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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 8, 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of the information disclosure statements filed on January 8, 2026. U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, and non-patent literature documents have been considered.
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, 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.
Claims 1, 5, 16, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Li et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2024/0031973), herein referred to as “Li”, in view of Manolakos et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2023/0047646), herein referred to as “Manolakos”, and further in view of Duan et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0057474), herein referred to as “Duan.”
Regarding Claim 1,
Li discloses: A method comprising: configuring, by a first communication device, for a second communication device, a first aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a first plurality of frequency layers
[0110] Specifically, in the step 101, the positioning configuration information received by the terminal may be transmitted by a base station, or by a positioning server, which is not specifically limited herein. The base station determines the positioning configuration information, and sends the positioning configuration information to the terminal or sends, via the positioning server, the positioning configuration information to the terminal, such that the terminal may calculate the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information, and such that the positioning server may obtain the target position information of the terminal based on the positioning measurement quantity, to provide positioning accuracy.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
Note: The M PRS frequency layers are being interpreted as the reference frequency layer per Applicant’s specification paragraph [0006]. As such, paragraph [0006] also stated that these reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, therefore the M PRS frequency layers are also the first aggregated positioning information. Also, the “first communication device” is the base station/positioning server, where the configuration information is received by the terminal (“second communication device”).
and receiving, by the first communication device from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers,
[0115] Step 103, reporting the positioning measurement quantity to a positioning server; wherein the positioning measurement quantity may be reported in the following manner: one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for each frequency layer of one TRP. Specifically, in the step 103, the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for each frequency layer of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for all frequency layers of one TRP; and the terminal may report for other TRPs in the above reporting manner, which is not described in detail herein.
and wherein the first aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the first plurality of frequency layers, and the second aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
[0121] Further, the frequency layer aggregation capability information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.
[0122] Further, the frequency layer aggregation indication information may include: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.
Note: Since it was previously discussed that the reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, and that M PRS frequency layers was the “first” aggregated positioning information, since there are “a quantity of aggregated frequency layers” and that S PRS sets include T PRS resources, the combination of citations here provide that there is a “second” aggregated positioning information.
Li does not explicitly disclose transmitting, by the first communication device to the second communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across the first plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses transmitting, by the first communication device to the second
communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across the first plurality of frequency layers.
[0120] Alternatively, the configuration of a positioning frequency layer could contain a field of one or more associated DCI code point value(s). In this case, when the UE receives a positioning frequency layer configuration, it can look up the DCI code point value(s) in the positioning frequency layer configuration to determine if the configured positioning frequency layer is being triggered. Because one DCI code point could be used to trigger one or multiple positioning frequency layers, all PRS resources of the associated frequency layers would be triggered.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Note: The signaling here is DCI. The PRS resource sets are also “aggregated” over all the frequency layers of a TRP.
Further, Li does not disclose receiving, from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses receiving, from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] In some cases, a base station may need to trigger a UE to perform measurements of PRS transmitted on one or more PRS resources, one or more PRS resource sets, one or more positioning frequency layers, and/or one or more TRPs.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Li does not disclose wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
However, Duan discloses wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
[0083] NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity.
[0100] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID).
[0101] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” can also be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.
[0102] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters.
Note: The UE makes the measurements of differences of PRS signals which are aggregated to the positioning entity (“first communication device”). The aggregated positioning measurement is the result of the one or more PRS resource sets which contain PRS ID information based on the measurements from the UE.
Li and Duan are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include the concept of a positioning resource set identifier as taught by Duan so as to assist in positioning operations.
Regarding Claim 5,
Li discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the second aggregated positioning information includes a user equipment (UE) capability report comprising at least one of:
a maximum bandwidth (BF) of an aggregate of the second plurality of frequency layers;
a maximum number of frequency layers (F) in the aggregate; or a first duration (NF) of downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) symbols in millisecond (ms) processed every second duration (TF) in ms for the aggregated positioning measurement.
[0121] Further, the frequency layer aggregation capability information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.
