Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 18/953,681

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING UPLINK CHANNEL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Nov 20, 2024
Priority
Jan 14, 2021 — RE 10-2021-0005151 +4 more
Examiner
TOKUTA, SHEAN S
Art Unit
2419
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
415 granted / 520 resolved
+21.8% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
562
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
59.1%
+19.1% vs TC avg
§102
12.3%
-27.7% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 520 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to the pending claims, 1-20, received 20 November 2024. Accordingly, the detailed action of claims 1-20 is as follows: 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/20/2024, 03/16/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e). Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application. Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claim 1-2, 6-8, 12-14, 17-18 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-2, 5-7, 10-11, 15-16 of U.S. Patent No. 12155491. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. Regarding claims 1-2 and 6 (I), 7-8 and 12 (II), 13-14 (III) and 17-18 (IV), the instant application claim is broader in every aspect than the patent claim and is therefore an obvious variant thereof. Although the conflicting claims are not identical they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-2 and 6 (I), 7-8 and 12 (II), 13-14 (III) and 17-18 (IV) are generic to all that is recited in claims 1-2 and 5 (I’), 10-11 and 14 (II’), 6-7 (III’) and 15-16 (IV’), respectively, of the patent. That is claims 1-2 and 6 (I), 7-8 and 12 (II), 13-14 (III) and 17-18 (IV) are anticipated by claims 1-2 and 5 (I’), 10-11 and 14 (II’), 6-7 (III’) and 15-16 (IV’), respectively, of the patent. The mapping of claims 1-2, 6-8, 12-14 and 17-18 of the instant application to the referenced patent are provided. Instant Application 18953681 US Patent 12155491 B2 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving, via higher layer signaling, a configuration of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition; receiving, on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field; identifying, based on the configuration and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the PUSCH repetition; identifying whether predefined conditions are satisfied; and transmitting, on the plurality of time resources, the PUSCH repetition while maintaining power consistency for the PUSCH repetition in case that the predefined conditions are satisfied, wherein the predefined conditions include a first predefined condition corresponding to frequency hopping being not configured for the PUSCH repetition. 1. A method performed by a terminal in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; identifying, based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the repetition; identifying whether a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold; and transmitting, to the base station, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on the plurality of time resources, wherein:in case that the gap is less than the predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying whether a frequency hopping is configured for the repetition, wherein: in case that the frequency hopping is not configured, the power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the frequency hopping is configured, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the frequency hopping 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined conditions further include a second predefined condition corresponding to a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions in the PUSCH repetition being less than a threshold for the gap. 1. A method performed by a terminal in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; identifying, based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the repetition; identifying whether a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold; and transmitting, to the base station, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on the plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that the gap is less than the predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the PUSCH repetition is configured as one of a PUSCH repetition type A or a PUSCH repetition type B. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the repetition is configured as a PUSCH repetition type A or a PUSCH repetition type B. 7. A user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the UE comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: receive, via higher layer signaling, a configuration of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition, receive, on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field, identify, based on the configuration and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the PUSCH repetition, identify whether predefined conditions are satisfied, and transmit, on the plurality of time resources, the PUSCH repetition while maintaining power consistency for the PUSCH repetition in case that the predefined conditions are satisfied, wherein the predefined conditions include a first predefined condition corresponding to frequency hopping being not configured for the PUSCH repetition. 10. A terminal in a communication system, the terminal comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: receive, from a base station, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; receive, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; identify, based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the repetition; identify whether a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold; and transmit, to the base station, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on the plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that the gap is less than the predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap. 11. The terminal of claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to identify whether a frequency hopping is configured for the repetition, and wherein: in case that the frequency hopping is not configured, the power consistency is maintained across the at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the frequency hopping is configured, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the frequency hopping. 8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the predefined conditions further include a second predefined condition corresponding to a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions in the PUSCH repetition being less than a threshold for the gap. 10. A terminal in a communication system, the terminal comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: receive, from a base station, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; receive, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; identify, based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, a plurality of time resources for the repetition; identify whether a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold; and transmit, to the base station, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on the plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that the gap is less than the predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap. 12. The UE of claim 7, wherein the PUSCH repetition is configured as one of a PUSCH repetition type A or a PUSCH repetition type B. 14. The terminal of The terminal of wherein the repetition is configured as a PUSCH repetition type A or a PUSCH repetition type B. 13. A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, via higher layer signaling, a configuration of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition; transmitting, on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field; and receiving, on a plurality of time resources, the PUSCH repetition, wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, wherein power consistency for the PUSCH repetition is maintained in case that predefined conditions are satisfied, and wherein the predefined conditions include a first predefined condition corresponding to frequency hopping being not configured for the PUSCH repetition. 6. A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, to a terminal, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; transmitting, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; and receiving, from the terminal, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on a plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap, and wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field. 7. The method of The method of wherein: in case that a frequency hopping is not configured for the repetition, the power consistency is maintained across the at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the frequency hopping is configured, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the frequency hopping. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predefined conditions further include a second predefined condition corresponding to a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions in the PUSCH repetition being less than a threshold for the gap. 6. A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, to a terminal, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; transmitting, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; and receiving, from the terminal, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on a plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap, and wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field. 17. A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: transmit, via higher layer signaling, a configuration of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition, transmit, on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field, and receive, on a plurality of time resources, the PUSCH repetition, wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field, wherein power consistency for the PUSCH repetition is maintained in case that predefined conditions are satisfied, and wherein the predefined conditions include a first predefined condition corresponding to frequency hopping being not configured for the PUSCH repetition. 15. A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: transmit, to a terminal, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; transmit, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; and receive, from the terminal, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on a plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap, and wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field. 16. The base station of claim 15, wherein: in case that a frequency hopping is not configured for the repetition, the power consistency is maintained across the at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the frequency hopping is configured, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the frequency hopping. 18. The base station of claim 17, wherein the predefined conditions further include a second predefined condition corresponding to a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions in the PUSCH repetition being less than a threshold for the gap 15. A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: transmit, to a terminal, configuration information of a repetition of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) via higher layer signaling; transmit, to the terminal, downlink control information (DCI) including a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field for the PUSCH; and receive, from the terminal, the repetition including a plurality of PUSCH transmissions on a plurality of time resources, wherein: in case that a gap between two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition is less than a predefined threshold, a power consistency is maintained across at least the two consecutive PUSCH transmissions of the repetition, and in case that the gap exceeds the predefined threshold, the power consistency is maintained across at least PUSCH transmissions of the repetition that are before the gap, and wherein the plurality of time resources is based on the configuration information and the TDRA field. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ly et al (US 20210014095 A1); Fu et al (WO 2018194352 A1); Xu et al (US 20210281360 A1); Kim et al (US 20210392679 A1); Liu et al (US 20200204407 A1); Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEAN TOKUTA whose telephone number is (571)272-5145. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 630-430. 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, Brian Gillis can be reached at 5712727952. 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. SHEAN TOKUTA Primary Examiner Art Unit 2446 /SHEAN TOKUTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 20, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+16.2%)
2y 8m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 520 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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