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 ACTION
a. Claims 1-9 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA :
- claims 1-9 are amended
b. This is a final action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 01/26/2026.
Response to Arguments
Regarding claims 1, 3, and 5-7 previously objected for informalities, claims 1, 3, and 5-7 have been amended according to the examiner's recommendation and thus the previous objection has been withdrawn.
Regarding Independent claims 1, 5, and 6 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's arguments, see “However, Kumar is silent on acquiring a plurality of information related to a plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure.” on page 8, filed on 01/26/2026, with respect to , have been fully considered but are moot, over the limitations of “wherein the receiver acquires the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure”. Said limitations) are newly added to the amended Claims 1, 5, and 6 and have been addressed in instant office action, as shown in section 35 USC 103 rejection below, with newly identified disclosures in previously applied reference Kumar, in combination with previously applied reference CATT, thus rendering said Applicant’s arguments moot.
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 of this title, 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.
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 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.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CATT NPL “Discussion on the Enhancement of TA Acquisition for E-CID”, 3GPP R2-123588, August 13th-17th, 2012 (hereinafter “CATT”), in view of Kumar et al., US Patent 10051422 (hereinafter “Kumar”).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended)
CATT discloses a terminal (“UE” on page 1, Introduction):
controls one or more random access procedures (“TA Type2: eNB obtains the Timing Advance via non-contention based random access procedure.” On page 1, section 2.1); “-For TA Type 2, since non-contention based RA procedure is supported on SCell, network can obtain the TA value on SCell via the non-contention based RA procedure.” On page 1, section 2.2; “To obtain TA Type2, it can be obtained by triggering non-contention based random access procedure on SCell.” On page 1, Proposal 1, section 2.2);
acquires, on the basis of the one or more random access procedures, a plurality of information related to a plurality of timing advances (i.e. “TA group”) corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of base stations (“With the introduction of Multi-TA mechanism, eNB can obtain more than one TA value of one UE.” On page 1, Introduction), each of the plurality of timing advances (“In R11 CA, multi-TA mechanism is introduced. The primary TA group includes PCell. And other TA groups are referred to as secondary TA group. For serving cells in one TA group, the same timing reference cell and the same Timing Advance value are used.” On page 1, section 2.1) or transmission/reception points (“eNB” on page 1, Introduction); and
performs an uplink (UL) transmission on the basis of at least one of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances (“With the introduction of multi-TA mechanism, it is feasible for network to obtain the TA value of SCells:
- For TA Type 1, since the multiple UL timings are maintained between network and UE, UE and eNB can obtain multiple Rx-Tx time differences on SCells;” on page 1, section 2.2).
CATT does not specifically teach the hardware components of a terminal such as a controller, a receiver, and a transmitter; and wherein the receiver acquires the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure.
In an analogous art, Kumar discloses a method for obtaining estimated location of a mobile device (“a mobile device may obtain a plurality of timing advance parameters based, at least in part, on frames transmitted from the mobile device to a plurality of base stations on uplink channels to the plurality of base stations” [Abstract]) wherein the mobile device (“FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a mobile device 800 according to an embodiment. UE 100, mobile device 300 and/or mobile device 400…” col 14, rows 18-19) comprising:
a controller (“General-purpose processor(s) 811” col. 14, row 49; Fig. 6);
a receiver (“wireless transceiver 821 which is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals” col 14, rows 23-24; Fig. 6);
wherein the receiver acquires the plurality of information (“Block 504 may select a timing advance parameter based on a signal transmitted in an uplink channel to a particular base station from among the plurality of timing advance parameters obtained at block 502. As pointed out above in connection with block 502, the selected timing advance parameter may be based, at least in part, on signals transmitted (e.g., Random Access Preamble) to a base station of a particular cell other than a primary cell (e.g., as part of a RACH procedure)” Col. 11, lines 27-35) related to the plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure (“Furthermore, multiple timing advance parameters may be obtained by transmission by a mobile device of signals to multiple different base stations on the multiple different uplink channels (e.g., in an LET Random Access Procedure (RACH)).” Col. 8, lines 28-32)
a transmitter (“wireless transceiver 821 which is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals” col 14, rows 23-24; Fig. 6);
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify CATT’s method for TA acquisition for E-CID to include Kumar’s method for obtaining a plurality of timing advance parameters using E-CID, in order to efficiently provide an estimated location of a mobile device (Kumar [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Kumar’s method for obtaining a plurality of timing advance parameters using E-CID into CATT’s method for TA acquisition for E-CID since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2 (Currently Amended)
CATT, as modified by Kumar, previously discloses the terminal according to claim 1,
CATT further discloses wherein when the controller (as taught by Kumar) performs transmission or reception to or from at least one of the plurality of base stations or transmission/reception points (“eNB can obtain multiple Rx-Tx time differences on SCells” on page 1, section 2.2), the controller performs control to adjust a value of at least one of the plurality of timing advances (“The way of TA acquisition will be more flexible. TA value of either PCell or SCell can help network to calculate UE’s locations, which would bring more flexibility to eNB implementation and can reduce the RACH load for positioning on PCell. The TA measurement accuracy is mainly affected by the measurement bandwidth and the channel quantity [1]. If the TA value can be obtained on different serving cells, considering the accuracy, eNB can select the serving cell with better channel quality and/or larger bandwidth to obtain more accurate TA value.” On page 1, section 2.2).