Regarding Claim 16,
Claim 16 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Li discloses: A method comprising:
transmitting, by the second communication device to the first communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers
[0115] Step 103, reporting the positioning measurement quantity to a positioning server; wherein the positioning measurement quantity may be reported in the following manner: one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for each frequency layer of one TRP. Specifically, in the step 103, the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for each frequency layer of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for all frequency layers of one TRP; and the terminal may report for other TRPs in the above reporting manner, which is not described in detail herein.
wherein the first communication device configures a first aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in the first plurality of frequency layers
[0110] Specifically, in the step 101, the positioning configuration information received by the terminal may be transmitted by a base station, or by a positioning server, which is not specifically limited herein. The base station determines the positioning configuration information, and sends the positioning configuration information to the terminal or sends, via the positioning server, the positioning configuration information to the terminal, such that the terminal may calculate the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information, and such that the positioning server may obtain the target position information of the terminal based on the positioning measurement quantity, to provide positioning accuracy.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
Note: The M PRS frequency layers are being interpreted as the reference frequency layer per Applicant’s specification paragraph [0006]. As such, paragraph [0006] also stated that these reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, therefore the M PRS frequency layers are also the first aggregated positioning information. Also, the “first communication device” is the base station/positioning server, where the configuration information is received by the terminal (“second communication device”).
wherein the first aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the first plurality of frequency layers, and the second aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
[0121] Further, the frequency layer aggregation capability information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.
[0122] Further, the frequency layer aggregation indication information may include: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.
Note: Since it was previously discussed that the reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, and that M PRS frequency layers was the “first” aggregated positioning information, since there are “a quantity of aggregated frequency layers” and that S PRS sets include T PRS resources, the combination of citations here provide that there is a “second” aggregated positioning information.
Li does not explicitly disclose receiving, by a second communication device from a first communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across a first plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses receiving, by a second communication device from a first communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across a first plurality of frequency layers.
[0120] Alternatively, the configuration of a positioning frequency layer could contain a field of one or more associated DCI code point value(s). In this case, when the UE receives a positioning frequency layer configuration, it can look up the DCI code point value(s) in the positioning frequency layer configuration to determine if the configured positioning frequency layer is being triggered. Because one DCI code point could be used to trigger one or multiple positioning frequency layers, all PRS resources of the associated frequency layers would be triggered.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Note: The signaling here is DCI. The PRS resource sets are also “aggregated” over all the frequency layers of a TRP.
Further, Li does not disclose transmitting, by the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses transmitting, by the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] In some cases, a base station may need to trigger a UE to perform measurements of PRS transmitted on one or more PRS resources, one or more PRS resource sets, one or more positioning frequency layers, and/or one or more TRPs.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Li does not disclose wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
However, Duan discloses wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
[0083] NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity.
[0100] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID).
[0101] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” can also be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.
[0102] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters.
Note: The UE makes the measurements of differences of PRS signals which are aggregated to the positioning entity (“first communication device”). The aggregated positioning measurement is the result of the one or more PRS resource sets which contain PRS ID information based on the measurements from the UE.
Li and Duan are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include the concept of a positioning resource set identifier as taught by Duan so as to assist in positioning operations.
Regarding Claim 18,
Claim 18 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Li discloses: A first communication device comprising: at least one processor configured to: configure, for a second communication device, a first aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a first plurality of frequency layers
[0110] Specifically, in the step 101, the positioning configuration information received by the terminal may be transmitted by a base station, or by a positioning server, which is not specifically limited herein. The base station determines the positioning configuration information, and sends the positioning configuration information to the terminal or sends, via the positioning server, the positioning configuration information to the terminal, such that the terminal may calculate the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information, and such that the positioning server may obtain the target position information of the terminal based on the positioning measurement quantity, to provide positioning accuracy.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
Note: The M PRS frequency layers are being interpreted as the reference frequency layer per Applicant’s specification paragraph [0006]. As such, paragraph [0006] also stated that these reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, therefore the M PRS frequency layers are also the first aggregated positioning information. Also, the “first communication device” is the base station/positioning server, where the configuration information is received by the terminal (“second communication device”).
and receive, by the first communication device from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers,
[0115] Step 103, reporting the positioning measurement quantity to a positioning server; wherein the positioning measurement quantity may be reported in the following manner: one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for each frequency layer of one TRP. Specifically, in the step 103, the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for each frequency layer of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for all frequency layers of one TRP; and the terminal may report for other TRPs in the above reporting manner, which is not described in detail herein.
and wherein the first aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the first plurality of frequency layers, and the second aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
[0121] Further, the frequency layer aggregation capability information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.
