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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/10/26 has been entered.
Claim Objections
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 7 & 27-29 depend from cancelled claims 6 and 25. Appropriate correction is requested.
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.
(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) 1-4, 7, 10-11, 23-24, 27-29, 34-38, 47-48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Manolakos et al. (US 2022/0007349 A1).
Regarding claims 1 & 22, Manolakos discloses a method by a wireless device capable of Receiver-Transmitter, Rx-Tx, Time Difference measurement and supporting a choice of downlink, DL, reference signal, RS, for positioning and a method by a first network node for Receiver-Transmitter, Rx-Tx, Time Difference measurement and supporting a choice of downlink, DL, reference signal, RS, for positioning, the methods comprising:
receiving, from a first network node (see base station fig. 1)/transmitting to a wireless device (see fig. 1, with wireless devices receiving from base station), at least one information element (see resource element [0118]) that indicates at least one resource type associated with at least one DL RS (see DL reference signals, [0118]), wherein the at least one DL RS is associated with a set of resources (see PRS resource set [0119]), and
wherein the at least one resource type indicates (see selecting frequency domain resources [0006]) one type of DL RS (see DL reference signals [0159]) selected from the a choice of DL RS for positioning (see [0120] “type of reference signal” ..”used for positionoing”), comprising one of: Positioning Reference Signal, PRS (see selects PRS [0183]); Channel State Information-Reference Signal, CSI-RS (see CSI-RS, [0120]); and Tracking Reference Signal (see select TRP [0032]), TRS.
Regarding claims 2 & 23, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 1 & 22, wherein the information element comprises at least one value of a plurality of values (see [0119], “where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID”), each of the plurality of values
being associated with an RS configuration for a PRS configuration (see “PRS configuration”, [0116]), a TRS configuration, or CSI-RS configuration (see “configured…CSI-RS”, [0142]).
Regarding claims 3 & 24, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 1 & 22, wherein the at least one information element indicating the at least one resource type triggers a type of reporting selected from periodic, aperiodic (see aperiodic [0131]), or semipersistent (see [0140], “aperiodic/semi-persistent/periodic”).
Regarding claim 4, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein the first network node is operating as a location management function (network component to include location server, abstract).
Regarding claim 7, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 6, wherein the at least one information element is received according to a Radio Resource Control, RRC, configuration (see [0182], “he configuration at 1220 can be transmitted via RRC signaling”).
Regarding claim 10, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 2, further comprising:
based on the RS configuration, performing, by the wireless device, a User Equipment,
UE, Rx-Tx Time difference measurement (see time difference measurements [0159]); and
based on the RS configuration, transmitting, to the first network node and/or another
network node, at least one measurement report (see measurement report [0059]).
Regarding claim 11, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 10, wherein the at least one measurement comprises at least one of: a Reference Signal Time Difference, RSTD (see RSTD, [0029]); a Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP (see RSRP, [0029]); a Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ (RSRQ [0029]); and a UE RX-TX.
Regarding claim 27, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 25, further comprising: receiving at least one RS configuration (see configuration transmitted to UE [0030]) from at least one other network node operating as a gNodeB; and based on the at least one RS configuration received from the at least one other network node , transmitting the assistance information comprising the resource type (see [0112], “PRS included in observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) assistance data”).
Regarding claim 28, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 27, further comprising transmitting, to each of the at least one other network nodes, at least one request for the at least one RS configuration (see UE 104 in fig. 1, with requests to two BS).
Regarding claim 29, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 27, wherein the at least one other network node comprises a serving gNodeB associated with a serving (see serving [0059]) cell of the wireless device (see gNodeB in [0058]).
Regarding claim 34, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 22, wherein the network node is a serving gNodeB (see gNodeB [0058]) associated with a serving cell (see serving cell, [0074]) and the resource type associated with the RS is associated with a RS configuration of the network node (see configuration is received from network node [0006]).
Regarding claim 35, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 22, wherein the assistance information is transmitted to the wireless device according to a Radio Resource Control, RRC, protocol (see RRC [0074]).
Regarding claim 36, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 22, wherein the at least one information element is for a downlink control information, DCI, that indicates at least one RS configuration (see DCI, [0110]).
Regarding claim 37, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 36, further comprising: receiving, from the wireless device, at least one measurement report based on the at least one RS configuration, the at least one measurement report comprising a value associated with at least one measurement performed by the wireless device (see [0059] “measurement report from the UE”).
Regarding claim 38, Manolakos discloses the method of Claim 37, wherein the at least one measurement comprises at least one of: a Reference Signal Time Difference, RSTD (see RSTD [0029]); a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP, [0029]), RSRP; a Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ (see RSRQ [0071]); and a UE RX-TX.
Regarding claim 47, Manolakos discloses a wireless device adapted to perform the method of claim 1 (see method involving UE in [0006]).
Regarding claim 48, Manolakos discloses a network node adapted to perform the method of claim 22 (see base station, regarding method in [0030]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to K. WILFORD SHAHEED whose telephone number is (469) 295-9175. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9 am-6pm; CST; ALT Friday. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. The examiner’s Supervisor, Jinsong Hu, can be reached at (571)272-3965, where attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful.
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/KHALID W SHAHEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643