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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species I, claims 2-3 in the reply filed on 12-15-2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: not all acronyms are described the claims. For example, for SIB, present it as system information block (SIB) at least once. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims present a plurality of conditional limitations which are unclear when one ends and the next one begins. Also, some conditional limitations are dependent on limitations or situations which are not required; thereby, it is unclear how the limitation can be true, if the prior condition cannot be true. Please clarify. Additionally, see Ex Parte Schulhauser, MPEP 2111.04 II.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by QUALCOMM INCORPORATED: "Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State", as cited by applicant.
As to claim 1, Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State discloses positioning method, comprising: performing, by a terminal, a positioning behavior in an idle state or an inactive state (Section 1, paragraph starting with "The following enhancements have been recommended for normative work - NR positioning for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state, including - DL, UL and DL+UL positioning methods"), wherein performing the positioning behavior comprises at least one of the following:
receiving and measuring a downlink reference signal for positioning (Figure 1,
step 13a and respective description on page 5);
reporting information related to location (Figure 1, step 14 and respective
description on page 6);
transmitting an uplink reference signal for positioning (Figure 1, step 12 and
respective description on page 5);
[not required conditions]
when a distance between a time domain location of an uplink reference signal for positioning to be transmitted and a paging occasion exceeds a distance X, ignoring, by the terminal, the uplink reference signal for positioning to be transmitted;
when a distance between a time domain location of a downlink reference signal for positioning and the paging occasion exceeds the distance X, ignoring, by the terminal, measurement of the downlink reference signal for positioning;
when a distance between a time domain location where information related to location is reported and the paging occasion exceeds the distance X, ignoring, by the terminal, reporting of the information related to location; or
when a distance between the time domain location of the uplink reference signal for positioning to be transmitted and the time domain location of the downlink reference signal for positioning exceeds the distance X, ignoring, by the terminal, the uplink reference signal for positioning to be transmitted, wherein the paging occasion is a paging occasion in a resident cell.
Regarding claim 20 is the corresponding device claim of method claim 1. Therefore, claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons as shown above.
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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State in view of Kim 20200313832.
As to claim 2, Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and measuring the downlink reference signal for positioning comprises:
when the terminal is configured with an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP) (since the reference disclose positioning where the UE is in RRC IDLE/RRC INACTIVE state, therefore it is implied that it operates/ it is active on the initial Downlink BWP; section 1), performing, by the terminal, one of the following:
receiving a downlink reference signal for positioning (Figure 1, step 13a and respective description on page 5). The above reference fails to explicitly disclose inside of the downlink BWP. In an analogous art Kim discloses receiving a downlink reference signal for positioning with the same parameter configuration as the downlink BWP inside of the downlink BWP (the new BWP correspond to a bandwidth used to transmit RS/SS is transmitted inside the BWP… The structure of the PSS/SSS mentioned above may be identical to the first structure) (see par. 0154);
[not required conditions]
when the downlink reference signal for positioning and a first signal are repeated or collided or transmitted in the same symbol, skipping receiving, by the terminal, the downlink reference signal for positioning, the first signal comprising at least one of the following: SIB 1, other SIBs than SIB1, Msg2, MSg4, MsgB, a PDCCH scheduling SIB1, or a synchronization signal block SSB;
receiving the downlink reference signal for positioning inside of the initial downlink BWP;
receiving, by the terminal, the downlink reference signal for positioning outside of the initial downlink BWP; or
performing, by the terminal, BWP handover according to an indication from a network-side device, a protocol agreement, or a selection of the terminal, and receiving the downlink reference signal for positioning on the BWP after handover.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to combine the teachings for the simple purpose of using the bandwidth efficiently and save the finite wireless resources.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State in view of Wang 20220394526.
As to claim 3, Positioning of UEs in RRC Idle/Inactive State discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and measuring the downlink reference signal for positioning comprises:
receiving and measuring the downlink reference signal for positioning according to a relation between the downlink reference signal for positioning, indicated by a network-side device, between the downlink reference signal for positioning (Figure 1, step 13a and respective description on page 5). The previous reference fails to disclose SSB. In an analogous art Wang discloses according to a spatial beam relation between the downlink reference signal for positioning and an SSB, wherein the spatial beam relation between the downlink reference signal for positioning and the SSB is obtained by a spatial QCL relation (see par. 0064), indicated by a network-side device (see fig.2-3), between the downlink reference signal and the SSB (see par. 0144, 0152); or [not required conditions]
obtained by a default relation between a downlink reference signal for positioning resource and an SSB actually transmitted in synchronization signal block burst under a TRP where the downlink reference signal for positioning resource is located.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to combine the teachings for the simple purpose of using the bandwidth efficiently and save the finite wireless resources.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS L TORRES whose telephone number is (571)272-7926. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM M-F.
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MARCOS L. TORRES
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2647
/MARCOS L TORRES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647