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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 Apr. 7, 2026 with respect to claims 1 -5, 7 – 15 and 17 – 20 has been entered.
Claims 6 and 16 are canceled.
Claims 21 – 64 are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on Apr. 7, 2026 with respect to claims 1 – 5, 7 – 15 and 17 - 20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicants argument, “applicant respectfully disagrees, Xiong is directed to device discovery and has no relevance to position determination, let alone position determination via sidelink channels. Accordingly, a person skilled in the art attempting to perform sidelink positioning as discussed in Ko, would had no motivation to combine Ko with D2D device discovery of Xiong”, on page 16.
The examiner’s response, “in response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case -
Ko discloses, sidelink positioning based on PS transmission of single user equipment in NR V2X. The method comprise the steps of: transmitting a positioning reference signal PRS to a plurality of second user equipments; receiving, from the plurality of second user equipments, location information of the plurality of second user equipments and time of arrival TOA values of the plurality of second user equipments; and determining a location of the first user equipment on the basis of the location information of the plurality of second user equipments and the TOA values of the plurality of second user equipments – ABSTRACT, Figs. 10, 11, 17 – 22, 26, 30, paragraphs 0014 – 0016.
The target UE may receive positioning information from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Fig. 22/s2220, paragraphs 0194, 0195. The location of the first device 100 may be determined based on the location information of the second device 200 and at least one of a difference between the TOA values of the plurality of second devices 200 or a sum of the TOA values of the plurality of second devices 200 – paragraph 0208. V2X or SL communication, the term ‘UE’ may generally imply a UE of a user. However, if a network equipment such as a BS transmits/receives a signal according to a communication scheme between UEs, the BS may also be regarded as a sort of the UE. For example, a UE 1 may be a first apparatus 100, and a UE 2 may be a second apparatus 200 – Fig. 9, paragraph 0105.
At the same time, Xiong teaches, silencing schemes for device-to-device D2D discovery based on loading conditions in a discovery zone. A silencing factor is used to probabilistically determine whether a user equipment UE will transmit one or more D2D discovery signals in the discovery zone (ABSTRACT, Figs. 6 – 8, paragraphs 0017 - 0026).
There are two different approaches in D2D discovery: restricted/closed D2D discovery and open D2D discovery. Restricted/closed D2D discovery applies to use cases wherein a discoverable device may be discovered only by a select set of ProSe-enabled discovering devices (paragraphs 0031, 0032, 0076, 0110).
For restricted discovery, the scrambling ID may be used for filtering of decoded candidates by the discovering UE before sending the list of candidates to the upper layers for verification for restricted discovery. For closed discovery, the scrambling is the same on a per-white list basis for restricted discovery (paragraphs 0102, 0103).
The UE can report discovery related measurement in a periodic or event-triggered manner. Since reporting is not immediate in case of idle mode, time stamp that indicates the moment of logging measurement results may need to be included (paragraph 0054).
An eNB 104 may transmit signaling to indicate D2D discovery zone configuration to ProSe-enabled UEs 102. The signaling may indicate time and frequency resources and a periodicity of the discovery zone 204 and may indicate operational parameters for the discovery zone 204 (paragraphs 0039, 0063)”.
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 7 and 17 depends on canceled claims 6 and 16 respectively.
For examination purpose it is considered that claims 7 and 17 depends on independent claims 1 and 11.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 – 5, 7, 9 – 15, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Ko US PGPub: US 2022/0236365 A1 Jul. 28, 2022 and in view of
Xiong US PGPub: US 2015/0245193 A1 Aug. 27, 2015.