Regarding claim 3 (Currently Amended)
CATT, as modified by Kumar, previously discloses the terminal according to claim 1,
CATT further discloses wherein in a given time unit (i.e. “UL timings”), the transmitter (as taught by Kumar) performs a plurality of UL transmissions, each of the plurality of UL transmissions corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances (“With the introduction of multi-TA mechanism, it is feasible for network to obtain the TA value of SCells:
- For TA Type 1, since the multiple UL timings are maintained between network and UE, UE and eNB can obtain multiple Rx-Tx time differences on SCells;” on page 1, section 2.2) .
Regarding claim 4 (Currently Amended)
CATT, as modified by Kumar, previously discloses the terminal according to claim 1,
CATT further discloses wherein the controller (as taught by Kumar) determines position measuring by using at least two or more of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances (“Since TA+AOA is one E-CID method for UE positioning, obtaining more than one TA value of one UE would provide the opportunity to acquire more accurate UE location information” on page 1, Introduction; “TA+AoA positioning is one of Enhanced Cell-ID positioning methods. It calculates UE location based on the position of serving cell, the Angle of Arrival, and the distance between UE and serving cell which is obtained by Timing Advance.” On page 1, section 2.1).
Regarding claim 5 (Currently Amended)
A radio communication method for a terminal, the radio communication method comprising:
controlling one or more random access procedures;
acquiring, on the basis of the one or more random access procedures, a plurality of information related to a plurality of timing advances, each of the plurality of timing advances corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of base stations or transmission/reception points; and
performing an uplink (UL) transmission on the basis of at least one of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances,
wherein the receiver acquires the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 5 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 1. Therefore method claim 5 corresponds to apparatus claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 6 (Currently Amended)
Kumar discloses a base station (“First device 902, second device 904 and third device 906 may be representative of any device, appliance or machine” col 16, rows 36-37) comprising:
a controller (“Processing unit 920” col 17, row 12; Fig. 7) that controls one or more random access procedures (as aforementioned in claim 1 discussion with CATT teaching);
a transmitter (“a communication interface 930” col 17, row 45; Fig. 7) that transmits, on the basis of the one or more random access procedures, a plurality of information related to a plurality of timing advances (as aforementioned in claim 1 discussion with CATT teaching); and
a receiver (“a communication interface 930” col 17, row 45; Fig. 7) that receives an uplink (UL) transmission transmitted from a terminal on the basis of at least one of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances (as aforementioned in claim 1 discussion with CATT teaching),
wherein the receiver acquires the plurality of information (“Block 504 may select a timing advance parameter based on a signal transmitted in an uplink channel to a particular base station from among the plurality of timing advance parameters obtained at block 502. As pointed out above in connection with block 502, the selected timing advance parameter may be based, at least in part, on signals transmitted (e.g., Random Access Preamble) to a base station of a particular cell other than a primary cell (e.g., as part of a RACH procedure)” Col. 11, lines 27-35) related to the plurality of timing advances through one random access procedure (“Furthermore, multiple timing advance parameters may be obtained by transmission by a mobile device of signals to multiple different base stations on the multiple different uplink channels (e.g., in an LET Random Access Procedure (RACH)).” Col. 8, lines 28-32).
Regarding claim 7 (Currently Amended)
The terminal according to claim 2, wherein in a given time unit, the transmitter performs a plurality of UL transmissions, each of the plurality of UL transmissions corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 7 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 3. Therefore method claim 7 corresponds to apparatus claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 8 (Currently Amended)
The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the controller determines position measuring by using at least two or more of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 8 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 4. Therefore method claim 8 corresponds to apparatus claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 4 rejection above.
Regarding claim 9 (Currently Amended)
The terminal according to claim 3, wherein the controller determines position measuring by using at least two or more of the plurality of information related to the plurality of timing advances.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 9 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 4. Therefore method claim 9 corresponds to apparatus claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 4 rejection above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUONG M NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8184. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm.
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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