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 .
DETAILED ACTION
a. Claims 1-62 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA :
b. This is a final action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 02/19/2026.
Response to Arguments
Regarding claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, and 47 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's first arguments, see “As is abundantly apparent, a UE measuring the RSRP of a single eNodeB and determining whether that RSRP has changed more than a threshold does not disclose or suggest that "one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second."” on pages 16-17, filed on 02/19/2026, with respect to Cha et al. US Pub 2020/0367193, claiming domestic priority 01-10-2020 (hereinafter “Cha”), in view of Ericsson NPL “Co-ordination among UE, gNB and Location Server for PRS Configuration and Feedbacks”, 3GPP R2-1901533, Feb 25 – Mar 1, 2019 (hereinafter “Ericsson”), and further in view of Wong et al. Foreign Patent WO 2018028941A1 (hereinafter “Wong”), have been fully considered but not persuasive.
Wong clearly discloses one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second (“For example the UE measures the reference signal received power (RSRP) of reference signals received from the eNodeB on its serving cell. At decision point S.83, if the triggering- related measurement exceeds a threshold, for example the measured RSRP has changed by more than a certain amount, then in step S.84 the UE performs and reports a positioning measurement. For example, the UE measures the RSTD on multiple eNodeBs and sends an uplink message reporting those measurements.” On page 10 and Fig. 8 and also “The RSRP that triggers the UE to perform the RSTD measurement can be measured on the serving cell or on one or more neighbour cells. If the RSRP changes by more than a threshold amount relative to any of these cells, it is an indication that the UE has moved and should perform RSTD measurements.” Bottom page 13)
Regarding claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, and 47 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's second arguments, see “Further, there is no mention of a downlink receive beam in Wong, and in fact, no mention of beamforming at all in Wong. As such, Wong cannot disclose or suggest that "one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam."” on page 17, filed on 02/19/2026, with respect to Cha et al. US Pub 2020/0367193, claiming domestic priority 01-10-2020 (hereinafter “Cha”), in view of Ericsson NPL “Co-ordination among UE, gNB and Location Server for PRS Configuration and Feedbacks”, 3GPP R2-1901533, Feb 25 – Mar 1, 2019 (hereinafter “Ericsson”), and further in view of Wong et al. Foreign Patent WO 2018028941A1 (hereinafter “Wong”), have been fully considered but not persuasive.
Ericsson clearly discloses received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold (“An indication of one or more cells contributing to one or more of the above being below a first threshold and/or above a second threshold” and “Location Measurement quality or uncertainty (e.g., for UE-based positioning the UE may still assist the location server or radio network nodes transmitting PRS in optimizing PRS to improve its location estimation)” on page 2, section 2). Ericsson discloses sending an indication that one or more cells that transmit PRS are below a first threshold. Such an indication maybe regarded as a request for the one or more cells to update PRS transmissions and update the set of downlink receive beams (“A fundamental difference between LTE and NR is that PRS would be transmitted via beams rather than cells. There could be multiple beams as compared to cell sectors in LTE. UE may be receiving good quality signal from some beams and poor-quality signal from other beams. Dynamic PRS configuration could efficiently utilize the network resources by allowing PRS to be adaptive based upon the UE perceived quality of various beams transmitting the PRS signal.” On page 1, section 2), to update transmission times, or to establish a new beam pairing, etc.
Won also discloses downlink receive beam (“the UE can transmit a request indicating the eNodeBs for which it requires S-PRS. This is beneficial when the UE can estimate the accuracy of the RSTD measurement from each eNodeB (or group of eNodeBs). In this case, the UE only needs to receive S-PRS from those eNodeBs for which it does not have accurate RSTD measurements.” On page 8, first paragraph). This request for a group of base stations to transmit additional S-PRS maybe regarded as request to update the set of downlink receive beams since S-PRS are transmitted via beams.
The Wong’s reference, as combined with the Cha and Ericsson references, discloses each and every limitation of the present claims, and therefore render the claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, and 47 obvious. The Examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant’s arguments that the Examiner fails to establish a prima facie case of obviousness MPEP § 2141. Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, and 47 are still being rejected on the same grounds for rejection as before.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 of this title, 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.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, and 47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha et al. US Pub 2020/0367193, claiming domestic priority 01-10-2020 (hereinafter “Cha”), in view of Ericsson NPL “Co-ordination among UE, gNB and Location Server for PRS Configuration and Feedbacks”, 3GPP R2-1901533, Feb 25 – Mar 1, 2019 (hereinafter “Ericsson”), and further in view of Wong et al. Foreign Patent WO 2018028941A1 (hereinafter “Wong”).
