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
This Office Action is in response to the Applicants' communication filed on 4/3/2026. In virtue of this communication, claims 1, 3, 5-7, 9-11, 13-15, 17, 19, 20, 23-28 are currently presented in the instant application.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/24/2026 has been entered.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, 9-11, 13-15, 17, 19, 20, 23-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 20210099832 (hereinafter referred to as Duan) in view of US Patent Application Publication 20210204344 (hereinafter referred to as Babaei).
Consider claim 1, Duan discloses a method for determining a measurement parameter, comprising:
determining, by a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…UEs may be classified as low-tier UEs … and premium UEs …Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs …”), the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device comprising a parameter for a measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device, based on a measurement parameter for a first terminal device comprised in first configuration information from a network device (see at least ¶ [0134], “…the low-tier UE transmits, to at least one premium UE …, a request to perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals transmitted by one or more TRPs…” and see at least ¶ [0135], “…a measurement report comprising the one or more positioning measurements. … any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation…”),
wherein the first terminal device and the RedCap terminal device support different capabilities (see at least ¶ [0081], “…the UE 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A may represent a “low-tier” UE or a “premium” UE. …the components may have different degrees of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or fewer capabilities, etc.) depending on whether the UE 302 corresponds to a low-tier UE or a premium UE…” and see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability…” and see at least ¶ [0106], “…Premium UEs generally have a larger form factor …, and have more features and capabilities…”), and
wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises:
a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device, absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.)…”).
Duan disclose all the subject matters of the claimed invention concept. However, Duan does not particularly disclose absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation. In an analogous field of endeavor, attention is directed to Babaei, which teaches absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see Babaei, at least ¶ [0039], “…The wireless devices may have different categories that define their capabilities in terms of supporting various features. The wireless device with the same category may have different capabilities…” and see at least ¶ [0193], “…The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per CSI-RS resource. A parameter absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation may indicate absolute threshold for the consolidation of measurement results per SS/PBCH block(s) from L1 filter(s). The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per SS/PBCH block index…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious a finding that one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have combined the elements as claimed by the know method, and that in combination. Each element merely performs the same function as it does separately; Duan disclosed invention, and have absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation, as taught by Babaei, thereby, to provide a mobile communications system may be implemented based on various technologies and/or various releases/versions/amendments of a technology. The various technologies include various releases of long-term evolution (LTE) technologies, various releases of 5G new radio (NR) technologies, various wireless local area networks technologies and/or a combination, as discussed by Babaei, (see at least ¶ [0039]).
Consider claim 7, Duan discloses a method for determining a measurement parameter, comprising:
sending, by a network device, first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information comprises a measurement parameter for a first terminal device, and is used for a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…UEs may be classified as low-tier UEs … and premium UEs …Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs …”) to determine the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device based on the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0134], “…the low-tier UE transmits, to at least one premium UE …, a request to perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals transmitted by one or more TRPs…” and see at least ¶ [0135], “…a measurement report comprising the one or more positioning measurements. … any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation…”),
wherein the first terminal device and the RedCap terminal device support different capabilities (see at least ¶ [0081], “…the UE 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A may represent a “low-tier” UE or a “premium” UE. …the components may have different degrees of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or fewer capabilities, etc.) depending on whether the UE 302 corresponds to a low-tier UE or a premium UE…” and see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability…” and see at least ¶ [0106], “…Premium UEs generally have a larger form factor …, and have more features and capabilities…”),
wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device comprises a parameter for a measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0115], “…a low-tier UE 504 may request that the premium UE(s) 504 perform RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA or OTDOA positioning techniques), RSRP measurements (for DL-AoD positioning techniques), UE Rx-Tx measurements (for RTT positioning techniques), and/or any other positioning measurement(s) that the premium UE(s) 504 are able to perform/acquire …”), and
wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises:
a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on synchronization signal block (S SB) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device, absThreshS S-B locksConsolidation (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.)…”).