Regarding claims 1, 11, Ko discloses,
a method performed by a user equipment UE for supporting sidelink SL positioning of a plurality of other UEs and user equipment UE configured for supporting sidelink SL positioning of a plurality of other UEs, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with network entities (transceivers - Figs. 26/108, 26/208, 28/114, 29/108); at least one memory (memorys - Figs. 26/104, 26/204, 28/130, 29/130); and at least one processor (processors – Figs. 26/102, 26/202, 28/120, 29/120) coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory (sidelink positioning based on PS transmission of single user equipment in NR V2X. The method comprise the steps of: transmitting a positioning reference signal PRS to a plurality of second user equipments; receiving, from the plurality of second user equipments, location information of the plurality of second user equipments and time of arrival TOA values of the plurality of second user equipments; and determining a location of the first user equipment on the basis of the location information of the plurality of second user equipments and the TOA values of the plurality of second user equipments – ABSTRACT, Figs. 10, 11, 17 – 22, 26, 30, paragraphs 0014 – 0016. V2X or SL communication, the term ‘UE’ may generally imply a UE of a user. However, if a network equipment such as a BS transmits/receives a signal according to a communication scheme between UEs, the BS may also be regarded as a sort of the UE. For example, a UE 1 may be a first apparatus 100, and a UE 2 may be a second apparatus 200 – Fig. 9, paragraph 0105), comprising, and the at least one processor configured to:
sending a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message to all UEs of the plurality of other UEs (the target UE may request information on a capability of a UE related to sidelink positioning from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third UE – Figs. 17/s1720, 19/s1910, paragraphs 0162, 0182);
receiving a second SLPP message from each UE of the plurality of other UEs (the target UE may receive information on the capability of the UE related to sidelink positioning from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Figs. 17/s1750, 19/s1920, paragraphs 0165, 0183), wherein the second SLPP message received from each UE comprises SLPP capabilities of the each UE and SLPP resources of the each UE (the information on the capability of the UE may include at least one of common element - e.g., whether segmentation or not, whether assistant-GNSS A-GNSS based positioning support and parameters related to A-GNSS based positioning, whether sidelink-time difference of arrival S-TDOA based positioning support and parameters related to S-TDOA based positioning, whether road side unit-ID RSU-ID based positioning support and parameters related to RSU-ID based positioning, whether sensor based positioning support is supported, and parameters related to sensor based positioning, whether terrestrial beacon systems TBS based positioning support and parameters related to TBS based positioning, whether WLAN based positioning support and parameters related to WLAN based positioning, or whether Bluetooth BT based positioning support and parameters related to BT based positioning. For example, parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning may include at least one of a S-TDOA type, a supported band, whether inter frequency S-TDOA support, additional Server info list, positioning reference signal PRS-ID, whether muting support, PRS configuration - e.g., comb-type, bandwidth BW, frequency shift, periodicity, repetitions, max supported PRS bandwidth, max reporting interval, whether multiple PRS support, whether idle state measurement support, the number of RX antennas, or whether motion measurement support – paragraph 0182);
exchanging additional SLPP messages with at least some UEs in the plurality of other UEs, wherein the additional SLPP messages are based on the SLPP capabilities and the SLPP resources of each of the at least some of the UEs (the target UE may determine parameters required for the sidelink positioning method and/or PRS transmission based on the information on the capability of the UE related to the sidelink positioning received from each server UE – paragraph 0183. The target UE may provide assistance data to the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE. For example, the target UE may determine assistance data based on information on a capability of a UE received from each server UE. For example, the target UE may transmit assistance data to the each server UE. For example, the target UE may divide assistance data into a plurality of pieces through a sidelink positioning protocol message, and the target UE may transmit the assistance data to each server UE. For example, the target UE may repeatedly transmit assistance data through a sidelink positioning protocol message. For example, the sidelink positioning protocol message may include a transaction ID. For example, the UE may confirm that the message is related to one sidelink method through the transaction ID included in each sidelink positioning protocol message. For example, the UE may determine one sidelink method related to the message through the transaction ID included in each sidelink positioning protocol message. For example, each sidelink positioning protocol message may be distinguished as to which sidelink method the message is related to through a transaction ID. For example, the assistance data may include parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning. For example, parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning may include at least one of a S-TDOA