Regarding claim 1
Cha discloses a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) (“a method of acquiring positioning information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system” [0006]), comprising:
receiving, on a first downlink receive beam, one or more first positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted by a first base station (i.e. “network/LMF”) on a first downlink transmit beam (“Referring to FIG. 21, a PRS occasion has a structure in which a PRS block is repeated N times. The network/LMF may repeatedly transmit the PRS block and the UE may receive the PRS block or perform RX beam sweeping according to capability in order to improve hearability.” [0334]);
attempting to receive, on only the first downlink receive beam (“When the same PRS is transmitted multiple times using the same DL TX beam, the UE may acquire sufficient repetition and SNR gain by receiving the PRS transmitted multiple times through the same DL TX beam using one fixed RX beam and sweep a PRS RX beam” [0348] and furthermore “One PRS block may be designed/configured such that one or more TPs/BSs repeatedly transmit the PRS through the same TX beam. The PRS block may cause the UE to acquire signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain while the UE repeatedly receives the PRS. Alternatively, when the UE repeatedly receives the same PRS, the UE may perform measurement based on an RX beam (i.e. on the first downlink receive beam) while sweeping the RX beam.” [0341]), one or more second PRS transmitted by a set of base stations (“For example, when three TPs/BSs with a TX beam sweeping periodicity of 2 are considered, three PRS resource sets are present and each of the three PRS resource sets may include two PRS resources corresponding respectively to two TX beams of each TP/BS.” [0333]), other than the first base station (“Each of the plural PRS resource sets may be related with each of a plurality of base stations (BSs).” [0011]), on a set of downlink transmit beams other than the first downlink transmit beam (“Here, within one PRS occasion, the TP/BS may transmit the PRS through all available TX beams and the UE may receive, through all available RX beams (i.e. including a first downlink receive beam), the PRS transmitted through each TX beam. Alternatively, within one PRS occasion, the PRS may be transmitted through all available TX beams and may be received through all available RX beams.” [0353]);
Cha does not specifically teach determining that one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold.
In an analogous art, Ericsson discloses determining that one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS (“Instead, it is more effective, the location server collects statistics measurement from a first set of target devices, and applies the new PRS configurations (i.e. second/or third PRS configurations) to the second set of target devices for positioning in later time.” On page 1, section 2) and furthermore “The important aspect in realizing dynamic/adaptive PRS configuration is to be able to obtain UE feedback efficiently. The feedback would mainly be in terms of below.
• PRS quality (e.g., received signal quality and/or strength, Es/Iot, SINR, RSRQ, CSI etc.)” on page 2, section 2) received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold (“An indication of one or more cells contributing to one or more of the above being below a first threshold and/or above a second threshold” on page 2, section 2);
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, to include Ericsson’s method for dynamic PRS configuration, in order to improve the co-ordination between the target device and Network entity (Ericsson [Section 2]).
Cha and Ericsson do not specifically teach wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam; and transmitting a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both.
In an analogous art, Wong discloses wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam (“For example the UE measures the reference signal received power (RSRP) of reference signals received from the eNodeB on its serving cell. At decision point S.83, if the triggering- related measurement exceeds a threshold, for example the measured RSRP has changed by more than a certain amount, then in step S.84 the UE performs and reports a positioning measurement. For example, the UE measures the RSTD on multiple eNodeBs and sends an uplink message reporting those measurements.” On page ); and
transmitting a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both (“In other examples, the UE can transmit a request indicating the eNodeBs for which it requires S-PRS. This is beneficial when the UE can estimate the accuracy of the RSTD measurement from each eNodeB (or group of eNodeBs). In this case, the UE only needs to receive S-PRS from those eNodeBs for which it does not have accurate RSTD measurements.” On page 8. Wong discloses that the UE request transmission of S-PRS to a group of base stations. This request to transmit additional S-PRS to a group of base station may be regarded as request to update the set of downlink transmit beams and the S-PRS will be transmitted only on the set of downlink transmit beams corresponding to the group of base stations that are requested to send the S-PRS. The request taught by Wong may also be regarded as a request to update transmission times as the S-PRS will be an PRS transmitted at another time than the originally configured PRS.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson, to include Wong’s method of determining a location of communications devices, in order to improve data transmission and reception (Wong [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Wong’s method of determining a location of communications devices into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Cha further discloses wherein the UE transmits the request to the first base station (e.g. “serving ng-eNB or a serving gNB”) to enable the first base station to forward the request to a location server (“An operation procedure of the network for UE positioning will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10. In step 1a, a 5GC entity such as GMLC may transmit a request for a location service for measuring the position of a target UE to a serving AMF. Here, even when the GMLC does not make the request for the location service, the serving AMF may determine the need for the location service for measuring the position of the target UE according to step 1b. For example, the serving AMF may determine that itself will perform the location service in order to measure the position of the UE for an emergency call. In step 2, the AMF transfers the request for the location service to an LMF. In step 3a, the LMF may initiate location procedures with a serving ng-eNB or a serving gNB to obtain location measurement data or location measurement assistance data. For example, the LMF may transmit a request for location related information associated with one or more UEs to the NG-RAN and indicate the type of necessary location information and associated QoS. Then, the NG-RAN may transfer the location related information to the LMF in response to the request.” [0220-0221]; see also Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 6
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
Cha further discloses transmitting a proposed PRS reconfiguration for a subset of all base stations configured to transmit PRS to the UE (“To improve the accuracy of UE positioning, the UE may measure AoA for an RS resource transmitted through a beam having the largest RSRP/RSSI/SINR value of a received RS resource and report the measured AoA value to the BS/LMF/location server.” [0397]).
Regarding claim 8
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 6,
Cha further discloses wherein the UE transmits the proposed PRS reconfiguration to the first base station to enable the first base station to forward the request to a location server (“To improve the accuracy of UE positioning, the UE may measure AoA for an RS resource transmitted through a beam having the largest RSRP/RSSI/SINR value of a received RS resource and report the measured AoA value to the BS/LMF/location server.” [0397]).
