DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claim(s) 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 9, 10-11, 15, 20, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20190215121 A1 to Lin et al “LIN”
Independent claims
As to claim 1, LIN teaches a method for sending a position reference signal (PRS), performed by a base station (see e.g., Fig. 1:18 and Fig. 2A:110), comprising: sending different parts of the PRS on different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, wherein a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type (see e.g., [0044] where device 16 may detect the position reference signal 20, i.e., supported by the UE of a predetermined type such as NB-IoT. The Narrowband reference signal is further in a narrowband reference signal sequence [0045]. See also [0053] with respect to mapping to frequency resources and being different).
As to claim 10, LIN teaches a method for receiving a position reference signal (PRS), performed by a UE, comprising: receiving different parts of the PRS on different symbols, wherein the different parts of the PRS are sent on the different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, and a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UJE of the predetermined type; demodulating the PRS after combining the different parts of the PRS. See similar rejection to claim 1 where the method for receiving is what is sent in claim 1.
As to claim 20, LIN teaches a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor executes a method for sending a position reference signal (PRS) (see e.g., [[0123]) when running the executable program, the method is performed by a base station and comprises: sending different parts of the PRS on different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, wherein a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type. See similar rejection to claim 1 where corresponding structure teaches the method of claim 1.
Dependent claims
As to claim 2, LIN teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: dividing a PRS sequence of the PRS into n parts according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type, wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2; sending the n parts on n symbols, respectively (see e.g., [0054] which includes 2 elements).
As to claim 6, LIN teach the method according to claim 2, wherein a modulation phase of a last modulation signal at a former part in adjacent two parts of the n parts and a modulation phase of an initial modulation signal of a latter part in the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases (see e.g., [0045] with respect to QPSK sequence== modulated phases. See also [0087]).
As to claim 9, LIN teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: sending the different parts of the PRS on a plurality of symbols that are continuous in a time domain according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type (see e.g., Fig. 1:24 and [0009] where resources are mapped to a frequency bandwidth).
As to claim 11, LIN teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the receiving the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols comprises: receiving n parts on n symbols, respectively; wherein a PRS sequence of the PRS is divided into the n parts, and different parts of the n parts are located on the different symbols. See similar rejection to claim 2.
As to claim 15, LIN the method according to claim 11, wherein, a modulation phase of a last modulation signal at a former part in adjacent two parts of the n parts and a modulation phase of an initial modulation signal of a latter part in the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases. See similar rejection to claim 6.
As to claim 22, LIN teaches the communication device according to claim 20, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: dividing a PRS sequence of the PRS into n parts according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type, wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2; sending the n parts on n symbols respectively. See similar rejection to claim 2.
As to claim 23, LIN teaches a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor executes the method according to claim 10 (see e.g., [[0123]).
Claim(s) 1-4, 7, 9, 10-13, 16, 20, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20230155775 A1 to DAI et al “DAI”
Independent claims
As to claim 1, DAI teaches a method for sending a position reference signal (PRS), performed by a base station (see e.g., [0048]), comprising: sending different parts of the PRS on different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, wherein a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type (see e.g., [0040] which discusses wideband vs. narrowband PRS, [0097-98], [0104] (Fig. 9) PRS 900 has 12 symbols per slot. NR systems typically have 14 symbols per slot. See 903 which is RE which has a smaller bandwidth. See also [0105] (Fig. 10) with two slots and different number of symbols per slot. See also Fig. 12 as an example where PRS is divided (step 1202) and further sent as supported by UE of the predetermined type (step 1204)).
As to claim 10, DAI teaches a method for receiving a position reference signal (PRS), performed by a UE, comprising: receiving different parts of the PRS on different symbols, wherein the different parts of the PRS are sent on the different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, and a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UJE of the predetermined type; demodulating the PRS after combining the different parts of the PRS. See similar rejection to claim 1 where the method for receiving is what is sent in claim 1.
As to claim 20, DAI teaches a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor executes a method for sending a position reference signal (PRS) (see e.g., [[0041]) when running the executable program, the method is performed by a base station and comprises: sending different parts of the PRS on different symbols according to a bandwidth supported by a UE of a predetermined type, wherein a bandwidth occupied by each part of the PRS on a corresponding symbol is less than or equal to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type. See similar rejection to claim 1 where corresponding structure teaches the method of claim 1.
Dependent claims
As to claim 2, DAI teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: dividing a PRS sequence of the PRS into n parts according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type, wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2; sending the n parts on n symbols, respectively (see e.g., Fig. 9-11. As an example, in Fig. 9 [0104], PRS 900 is further divided and set in different frequency ranges, 910 and 912. The PRS signal is further sent in separate symbols of the set, two within set 904 and two within set 906. All are a plurality of n parts, where n is greater than 2 is both symbols and subarriers. All are in support of UEs that support narrowband signals, such as DR-Light UEs).
As to claim 3, DAI teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the sending the n parts on the n symbols respectively comprises: sending the n parts on the n symbols through frequency hopping; or, sending the n parts on the n symbols in a same frequency band (see e.g., [0040] with respect to frequency hopping. See also frequency hopping with respect to Fig. 9 [0104]).
As to claim 4, DAI teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein parts, carried by adjacent two symbols, in the n parts sent through the frequency hopping are located on different frequency bands (see e.g., Fig. 9 where PRS is sent in two different frequency ranges = different frequency bands).
