
450 granted / 565 resolved
+21.6% vs TC avg
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+22.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
576
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
§103
74.2%
+34.2% vs TC avg
§102
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
§112
4.6%
-35.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 565 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. 2. 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. 3. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 4. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PARK et al. (US Pub. No: 2026/0101354 A1) in view of Rahman et al. (US Pub. No: 2024/0381346 A1). Regarding claim 1, PARK et al. teach an apparatus for wireless communication (see Abstract and Fig. 15/wireless device 100), comprising: one or more memories (see Fig.15, memory 104 inside wireless device 100 and para [0220]); and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (see Fig.15, processor 102 inside wireless device 100 and para [0220]), the one or more processors individually or collectively configured (see para [0220]) to: transmit capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the apparatus (see para [0005] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information related to eight transmission antenna ports of the UE, is mentioned and also the UE capability information including information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0191] wherein the UE capability information may include information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0017]); and receive a scheduling communication that schedules an uplink communication using a selected precoder based at least in part on the capability information (see para [0005] wherein the UE receiving downlink control information (DCI) for uplink scheduling including information about a transmission precoding index (TPMI), and transmitting an uplink signal based on the DCI, is mentioned and also transmission power of the uplink signal being determined based on whether the TPMI (that includes precoder) obtained through the DCI is related to the reported antenna port group, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0010] & [0017]). PARK et al. teach the above apparatus comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the apparatus, as mentioned above, but PARK et al. is silent in teaching the above apparatus comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the apparatus. However, Rahman et al. teach an apparatus (see Abstract and Fig.3) comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the apparatus (see para [0689] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information (910), is mentioned and also see para [0692] wherein the UE capability information further indicating a group of full power TPMIs, and the power level corresponds to full power if the TPMI is included in the group of full power TPMIs, is mentioned and also when the codebook corresponds to N.sub.g=2, the eight antenna ports is partitioned into two antenna groups {g1, g2}, each with four antenna ports and the UE capability information further indicates the group of full power TPMIs via a parameter taking a value from {g1, g2} to indicate each one of the two antenna groups corresponding to the indicated full power TPMIs, is mentioned). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above apparatus of PARK et al. to have transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the apparatus, disclosed by Rahman et al. in order to provide an effective mechanism of a wireless device for efficiently enabling full power uplink (UL) transmission and also transmitting the PUSCH transmission with the determined optimum power level in wireless communication system. Regarding claim 10, PARK et al. teach a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) (see Abstract and Fig. 15/wireless device 100/UE), comprising: transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE (see para [0005] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information related to eight transmission antenna ports of the UE, is mentioned and also the UE capability information including information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0191] wherein the UE capability information may include information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0017]); and receiving a scheduling communication that schedules an uplink communication using a selected precoder based at least in part on the capability information (see para [0005] wherein the UE receiving downlink control information (DCI) for uplink scheduling including information about a transmission precoding index (TPMI), and transmitting an uplink signal based on the DCI, is mentioned and also transmission power of the uplink signal being determined based on whether the TPMI (that includes precoder) obtained through the DCI is related to the reported antenna port group, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0010] & [0017]). PARK et al. teach the above method comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE, as mentioned above, but PARK et al. is silent in teaching the above method of wireless communication comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE. However, Rahman et al. teach a method of wireless communication (see Abstract and Fig.3) comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE (see para [0689] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information (910), is mentioned and also see para [0692] wherein the UE capability information further indicating a group of full power TPMIs, and the power level corresponds to full power if the TPMI is included in the group of full power TPMIs, is mentioned and also when the codebook corresponds to N.sub.g=2, the eight antenna ports is partitioned into two antenna groups {g1, g2}, each with four antenna ports and the UE capability information further indicates the group of full power TPMIs via a parameter taking a value from {g1, g2} to indicate each one of the two antenna groups corresponding to the indicated full power TPMIs, is mentioned). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above apparatus of PARK et al. to have transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE, disclosed by Rahman et al. in order to provide an effective mechanism of a wireless device for efficiently enabling full power uplink (UL) transmission and also transmitting the PUSCH transmission with the determined optimum power level in wireless communication system. Regarding claims 2 and 11, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, wherein the capability information indicates a selected power-level capability, of multiple candidate power-level capabilities, for each antenna group (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0165] & [0166]). Regarding claims 3 and 12, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 2/11, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 2/11, wherein the multiple candidate power-level capabilities include a full-power capability, a one-half-full-power capability, and a one-quarter-full-power capability (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned). Regarding claims 4 and 13, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, wherein the capability information indicates the power-level capability of each antenna group using a bit string that jointly encodes the power-level capability of each antenna group (see para [0165] wherein the UE may configure a bitmap per Ng value or configure bits for a corresponding Ng to report information about a full power capable TPMI group to the BS. For example, a TPMI group supporting full power mode 2 may be reported by using a 2-bit bitmap for Ng=2 and a 4-bit bitmap for Ng=4, is mentioned and also see para [0166]). Regarding claims 5 and 14, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 4/13, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 4/13, wherein the multiple antenna groups include four antenna groups, wherein the capability information indicates, for each antenna group, one of three candidate power-level capabilities (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned and also see para [0165] wherein the UE configuring a bitmap per Ng value or configure bits for a corresponding Ng to report information about a full