Regarding claim 9
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 6,
Cha further discloses wherein the UE transmits the proposed PRS reconfiguration to a location server (“To improve the accuracy of UE positioning, the UE may measure AoA for an RS resource transmitted through a beam having the largest RSRP/RSSI/SINR value of a received RS resource and report the measured AoA value to the BS/LMF/location server.” [0397]).
Regarding claim 11
Cha discloses a method of communication performed by a location server (“the location server may be a server/subject responsible for the positioning operation as an entity independent of the BS.” [0327]), comprising:
configuring a user equipment (UE) to measure one or more first positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted by a first base station on a first downlink transmit beam (“Referring to FIG. 25, the location server may transmit information about a PRS resource configuration and information about a PRS reporting configuration to the BS (S2501) and the BS may transmit the information about the PRS resource configuration and the information about the PRS reporting configuration to the UE (S2503). The location server may directly transmit the information about the PRS resource configuration and the information about the PRS reporting configuration to the UE (S2505). In other words, if step S2505 is performed, steps S2501 and S2503 may be omitted. That is, step S2505 and steps S2501 and S2503 may be selectively performed.” [0436]) and one or more second PRS transmitted by a set of base stations (“For example, when three TPs/BSs with a TX beam sweeping periodicity of 2 are considered, three PRS resource sets are present and each of the three PRS resource sets may include two PRS resources corresponding respectively to two TX beams of each TP/BS.” [0333]), other than the first base station, on a set of downlink transmit beams other than the first downlink transmit beam (“the BS/LMF/location server may configure/indicate to the UE whether TX beam sweeping is performed, together with a PRS configuration, so that the UE may recognize whether a TX beam of a specific TP/BS for each PRS resource and/or PRS resource set is swept when the TP/BS transmits the PRS.” [0362]); and
receiving a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both,
wherein the one or more first PRS are received at the UE on a first downlink receive beam (“Referring to FIG. 21, a PRS occasion has a structure in which a PRS block is repeated N times. The network/LMF may repeatedly transmit the PRS block and the UE may receive the PRS block or perform RX beam sweeping according to capability in order to improve hearability.” [0334]), and
Cha does not specifically teach determining that one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold.
In an analogous art, Ericsson discloses determining that one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS (“Instead, it is more effective, the location server collects statistics measurement from a first set of target devices, and applies the new PRS configurations (i.e. second/or third PRS configurations) to the second set of target devices for positioning in later time.” On page 1, section 2) and furthermore “The important aspect in realizing dynamic/adaptive PRS configuration is to be able to obtain UE feedback efficiently. The feedback would mainly be in terms of below.
• PRS quality (e.g., received signal quality and/or strength, Es/Iot, SINR, RSRQ, CSI etc.)” on page 2, section 2) received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold (“An indication of one or more cells contributing to one or more of the above being below a first threshold and/or above a second threshold” on page 2, section 2);
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, to include Ericsson’s method for dynamic PRS configuration, in order to improve the co-ordination between the target device and Network entity (Ericsson [Section 2]).
Cha and Ericsson do not specifically teach wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam.
In an analogous art, Wong discloses wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam (“For example the UE measures the reference signal received power (RSRP) of reference signals received from the eNodeB on its serving cell. At decision point S.83, if the triggering- related measurement exceeds a threshold, for example the measured RSRP has changed by more than a certain amount, then in step S.84 the UE performs and reports a positioning measurement. For example, the UE measures the RSTD on multiple eNodeBs and sends an uplink message reporting those measurements.” On page ); and
transmitting a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both (“In other examples, the UE can transmit a request indicating the eNodeBs for which it requires S-PRS. This is beneficial when the UE can estimate the accuracy of the RSTD measurement from each eNodeB (or group of eNodeBs). In this case, the UE only needs to receive S-PRS from those eNodeBs for which it does not have accurate RSTD measurements.” On page 8. Wong discloses that the UE request transmission of S-PRS to a group of base stations. This request to transmit additional S-PRS to a group of base station may be regarded as request to update the set of downlink transmit beams and the S-PRS will be transmitted only on the set of downlink transmit beams corresponding to the group of base stations that are requested to send the S-PRS. The request taught by Wong may also be regarded as a request to update transmission times as the S-PRS will be an PRS transmitted at another time than the originally configured PRS.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson, to include Wong’s method of determining a location of communications devices, in order to improve data transmission and reception (Wong [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Wong’s method of determining a location of communications devices into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 12
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 11,
Cha further discloses wherein the location server receives the request from the first base station (“FIG. 10 illustrates an implementation example of a network for UE positioning. When an AMF receives a request for a location service in the case in which the UE is in connection management (CM)-IDLE state, the AMF may make a request for a network triggered service in order to establish a signaling connection with the UE and to assign a specific serving gNB or ng-eNB.” [0219]).
Regarding claim 16
The method of claim 11, further comprising:
receiving a proposed PRS reconfiguration for a subset of all base stations configured to transmit PRS to the UE.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 16 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 6. Therefore method claim 16 corresponds to method claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 18
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 16,
Cha further discloses wherein the location server receives the proposed PRS reconfiguration from the first base station (“If the UE transmits the PRS measurement reporting to the BS, the BS may transmit the PRS measurement reporting to the location server (S2513)” [0438]).
