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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a National Stage entry of PCT/IB2021/059533 (International Filing Date: 10/15/2021), which claims priority from Provisional Application 63092624
(filed 10/16/2020).
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/08/2026 has been entered.
Objections
Claims 1, 27, 56, 63, and 67 are objected to because of the following informalities, and appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 line 7, one of the terms in the phrase “a measurement a measurement” appears to be redundant. Please review and correct. If disagrees, please clarify. For examining purposes, examiner currently interprets the phrase to be “a measurement”. Similar problem appears in claim 63.
Claim 1 line 10, the term “DL RS” appears to be incorrect, and is believed to be “DL PRS”. Please review and correct. Similar problem appears in each of claims 27, 56, 63, and 67.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-12, 22, 27, 56, 63, 67 and 71-72 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by MANOLAKOS et al. (US 2021/0185632 A1, hereinafter MANOLAKOS).
Regarding claim 1, MANOLAKOS teaches a method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising (in general, see fig. 14 and its para. 152-166, along with fig. 4-5 and their para. at least 125-133; note that fig. 8-9 disclose relevant and additional embodiments):
receiving, from a network, an indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources as aggregated DL PRS resources, the indication comprising one or more conditions that must be met before the two or more DL PRS resources can be jointly processed by the UE (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157-158 in view of para. 129, for one non-limiting example, “…At stage 5a, the UE receives a number of PRS components, illustrated with separate arrows, for an aggregated DL PRS transmissions from the TRP1 105a…”, note that “...All DL-PRS Resources within a DL-PRS Resource Set instance are muted for a DL-PRS Resource Set instance that is indicated to be muted by the bitmap. In a second option, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a single repetition index for each of the DL-PRS Resources within an instance of a DL-PRS Resource Set, e.g., the length of the bitmap is equal to DL-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor. The second option may apply to all instances of the DL-PRS Resource Set that the above DL-PRS Resources are part of...”);
and
transmitting, to the network, a measurement a measurement produced by joint processing of the two or more DL PRS resources processed by the wireless device as aggregated DL PRS resources (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 165, “...At stage 10, the UE 115 send a Provide Location Information message to the location server 196
and includes the PRS based positioning measurements obtained at stage 8 and/or the UE location determined at optional stage 9...”, note that “...At stage 8, the UE 115 may perform the desired position measurements using the acquired and processed aggregated DL PRS received from TRP1 105 a, TRP2 105 b and TRP3
105 c...”),
and
wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PS resources being jointly processed to be configured with a same value of a repetition factor (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157-158 in view of para. 129, note that “...In a second option, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a single repetition index for each of the DL-PRS Resources within an instance of a DL-PRS Resource Set, e.g., the length of the bitmap is equal to DL-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor...”).
Regarding claim 2, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the one or more conditions for jointly processing the two or more DL PRS resources have been met. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 163 in view of para. 129, e.g., “…At stage 8, the UE 115 may perform the desired position measurements using the acquired and processed aggregated DL PRS received from TRP1 105 a…”)
Regarding claim 3, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the at least one condition has been met, and wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to be transmitted from a same transmission and reception point (TRP). (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157-158 in view of para. 129, for one non-limiting example, “…At stage 5a, the UE receives a number of PRS components, illustrated with separate arrows, for an aggregated DL PRS transmissions from the TRP1 105a…”, note that “...All DL-PRS Resources within a DL-PRS Resource Set instance are muted for a DL-PRS Resource Set instance that is indicated to be muted by the bitmap. In a second option, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a single repetition index for each of the DL-PRS Resources within an instance of a DL-PRS Resource Set, e.g., the length of the bitmap is equal to DL-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor. The second option may apply to all instances of the DL-PRS Resource Set that the above DL-PRS Resources are part of...”)