As to claim 7, DAI teaches the method according to claim wherein the PRS has a repeated configuration, wherein the repeated configuration comprises a time domain repeated configuration for repeatedly sending the PRS in a time domain, or a frequency domain repeated configuration for repeatedly sending the PRS in a frequency domain (see e.g., [0095] with respect to repetition factor. See also Fig. 11 with respect to repetition factors).
As to claim 9, DAI teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: sending the different parts of the PRS on a plurality of symbols that are continuous in a time domain according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type (see e.g., Fig. 10 where PRS occupies two consecutive slots which is continuous in the time domain).
As to claim 11, DAI teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the receiving the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols comprises: receiving n parts on n symbols, respectively; wherein a PRS sequence of the PRS is divided into the n parts, and different parts of the n parts are located on the different symbols. See similar rejection to claim 2.
As to claim 12, DAI teaches the method according to claim 11, wherein the receiving the n parts on the n symbols respectively comprises: receiving the n parts on the n symbols through frequency hopping; or, receiving the n parts on the n symbols in a same frequency band. See similar rejection to claim 3.
As to claim 13, DAI teaches the method according to claim 12, wherein parts, carried by adjacent two symbols, in the n parts received through the frequency hopping are located on different frequency bands. See similar rejection to claim 4.
As to claim 16, DAI teaches the method according to claim 1 1, wherein the PRS has a repeated configuration, wherein the repeated configuration comprises a time domain repeated configuration for repeatedly sending the PRS in a time domain, or a frequency domain repeated configuration for repeatedly sending the PRS in a frequency domain. See similar rejection to claim 7.
As to claim 22, DAI teaches the communication device according to claim 20, wherein the sending the different parts of the PRS on the different symbols according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type comprises: dividing a PRS sequence of the PRS into n parts according to the bandwidth supported by the UE of the predetermined type, wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2; sending the n parts on n symbols respectively. See similar rejection to claim 2.
As to claim 23, DAI teaches a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor executes the method according to claim 10 (see e.g., [[0041]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
Claim(s) 5 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20230155775 A1 to DAI et al “DAI” in view of US 20200154239 A1 to YAMADA et al. “YAMADA”.
Note: All references drawn to DAI unless otherwise cited.
As to claim 5, DAI and YAMADA teach the method according to claim 4, wherein the frequency bands where the n parts are sent through the frequency hopping are continuous in a frequency domain.
DAI discloses sending the PRS in a frequency hopping but doesn’t expressly state that they are in a continuous frequency domain. DAI does teach that each band is continuous, see e.g., Fig. 9. See also [0099] of DAI.
YAMADA teaches a terminal where the terminal can be a narrowband limited terminal [0025]. YAMADA further teaches a continuous frequency domain shown in Fig. 6 [0106].
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the claimed invention to combine the PRS transmission of DAI with PRS transmission of YAMADA to clarify that the frequency hopping is continuous in a frequency domain and further increase the frequency density (YAMADA [0106]). There would have been a high reasonable expectation of success since both references are for a narrowband terminal.
As to claim 14, DAI and YAMADA teach the method according to claim 13, wherein the frequency bands where the n parts are received through the frequency hopping are continuous in a frequency domain. See similar rejection to claim 5.
Claim(s) 6, 8, 15 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20230155775 A1 to DAI et al “DAI” in view of US 20200351047 A1 to Akkarakaran et al. “AKKARAKARAN”.
Note: All references drawn to DAI unless otherwise cited.
As to claim 6, DAI and AKKARAKARAN teach the method according to claim 2, wherein a modulation phase of a last modulation signal at a former part in adjacent two parts of the n parts and a modulation phase of an initial modulation signal of a latter part in the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases.
DAI is generally silent to phase ([0054]) and that the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases.
AKKARAKARAN teaches having signals that are adjacent in phase sequence of modulations by being phase coherent (see e.g. Fig. 6: 606, 610, and 615 for PRS).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the claimed invention to combine the PRS transmission of DAI with PRS transmission of AKKARAKARAN to clarify that the modulation signal of a latter part in the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases. There would have been a high reasonable expectation of success since both references are downlink PRS.
As to claim 8, DAI and AKKARAKARAN the method according to claim 7, wherein the PRS has the repeated configuration and modulation signals of the n parts of the PRS sequence do not have phase continuity.
DAI is generally silent to whether the PRS sequency has or doesn’t have phase continuity ([0054]).
AKKARAKARAN teaches having signals that are adjacent in phase sequence of modulations by being phase coherent (see e.g. Fig. 6: 606, 610, and 615 for PRS).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the claimed invention to combine the PRS transmission of DAI with PRS transmission of AKKARAKARAN to clarify that the PRS sequence do not have phase continuity. In particular, if no capability is disclosed (AKKARAKARAN Fig. 6:605) and no coherent information is exchanged (AKKARAKARAN Fig. 6:610), then the signals would not have phase continuity. There would have been a high reasonable expectation of success since both references are downlink PRS.
As to claim 15, DAI and AKKARAKARAN the method according to claim 11, wherein, a modulation phase of a last modulation signal at a former part in adjacent two parts of the n parts and a modulation phase of an initial modulation signal of a latter part in the adjacent two parts are adjacent in a phase sequence of modulation phases. See similar rejection to claim 6.
As to claim 17, DAI and AKKARAKARAN the method according to claim 16, wherein the PRS has the repeated configuration, modulation signals of the n parts of the PRS sequence do not have phase continuity. See similar rejection to claim 8.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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