Regarding claim 19
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 16,
Cha further discloses wherein the location server receives the proposed PRS reconfiguration from the UE (“In other words, if the UE directly transmits the PRS measurement reporting to the location server as in S2511, steps S2509 and S2513 may be omitted.” [0438]).
Regarding claim 32
Cha discloses a user equipment (UE) (“wireless device 100” in Fig. 27; [0446]), comprising:
one or more memories (“memory 104” in Fig. 27; [0447]);
one or more transceivers (“transceiver 106” in Fig. 27; [0447]); and
one or more processors (“processor 102” in Fig. 27; [0447]) communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
receive, via the one or more transceivers on a first downlink receive beam, one or more first positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted by a first base station on a first downlink transmit beam;
attempt to receive, via the one or more transceivers on only the first downlink receive beam, one or more second PRS transmitted by a set of base stations, other than the first base station, on a set of downlink transmit beams other than the first downlink transmit beam;
determine that one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS received on the first downlink receive beam are below a threshold, wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam; and
transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base station, or both.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 32 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 32 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 33
The UE of claim 32, wherein the request is transmitted to the first base station to enable the first base station to forward the request to a location server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 33 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 2. Therefore apparatus claim 33 corresponds to method claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 2 rejection above.
Regarding claim 37
The UE of claim 32, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to:
transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a proposed PRS reconfiguration for a subset of all base stations configured to transmit PRS to the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 37 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 6. Therefore apparatus claim 37 corresponds to method claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 39
The UE of claim 37, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is transmitted to the first base station to enable the first base station to forward the request to a location server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 39 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 8. Therefore apparatus claim 39 corresponds to method claim 8 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 8 rejection above.
Regarding claim 40
The UE of claim 37, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is transmitted to a location server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 40 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 9. Therefore apparatus claim 40 corresponds to method claim 9 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 9 rejection above.
Regarding claim 42
Cha discloses a location server (“location server 90” in Fig. 32; [0481]), comprising:
one or more memories (“memory 94” in Fig. 32; [0488]);
one or more network interfaces (“transceiver 91” in Fig. 32; [0483]); and
one or more processors (“processor 93” in Fig. 32; [0485]) communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more network interfaces, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
configure, via the one or more network interfaces, a user equipment (UE) to measure one or more first positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted by a first base station on a first downlink transmit beam and one or more second PRS transmitted by a set of base stations, other than the first base station, on a set of downlink transmit beams other than the first downlink transmit beam; and
receive, via the one or more network interfaces, a request to update the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, to update transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or to establish a new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both,
wherein the one or more first PRS are received at the VE on a first downlink receive beam, and
wherein the request is received based on one or more signal strength measurements of the one or more second PRS received on only the first downlink receive beam being below a threshold, and
wherein the one or more signal strength measurements being below the threshold indicates that the UE is unable to receive both the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS on only the first downlink receive beam.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 42 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 11. Therefore apparatus claim 42 corresponds to method claim 11 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 11 rejection above.
Regarding claim 43
The location server of claim 42, wherein the request is received from the first base station.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 43 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 12. Therefore apparatus claim 43 corresponds to method claim 12 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 12 rejection above.
Regarding claim 47
The location server of claim 42, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to:
receive, via the one or more network interfaces, a proposed PRS reconfiguration for a subset of all base stations configured to transmit PRS to the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 47 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 16. Therefore apparatus claim 47 corresponds to method claim 16 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 16 rejection above.
Claims 3-5, 7, 13-15, 17, 34-36, 38, 44-46, 48-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over, in view of Ericsson and Wong, and further in view of Kim US Pub 2021/0321267 (hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding claim 3
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 1, wherein:
Cha, Ericsson, and Wong do not specifically teach the request is to update the set of downlink transmit beams to a second set of downlink transmit beams used by the set of base stations, and the second set of downlink transmit beams is known by the UE to have better reception characteristics at the UE.
In an analogous art, Kim discloses the request is to update the set of downlink transmit beams to a second set of downlink transmit beams used by the set of base stations (“Before the beam sweeping, the Rx UE may transmit information about the common beam sweeping timing synchronization and direction to the potential Tx UE in a response message. The potential Tx UE may perform the beam sweeping based on the received information. By performing the beam sweeping, the UEs may maintain a beam pair generated for the current data transmission and reception, replace the beam pair generated for the current data transmission and reception by another beam pair (i.e. “second set of downlink transmit beams”), or select a new beam pair (i.e. “second set of downlink transmit beams”) for new data transmission and reception at the same time point.” [0143]), and
the second set of downlink transmit beams is known by the UE to have better reception characteristics at the UE (“a user equipment (UE) may configure a beam sweeping start point in consideration of current data transmission and reception, thereby achieving flexible beam sweeping and improving the quality of communication.” [0020]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, to include Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal, in order to improve data transmission and reception (Kim [0006]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 4
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Cha, Ericsson, and Wong do not specifically teach wherein the request is to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations.