Duan disclose all the subject matters of the claimed invention concept. However, Duan does not particularly disclose absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation. In an analogous field of endeavor, attention is directed to Babaei, which teaches absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see Babaei, at least ¶ [0039], “…The wireless devices may have different categories that define their capabilities in terms of supporting various features. The wireless device with the same category may have different capabilities…” and see at least ¶ [0193], “…The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per CSI-RS resource. A parameter absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation may indicate absolute threshold for the consolidation of measurement results per SS/PBCH block(s) from L1 filter(s). The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per SS/PBCH block index…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious a finding that one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have combined the elements as claimed by the know method, and that in combination. Each element merely performs the same function as it does separately; Duan disclosed invention, and have absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation, as taught by Babaei, thereby, to provide a mobile communications system may be implemented based on various technologies and/or various releases/versions/amendments of a technology. The various technologies include various releases of long-term evolution (LTE) technologies, various releases of 5G new radio (NR) technologies, various wireless local area networks technologies and/or a combination, as discussed by Babaei, (see at least ¶ [0039]).
Consider claim 11, Duan discloses a terminal device, the terminal device being a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…UEs may be classified as low-tier UEs … and premium UEs …Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs …”), and comprising
a processor (see at least ¶ [0080], “…processor…”) and a memory for storing a computer program that (see at least ¶ [0080], “…at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality …”),
when executed by the processor, causes
the terminal device to determine a measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…UEs may be classified as low-tier UEs … and premium UEs …Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs …”) based on a measurement parameter for a first terminal device comprised in first configuration information from a network device (see at least ¶ [0134], “…the low-tier UE transmits, to at least one premium UE …, a request to perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals transmitted by one or more TRPs…” and see at least ¶ [0135], “…a measurement report comprising the one or more positioning measurements. … any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation…”),
wherein the first terminal device and the RedCap terminal device support different capabilities (see at least ¶ [0081], “…the UE 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A may represent a “low-tier” UE or a “premium” UE. …the components may have different degrees of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or fewer capabilities, etc.) depending on whether the UE 302 corresponds to a low-tier UE or a premium UE…” and see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability…” and see at least ¶ [0106], “…Premium UEs generally have a larger form factor …, and have more features and capabilities…”),
wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device comprises a parameter for a measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0115], “…a low-tier UE 504 may request that the premium UE(s) 504 perform RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA or OTDOA positioning techniques), RSRP measurements (for DL-AoD positioning techniques), UE Rx-Tx measurements (for RTT positioning techniques), and/or any other positioning measurement(s) that the premium UE(s) 504 are able to perform/acquire …”), and
wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises: a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device, absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.)…”).
Duan disclose all the subject matters of the claimed invention concept. However, Duan does not particularly disclose absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation. In an analogous field of endeavor, attention is directed to Babaei, which teaches absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see Babaei, at least ¶ [0039], “…The wireless devices may have different categories that define their capabilities in terms of supporting various features. The wireless device with the same category may have different capabilities…” and see at least ¶ [0193], “…The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per CSI-RS resource. A parameter absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation may indicate absolute threshold for the consolidation of measurement results per SS/PBCH block(s) from L1 filter(s). The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per SS/PBCH block index…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious a finding that one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have combined the elements as claimed by the know method, and that in combination. Each element merely performs the same function as it does separately; Duan disclosed invention, and have absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation, as taught by Babaei, thereby, to provide a mobile communications system may be implemented based on various technologies and/or various releases/versions/amendments of a technology. The various technologies include various releases of long-term evolution (LTE) technologies, various releases of 5G new radio (NR) technologies, various wireless local area networks technologies and/or a combination, as discussed by Babaei, (see at least ¶ [0039]).