type, a frequency band, inter frequency S-TDOA configuration, additional Server info list, positioning reference signal PRS-ID, muting configuration, PRS configuration - e.g., comb-type, bandwidth BW, frequency shift, periodicity, repetitions, max reporting interval, max supported PRS bandwidth, multiple PRS configuration, idle state measurement configuration, the number of RX antennas, or motion measurement configuration – paragraph 0185. The first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE may receive at least one reference signal from the target UE. For example, the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE may receive least one PRS from the target UE based on the assistance data – Fig. 21/s2110, paragraph -189. The target UE may receive positioning information from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Fig. 22/s2220, paragraphs 0194, 0195); and
determining location results for the at least some of the UEs based on the additional SLPP messages (the target UE may receive positioning information from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Fig. 22/s2220, paragraphs 0194, 0195. The location of the first device 100 may be determined based on the location information of the second device 200 and at least one of a difference between the TOA values of the plurality of second devices 200 or a sum of the TOA values of the plurality of second devices 200 – paragraph 0208. V2X or SL communication, the term ‘UE’ may generally imply a UE of a user. However, if a network equipment such as a BS transmits/receives a signal according to a communication scheme between UEs, the BS may also be regarded as a sort of the UE. For example, a UE 1 may be a first apparatus 100, and a UE 2 may be a second apparatus 200 – Fig. 9, paragraph 0105),
but, does not disclose, wherein the SLPP resources of a UE provide an indication of the SLPP capabilities that the UE is permitted to support, the SLPP capabilities that the UE is not permitted to support or both of these, and
wherein eth SLPP capabilities that the UE is permitted to support or not permitted to support comprise a permission or a restriction on an SL Positioning Reference Signal SRS transmission time.
Xiong teaches, silencing schemes for device-to-device D2D discovery based on loading conditions in a discovery zone. A silencing factor is used to probabilistically determine whether a user equipment UE will transmit one or more D2D discovery signals in the discovery zone (ABSTRACT, Figs. 6 – 8, paragraphs 0017 - 0026).
There are two different approaches in D2D discovery: restricted/closed D2D discovery and open D2D discovery. Restricted/closed D2D discovery applies to use cases wherein a discoverable device may be discovered only by a select set of ProSe-enabled discovering devices (paragraphs 0031, 0032, 0076, 0110).
For restricted discovery, the scrambling ID may be used for filtering of decoded candidates by the discovering UE before sending the list of candidates to the upper layers for verification for restricted discovery. For closed discovery, the scrambling is the same on a per-white list basis for restricted discovery (paragraphs 0102, 0103).
The UE can report discovery related measurement in a periodic or event-triggered manner. Since reporting is not immediate in case of idle mode, time stamp that indicates the moment of logging measurement results may need to be included (paragraph 0054).
An eNB 104 may transmit signaling to indicate D2D discovery zone configuration to ProSe-enabled UEs 102. The signaling may indicate time and frequency resources and a periodicity of the discovery zone 204 and may indicate operational parameters for the discovery zone 204 (paragraphs 0039, 0063).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the sidelink positioning based on PS transmission of single user equipment in NR V2X of Ko (Ko, ABSTRACT, Figs. 9 - 11, 17 – 22, 26, 30, paragraphs 0014 – 0016, 0105) wherein the system of Ko, would have incorporated, silencing schemes for device-to-device D2D discovery based on loading conditions in a discovery zone of Xiong (Xiong, ABSTRACT, Figs. 6 – 8, paragraphs 0031, 0054, 0076, 0102, 0103, 0110) to provide configuration of D2D discovery zones (i.e., discovery resource pools) with partitioning of D2D Discovery Zones into contention-based and non-contention-based Discovery Zones for both network-common and cell-specific configurations of discovery zones (Xiong, paragraph 0017).
Regarding claims 2, 12, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the location results comprise:
a range between a pair of UEs (if the UE 1 is out of the connectivity range of the BS, another UE may inform the UE 1 of the resource pool – paragraph 0107. Each vehicle may adjust trajectories or maneuvers, based on data obtained from a local sensor of a proximity vehicle and/or a proximity logical entity. In addition, for example, each vehicle may share driving intention with proximity vehicles – paragraph 0010),
a direction from a UE to another UE (the Cooperative Awareness Message CAM may include dynamic state information of the vehicle such as direction and speed, static data of the vehicle such as a size, and basic vehicle information such as an exterior illumination state, route details, or the like – paragraph 0007),
a location of a UE relative to the location of another UE (each vehicle may adjust trajectories or maneuvers, based on data obtained from a local sensor of a proximity vehicle and/or a proximity logical entity. In addition, for example, each vehicle may share driving intention with proximity vehicles – paragraph 0010),
a velocity of a UE,
a relative velocity of a UE relative to another UE, or any combination of these.