In an analogous art, Kim discloses wherein the request is to establish the new beam pairing (“A request procedure for Tx/Rx beam acquisition may include not only a request procedure for initial beam search (or beam acquisition) for new data transmission and reception but also a request procedure for new beam search, which is necessary when a Tx/Rx beam pair is mismatched during current data transmission and reception (i.e. require new beam pairing). In other words, the UE may transmit a request message for new beam search when beam recovery is required due to the occurrence of beam or link failure during the current data transmission and reception or when beam change such as reselection, adjustment, and refinement is required during the current data transmission and reception.” [0126]) with the set of base stations (“Namely, it is apparent that, in a network comprised of a plurality of network nodes including a BS, various operations performed for communication with a UE may be performed by the BS or network nodes other than the BS.” [0042]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, to include Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal, in order to improve data transmission and reception (Kim [0006]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 5
Cha, as modified by Ericsson, Wong, and Kim previously discloses the method of claim 4,
Kim further discloses wherein the request being to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations comprises the request being a beam acquisition request (“A request procedure for Tx/Rx beam acquisition may include not only a request procedure for initial beam search (or beam acquisition) for new data transmission and reception but also a request procedure for new beam search” [0126]).
Regarding claim 7
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the UE transmits the proposed PRS reconfiguration based on:
Cha further discloses new signal strength measurements (“To improve the accuracy of UE positioning, the UE may measure AoA for an RS resource transmitted through a beam having the largest RSRP/RSSI/SINR value of a received RS resource and report the measured AoA value to the BS/LMF/location server.” [0397]), or
a determination that the proposed PRS reconfiguration is better than a current PRS configuration for at least the first base station or the set of base stations from a downlink receive beam perspective (“AoA of the UE may greatly vary according to a TX beam direction. An RS may be transmitted through a different TX beam according to each RS resource.” [0397]).
Cha, Ericsson, and Wong do not specifically teach the updated set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, the updated transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or the new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both.
In an analogous art, Kim discloses the updated set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, the updated transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or the new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both (“A request procedure for Tx/Rx beam acquisition may include not only a request procedure for initial beam search (or beam acquisition) for new data transmission and reception but also a request procedure for new beam search, which is necessary when a Tx/Rx beam pair is mismatched during current data transmission and reception (i.e. require new beam pairing). In other words, the UE may transmit a request message for new beam search when beam recovery is required due to the occurrence of beam or link failure during the current data transmission and reception or when beam change such as reselection, adjustment, and refinement is required during the current data transmission and reception.” [0126]),
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, to include Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal, in order to improve data transmission and reception (Kim [0006]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Kim’s method of performing beam sweeping by a terminal into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 13
The method of claim 11, wherein:
the request is to update the set of downlink transmit beams to a second set of downlink transmit beams used by the set of base stations, and
the second set of downlink transmit beams is known by the UE to have better reception characteristics at the UE.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 13 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 3. Therefore method claim 13 corresponds to method claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 14
The method of claim 11, wherein the request is to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 14 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 4. Therefore method claim 14 corresponds to method claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 4 rejection above.
Regarding claim 15
The method of claim 14, wherein the request being to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations comprises the request being a beam acquisition request.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 15 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 5. Therefore method claim 15 corresponds to method claim 5 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 5 rejection above.
Regarding claim 17
The method of claim 16, wherein the location server receives the proposed PRS reconfiguration based on:
the updated set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, the updated transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or the new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both,
new signal strength measurements, or
a determination by the UE that the proposed PRS reconfiguration is better than a current PRS configuration for at least the first base station or the set of base stations from a downlink receive beam perspective.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 17 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 7. Therefore method claim 17 corresponds to method claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 7 rejection above.
Regarding claim 34
The UE of claim 32, wherein: the request is to update the set of downlink transmit beams to a second set of downlink transmit beams used by the set of base stations, and the second set of downlink transmit beams is known by the UE to have better reception characteristics at the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 34 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 3. Therefore apparatus claim 34 corresponds to method claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 35
The UE of claim 32, wherein the request is to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 35 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 4. Therefore apparatus claim 35 corresponds to method claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 4 rejection above.
Regarding claim 36
The UE of claim 35, wherein the request being to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations comprises the request being a beam acquisition request.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 36 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 5. Therefore apparatus claim 36 corresponds to method claim 5 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 5 rejection above.
Regarding claim 38
The UE of claim 37, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is transmitted based on:
the updated set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, the updated transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or based on the new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both,
new signal strength measurements, or
a determination that the proposed PRS reconfiguration is better than a current PRS configuration for at least the first base station or the set of base stations from a downlink receive beam perspective.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 38 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 7. Therefore apparatus claim 38 corresponds to method claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 7 rejection above.
Regarding claim 44
The location server of claim 42, wherein:
the request is to update the set of downlink transmit beams to a second set of downlink transmit beams used by the set of base stations, and
the second set of downlink transmit beams is known by the UE to have better reception characteristics at the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 44 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 13. Therefore apparatus claim 44 corresponds to method claim 13 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 13 rejection above.
Regarding claim 45
The location server of claim 42, wherein the request is to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 45 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 14. Therefore apparatus claim 45 corresponds to method claim 14 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 14 rejection above.
Regarding claim 46
The location server of claim 45, wherein the request being to establish the new beam pairing with the set of base stations comprises the request being a beam acquisition request.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 46 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 15. Therefore apparatus claim 46 corresponds to method claim 15 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 15 rejection above.
Regarding claim 48
The location server of claim 47, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is received based on:
the updated set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, the updated transmission times of the set of downlink transmit beams or the first downlink transmit beam, or based on the new beam pairing with the first base station, the set of base stations, or both,
new signal strength measurements, or
a determination by the UE that the proposed PRS reconfiguration is better than a current PRS configuration for at least the first base station or the set of base stations from a downlink receive beam perspective.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 48 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 17. Therefore apparatus claim 48 corresponds to method claim 17 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 17 rejection above.
