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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 28-29 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 § 102
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.
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 –
Claim(s) 28-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SAILY et al. (US Pub No. 2024/0163840).
Claim 28, SAILY discloses a method to support one or more positioning operations performed by a tag device (See Fig. 2), the method comprising: receiving a data signal on a first channel (par [0044] “disclosed in specifically of a positioning procedure to assist in obtaining measurements (such as channel estimate information), and other positioning control entity to determine a location or position of the one or more backscatter nodes to support each of the backscatter nodes”); the data signal modulated with data associated with a communication operation (par [0035] “ backscatter communication may allow a backscatter node to reflect a received ambient signal while modulating data onto the reflected signal. For example, the reflected backscatter signal may be modulated using active (or switched) load modulation “); and transmitting a backscatter signal on a second channel, distinct from the first channel, wherein the backscatter signal is generated based on the data signal (par [0044] “ distinct from the first channel by channel corresponding to an assigned backscatter to provide different channel and determine a location of at least some of the backscatter nodes, and channel estimate information from a plurality of second (measuring) UEs.
Claim 29, SAILY further discloses the method of claim 28, further comprising: receiving an activation signal on the first channel, the activation signal interspersed on resource blocks (RBs) of the first channel together with data included in the data signal (par [0043] “applied by performed channel estimate information indicates an estimate of a channel between one of the plurality of second user devices and each of the at least some of the backscatter nodes, and wherein the channel estimate information received from each second user device is based on the transmitted positioning signal that is frequency shifted by an assigned backscatter frequency offset and reflected by each of the at least some of the backscatter nodes where to using control functions or blocks in associated with the backscatter nodes”); and transmitting the backscatter signal in response to receipt of the activation signal (par [0061]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-27 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1, and their dependents thereof, are allowed because the closest prior art, either alone or in combination, fail to disclose the claim limitations of receiving, from a transmit network entity, a data signal via a first channel; receiving, from a tag device, a backscatter signal based on the data signal received by the tag device via the first channel, the backscatter signal received via a second channel that is different from the first channel; and transmitting a report that indicates a position measurement associated with a position of the tag device, the position measurement determined based on the received data signal and the received backscatter signal
Claim 30 is 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.
Claim 30, The method of claim 28, further comprising: receiving a deactivation signal on a third channel distinct from the first channel and the second channel; and ceasing transmission of the backscatter signal in response to receipt of the deactivation signal.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Douglas et al. (US Patent No. 7,293,088) discloses tag location, client location, and coverage hole location in a wireless network.
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.
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/PHUOC H DOAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646