Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/858,818

Multi-Panel Simultaneous PUSCH Transmission

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Apr 29, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022090576
Examiner
KING, CURTIS J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
557 granted / 819 resolved
+8.0% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+29.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
848
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.5%
-36.5% vs TC avg
§103
56.0%
+16.0% vs TC avg
§102
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§112
20.0%
-20.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 819 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 . 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yang (Pub. No.: 2019/0380123 A1). 1) In regard to claim 1, Yang discloses the claimed processor (fig. 4: 466, 458, 464 and 480) of a user equipment (figs. 1 & 4: 120) configured with multi- panel simultaneous physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission with spatial domain multiplexing (¶0008), the processor configured to perform operations (¶0100) comprising: receiving sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information from a base station (fig. 9: 902-904 and ¶0124); transmitting a first beam using a first panel of the UE, wherein the first beam comprises at least one of SRS or PUSCH (fig. 11: 1102-1110 and ¶0143); and transmitting a second beam using a second panel of the UE, wherein the second beam comprises at least one of SRS or PUSCH and wherein the first beam and the second beam are transmitted simultaneously (fig. 11: 1102-1110 and ¶0143). 2) In regard to claim 2 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, the operations further comprising: reporting UE capability information to the base station, the UE capability information indicating the UE supports transmitting SRS resources simultaneously from the first panel and the second panel (¶0145). 3) In regard to claim 3 (dependent on claim 2), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 2, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) layers for PUSCH operation across the first panel and the second panel (¶0088). 4) In regard to claim 4 (dependent on claim 2), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 2, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of ports for uplink transmission for each panel (¶0088). 5) In regard to claim 5 (dependent on claim 2), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 2, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of ports for uplink transmission across the first panel and the second panel (¶0088). 6) In regard to claim 6 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, the operations further comprising: transmitting a group based beam report to the base station comprising multiple groups, wherein each group comprises two beams that are suitable for simultaneous downlink reception and two beams that are suitable for multi-panel simultaneous uplink transmission (¶0118). 7) In regard to claim 7 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, the operations further comprising: transmitting a group based beam report to the base station comprising multiple groups, wherein each group comprises two beams that are suitable for multi-panel simultaneous uplink transmission (¶0118). 8) In regard to claim 8 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, wherein the SRS configuration information comprises a first SRS resource set to be used by the first panel for uplink based beam management and a second SRS resource set to be used by the second panel for uplink based beam management (¶0145). 9) In regard to claim 9 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, wherein the first beam and the second based are configured to use a same SRS resource (¶0143). 10) In regard to claim 10 (dependent on claim 9), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 9, wherein the SRS resource is configured for codebook based SRS transmission and wherein one or more SRS ports are mapped to the first panel and one or more SRS ports are mapped to the second panel (¶0136). 11) In regard to claim 11 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, wherein the first panel and the second panel are mapped to a same SRS resource set, the SRS resource set comprising a first group of SRS resources configured for the first panel and a second group of SRS resources configured for the second panel (¶0158). 12) In regard to claim 12 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, wherein the first panel and the second panel are mapped to different SRS resource sets (¶0049). 13) In regard to claim 13 (dependent on claim 1), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to transmit a same SRS resource simultaneously from the first panel and the second panel and wherein the first panel and the second panel have a same power control (fig. 4: 480, 464, and 466 shows the same power control device controls both panels). 14) In regard to claim 14, Yang discloses the processor (fig. 4: 420, 430, 438, and 440) of a base station (figs. 1 & 4: 110) configured to support multi- panel simultaneous physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission with spatial domain multiplexing (¶0008) by a user equipment (figs. 1 & 4: 120), the processor configured to perform operations (¶0124) comprising: transmitting sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information to the UE (fig. 9: 902); receiving a first beam from a first panel of the UE, wherein the first beam comprises at least one of SRS or PUSCH (fig. 9: 908); and receiving a second beam from a second panel of the UE, wherein the second beam comprises at least one or SRS or PUSCH and wherein the first beam and the second beam are transmitted simultaneously (fig. 9: 908). 15) In regard to claim 15 (dependent on claim 14), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 14, the operations further comprising: receiving UE capability information, the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports transmitting SRS resources simultaneously from the first panel and the second panel (¶0145). 16) In regard to claim 16 (dependent on claim 15), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 15, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) layers for PUSCH operation across the first panel and the second panel (¶0088). 17) In regard to claim 17 (dependent on claim 15), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 15, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of ports for uplink transmission for each panel (¶0088). 18) In regard to claim 18 (dependent on claim 15), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 15, wherein the capability information further indicates a maximum number of ports for uplink transmission across the first panel and the second panel (¶0088). 19) In regard to claim 19 (dependent on claim 14), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 14, the operations further comprising: receiving a group based beam report comprising multiple groups, wherein each group comprises two beams that are suitable for simultaneous downlink reception and two beams that are suitable for multi-panel simultaneous uplink transmission (¶0118). 20) In regard to claim 20 (dependent on claim 14), Yang further discloses the processor of claim 14, the operations further comprising: receiving a group based beam report comprising multiple groups, wherein each group comprises two beams that are suitable for multi-panel simultaneous uplink transmission (¶0118). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CURTIS J KING whose telephone number is (571)270-5160. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00 - 2:00 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, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. 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. /CURTIS J KING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 22, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12738146
Candle Alert Monitoring Apparatus and Method
1y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12731451
A LOCKING SYSTEM OF ONE OR MORE BUILDINGS
2y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12731481
Proximity-Sensor Supporting Multiple Application Services
2y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12731480
FIRE EVENTS PATTERN ANALYSIS AND CROSS-BUILDING DATA ANALYTICS
1y 11m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12725505
PRESENTATION CONTROL DEVICE, INFORMATION PRESENTATION SYSTEM, PRESENTATION CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM STORING PRESENTATION CONTROL PROGRAM
2y 0m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+29.8%)
2y 7m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 819 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month