Regarding claims 3, 13, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein sending the first SLPP message to all UEs of the plurality of other UEs, receiving the second SLPP message from each UE of the plurality of other UEs and exchanging the additional SLPP messages with the at least some UEs in the plurality of other UEs is based on SL multicasting when the plurality of other UEs contains more than one UE (the groupcast-type SL transmission, the UE may perform SL communication with respect to one or more UEs in a group to which the UE belongs - Fig. 11c, paragraph 0115).
Regarding claims 4, 14, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the first SLPP message includes SLPP capabilities and SLPP resources of the UE (the target UE may transmit information on a capability of the target UE including at least one of sidelink positioning method that the target UE can perform to the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – paragraph 0182).
Regarding claims 5, 15, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the SLPP capabilities of a UE provide an indication of the SLPP capabilities that the UE is implemented to support (the server UE may transmit a transmission message including information on the capability of its own UE to the target UE – paragraph 0183).
Regarding claims 7, 17, Ko discloses all the claimed features,
but, does not disclose, the method of claim 1, wherein the SLPP capabilities that the UE is permitted to support or not permitted to support comprise:
“a permission or a restriction on an SL PRS measurement time”,
a permission or a restriction on an SL PRS transmission duration,
a permission or a restriction on an SL PRS measurement duration,
a permission or a restriction on a bandwidth of an SL PRS transmission,
a permission or a restriction on a bandwidth of an SL PRS that is measured,
a permission or a restriction on an RF frequency of an SL PRS transmission,
a permission or a restriction on an RF frequency of an SL PRS that is measured, a permission or a restriction on a signal coding of an SL PRS transmission,
a permission or a restriction on a signal coding of an SL PRS that is measured,
a permission or a restriction on a periodicity of an SL PRS transmission,
a permission or a restriction on a periodicity of an SL PRS measurement,
a permission or a restriction on a transmission power for an SL PRS transmission,
a permission or a restriction on a transmission power for an SL PRS that is measured, or
any combination of these.
Xiong teaches, silencing schemes for device-to-device D2D discovery based on loading conditions in a discovery zone. A silencing factor is used to probabilistically determine whether a user equipment UE will transmit one or more D2D discovery signals in the discovery zone (ABSTRACT, Figs. 6 – 8, paragraphs 0017 - 0026).
There are two different approaches in D2D discovery: restricted/closed D2D discovery and open D2D discovery. Restricted/closed D2D discovery applies to use cases wherein a discoverable device may be discovered only by a select set of ProSe-enabled discovering devices (paragraphs 0031, 0032, 0076, 0110).
For restricted discovery, the scrambling ID may be used for filtering of decoded candidates by the discovering UE before sending the list of candidates to the upper layers for verification for restricted discovery. For closed discovery, the scrambling is the same on a per-white list basis for restricted discovery (paragraphs 0102, 0103).
The UE can report discovery related measurement in a periodic or event-triggered manner. Since reporting is not immediate in case of idle mode, time stamp that indicates the moment of logging measurement results may need to be included (paragraph 0054).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the sidelink positioning based on PS transmission of single user equipment in NR V2X of Ko (Ko, ABSTRACT, Figs. 9 - 11, 17 – 22, 26, 30, paragraphs 0014 – 0016, 0105) wherein the system of Ko, would have incorporated, silencing schemes for device-to-device D2D discovery based on loading conditions in a discovery zone of Xiong (Xiong, ABSTRACT, Figs. 6 – 8, paragraphs 0031, 0054, 0076, 0102, 0103, 0110) to provide configuration of D2D discovery zones (i.e., discovery resource pools) with partitioning of D2D Discovery Zones into contention-based and non-contention-based Discovery Zones for both network-common and cell-specific configurations of discovery zones (Xiong, paragraph 0017).
