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 .
DETAILED ACTIONThis action is in response to the application filed on 02/12/2026.Claims 1- 46 have been examined.
Claims 47-71 have been withdrawn.
CLAIM INTERPRETATION35 USC § 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
In regards to claim 31, 39 and 42, the claimed limitation means for “determining”, “transmitting”, and “measuring” have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use “means” coupled with functional language “determining”, “transmitting”, and “measuring” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claims 31, 39 and 42 have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation: Applicant's own specification PGPUB para [0136] [0201][0207] discloses the above mentioned means be one or more of the above mentioned components of the apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the above mentioned means, the apparatus include the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner's interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102The 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- 46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by YOON et al. (US 2021/0352613).
As of claim 1, YOON discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor, communicatively connected to the memory and the transceiver (para [0221] [0263] [FIG.14] shows and discloses a first wireless device 100 of [FIG. 20] or a wireless devices 100 or 200 of [FIG.21], the first wireless device 100 include one or more processors 102 and one or more memories 104, and further include one or more transceivers 106),
the processor configured to: determine an association between one or more reception properties of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources and one or more transmission properties of one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resources (para [0219] [FIG.14] discloses the UE receive information on an uplink-positioning reference signal PRS/sounding reference signal SRS configuration from a location server and/or a base station, para [0220] discloses the terminal receive a reference signal for determining the TA (Timing Advanced) value and / or power of the UL- PRS/SRS from the base station, the reference signal be an SS/PBCH block and/or a DL-PRS, determining the TA value and/or the power of the UL-PRS/SRS using the reference signal, para [0250] disclose the difference in signal reception time between the cell transmitting the downlink signal having the earliest reception time, Here, the downlink signal be an SS/PBCH block, CSI-RS and/or DL-PRS, the power be obtained as pathloss is measured based on the cell with the weakest received power, and when the UE determines the power of UL-PRS/SRS based on the cell, all cells detected by the UE are UL- transmitted by the UE, when the base station informs the terminal of the cell list to receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the cell with the weakest received power be selected as a reference cell which corresponds to there is an association between the one or more reception properties of the DL-PRS, that is the measured TA and power of the DL-PRS, and the transmission properties of the UL-PRS, that is the determined TA offset and transmit power of the UL-PRS) measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties);
transmit, to at least one serving base station (BS), information indicating the one or more PRS resources that the UE is configured to measure in a future measurement occasion (para [0169] [0252] discloses the UE is capable of using a plurality of Tx/Rx beams, the UE transmit the UL-PRS/SRS on a plurality of Tx beams, a plurality of UL-PRS/SRS resources are allocated in terms of actual resource allocation. UL-PRS/SRS resource and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set be configured for each of the plurality of Tx beams);
measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties (para [0187] discloses the UE measure the location of the UE based on the PRS); and
transmit, to the one or more BSs after measuring the PRSs (and based on the determined association), SRSs on the one or more SRS resources based on the one or more transmission properties (para [0171] discloses the UE transmit the SRS on an indicated beam for the configured SRS resources, para [0192] discloses the UE transmit the UL PRS/SRS based on the determined TA value and/or power of the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 16, YOON discloses a method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining an association between one or more reception properties of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources and one or more transmission properties of one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resources (para [0219][FIG.14] discloses the UE receive information on an uplink-positioning reference signal PRS/sounding reference signal SRS configuration from a location server and/or a base station, para [0220] discloses the terminal receive a reference signal for determining the TA (Timing Advanced) value and / or power of the UL- PRS/SRS from the base station, the reference signal be an SS/PBCH block and/or a DL-PRS, determining the TA value and/or the power of the UL-PRS/SRS using the reference signal, para [0250] disclose the difference in signal reception time between the cell transmitting the downlink signal having the earliest reception time, Here, the downlink signal be an SS/PBCH block, CSI-RS and/or DL-PRS, the power be obtained as pathloss is measured based on the cell with the weakest received power, and when the UE determines the power of UL-PRS/SRS based on the cell, all cells detected by the UE are UL- transmitted by the UE, when the base station informs the terminal of the cell list to receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the cell with the weakest received power be selected as a reference cell which corresponds to there is an association between the one or more reception properties of the DL-PRS, that is the measured TA and power of the DL-PRS, and the transmission properties of the UL-PRS, that is the determined TA offset and transmit power of the UL-PRS) measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties);
transmitting, to at least one serving base station (BS), information indicating the one or more PRS resources that the UE is configured to measure in a future measurement occasion (para [0169] [0252] discloses the UE is capable of using a plurality of Tx/Rx beams, the UE transmit the UL-PRS/SRS on a plurality of Tx beams, a plurality of UL-PRS/SRS resources are allocated in terms of actual resource allocation. UL-PRS/SRS resource and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set be configured for each of the plurality of Tx beams);
measuring PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties (para [0187] discloses the UE measure the location of the UE based on the PRS); and
transmitting, to the one or more BSs after measuring the PRSs, SRSs on the one or more SRS resources based on the one or more transmission properties (para [0171] discloses the UE transmit the SRS on an indicated beam for the configured SRS resources, para [0192] discloses the UE transmit the UL PRS/SRS based on the determined TA value and/or power of the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 31, YOON discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for determining an association between one or more reception properties of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources and one or more transmission properties of one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resources (para [0219][FIG.14] discloses the UE receive information on an uplink-positioning reference signal PRS/sounding reference signal SRS configuration from a location server and/or a base station, para [0220] discloses the terminal receive a reference signal for determining the TA (Timing Advanced) value and / or power of the UL- PRS/SRS from the base station, the reference signal be an SS/PBCH block and/or a DL-PRS, determining the TA value and/or the power of the UL-PRS/SRS using the reference signal, para [0250] disclose the difference in signal reception time between the cell transmitting the downlink signal having the earliest reception time, Here, the downlink signal be an SS/PBCH block, CSI-RS and/or DL-PRS, the power be obtained as pathloss is measured based on the cell with the weakest received power, and when the UE determines the power of UL-PRS/SRS based on the cell, all cells detected by the UE are UL- transmitted by the UE, when the base station informs the terminal of the cell list to receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the cell with the weakest received power be selected as a reference cell which corresponds to there is an association between the one or more reception properties of the DL-PRS, that is the measured TA and power of the DL-PRS, and the transmission properties of the UL-PRS, that is the determined TA offset and transmit power of the UL-PRS) measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties);
means for transmitting, to at least one serving base station (BS), information indicating the one or more PRS resources that the UE is configured to measure in a future measurement occasion (para [0169] [0252] discloses the UE is capable of using a plurality of Tx/Rx beams, the UE transmit the UL-PRS/SRS on a plurality of Tx beams, a plurality of UL-PRS/SRS resources are allocated in terms of actual resource allocation. UL-PRS/SRS resource and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set be configured for each of the plurality of Tx beams);
means for measuring PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties (para [0187] discloses the UE measure the location of the UE based on the PRS); and