Regarding claim 4, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the at least one condition has been met, and wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to be received by the wireless device in a same time slot. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157-158 in view of para. 144 of fig. 9, for one non-limiting example, “…At stage 5a, the UE receives a number of PRS components, illustrated with separate arrows, for an aggregated DL PRS transmissions from the TRP1 105a. It should be understood that while the PRS components are illustrated with separate arrows, the PRS components are separated in the frequency domain…”)
Regarding claim 5, MANOLAKOS teaches performing the joint processing is further based on determining that the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to be received by the wireless device in a same symbol within the same time slot. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157 along with fig. 9 and para. 125, not that “…For example, the PRS components may be transmitted by the TRP1 105 a on one or more different component carriers, bands, frequency layers,…”)
Regarding claim 7, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the at least one condition has been met, and wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to be received by the wireless device with the same quasi co-location (QCL) information. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157, “…a same quasi-colocation (QCL) information,…”)
Regarding claim 8, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the at least one condition has been met, and wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to belong to different frequency layers. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157 along with fig. 9, for one example, but not limited to, “…For example, the PRS components may be transmitted by the TRP1 105 a on one or more different component carriers, bands, frequency layers, or bandwidths in a same band…”)
Regarding claim 9, MANOLAKOS teaches comprising performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, wherein performing the joint processing is based on determining that the at least one condition has been met, and wherein the at least one condition requires the two or more DL PRS resources being jointly processed to use a same subcarrier spacing. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157, “…a same subcarrier spacing,…”)
Regarding claim 10, MANOLAKOS teaches indicating, to the network, at least one measurement produced by the joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 165, “…At stage 10, the UE 115 send a Provide Location Information message to the location server 196 and includes the PRS based positioning measurements obtained at stage 8…”)
Regarding claim 11, MANOLAKOS teaches the at least one measurement is indicated to a location node. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 152 along with para. 165, “…Location server 196 may be, e.g., an LMF for a 5G NR network. Location server 196 may be located remotely in the core network, e.g., core network 190 shown in FIG. 1 or may be coincident with a TRP, such as a serving TRP 105 a…”)
Regarding claim 12, MANOLAKOS teaches the at least one measurement is indicated to a radio network node. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 152 along with para. 165, “…Location server 196 may be, e.g., an LMF for a 5G NR network. Location server 196 may be located remotely in the core network, e.g., core network 190 shown in FIG. 1 or may be coincident with a TRP, such as a serving TRP 105 a…”)
Regarding claim 22, MANOLAKOS teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources comprises a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and wherein the at least one condition is met when the first index is the same as the second index. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157 in view of para. 124-126 of fig.4, for one non-limiting example, “...The PRS components transmitted by TRP1 105a are configured with the same, or similar (within a predetermined threshold) constraints, such as ... subframes that are not separated by more than a predefined number of subframes, a same periodicity, a same comb type, a same number of symbols...”, note that “...FIG. 4 illustrates a first instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410, a second instance 410 b of PRS resource set 1 410, and a Trep instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410. The PRS resource set 1 410 is defined with an occasion of NPRS=2, a periodicity TRPs, and Nsymb=2...”)
Regarding claim 27, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1. To be more specific, although reciting subject matters slightly different, one skilled in the art would have known claim 27 performs reverse (or corresponding) procedures of claim 1. For example, it would be a network node of claim 27 that performs the reverse (or corresponding) receiving from and transmitting to the wireless device of claim 1. Hence, the examiner applies the same rejection reasoning as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding claim 56, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 27. To be more specific, although reciting subject matters slightly different, one skilled in the art would have known claim 56 performs reverse (or corresponding) procedures of claim 27. For example, it would be a radio network node of claim 56 that performs the reverse (or corresponding) receiving from and transmitting to a location node or from a wireless device of claim 27. Hence, the examiner applies the same rejection reasoning as set forth in claim 27.
Regarding claim 63, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, MANOLAKOS also teaches a same or similar apparatus comprising circuities for processor, transceiver, and memory (MANOLAKOS, see at least fig. 20-21), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 67, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 56 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, MANOLAKOS also teaches a same or similar apparatus comprising circuities for processor, transceiver, and memory (MANOLAKOS, see at least fig. 20-21), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 71, MANOLAKOS teaches receiving the indication comprises receiving a DL PRS configuration, the DL PRS configuration comprises a first index value for a first DL PRS resource and a second index value for a second DL PRS resource. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157 in view of para. 124-126 of fig.4, for one non-limiting example, “...The PRS components transmitted by TRP1 105a are configured with the same, or similar (within a predetermined threshold) constraints, such as ... subframes that are not separated by more than a predefined number of subframes, a same periodicity, a same comb type, a same number of symbols...”, note that “...FIG. 4 illustrates a first instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410, a second instance 410 b of PRS resource set 1 410, and a Trep instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410. The PRS resource set 1 410 is defined with an occasion of NPRS=2, a periodicity TRPs, and Nsymb=2...”)
