DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. This office action is in response to the amendment filed on 11/24/2025. Claims 1-34 are pending in this application and have been considered below.
3. Applicant arguments regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zheng et al. (US 20220330229) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The examiner thoroughly reviewed Applicant’s arguments but firmly believes that the cited reference reasonably and properly meets the claimed limitation as rejected.
Applicant’s argument: “Zheng does not disclose nor suggest the use of group common DCI as recited in Feature 1. Nowhere in Zheng is the DCI described as being common to or intended for a group of UEs….”
Examiner’s response: Applicants are reminded that MPEP teaches: “During patent examination, the claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification. See In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 44 USPQ2d 1023 (Fed. Cir. 1997). See MPEP § 2111- § 2116.01 for case law pertinent to claim analysis”.
In paragraph 0087 of the specification of instant application, the applicant discloses “Here, the group common DCI can be broken into n data blocks (also referred to herein simply as “blocks”), where each data block comprises a set of one or more bits that convey information to the UE group, triggering one or more UEs of the group to monitor AP-PRS based at least in part on the group common DCI.”
In figure 4 below, Zheng shows a diagram of the DCI field for triggering the aperiodic DL PRS.
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In paragraph 0113, Zheng teaches “the DCI field for triggering the aperiodic DL PRS comprises 4 bits and each code point of this DCI field (i.e. four bits) is associated with (e.g. indicates) a single trigger state. For example, the codepoint “0001” may be associate with a trigger state whose ID is “1”. Based on the DCI field of triggering the aperiodic DL PRS, the DL PRS(s) associated with the trigger state with the ID “1” is triggered and transmitted to the UE.” The teaching of figure 4 of Zheng is the same as the teaching of paragraph 0087 of the specification of instant application. Thus, the examiner makes his broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the applicant’s specification that plurality of code points of DCI field, shown in figure 4 of Zheng, to be group common DCI.
Therefore, Zheng does teach “a serving Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) for providing aperiodic Position Reference Signal (AP-PRS) information to at least one User Equipment (UE) via group common Downlink Control Information (DCI) for the at least one UE” as recited in the rejected claims 1 and 18.
4. 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.
Please note: Examiner has cited particular columns, line numbers, and figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teaching of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well.
Applicants are reminded that MPEP 2141.02 states:
A prior art reference must be considered in its entirety, i.e., as a whole, including portions that would lead away from the claimed invention. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 220 USPQ 303 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-3, 5-20 and 22-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zheng et al. (US 20220330229) (hereinafter Zheng).
Regarding claims 1 and 18:
As shown in figures 1-12, Zheng discloses a serving Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) (see serving node figures 2-3) for providing aperiodic Position Reference Signal (AP-PRS) information to at least one User Equipment (UE) (see serving node figures 1 and 3) via group common Downlink Control Information (DCI) (figure 4, par 0113) for the at least one UE, the serving TRP comprising (abstract):
a transceiver (220 in figure 2);
a memory (210 in figure 2); and
one or more processors (200 in figure 2) communicatively coupled with the transceiver (220 in figure 2) and the memory (210 in figure 2), wherein the one or more processors (200 in figure 2) are configured to:
determine information regarding transmission of an AP-PRS by the serving TRP or a separate TRP (figure 3, abstract, par 0017-0019, 0119-0124);
send, in the group common DCI for the at least one UE, one or more information blocks, wherein each information block of the one or more information blocks comprises one or more bits that map to (see figures 4-7, par 0113, 0114-0126):
a trigger command related to the AP-PRS (see figure 4, abstract, par 0008, 0011, 0116-0018),
a positioning measurement request command related to the AP-PRS (par 0148), or
a location report request command related to the AP-PRS, or
a combination thereof, and
transmit the group common DCI via the transceiver (par 0103-0104).
Regarding claims 14 and 31:
As shown in figures 1-12, Zheng discloses a user equipment (UE) (see serving node figures 1 and 3) for using aperiodic Position Reference Signal (AP-PRS) information in group common Downlink Control Information (DCI), the UE (see serving node figures 1 and 3) (abstract) comprising:
a transceiver (120 in figure 1);
a memory (110 in figure 1); and
one or more processors (100 in figure 1) communicatively coupled with the transceiver (120 in figure 1) and the memory (110 in figure 1), wherein the one or more processors (100 in figure 1) are configured to:
receive from a serving Transmission Reception Point (TRP) (see serving node figures 2-3) via the transceiver (120 in figure 1), in the group common DCI, a one or more information blocks, wherein each information block of the one or more information blocks comprises one or more bits that map to (see figures 4-7, par 0113, 0114-0126):
a trigger command related to an AP-PRS, wherein the AP- PRS is transmitted from the serving TRP or a neighboring TRP (see figure 3-4, abstract, par 0008, 0011, 0116-0018),
a positioning measurement request command related to the AP-PRS (par 0148),
a location report request command related to the AP-PRS (par 0148), or
a combination thereof, and
measure the AP-PRS based on the trigger command, the positioning measurement request command, or the location report request command (par 0135-0137), or the combination thereof, corresponding to the one or more information blocks of the group common DCI (par 0103-0104).
