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
Applicants’ arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because in view of amendments filed on 07/16/2026. Response to the amendment is as below.
Applicant’s argument regarding claim 1 that, “the combination of Wang and Thomas fundamentally fails to disclose the RAN node performing the verification procedure recited in independent claim 1, much less transmitting a response that includes "the verified location of the UE" and/or "an indication that the location of the UE is verified."
In response to applicant’s specific argument, examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant’s comments. First, note that the claim describes the RAN based positioning procedure… not specifically claimed as RAN is actually performed location verification, therefore, RAN can be part of these verification process. Also, The location verification performed by RAN is part of the preamble. Applicants’ arguments rely on language solely recited in preamble recitations in claim(s). When reading the preamble in the context of the entire claim, the recitation RAN based location verification is not limited because the body of the claim describes a complete invention and the language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations. Thus, the preamble of the claim(s) is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999). See MPEP § 2111.02. furthermore, the currently amended claim changes the scope as now transmitting a response required only verified location of the UE and an indication that the location of UE is verified and newly cited prior art, Edge as shown below describes, location verified by the RAN and transmitting such verified location of the UE to core network. see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105).
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 –
(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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 11-12, 15, 17, 21- 23, 25-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Edge (US 10080098) (hereafter Edge).
Regarding claim 1, Edge discloses a method of location verification performed by a radio access network (RAN) node, comprising:
receiving a request from a core network node to verify the location of a user equipment (UE), wherein the location of the UE is reported to the core network node by the UE (see, Fig. 6, AMF, 154 and LMF 152 sends request to eh NG-RAN the periodic or triggered location request, see, Fig. 6, the 21, obtain location information and send to gNB, see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105);
performing a RAN-based positioning procedure with the UE to determine a verified location of the UE (see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105); and
transmitting a response to the core network node, the response including: measurements obtained by the UE during the RAN-based positioning procedure, measurements obtained by the RAN node during the RAN-based positioning procedure, the verified location of the UE, an indication that the location of the UE is verified, or any combination thereof (see, transmitting a NRPPa message (location information) to the LMF and computer UE location by the LMF and location notify to the VGMLC).
Regarding claim 2, Edge further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the response further includes a type of the RAN-based positioning procedure (see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105).
Regarding claim 4, Edge further discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a capability message to the core network node, the capability message indicating that the RAN node is capable of verifying the location of the UE ((117) At stage 4, LMF 152 sends an LPP Request Capabilities message to UE 105 via the serving AMF 154 and serving gNB 110-1 to request the positioning capabilities of UE 105. (118) At stage 5, UE 105 returns an LPP Provide Capabilities message to LMT 152 comprising the positioning capabilities of UE 105. UE 105 may include its capability to support UL high efficiency transport of location information (e.g. for sending of LPP messages to LMF 152 while UE 105 is in idle state).).
Regarding claim 6, Edge further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the RAN node is or is located on a space vehicle (see, col. 6 lines 4-12, The communication system 100 may further utilize information from satellite vehicles (SVs) 190 for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) like the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou or some other local or regional Satellite Positioning System (SPS) such as IRNSS, EGNOS or WAAS. Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components).
Regarding claim 7, Edge further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the core network node is: an access and mobility management function (AMF), or a location management function (LMF) (see, Fig. 6, LMF as shown).
Regarding claim 8, Edge discloses a method of location verification performed by a core network node (see, Fig. 6), comprising:
transmitting a request to a radio access network (RAN) node to verify a location of a user equipment (UE), wherein the location of the UE is reported to the core network node by the UE (see, Fig. 6, the 14 and 15, the periodic or triggered location request, see, see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105)); and
receiving a response from the RAN node, the response from the RAN node including: a RAN node-verified location of the UE, an indication that the location of the UE is verified, or any combination thereof (see, step 22, computing UE location and23. NRPPA message (location information is send to the LMF), col. 22 lines 43-47 discloses (105) At stage 23, the temporary serving gNB 110 sends the received location information (e.g. a received LPP or NPP PLI) or the computed location for UE 105 to LMF 152 as indicated by the LMF 152 ID (or UE ID) received at stage 21).
Regarding claim 11, Edge further discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting a request to a location server to verify the location of the UE (see, Fig. 6, the LMF sends AMF the request); and receiving a response from the location server, the response from the location server including a location server-verified location of the UE, an indication that the location of the UE is verified, or any combination thereof (see, Fig. 6, step 22, the compute UE location and sends the location information to the LMF).
Regarding claim 12, Edge further discloses the method of claim 11, further comprising: determining whether the location of the UE is verified based on the response from the RAN node, the response from the location server, or both (see, Fig. 6, 24, compute UE location by the LMF).
Regarding claim 15, Edge further discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the response from the RAN node further includes a type of the RAN-based positioning procedure (see, see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105)).
Regarding claim 17, Edge further discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving a capability message from the RAN node, the capability message indicating that the RAN node is capable of verifying the location of the UE (((117) At stage 4, LMF 152 sends an LPP Request Capabilities message to UE 105 via the serving AMF 154 and serving gNB 110-1 to request the positioning capabilities of UE 105. (118) At stage 5, UE 105 returns an LPP Provide Capabilities message to LMT 152 comprising the positioning capabilities of UE 105. UE 105 may include its capability to support UL high efficiency transport of location information (e.g. for sending of LPP messages to LMF 152 while UE 105 is in idle state).
Regarding claim 21, Edge further discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the core network node is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (see, Fig. 6, AMF as shown).