Regarding claim 49
The location server of claim 48, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is received from the first base station.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 49 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 18. Therefore apparatus claim 49 corresponds to method claim 18 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 18 rejection above.
Regarding claim 50
The location server of claim 48, wherein the proposed PRS reconfiguration is received from the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 50 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 19. Therefore apparatus claim 50 corresponds to method claim 19 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 19 rejection above.
Claims 10, 20, 41, and 51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha, in view of Ericsson and Wong, and further in view of Da et al. US Pub 2021/0219259 (hereinafter “Da”).
Regarding claim 10
Cha, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Cha, Ericsson, and Wong do not specifically teach wherein the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
In an analogous art, Da discloses wherein the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other (“Optionally, the time-domain configuration of the second PRS is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols except OFDM symbols for transmitting the first PRS.” [0014]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Ericsson and Wong, to include Da’s positioning method, in order to improve indoor positioning performance and precision without occupying a large amount of system resources (Da [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Da’s positioning method into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 20
The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 20 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 10. Therefore method claim 20 corresponds to method claim 10 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 10 rejection above.
Regarding claim 41
The UE of claim 32, wherein the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 41 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 10. Therefore apparatus claim 41 corresponds to method claim 10 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 10 rejection above.
Regarding claim 51
The location server of claim 42, wherein the one or more first PRS and the one or more second PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 51 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 20. Therefore apparatus claim 51 corresponds to method claim 20 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 20 rejection above.
Claims 21, 22, 24, 27-29, 52, 53, 55, and 58-60 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha, in view of Huawei NPL “Beam management for downlink positioning”, 3GPP resubmission of R2-1907766, Aug 26-30, 2019 (hereinafter “Huawei”), and further in view of Da et al. US Pub 2021/0219259 (hereinafter “Da”).
Regarding claim 21
Cha discloses a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) (“a method of acquiring positioning information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system” [0006]), comprising:
receiving, from a network entity (i.e. “network/LMF”), a first positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration (“Referring to FIG. 21, a PRS occasion has a structure in which a PRS block is repeated N times. The network/LMF may repeatedly transmit the PRS block and the UE may receive the PRS block or perform RX beam sweeping according to capability in order to improve hearability.” [0334]) for a plurality of PRS transmitted by a corresponding plurality of base stations (“For example, when three TPs/BSs with a TX beam sweeping periodicity of 2 are considered, three PRS resource sets are present and each of the three PRS resource sets may include two PRS resources corresponding respectively to two TX beams of each TP/BS.” [0333]), wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other;
determining a downlink receive beam for each of the plurality of base stations (“Here, within one PRS occasion, the TP/BS may transmit the PRS through all available TX beams and the UE may receive, through all available RX beams, the PRS transmitted through each TX beam. Alternatively, within one PRS occasion, the PRS may be transmitted through all available TX beams and may be received through all available RX beams.” [0353]);
Cha does not specifically teach determining a second PRS configuration for the plurality of PRS that enables the UE to use a single downlink receive beam for at least two of the plurality of base stations within a same time interval; and transmitting, to the network entity, a request to update the first PRS configuration to the second PRS configuration.
In an analogous art, Huawei discloses determining a second PRS configuration for the plurality of PRS that enables the UE to use a single downlink receive beam (i.e. DL PRS beam”) for at least two of the plurality of base stations (i.e. “neighboring gNBs”) within a same time interval ; and
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transmitting, to the network entity (i.e. “LMF”), a request to update the first PRS configuration to the second PRS configuration (step 1: LPP Beam Info Update).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, to include Huawei’s DL beam management procedure, in order to effectively perform DL beam management based PRS transmission (Huawei [section 2.1]).
Cha and Huawei do not specifically teach wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
In an analogous art, Da discloses wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other (“Optionally, the time-domain configuration of the second PRS is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols except OFDM symbols for transmitting the first PRS.” [0014]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Huawei, to include Da’s positioning method, in order to improve indoor positioning performance and precision without occupying a large amount of system resources (Da [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Da’s positioning method into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 22
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 21,
Cha further discloses wherein the same time interval comprises one or more symbols, a subframe (“For such positioning, a positioning reference signal (PRS) may be used. The PRS is a reference signal used to estimate the position of the UE. For example, in the LTE system, the PRS may be transmitted only in a DL subframe configured for PRS transmission (hereinafter, “positioning subframe”). If both a multimedia broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe and a non-MBSFN subframe are configured as positioning subframes, OFDM symbols of the MB SFN subframe should have the same cyclic prefix (CP) as subframe #0. If only MBSFN subframes are configured as the positioning subframes within a cell, OFDM symbols configured for the PRS in the MBSFN subframes may have an extended CP.” [0203]), a slot (“the UE to perform a measurement reporting operation in connection/linkage/association with a specific time resource (e.g., a PRS block, consecutive slots, a specific time interval, or a specific period)” [0360]).
Regarding claim 24
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 21, wherein the network entity is:
Cha further discloses a location server (“FIG. 32 illustrates an exemplary location server to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable.” [0041]), or
a serving base station (“serving ng-eNB, a serving gNB, and/or a serving cell of the UE” [0247]).