means for transmitting, to the one or more BSs after measuring the PRSs, SRSs on the one or more SRS resources based on the one or more transmission properties (para [0171] discloses the UE transmit the SRS on an indicated beam for the configured SRS resources, para [0192] discloses the UE transmit the UL PRS/SRS based on the determined TA value and/or power of the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 46, YOON discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code at a user equipment (UE), the code when executed by a processor causes the processor to: determine an association between one or more reception properties of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources and one or more transmission properties of one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resources (para [0219][FIG.14] discloses the UE receive information on an uplink-positioning reference signal PRS/sounding reference signal SRS configuration from a location server and/or a base station, para [0220] discloses the terminal receive a reference signal for determining the TA (Timing Advanced) value and / or power of the UL- PRS/SRS from the base station, the reference signal be an SS/PBCH block and/or a DL-PRS, determining the TA value and/or the power of the UL-PRS/SRS using the reference signal, para [0250] disclose the difference in signal reception time between the cell transmitting the downlink signal having the earliest reception time, Here, the downlink signal be an SS/PBCH block, CSI-RS and/or DL-PRS, the power be obtained as pathloss is measured based on the cell with the weakest received power, and when the UE determines the power of UL-PRS/SRS based on the cell, all cells detected by the UE are UL- transmitted by the UE, when the base station informs the terminal of the cell list to receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the cell with the weakest received power be selected as a reference cell which corresponds to there is an association between the one or more reception properties of the DL-PRS, that is the measured TA and power of the DL-PRS, and the transmission properties of the UL-PRS, that is the determined TA offset and transmit power of the UL-PRS) measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties);
transmit, to at least one serving base station (BS), information indicating the one or more PRS resources that the UE is configured to measure in a future measurement occasion (para [0169] [0252] discloses the UE is capable of using a plurality of Tx/Rx beams, the UE transmit the UL-PRS/SRS on a plurality of Tx beams, a plurality of UL-PRS/SRS resources are allocated in terms of actual resource allocation. UL-PRS/SRS resource and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set be configured for each of the plurality of Tx beams);
measure PRSs received from one or more BSs on the one or more PRS resources based on the one or more reception properties (para [0187] discloses the UE measure the location of the UE based on the PRS); and
transmit, to the one or more BSs after measuring the PRSs, SRSs on the one or more SRS resources based on the one or more transmission properties (para [0171] discloses the UE transmit the SRS on an indicated beam for the configured SRS resources, para [0192] discloses the UE transmit the UL PRS/SRS based on the determined TA value and/or power of the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 2, 17 and 32, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the one or more reception properties for the reception of the PRSs are associated with at least one receives beam, and the one or more transmission properties for the transmission of the SRSs are associated with at least one transmits beam, the at least one receive beam and the at least one transmit beam having a same set of associated beam directions (para [0232] disclose the TOA value be measured based on a specific Tx beam used for the DL-PRS, SS/PBCH block, and/or CSI-RS, the UE calculate or determine TA values for a UL-PRS/SRS resource and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set associated with an Rx beam (=reception properties) used by the UE to receive the DL-PRS, SS/PBCH block, and/or CSI-RS transmitted on the specific Tx beam (=transmission properties), para [0225] discloses the BS/LMF/location server indicate or configure at least one TA value to the UE in relation to a beam direction in which the UE transmits the UL-PRS/SRS, the UE be configured or instructed to transmit the UL-PRS/SRS on a specific Tx beam to BS).
As of claim 3, 18 and 33, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the one or more reception properties for the reception of the PRSs are associated with a reception power, and the one or more transmission properties for the transmission of the SRSs are associated with a transmission power (para [0241] discloses UL-PRS/SRS transmission power need to be configured so that a neighboring cell configured to receive the UL-PRS/SRS is capable of receiving the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 4, 19 and 34, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the one or more reception properties for the reception of the PRSs are associated with a reception timing, and the one or more transmission properties for the transmission of the SRSs are associated with a transmission timing (para [0219] [0251] discloses TA value configured based on the serving cell reception timing, UL-PRS/SRS transmission timing).
As of claim 5, 20 and 35, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the information is transmitted via at least one of uplink control information (UCI), a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, UL-PRS/SRS para [0250] discloses transmission power control parameter be configured by RRC signaling when UL-PRS SRS resources are configured).
As of claim 6, 21 and 36, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the one or more BSs comprise the at least one serving BS (para [0254] disclose the BS designates cells/BSs #10, #20, #30, and #40 as cells that will receive the UL-PRS/SRS).