[0122] Further, the frequency layer aggregation indication information may include: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.
Note: Since it was previously discussed that the reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, and that M PRS frequency layers was the “first” aggregated positioning information, since there are “a quantity of aggregated frequency layers” and that S PRS sets include T PRS resources, the combination of citations here provide that there is a “second” aggregated positioning information.
Li does not explicitly disclose transmit, by the first communication device to the second communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across the first plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses transmit, by the first communication device to the second
communication device, a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in a plurality of resource sets aggregated across the first plurality of frequency layers.
[0120] Alternatively, the configuration of a positioning frequency layer could contain a field of one or more associated DCI code point value(s). In this case, when the UE receives a positioning frequency layer configuration, it can look up the DCI code point value(s) in the positioning frequency layer configuration to determine if the configured positioning frequency layer is being triggered. Because one DCI code point could be used to trigger one or multiple positioning frequency layers, all PRS resources of the associated frequency layers would be triggered.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Note: The signaling here is DCI. The PRS resource sets are also “aggregated” over all the frequency layers of a TRP.
Further, Li does not disclose receive, from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses receive, from the second communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] In some cases, a base station may need to trigger a UE to perform measurements of PRS transmitted on one or more PRS resources, one or more PRS resource sets, one or more positioning frequency layers, and/or one or more TRPs.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Li does not disclose wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
However, Duan discloses wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
[0083] NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity.
[0100] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID).
[0101] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” can also be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.
[0102] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters.
Note: The UE makes the measurements of differences of PRS signals which are aggregated to the positioning entity (“first communication device”). The aggregated positioning measurement is the result of the one or more PRS resource sets which contain PRS ID information based on the measurements from the UE.
Li and Duan are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include the concept of a positioning resource set identifier as taught by Duan so as to assist in positioning operations.
Regarding Claim 19,
Claim 19 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 16.
Li discloses:
transmit, via a transmitter to the first communication device, a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers
[0115] Step 103, reporting the positioning measurement quantity to a positioning server; wherein the positioning measurement quantity may be reported in the following manner: one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or one positioning measurement quantity is reported by the terminal for each frequency layer of one TRP. Specifically, in the step 103, the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for each frequency layer of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or the terminal may report one positioning measurement quantity for all frequency layers of one TRP; and the terminal may report for other TRPs in the above reporting manner, which is not described in detail herein.
wherein the first communication device configures a first aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in the first plurality of frequency layers
[0110] Specifically, in the step 101, the positioning configuration information received by the terminal may be transmitted by a base station, or by a positioning server, which is not specifically limited herein. The base station determines the positioning configuration information, and sends the positioning configuration information to the terminal or sends, via the positioning server, the positioning configuration information to the terminal, such that the terminal may calculate the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information, and such that the positioning server may obtain the target position information of the terminal based on the positioning measurement quantity, to provide positioning accuracy.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
Note: The M PRS frequency layers are being interpreted as the reference frequency layer per Applicant’s specification paragraph [0006]. As such, paragraph [0006] also stated that these reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, therefore the M PRS frequency layers are also the first aggregated positioning information. Also, the “first communication device” is the base station/positioning server, where the configuration information is received by the terminal (“second communication device”).
wherein the first aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the first plurality of frequency layers, and the second aggregated positioning information is associated with at least one of the second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] Optionally, the PRS configuration information may include: configurations of M PRS frequency layers, wherein each PRS frequency layer includes N TRPs, each TRP includes S PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set includes T PRS resources, where M, N, S and T are all positive integers.
[0121] Further, the frequency layer aggregation capability information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.