Regarding claims 2, 15, 19 and 32:
Zheng further discloses wherein the one or more bits of each information block of the one or more information blocks map to:
a respective one or more Positioning Frequency Layers (PFLs) with which the AP-PRS is to be obtained (see figure 5);
a respective one or more PRS identifiers (PRS-IDs) with which the AP- PRS is to be obtained;
a respective one or more resource sets with which the AP-PRS is to be obtained;
a respective one or more resources with which the AP-PRS is to be obtained; or
a unique combination of two or more of a PFL, PRS-ID, resource set, and resource with which the AP-PRS is to be obtained; or
a combination thereof.
Regarding claims 3 and 20:
Zheng further discloses providing the at least one UE with an indication of how the one or more bits map to:
the trigger command (see figure 4),
the positioning measurement request command, or
the location report request command related to the AP-PRS, or
a combination thereof.
Regarding claims 5 and 22:
Zheng further discloses obtaining capability information of the at least one UE; and determining how the one or more bits map to the trigger command based at least in part on the capability information (see figure 4, par 0022, 0114-0016, 0139-0141).
Regarding claims 6 and 23:
Zheng further discloses obtaining capability information of the at least one UE, wherein sending the one or more information blocks in the group common DCI for the at least one UE is responsive to a determination, based on the capability information, that the at least one UE is capable of receiving the AP-PRS information via the group common DCI (par 0022, 0139-0141, 0159).
Regarding claims 7 and 24:
Zheng further discloses configuring the at least one UE to use two or more information blocks of the group common DCI (par 0147-0149, 0173).
Regarding claims 8 and 25:
Zheng further discloses wherein the one or more bits of each information block of the one or more information blocks map to a Quality Of Service (QOS) requirement to be used for a positioning measurement report of the AP-PRS from the at least one UE (par 0017-0022. Time of receiving APRS interpreted to be Quality Of Service (QOS) requirement).
Regarding claims 9 and 26:
Zheng further discloses wherein the QOS requirement comprises: accuracy, response time (par 0017-0022), velocity request, or horizontal vs. vertical location request, or a combination thereof.
Regarding claims 10 and 27:
Zheng further discloses wherein the one or more bits of each information block of the one or more information blocks map to a positioning method to be used for a positioning measurement report of the AP-PRS from the at least one UE (see figure 4, par 0022, 0114-0016, 0139-0141).
Regarding claims 11 and 28:
Zheng further discloses wherein the at least one UE comprises a plurality of UEs, and the method further includes receiving a first positioning measurement report from a first UE at a first time, and a second positioning measurement report from a second UE at a second time (par 0135-0137).
Regarding claims 12 and 29:
Zheng further discloses wherein the first time and the second time are based on one or more capabilities of the first UE and one or more capabilities of the second UE, respectively (par 0159).
Regarding claims 13 and 30:
Zheng further discloses wherein the one or more capabilities of the first UE and the one or more capabilities of the second UE comprise: a number of PRS resources the first UE, the second UE, or both, can process per time unit, a number of PRS symbols the first UE, the second UE, or both, can process per time unit, or number of PFLs the first UE (see number of PFLs the first UE in figure 5), the second UE, or both, can process per time unit, or a combination thereof.
Regarding claim 16 and 33:
Zheng further discloses providing capability information to the serving TRP (abstract).
Regarding claims 17 and 34:
Zheng further discloses providing a positioning measurement report of the AP-PRS based on a mapping of the one or more bits of each information block of the one or more information blocks to a positioning method (see figure 4, par 0022, 0114-0016, 0139-0141).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 4 and 21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record, Zheng does not teach or suggest wherein providing the at least one UE with the indication of how the one or more bits map comprises providing a first UE with a first mapping of the one or more bits, and providing a second UE with a second mapping of the one or more bits, wherein the second mapping is different than the first mapping.
Conclusion
9. 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.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KABIR A TIMORY whose telephone number is (571)270-1674. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hannah S Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KABIR A TIMORY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631