As of claim 7, 22 and 37, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the one or more BSs are different from the at least one serving BS (para [0253] discloses a different cell or BS be associated with each of the UL-PRS/SRS resources and/or UL-PRS/SRS resource sets which corresponds to BSs are different from the serving BS).
As of claim 8, 23 and 38, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the information indicating the one or more PRS resources is transmitted before the PRSs are measured, and indicates the one or more PRS resources that the UE intends to measure (para [0215] discloses UL-PRS/SRS is actually received earlier than expected, the UL-PRS/SRS be measured during the computation as if the UL-PRS/SRS is significantly delayed. Para [0235] discloses the UE recognize that corresponding SRS resources are used for UE positioning).
As of claim 9, 24 and 39, rejection of claims 8, 23 and 38 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the processor is further configured to: determine that a quality metric for the one or more PRS resources exceeds a threshold during a previous measurement occasion, wherein the information indicates the one or more PRS resources that have the quality metric exceeding the threshold (para [0218] discloses BS configures cells that will receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the UE determine as Offset_TA a signal reception time difference between the serving cell and a cell that transmits a DL signal having the shortest arrival time among the configured cells, to improve reliability, the UE determine as Offset_TA a signal reception time difference between the serving cell and a cell that transmits a DL signal having the shortest arrival time among cells of which the reception quality is within a predetermined threshold with respect to a cell having the best reception quality).
As of claim 10, 25 and 40, rejection of claims 9, 24 and 39 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the quality metric comprises at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a line of sight (LoS) probability, or a timing delay calibration value (para [0138] disclose UE measurement: E-UTRA reference signal received power (RSRP) (=quality metric)).
As of claim 11, 26 and 41, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the information indicating the one or more PRS resources is transmitted after the PRSs are measured, and indicates a subset of the one or more PRS resources that the UE has measured (para [0232] discloses the UE calculate or determine TA values for a UL-PRS/SRS resource (=subset of the one or more PRS resources ) and/or a UL-PRS/SRS resource set associated with an Rx beam used by the UE to receive the DL-PRS, SS/PBCH block, and/or CSI-RS transmitted on the specific Tx beam).
As of claim 12, 27 and 42, rejection of claims 11, 26 and 41 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the processor is further configured to: determine a quality metric for the one or more PRS resources; and determine the subset of the one or more PRS resources that have a quality metric that exceeds a threshold, wherein the information indicates the subset of one or more PRS resources that have the quality metric exceeding the threshold (para [0218] discloses BS configures cells that will receive the UL-PRS/SRS, the UE determine as Offset_TA a signal reception time difference between the serving cell and a cell that transmits a DL signal having the shortest arrival time among the configured cells, to improve reliability, the UE determine as Offset_TA a signal reception time difference between the serving cell and a cell that transmits a DL signal having the shortest arrival time among cells of which the reception quality is within a predetermined threshold with respect to a cell having the best reception quality).
As of claim 13, 28, and 43, rejection of claims 12, 27 and 42 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the quality metric comprises at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a line of sight (LoS) probability, or a timing delay calibration value (para [0138] disclose UE measurement: E-UTRA reference signal received power (RSRP) (=quality metric)).
As of claim 14, 29, and 44, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the information is transmitted before or after the PRS is measured, within a configured duration of the measurement of the PRSs (para [0207] discloses UL-PRS/SRS sequence is repeated twice from a duration of two OFDM symbols).
As of claim 15, 30, and 45, rejection of claims 1, 16 and 31 cited above incorporated herein, in addition YOON discloses the UE autonomously determines the one or more PRS resources that the UE is configured to measure from a set of PRS resources, the one or more PRS resources being a subset of the set of PRS resources. SRS resource and/or SRS resource set be set to a dedicated SRS used only for UE positioning (para [0230] [0234] discloses SRS resource and/or SRS resource set be set to a dedicated SRS used only for UE positioning).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAHMIDA S CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-2547. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am to 5pm.
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/FAHMIDA S CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
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