[0122] Further, the frequency layer aggregation indication information may include: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.
Note: Since it was previously discussed that the reference frequency layers can be used as either the first or second aggregated positioning information, and that M PRS frequency layers was the “first” aggregated positioning information, since there are “a quantity of aggregated frequency layers” and that S PRS sets include T PRS resources, the combination of citations here provide that there is a “second” aggregated positioning information.
Li does not explicitly disclose receive, from a first communication device [to a second communication device], a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in the first plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses receive, from a first communication device [to a second communication device], a signaling to schedule the aggregated positioning measurement in the first plurality of frequency layers.
[0120] Alternatively, the configuration of a positioning frequency layer could contain a field of one or more associated DCI code point value(s). In this case, when the UE receives a positioning frequency layer configuration, it can look up the DCI code point value(s) in the positioning frequency layer configuration to determine if the configured positioning frequency layer is being triggered. Because one DCI code point could be used to trigger one or multiple positioning frequency layers, all PRS resources of the associated frequency layers would be triggered.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Note: The signaling here is DCI. The PRS resource sets are also “aggregated” over all the frequency layers of a TRP.
Further, Li does not disclose transmit, to the first communication device [by the second communication device], a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
However, Manolakos discloses transmit, to the first communication device [by the second communication device], a report comprising a second aggregated positioning information for aggregated positioning measurement in a second plurality of frequency layers.
[0111] In some cases, a base station may need to trigger a UE to perform measurements of PRS transmitted on one or more PRS resources, one or more PRS resource sets, one or more positioning frequency layers, and/or one or more TRPs.
[0121] In an aspect, a DCI code point may be explicitly associated with the triggering of one or more PRS-IDs. In this case, all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of all the positioning frequency layers associated with the specified PRS-ID would be triggered whenever the DCI field has the specific DCI code point value. That is, a single DCI code point would trigger all of the PRS resources of all of the PRS resource sets of all of the positioning frequency layers of a given cell/TRP. As such, the DCI code point can be considered as being associated with a given cell/TRP. To enable the identification of a particular cell/TRP, the configuration of the DCI code points may contain one association for each DCI code point to a list of one or more PRS-ID(s). That is, a given DCI code point may be associated with a single PRS-ID or to multiple PRS-IDs. Thus, a specific DCI code point may explicitly trigger one or more PRS-ID.
Li does not disclose wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
However, Duan discloses wherein the report comprises an indication that a first plurality of positioning resource set identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first plurality of frequency layers configured by the first communication device is for the aggregated positioning measurement.
[0083] NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity.
[0100] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID).
[0101] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” can also be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.
[0102] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters.
Note: The UE makes the measurements of differences of PRS signals which are aggregated to the positioning entity (“first communication device”). The aggregated positioning measurement is the result of the one or more PRS resource sets which contain PRS ID information based on the measurements from the UE.
Li and Duan are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include the concept of a positioning resource set identifier as taught by Duan so as to assist in positioning operations.
Claims 21 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Manolakos and Duan, held further in view of Raghavan et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0167342), herein referred to as “Raghavan.”
Regarding Claim 21,
Li in view of Manolakos and Duan does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of Claim 21.
However, Raghavan discloses: The method of claim 5, wherein the UE capability report further comprises a maximum number (RF) of DL PRS resources that the second communication device can process in a slot for the aggregate of the second plurality of frequency layers.