power capable TPMI group to the BS & for example, a TPMI group supporting full power mode 2 may be reported by using a 2-bit bitmap for Ng=2 and a 4-bit bitmap for Ng=4, is mentioned) and wherein the bit string that jointly encodes the power-level capabilities of the multiple antenna groups includes seven bits (see para [0165] wherein the UE may configure a bitmap per Ng value or configure bits for a corresponding Ng to report information about a full power capable TPMI group to the BS. For example, a TPMI group supporting full power mode 2 may be reported by using a 2-bit bitmap for Ng=2 and a 4-bit bitmap for Ng=4, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0166] & [0182]). Regarding claims 6 and 15, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, wherein the capability information indicates the power-level capability of each antenna group by indicating, for each antenna group, a corresponding bit string that encodes the power-level capability of the antenna group (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned and also see paragraph [0166] wherein the UE may map TPMIs configured by the layer split as one group and represent them by bit information (e.g., 2 bits), is mentioned & also see para [0172]). Regarding claims 7 and 16, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 6/15, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 1/10, wherein the capability information indicates, for each antenna group, one of three candidate power-level capabilities (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned) and wherein, for each antenna group, the corresponding bit string that encodes the power-level capability of the antenna group includes two bits (see para [0166] wherein the UE may map TPMIs configured by the layer split as one group and represent them by bit information (e.g., 2 bits), is mentioned & also when the bit information is a first value (e.g., when the bitmap is “10”), it is understood that TPMIs corresponding to (1,0), (2,0), (3,0), and (4,0) in Table 15 below supporting full power mode 2, is mentioned). Regarding claims 8 and 17, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 7/16, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 7/16, wherein a first bit, of the two bits, indicates whether the antenna group is capable of full-power transmission (see para [0166] wherein the UE may map TPMIs configured by the layer split as one group and represent them by bit information (e.g., 2 bits), is mentioned & also when the bit information is a first value (e.g., when the bitmap is “10”), it is understood that TPMIs corresponding to (1,0), (2,0), (3,0), and (4,0) in Table 15 below supporting full power mode 2, is mentioned and also see para [0172]). Regarding claims 9 and 18, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the apparatus/method of claims 7/16, respectively. PARK et al. further teach the apparatus/method of claims 7/16, wherein a second bit, of the two bits, indicates whether the antenna group is capable of one of one-half-full-power transmission or one-quarter-full-power transmission (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0123] & [0166]). Regarding claim 19, PARK et al. teach a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising (see Abstract and Fig. 15/wireless device 100/UE & para [0220]): one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE (see para [0220]) to: transmit capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE (see para [0005] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information related to eight transmission antenna ports of the UE, is mentioned and also the UE capability information including information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0191] wherein the UE capability information may include information for reporting an antenna port group supporting full power transmission among a plurality of antenna port groups configured based on the eight transmission antenna ports, is mentioned and also see para [0017]); and receive a scheduling communication that schedules an uplink communication using a selected precoder based at least in part on the capability information (see para [0005] wherein the UE receiving downlink control information (DCI) for uplink scheduling including information about a transmission precoding index (TPMI), and transmitting an uplink signal based on the DCI, is mentioned and also transmission power of the uplink signal being determined based on whether the TPMI (that includes precoder) obtained through the DCI is related to the reported antenna port group, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0010] & [0017]). PARK et al. teach the above medium comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of an antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein the antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE, as mentioned above, but PARK et al. is silent in teaching the above medium for wireless communication comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE. However, Rahman et al. teach a system for wireless communication (see Abstract and Fig.3) comprising transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE (see para [0689] wherein the UE transmitting UE capability information (910), is mentioned and also see para [0692] wherein the UE capability information further indicating a group of full power TPMIs, and the power level corresponds to full power if the TPMI is included in the group of full power TPMIs, is mentioned and also when the codebook corresponds to N.sub.g=2, the eight antenna ports is partitioned into two antenna groups {g1, g2}, each with four antenna ports and the UE capability information further indicates the group of full power TPMIs via a parameter taking a value from {g1, g2} to indicate each one of the two antenna groups corresponding to the indicated full power TPMIs, is mentioned). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above medium of PARK et al. to have transmitting capability information that indicates a power-level capability of each antenna group, of multiple antenna groups, wherein each antenna group is associated with one or more transmission antennas of at least eight transmission antennas associated with the UE, disclosed by Rahman et al. in order to provide an effective mechanism of a wireless device for efficiently enabling full power uplink (UL) transmission and also transmitting the PUSCH transmission with the determined optimum power level in wireless communication system. Regarding claim 20, PARK et al. and Rahman et al. together teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19. PARK et al. further teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the capability information indicates a selected power-level capability, of multiple candidate power-level capabilities, for each antenna group (see para [0129] wherein the UE reporting the capability (e.g. full power/half power/quarter power) of UL power (e.g., PUSCH/SRS power) that it may transmit to the BS, is mentioned and also see paragraphs [0165] & [0166]). Conclusion 5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nilsson et al. (US Pub. No: 2025/0279817 A1) disclose mechanisms relating to antenna port group information reporting in wireless communication system. NOH et al. (US Pub. No: 2020/0314764 A1) disclose mechanisms relating to a method and an apparatus for adjusting uplink transmission power or transmission direction in wireless communication system. 6. Any response to this office action should be faxed to (571) 273-8300 or mailed To: Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 Hand-delivered responses should be brought to Customer Service Window Randolph Building 401 Dulany Street Alexandria, VA 22314. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SRINIVASA REDDIVALAM whose telephone number is (571)270-3524. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thu 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CHIRAG G SHAH can be reached on 571-272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SRINIVASA R REDDIVALAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 7/11/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 05, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.8%)
3y 3m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
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