Regarding claim 22, Edge discloses a method of location verification performed by a location server (Fig. 6, LMF), comprising:
receiving a request from a core network node to verify the location of a user equipment (UE), wherein the location of the UE is reported to the core network node by the UE (see, Fig. 6, AMF sends the request to the LMF for location request, step 21, UE obtain location information and send to gNB);
performing a location server-based positioning procedure with the UE to determine a verified location of the UE (see, Fig. 6, the LMF also at 24, compute location); and
transmitting a response to the core network node, the response including a verified location of the UE, an indication that the location of the UE is verified, or any combination thereof (send s the location event notify to the AMF in Fig. 6, see, step 23).
Regarding claim 23, Edge further discloses the method of claim 22, wherein: the response includes the verified location of the UE, and the response further includes a type of the location server-based positioning procedure (see, Fig. 6, the 22. Compute UE location which is verified location of the UE and LCS service response in step 26).
Regarding claim 25, Edge further discloses the method of claim 22, wherein the request includes: an identifier of the UE, an indication of a region in which the UE is expected to be located, one or more accuracy parameters, a timer within which the location server is expected to provide the response, or any combination thereof (col. 12 lines 37-42 discloses UE 105 needs to obtain at stage 9 (e.g. such as particular position measurements for one or more position methods or a location estimate for UE 105), an identity or identifier (ID) for the LMF 152, a set of UE identifiers (IDs) for the UE 105),.
Regarding claim 26, Edge further discloses the method of claim 22, wherein the response includes: the response includes the indication that the location of the UE is verified, a type of the location server-based positioning procedure, a quality of service (QoS), an error cause, an amount of time taken to determine the verified location of the UE, a confidence value indicating a confidence in the verified location of the UE, or any combination thereof (see, col. 15 lines 60-67 and col. 16 lines 1-3, The location report contains a UE ID 502 to identify the target UE 105, an authentication code 504 to authenticate the UE ID 502, an LMF ID 506 to identify the LMF 152, an indication of a Priority and/or a Quality of Service (QoS) 508, the location information 510, such as DL measurements and/or a location estimate, obtained by the UE 105 at stage 1 in FIG. 4 and an optional cyclic redundancy check (CRC) or forward error correction (FEC) 512 for error detection or correction. In some embodiments, the LMF ID 506 may be part of the UE ID 502 )
Regarding claim 27, Edge further disclose the method of claim 26, wherein the error cause comprises a value indicating: denied positioning, unsupported by UE, positioning failed, or request timeout (since the claim upon which this claim depends recites options for steps written in the alternative and the option to which this claim directed is not the one for which prior art is cited, no art need be cited in the rejection of this claim).
Regarding claim 28, Edge further discloses a radio access network (RAN) node (see, Fig. 6, RAN), comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
receive, via the one or more transceivers, a request from a core network node to verify a location of a user equipment (UE), wherein the location of the UE is reported to the core network node by the UE (see, Fig. 6, (see, Fig. 6, AMF, 154 and LMF 152 sends request to the NG-RAN the periodic or triggered location request, see, Fig. 6, the 21, obtain location information and send to gNB, see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105);
perform a RAN-based positioning procedure with the UE to determine a verified location of the UE (col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105); and
transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a response to the core network node, the response including: the verified location of the UE, an indication that the location of the UE is verified, or any combination thereof ((see, Fig. 6, transmitting a NRPPa message (location information) to the LMF and computer UE location by the LMF and location notify to the VGMLC).).
Regarding claim 29, Edge further discloses the RAN node of claim 28, wherein the response further includes a type of the RAN-based positioning procedure (see, col. 22 lines 39-44 disclose At stage 22, the temporary serving gNB 110 in NG-RAN 112 may optionally compute a location for UE 105 from the location information received at stage 21 or may verify a received location for UE 105).
Claim(s) 3, 14,16, 24 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge in view of Padaki et al. (US 2021/0058744) (hereafter Padaki).
Regarding claim 3, Edge discloses the method, wherein: the response includes: the indication that the location of the UE is verified (see, Fig. 6, the 22. Compute UE location and verify and send message to the LMF about location information in step 23), the response from the location server includes that the location of the UE is verified (step 24. LMF computer UE location which is verified the UE location and sends from location server to the AMF); the response from the RAN node includes the indication that the location of the UE is verified (RAN at step 22 compute UE location which is verified location), the response includes the indication that the location of the UE is verified (see, Fig. 6, see, Fig. 6, the 22. Compute UE location and verify and send message to the LMF about location information in step 23),
But the combined teachings do not explicitly disclose the indication that the location of the UE is verified comprises a Boolean value, and the response further includes a confidence value indicating a confidence in the verified location of the UE. However, in same field of endeavor, Padaki teaches in para [0302], the UE performs the ranging measurements of the signals from the at least one anchor node, updates state probabilities based on a dynamic mode or likelihood values that are computed from the ranging measurements, and generates, based on the likelihood values, confidence values indicating a probability of a location of a target anchor node among the at least one anchor node in a cell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Padaki with the Edge, as a whole, so as to calculate the confidence value associated with location measurements, the motivation is to improve the positioning.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge in view of Black et al. (US 2016/0373181)(hereafter Black).
Regarding claim 5, Edge does not explicitly disclose the method of claim 4, wherein: the RAN node has a steerable spare beam. Black teaches in para [0018], [11]. Both backhaul networks and radio access networks (RANs) may utilize high directivity beam steering and millimeter wave connectivity to end users to provide greatly expanded channel capacity. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Black with the Edge, as a whole, so as to perform beam forming the signal from the RAN, the motivation is to provide expanded channel capacity.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-10, 13 and 18-20 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.
Conclusion
Applicants’ 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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/DHAVAL V PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
