CTNF 18/271,606 CTNF 82209 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-42-05 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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle , 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/21/2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-8, 10-14, and 29-42 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 § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL (Positioning with Dual Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface in Millimeter-Wave MIMO Systems by Jingwen Zhang, published on 2020) in view of Stare (WO/2020/096506 A1) . (1) Regarding claim 8: NPL discloses a positioning reference signal provision method comprising: transmitting, from a UE (user equipment) directly to a telecommunication device other than a repeater, a first UL-PRS (uplink positioning reference signal) of a first type of UL-PRS (page 801, right column, section B. Received Signals at the BS: Assume the UE transmits the PRS x of duration to via single antenna. The received signals yd via the direct path between UE and BS; the examiner interprets the PRS transmitted on direct path as the claimed first type of UP-PRS); and transmitting, from the UE to a RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface), a second UL- PRS of a second type of UL-PRS (page 801, right column, section B. Received Signals at the BS: As for the reflection paths, considering one specific RIS antenna is the phase shifting matrix of the RIS, the examiner interprets the reference signal from the reconfigurable intelligence surface as the claimed second type of UL-PRS), wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the second UL-PRS with: NPL fails to disclose wherein the second UL-PRS has a different carrier frequency than the first UL-PRS, or a different bandwidth than the first UL-PRS, or one or more different timing window characteristics than the first UL-PRS, or a different codeword than the first UL-PRS, or any combination thereof. However, in the same field of endeavor, Stare teaches for methods includes the use of unique signals over multiple locations such as OTDOA, an isolation technique, using different code sequences may be used to avoid the same signal sequence coming from two or more directions (page 37, 2 nd paragraph); each mirror reflects a dedicated signal using orthogonality or coding, the different paths corresponding to the different signals may be easier to resolve, as compared to non-dedicated signals (page 38, 2 nd paragraph). It is desirable for signal from RIS to have different codeword than the first UL-PRS because it easier to distinguish the signal from different directions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Stare in the method of NPL for the benefit of distinguish signal received from different directions . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL (Positioning with Dual Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface in Millimeter-Wave MIMO Systems by Jingwen Zhang, published on 2020) in view of Penna et al. (US 2023/0176174 A1) and Stare (WO/2020/096506 A1) . (1) Regarding claim 1: NPL discloses a method of a UE comprising: transmitting, from a UE (user equipment) directly to a telecommunication device other than a repeater, a first UL-PRS (uplink positioning reference signal) of a first type of UL-PRS (page 801, right column, section B. Received Signals at the BS: Assume the UE transmits the PRS x of duration to via single antenna. The received signals yd via the direct path between UE and BS; the examiner interprets the PRS transmitted on direct path as the claimed first type of UP-PRS); and transmitting, from the UE to a RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface), a second UL- PRS of a second type of UL-PRS (page 801, right column, section B. Received Signals at the BS: As for the reflection paths, considering one specific RIS antenna is the phase shifting matrix of the RIS, the examiner interprets the reference signal from the reconfigurable intelligence surface as the claimed second type of UL-PRS) NPL fails to explicitly disclose (a) the UE comprises a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to implement the method; and (b) wherein the processor is further configured to transit the second UL-PRS with: a different carrier frequency than the first UL-PRS, or a different bandwidth than the first UL-PRS, or one or more different timing characteristics than the first UL-PRS, or a different codeword than the first UL-PRS, or any combination thereof. With respect to (a), in the same field of endeavor, Penna discloses a UE 110 in figure 1 comprises a transceiver (transceiver 130 in figure 1) configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory (memories 125 in figure 1); and a processor (processor 120 in figure 1) communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to implement a method (para. 0044), It is desirable for the UE to have a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to implement the method because it can implement the method function with for less expense and higher adaptability and flexibility. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Penna in the UE of the NPL for the benefit of less expense and higher adaptability and flexibility. With respect to (b), in the same field of endeavor, Stare teaches for methods includes the use of unique signals over multiple locations such as OTDOA, an isolation technique, using different code sequences may be used to avoid the same signal sequence coming from two or more directions (page 37, 2 nd paragraph); each mirror reflects a dedicated signal using orthogonality or coding, the different paths corresponding to the different signals may be easier to resolve, as compared to non-dedicated signals (page 38, 2 nd paragraph). It is desirable for signal from RIS to have different codeword than the first UL-PRS because it easier to distinguish the signal from different directions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Stare in the method of NPL for the benefit of distinguish signal received from different directions . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 29-42 are allowed. 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3-7 and 10-14 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claims 29-42: The present invention describes a network entity comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to schedule first uplink positioning signal resources for a UE (user equipment) to transmit a first UL-PRS (uplink positioning reference signal) of a first type directly to a telecommunication device other than a repeater; and schedule second uplink positioning signal resources for the UE to transmit a second UL-PRS of a second type to a RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface). The closest prior art, NPL (Positioning with Dual Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface in Millimeter-Wave MIMO Systems by Jingwen Zhang, published on 2020) and Penna et al. (US 2023/0176174 A1) both discloses using a reconfigurable intelligence surfaces for positioning, but fails to disclose schedule first uplink positioning signal resources for a UE (user equipment) to transmit a first UL-PRS (uplink positioning reference signal) of a first type directly to a telecommunication device other than a repeater; and schedule second uplink positioning signal resources for the UE to transmit a second UL-PRS of a second type to a RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Bayesteh et al. (US 2021/0302561 A1) discloses systems and methods for locating user equipment in a wireless network. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIU M LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1083. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 8:30-7:00. 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, Chieh M Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SIU M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 6/10/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 2 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 3 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 4 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 6 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 7 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 8 Art Unit: 2632 Application/Control Number: 18/271,606 Page 9 Art Unit: 2632
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