Regarding claim 72, MANOLAKOS teaches the at least one condition is met when the first index value is the same as the second index value. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157 in view of para. 124-126 of fig.4, for one non-limiting example, “...The PRS components transmitted by TRP1 105a are configured with the same, or similar (within a predetermined threshold) constraints, such as ... subframes that are not separated by more than a predefined number of subframes, a same periodicity, a same comb type, a same number of symbols...”, note that “...FIG. 4 illustrates a first instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410, a second instance 410 b of PRS resource set 1 410, and a Trep instance 410 a of PRS resource set 1 410. The PRS resource set 1 410 is defined with an occasion of NPRS=2, a periodicity TRPs, and Nsymb=2...”)
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 13-14, and 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS, in view of Akkarakaran et al. (US 2020/0351047 A1, hereinafter Akkarakaran).
Regarding claim 13, MANOLAKOS teaches the at least one condition is based on a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 157, “...the PRS components may be transmitted by the TRP1 105a on one or more different component carriers, bands, frequency layers, or bandwidths in a same band...”)
MANOLAKOS differs from the claim, in that, it does not specifically disclose a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource.
.Akkarakaran, for example, from the similar field of endeavor, teaches a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource (in general, see fig. 6 and its paragraphs 172-189, in particular, see at least para. 181, for example, but not limited to, “…At 610, base station 105-e may transmit coherence information. The coherence information may indicate which downlink signals across component carriers can be assumed to be phase coherent. In some examples, the coherence information may include control signaling indicating multiple component carriers on which the PRS is phase coherent based on the capability indicator received by base station 105-e at 605…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 14, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the at least one condition is met when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent. (Akkarakaran, see at least para. 181, for example, but not limited to, “…At 610, base station 105-e may transmit coherence information. The coherence information may indicate which downlink signals across component carriers can be assumed to be phase coherent. In some examples, the coherence information may include control signaling indicating multiple component carriers on which the PRS is phase coherent based on the capability indicator received by base station 105-e at 605…”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 16, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received from a location node. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 152 along with para. 165, “…Location server 196 may be, e.g., an LMF for a 5G NR network. Location server 196 may be located remotely in the core network, e.g., core network 190 shown in FIG. 1 or may be coincident with a TRP, such as a serving TRP 105 a…”; Akkarakaran, see at least para. 181, for example, but not limited to, “…At 610, base station 105-e may transmit coherence information…”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 17, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 64, “…The E-SMLC 164 may support location determination of the UEs, e.g., using the 3GPP control plane (CP) location solution…”; Akkarakaran, see at least para. 118, “…The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the core network 130…”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 18, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received according to a positioning protocol or an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) message. (MANOLAKOS, see at least para. 64, “…The E-SMLC 164 may support location determination of the UEs, e.g., using the 3GPP control plane (CP) location solution…”; Akkarakaran, see at least para. 118, “…The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the core network 130…”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 19, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received from a radio network node. (Akkarakaran, see at least para. 181, for example, but not limited to, step 610)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 20, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Akkarakaran, see at least para. 144, for example, but not limited to, via RRC signaling)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Regarding claim 21, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process the two or more DL PRS resources is received via downlink control information (DCI). (Akkarakaran, see at least para. 144, for example, but not limited to, by DCI)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Akkarakaran into the method of MANOLAKOS for increasing system efficiency.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran, as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of HADASCHIK et al. (US 2019/0253282 A1, hereinafter HADASCHIK).
Regarding claim 15, MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran teaches all of the subject matters in claim 14, except the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent when a coherency value exceeds a threshold.
HADASCHIK, for example, from the similar field of endeavor, teaches the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent when a coherency value exceeds a threshold (in general, see fig. 6 and its paragraphs 172-189, in particular, see at least para. 181, for example, but not limited to, “…At 610, base station 105-e may transmit coherence information. The coherence information may indicate which downlink signals across component carriers can be assumed to be phase coherent. In some examples, the coherence information may include control signaling indicating multiple component carriers on which the PRS is phase coherent based on the capability indicator received by base station 105-e at 605…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate HADASCHIK into the method of MANOLAKOS in view of Akkarakaran for allowing for a more precise direct position detection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/29/2025 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 1, 27, 56, 63, and 67, since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YEE F LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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