Regarding claims 9, 19, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 8, wherein the first SLPP message further includes an SLPP Service Requirement of the UE (The information on the capability of the UE may include at least one of common element - e.g., whether segmentation or not, whether assistant-GNSS A-GNSS based positioning support and parameters related to A-GNSS based positioning, whether sidelink-time difference of arrival S-TDOA based positioning support and parameters related to S-TDOA based positioning, whether road side unit-ID RSU-ID based positioning support and parameters related to RSU-ID based positioning, whether sensor based positioning support is supported, and parameters related to sensor based positioning, whether terrestrial beacon systems TBS based positioning support and parameters related to TBS based positioning, whether WLAN based positioning support and parameters related to WLAN based positioning, or whether Bluetooth BT based positioning support and parameters related to BT based positioning. For example, parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning may include at least one of a S-TDOA type, a supported band, whether inter frequency S-TDOA support, additional Server info list, positioning reference signal PRS-ID, whether muting support, PRS configuration - e.g., comb-type, bandwidth BW, frequency shift, periodicity, repetitions, max supported PRS bandwidth, max reporting interval, whether multiple PRS support, whether idle state measurement support, the number of RX antennas, or whether motion measurement support – paragraph 0182).
Regarding claims 10, 20, Ko discloses,
the method of claim 8, wherein the SLPP Service Requirement of a UE includes an indication of:
an immediate location,
a deferred location,
a periodic location,
a triggered location,
a relative location (the target UE may receive information on the capability of the UE related to sidelink positioning from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Figs. 17/s1750, 19/s1920, paragraphs 0165, 0183. The information on the capability of the UE may include at least one of common element - e.g., whether segmentation or not, whether assistant-GNSS A-GNSS based positioning support and parameters related to A-GNSS based positioning, whether sidelink-time difference of arrival S-TDOA based positioning support and parameters related to S-TDOA based positioning, whether road side unit-ID RSU-ID based positioning support and parameters related to RSU-ID based positioning, whether sensor based positioning support is supported, and parameters related to sensor based positioning, whether terrestrial beacon systems TBS based positioning support and parameters related to TBS based positioning, whether WLAN based positioning support and parameters related to WLAN based positioning, or whether Bluetooth BT based positioning support and parameters related to BT based positioning. For example, parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning may include at least one of a S-TDOA type, a supported band, whether inter frequency S-TDOA support, additional Server info list, positioning reference signal PRS-ID, whether muting support, PRS configuration - e.g., comb-type, bandwidth BW, frequency shift, periodicity, repetitions, max supported PRS bandwidth, max reporting interval, whether multiple PRS support, whether idle state measurement support, the number of RX antennas, or whether motion measurement support – paragraph 0182),
a global location (the target UE may receive information on the capability of the UE related to sidelink positioning from the first server UE, the second server UE, and the third server UE – Figs. 17/s1750, 19/s1920, paragraphs 0165, 0183. The information on the capability of the UE may include at least one of common element - e.g., whether segmentation or not, whether assistant-GNSS A-GNSS based positioning support and parameters related to A-GNSS based positioning, whether sidelink-time difference of arrival S-TDOA based positioning support and parameters related to S-TDOA based positioning, whether road side unit-ID RSU-ID based positioning support and parameters related to RSU-ID based positioning, whether sensor based positioning support is supported, and parameters related to sensor based positioning, whether terrestrial beacon systems TBS based positioning support and parameters related to TBS based positioning, whether WLAN based positioning support and parameters related to WLAN based positioning, or whether Bluetooth BT based positioning support and parameters related to BT based positioning. For example, parameters related to S-TDOA-based positioning may include at least one of a S-TDOA type, a supported band, whether inter frequency S-TDOA support, additional Server info list, positioning reference signal PRS-ID, whether muting support, PRS configuration - e.g., comb-type, bandwidth BW, frequency shift, periodicity, repetitions, max supported PRS bandwidth, max reporting interval, whether multiple PRS support, whether idle state measurement support, the number of RX antennas, or whether motion measurement support – paragraph 0182),
a location accuracy,
a location latency,
a location periodicity,
a location reliability, or
any combination of these.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 18 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.
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/NIMESH PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
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