Regarding claim 27
Cha discloses a method of communication performed by a location server (“the location server may be a server/subject responsible for the positioning operation as an entity independent of the BS.” [0327]), comprising:
transmitting, to a network node (i.e. “BS”), a first positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration (“Referring to FIG. 25, the location server may transmit information about a PRS resource configuration and information about a PRS reporting configuration to the BS (S2501) and the BS may transmit the information about the PRS resource configuration and the information about the PRS reporting configuration to the UE (S2503). The location server may directly transmit the information about the PRS resource configuration and the information about the PRS reporting configuration to the UE (S2505). In other words, if step S2505 is performed, steps S2501 and S2503 may be omitted. That is, step S2505 and steps S2501 and S2503 may be selectively performed.” [0436]) for a plurality of PRS transmitted by a corresponding plurality of base stations (“For example, when three TPs/BSs with a TX beam sweeping periodicity of 2 are considered, three PRS resource sets are present and each of the three PRS resource sets may include two PRS resources corresponding respectively to two TX beams of each TP/BS.” [0333]); and
receiving, from the network node (“BS/LMF/location server”), a request (“FIG. 10 illustrates an implementation example of a network for UE positioning. When an AMF receives a request for a location service in the case in which the UE is in connection management (CM)-IDLE state, the AMF may make a request for a network triggered service in order to establish a signaling connection with the UE and to assign a specific serving gNB or ng-eNB.” [0219]) to update the first PRS configuration (using current PRS measurement) to a second PRS configuration (using new, updated PRS measurement) for the plurality of PRS,
Cha does not specifically teach wherein the second PRS configuration enables a user equipment (UE) to use a single downlink receive beam for at least two of the plurality of base stations within a same time interval.
In an analogous art, Huawei discloses wherein the second PRS configuration enables a user equipment (UE) to use a single downlink receive beam (i.e. DL PRS beam”) for at least two of the plurality of base stations (i.e. “neighboring gNBs”) within a same time interval.
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transmitting, to the network entity (i.e. “LMF”), a request to update the first PRS configuration to the second PRS configuration (step 1: LPP Beam Info Update).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, to include Huawei’s DL beam management procedure, in order to effectively perform DL beam management based PRS transmission (Huawei [section 2.1]).
Cha and Huawei do not specifically teach wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other.
In an analogous art, Da discloses wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other (“Optionally, the time-domain configuration of the second PRS is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols except OFDM symbols for transmitting the first PRS.” [0014]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Huawei, to include Da’s positioning method, in order to improve indoor positioning performance and precision without occupying a large amount of system resources (Da [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Da’s positioning method into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 28
The method of claim 27, wherein the same time interval comprises one or more symbols, a slot, or a subframe.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 28 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 22. Therefore method claim 28 corresponds to method claim 22 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 22 rejection above.
Regarding claim 29
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 27, wherein the network node is:
Cha further discloses the UE (“user equipment (UE)” [0006]), or
a serving base station (“serving ng-eNB, a serving gNB, and/or a serving cell of the UE” [0247]) for the UE.
Regarding claim 52
Cha discloses a user equipment (UE) (“wireless device 100” in Fig. 27; [0446]), comprising:
one or more memories (“memory 104” in Fig. 27; [0447]);
one or more transceivers (“transceiver 106” in Fig. 27; [0447]); and
one or more processors (“processor 102” in Fig. 27; [0447]) communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
receive, from a network entity via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for a plurality of PRS transmitted by a corresponding plurality of base stations, wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other;
determine a downlink receive beam for each of the plurality of base stations;
determine a second PRS configuration for the plurality of PRS that enables the UE to use a single downlink receive beam for at least two of the plurality of base stations within a same time interval; and
transmit, to the network entity via the one or more transceivers, the second PRS configuration for the plurality of PRS.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 52 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 21. Therefore apparatus claim 52 corresponds to method claim 21 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 21 rejection above.
Regarding claim 53
The UE of claim 52, wherein the same time interval comprises one or more symbols, a slot, or a subframe.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 53 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 22. Therefore apparatus claim 53 corresponds to method claim 22 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 22 rejection above.
Regarding claim 55
The UE of claim 52, wherein the network entity is:
a location server, or
a serving base station.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 55 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 24. Therefore apparatus claim 55 corresponds to method claim 24 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 24 rejection above.
Regarding claim 58
Cha discloses a location server (“location server 90” in Fig. 32; [0481]), comprising:
one or more memories (“memory 94” in Fig. 32; [0488]);
one or more network interfaces (“transceiver 91” in Fig. 32; [0483]); and
one or more processors (“processor 93” in Fig. 32; [0485]) communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more network interfaces, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
transmit, to a network node via the one or more network interfaces, a first positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for a plurality of PRS transmitted by a corresponding plurality of base stations, wherein the plurality of PRS are frequency-division multiplexed with each other; and
receive, from the network node via the one or more network interfaces, a request to update the first PRS configuration to a second PRS configuration for the plurality of PRS, wherein the second PRS configuration enables a user equipment (UE) to use a single downlink receive beam for at least two of the plurality of base stations within a same time interval.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 58 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 27. Therefore apparatus claim 58 corresponds to method claim 27 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 27 rejection above.