[0086] The ability of a UE to process PRS signals may vary based on the capabilities of the UE. In general, however, industry standards may be developed to establish a common PRS capability for UEs in a network. For example, existing industry standard may require that a duration of DL PRS symbol in units of milliseconds (ms) a UE can process every T ms assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by UE. As examples, and not limitations, the maximum DL PRS bandwidth for the FR1 bands may be 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100 MHz, and for the FR2 bands may be 50, 100, 200, 400 MHz. The standards may also indicate a DL PRS buffering capability as a Type 1 (i.e., sub-slot/symbol level buffering), or a Type 2 (i.e., slot level buffering). The common UE capabilities may indicate a duration of DL PRS symbols N in units of ms a UE can process every T ms assuming maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by a UE. Example T values may include 8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280 ms, and example N values may include 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 40, 45, 50 ms. A UE may be configured to report a combination of (N, T) values per band, where N is a duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed every T ms for a given maximum bandwidth (B) in MHz supported by a UE. In general, a UE may not be expected to support a DL PRS bandwidth that exceeds the reported DL PRS bandwidth value. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be defined for a single positioning frequency layer 700. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be agnostic to DL PRS comb factor configurations such as depicted in FIG. 6. The UE processing capability may indicate a maximum number of DL PRS resources that a UE can process in a slot under it. For example, the maximum number for FR1 bands may be 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 for each SCS: 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, and the maximum number for the FR2 bands may be 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 for each SCS: 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz.
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Raghavan are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Manolakos and Duan to include the concept of having a maximum number of resources that the second communication device can process in a slot as taught by Raghavan so as to aid in establishing a common PRS capability in a network.
Regarding Claim 26,
Claim 26 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 21.
Claims 22 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Manolakos and Duan, held further in view of Fischer et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0120841), herein referred to as “Fischer.”
Regarding Claim 22,
Li in view of Manolakos and Duan does not disclose all the limitations of Claim 22.
However, Fischer discloses: The method of claim 5, wherein: NF≤N or TF≥T, and N is a first duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed every second duration (T) in millisecond (ms) for a single frequency layer measurement.
[0100] The ability of a UE to process PRS signals may vary based on the capabilities of the UE. In general, however, industry standards may be developed to establish a common PRS capability for UEs in a network. For example, an industry standard may require that a duration of DL PRS symbol in units of milliseconds (ms) a UE can process every T ms assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by UE. As examples, and not limitations, the maximum DL PRS bandwidth for the FR1 bands may be 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100 MHz, and for the FR2 bands may be 50, 100, 200, 400 MHz. The standards may also indicate a DL PRS buffering capability as a Type 1 (i.e., sub-slot/symbol level buffering), or a Type 2 (i.e., slot level buffering). The common UE capabilities may indicate a duration of DL PRS symbols N in units of ms a UE can process every T ms assuming maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by a UE. Example T values may include 8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280 ms, and example N values may include 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 40, 45, 50 ms. A UE may be configured to report a combination of (N, T) values per band, where N is a duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed every T ms for a given maximum bandwidth (B) in MHz supported by a UE. In general, a UE may not be expected to support a DL PRS bandwidth that exceeds the reported DL PRS bandwidth value. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be defined for a single positioning frequency layer 700.
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Fischer are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Manolakos and Duan to include the concept of PRS being processed over a period of time as taught by Fischer so as to aid in establishing a common PRS capability for UEs in a network.
Regarding Claim 27,
Claim 27 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 22.
Claims 23 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Manolakos and Duan, held further in view of Manolakos et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2021/0360570), herein referred to as “Manolakos II.”
Regarding Claim 23,
Li in view of Manolakos and Duan does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of Claim 23.
However, Manolakos II discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein a PRS resource set or a transmission/reception point (TRP) in the aggregate of the second plurality of frequency layers has a higher priority than a priority of a single frequency layer measurement.
[0097] In another example, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of TRPs across all positioning frequency layers per UE, the UE 104 may prioritize based on the frequency layers and then on TRPs, so that the UE first measures PRS from all TRPs of the most important frequency layer, before measuring PRS from the second frequency layer. In other words, the UE 104 may prioritize a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer. In another option, the TRPs may have equal priority and the UE 104 may measure PRS from at least one TRP from each frequency layer, and then measure PRS from a second TRP from each frequency layer, etc. In this case, UE is processing approximately equal number of TRPs per frequency layer.
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Manolakos II are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Manolakos and Duan to include the concept of frequency layers having a higher priority than a priority of a single frequency measurement as taught by Manolakos II so as to provide more accurate positioning of devices within the communication network.
Regarding Claim 28,
Claim 28 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 23.
Claims 24 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Manolakos II, held further in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #103-e, “Discussion of NR positioning enhancements,” R1-2007860, October 26th – November 13th, 2020, herein referred to as “R1-2007860”.