Regarding claim 59
The location server of claim 58, wherein the same time interval comprises one or more symbols, a slot, or a subframe.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 59 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 28. Therefore apparatus claim 59 corresponds to method claim 28 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 28 rejection above.
Regarding claim 60
The location server of claim 58, wherein the network node is: the UE, or a serving base station for the UE.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 60 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 29. Therefore apparatus claim 60 corresponds to method claim 29 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 29 rejection above.
Claims 23 and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha, in view of Huawei and Da, and further in view of Sadiq et al. US Pub 2019/0361111 (hereinafter “Sadiq”).
Regarding claim 23
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 21,
Cha, Huawei, and Da do not specifically teach wherein the downlink receive beam for each of the plurality of base stations is a downlink receive beam that enables the UE to receive the corresponding PRS on a shortest path between the UE and the base station.
In an analogous art, Sadiq discloses wherein the downlink receive beam for each of the plurality of base stations is a downlink receive beam that enables the UE to receive the corresponding PRS on a shortest path between the UE and the base station (“To support position estimates, the base stations 402 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS), Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc.) to UEs 404 in their coverage area to enable a UE 404 to measure reference RF signal timing differences (e.g., OTDOA or RSTD) between pairs of network nodes and/or to identify the beam that best excite the LOS or shortest radio path between the UE 404 and the transmitting base stations 402.” [0049]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Huawei and Da, to include Sadiq’s method for determining transmission timing of a positioning beacon from a time of reception of reference signal, in order to improve positioning procedure (Sadiq [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Sadiq’s method for determining transmission timing of a positioning beacon from a time of reception of reference signal into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 54
The UE of claim 52, wherein the downlink receive beam for each of the plurality of base stations is a downlink receive beam that enables the UE to receive the corresponding PRS on a shortest path between the UE and the base station.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 54 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 23. Therefore apparatus claim 54 corresponds to method claim 23 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 23 rejection above.
Claims 26, 31, 57, and 62 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha, in view of Huawei and Da, and further in view of Yerramalli et al. US Pub 2021/0083830, claiming provisional application 62900355 priority 2019-09-13 (hereinafter “Yerramalli”).
Regarding claim 26
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 21, wherein:
Cha, Huawei, and Da do not specifically teach the first PRS configuration indicates a first set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the first set of downlink transmit beams, or both, and the second PRS configuration indicates a second set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the second set of downlink transmit beams, or both.
In an analogous art, Yerramalli discloses the first PRS configuration indicates a first set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the first set of downlink transmit beams, or both (“the PRS may be a first PRS, and where the window includes the set of PRS transmission opportunities for transmitting the first PRS via a first beam.” [0015]; [0165]), and
the second PRS configuration indicates a second set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the second set of downlink transmit beams, or both (“a second set of PRS transmission opportunities for transmitting the PRS via a second beam.” [0016]; [0165]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system, as modified by Huawei and Da, to include Yerramalli’s method for transmitting a positioning reference signal over a channel within a window including a set of positioning reference signal transmission opportunities, in order to improve positioning procedure (Yerramalli [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Yerramalli’s method for transmitting a positioning reference signal over a channel within a window including a set of positioning reference signal transmission opportunities into Cha’s method of reporting positioning information by a UE in a wireless communication system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 31
The method of claim 27, wherein:
the first PRS configuration indicates a first set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the first set of downlink transmit beams, or both, and
the second PRS configuration indicates a second set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the second set of downlink transmit beams, or both.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 31 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 26. Therefore method claim 31 corresponds to method claim 26 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 26 rejection above.
Regarding claim 57
The UE of claim 52, wherein:
the first PRS configuration indicates a first set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the first set of downlink transmit beams, or both, and
the second PRS configuration indicates a second set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the second set of downlink transmit beams, or both.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 57 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 26. Therefore apparatus claim 57 corresponds to method claim 26 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 26 rejection above.
Regarding claim 62
The location server of claim 58, wherein: the first PRS configuration indicates a first set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the first set of downlink transmit beams, or both, and the second PRS configuration indicates a second set of downlink transmit beams for the plurality of PRS, transmission times of the second set of downlink transmit beams, or both.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 62 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 31. Therefore apparatus claim 62 corresponds to method claim 31 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 31 rejection above.
Claims 25, 30, 56, and 61 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cha, in view of Huawei and Da, and further in view of Ericsson and Wong.
Regarding claim 25
Cha, as modified by Huawei and Da, previously discloses the method of claim 21, wherein the UE transmits the second PRS configuration to a serving base station to enable the serving base station to forward the request to a location server.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 25 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 8. Therefore method claim 25 corresponds to method claim 8 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 8 rejection above.
Regarding claim 30
The method of claim 27, further comprising:
transmitting the second PRS configuration to the plurality of base stations.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 30 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 25. Therefore method claim 30 corresponds to method claim 25 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 25 rejection above.
Regarding claim 56
The UE of claim 52, wherein the second PRS configuration is transmitted to a serving base station to enable the serving base station to forward the request to a location server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 56 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 25. Therefore apparatus claim 56 corresponds to method claim 25 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 25 rejection above.
Regarding claim 61
The location server of claim 58, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: cause the at least one network interface to transmit the second PRS configuration to the plurality of base stations.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 61 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 30. Therefore apparatus claim 61 corresponds to method claim 30 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 30 rejection above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUONG M NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8184. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm.
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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