Regarding Claim 24,
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Manolakos II does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of Claim 24.
However, R1-2007860 discloses: The method of claim 23, wherein up to two of DL PRS resources for the TRP in the aggregate of the second plurality of frequency layers in accordance with a priority.
(Section 8, Page 7)
In Rel-16, flexible DL PRS configurations are supported, e.g., up to 4 frequency layers, up to 64 TRPs per frequency layer, and up to 2 DL PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer. The periodicity of each resource set can be configured with different periodicities of 2μ{4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots. The bandwidth for DL PRS is not less than 24 PRBs.
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, Manolakos II, and R1-2007860 are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Manolakos II to include the concept of having up to two of DL PRS resources for the TRP in in accordance with a priority as taught by R1-2007860 so as to provide more accurate positioning of devices within the communication network.
Regarding Claim 29,
Claim 29 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 24.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Li in view of Manolakos and Duan, held further in view of Manolakos et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0065978), herein referred to as “Manolakos III”. The Manolakos III reference claims priority to, and has support from, provisional application 63/071212.
Regarding Claim 25,
Li in view of Manolakos and Duan does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of Claim 25.
However, Manolakos III discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signaling further comprises indicating a set of downlink positioning reference signal resources for the aggregated positioning measurement, in a higher layer parameter.
[0104] Positioning assistance data that a UE 104 receives from a location server 172, such as LMF 270, for NR Release 16 (r16), includes a database of available PRS resources, each of which is uniquely identified using, e.g., a PRS ID, a resource set ID, and a resource ID. There are, for example, 64 PRS IDs per frequency layer, and the PRS-ID is from 0-255 for up to 4 frequency layers. The TRP IDs span across all frequency layers and are not locally defined within each frequency layer. For example, a list of available TRPs may be provided to the UE in the positioning assistance data. The available TRPs are identified using a TRP ID. Within the parameters for each TRP, is information for PRS that is available. Table 4, below, for example, illustrates PRS information in a NR-DL-PRS-Info-r16 information element (IE), which provides a list of PRS resource sets, as specified in 3GPP TS 37.355. As illustrated, inside each PRS-ResourceSet is a ResourceSetID and how the PRS resource set is configured, e.g., number of symbols, time gap, repetition factor, power, the number of resources (e.g., DL-PRS-ResourceList-r16), etc.
[0115] After performing requested positioning measurements, the UE 104 reports the measurement information to another entity, e.g., the location server 172, and identifies the PRS that was used in the positioning measurement using the PRS ID. The UE 104 reports the measurement information in an information element that is associated with the particular measurement. For example, Table 14 below illustrates an information element for a TDOA measurement, NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation, which may be used by the UE 104 to provide NR DL-TDOA measurements to the location server 172. As illustrated in Table 14, the NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation IE provides an identifier for the PRS used for the measurement (i.e., dl-PRS-ID-r16), which includes physical cell ID (i.e., nr-PhysCellID-r16, the resource ID (i.e., nr-DL-PRS-ResourcelD-r16), and the resource set ID (i.e., nr-DL-ResourceSetID-r16). The resource ID is a local index within a set of a PRS ID; the resource set ID is a local index of a set within a PRS ID, and physical cell ID is the Physical Cell (PCI) of the TRP associated with the PRS ID. In addition, the UE 104 provides a time stamp indicating when the measurement occurred, as well as the granularity for the measurements, as the nr-RSTD-r16, which may be selected from granularities k0-k5.
Note: These citations are related to Applicant’s specification paragraph [0088], where the UE is reporting the higher layer parameters (i.e., NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation). Further, the “aggregate” is the 64 PRS IDs per frequency layer up to 4 frequency layers.
Li in view of Manolakos, Duan, and Manolakos III are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Manolakos and Duan to include the concept of downlink positioning reference signal resources in a higher layer parameter as taught by Manolakos III so as to assist in positioning operations.
Regarding Claim 30,
Claim 30 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 25.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claims 1, 16, 18, and 19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411