Consider claim 15, Duan discloses a network device (see at least ¶ [0080] “…the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 …”), comprising
a processor (see at least ¶ [0080] “…processor…”), and a memory for storing a computer program that (see at least ¶ [0080], “…at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality…”), when executed by the processor, causes
the network device to send first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information comprises a measurement parameter for a first terminal device, and is used for a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…UEs may be classified as low-tier UEs … and premium UEs …Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs …”) to determine a measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device based on the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0134], “…the low-tier UE transmits, to at least one premium UE …, a request to perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals transmitted by one or more TRPs…” and see at least ¶ [0135], “…a measurement report comprising the one or more positioning measurements. … any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation…”),
wherein the first terminal device and the RedCap terminal device support different capabilities (see at least ¶ [0081], “…the UE 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A may represent a “low-tier” UE or a “premium” UE. …the components may have different degrees of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or fewer capabilities, etc.) depending on whether the UE 302 corresponds to a low-tier UE or a premium UE…” and see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability…” and see at least ¶ [0106], “…Premium UEs generally have a larger form factor …, and have more features and capabilities…”),
wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device comprises a parameter for a measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0115], “…a low-tier UE 504 may request that the premium UE(s) 504 perform RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA or OTDOA positioning techniques), RSRP measurements (for DL-AoD positioning techniques), UE Rx-Tx measurements (for RTT positioning techniques), and/or any other positioning measurement(s) that the premium UE(s) 504 are able to perform/acquire …”), and
wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises: a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device, absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.)…”).
Duan disclose all the subject matters of the claimed invention concept. However, Duan does not particularly disclose absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation. In an analogous field of endeavor, attention is directed to Babaei, which teaches absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation (see Babaei, at least ¶ [0039], “…The wireless devices may have different categories that define their capabilities in terms of supporting various features. The wireless device with the same category may have different capabilities…” and see at least ¶ [0193], “…The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per CSI-RS resource. A parameter absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation may indicate absolute threshold for the consolidation of measurement results per SS/PBCH block(s) from L1 filter(s). The field may be used for the derivation of cell measurement results and the reporting of beam measurement information per SS/PBCH block index…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious a finding that one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have combined the elements as claimed by the know method, and that in combination. Each element merely performs the same function as it does separately; Duan disclosed invention, and have absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation, as taught by Babaei, thereby, to provide a mobile communications system may be implemented based on various technologies and/or various releases/versions/amendments of a technology. The various technologies include various releases of long-term evolution (LTE) technologies, various releases of 5G new radio (NR) technologies, various wireless local area networks technologies and/or a combination, as discussed by Babaei, (see at least ¶ [0039]).
Consider claim 3 (depends on at least claim 1), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises at least one of:
a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device;
a maximum number of CSI-RS measurement results which are to be averaged for each of beams by the RedCap terminal device;
a maximum number of SSB measurement results which are to be averaged for each of beams by the RedCap terminal device; or
an offset of a measurement result for a neighboring cell, used by the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity…”).
Consider claim 5 (depends on at least claim 1), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of:
a type of the RedCap terminal device;
a level of receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or
a number of receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 6 (depends on at least claim 1), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the type of the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of:
the level of the receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or
the number of the receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 9 (depends on at least claim 7), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 7 as applied to claim rejection 7 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is determined based on a predefined rule (see at least ¶ [0115], “…a low-tier UE 504 may request that the premium UE(s) 504 perform RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA or OTDOA positioning techniques), RSRP measurements (for DL-AoD positioning techniques), UE Rx-Tx measurements (for RTT positioning techniques), and/or any other positioning measurement(s) that the premium UE(s) 504 are able to perform/acquire…”).
Consider claim 10 (depends on at least claim 7), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 7 as applied to claim rejection 7 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches a value of the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device equals to a value obtained by subtracting a first value from a value of the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0105], “…the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be reduced. In addition, such a low-tier UE may not be able to receive multiple PRS from multiple TRPs, further reducing positioning accuracy…” and see at least ¶ [0119], “…These measurement reports may also include information about the measured TRP(s) (e.g., location(s) of the TRP(s)). The premium UE(s) 504 may also send the quality of the measurements to the low-tier UE 506 in the measurement reports. The premium UE(s) 504 may also send information about the measured PRS (e.g., scrambling ID, bandwidth, number of ports, number of averaging across occasions) that were used to derive the reported measurements…”).
Consider claim 13 (depends on at least claim 11), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 11 as applied to claim rejection 11 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is determined based on a predefined rule (see at least ¶ [0115], “…a low-tier UE 504 may request that the premium UE(s) 504 perform RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA or OTDOA positioning techniques), RSRP measurements (for DL-AoD positioning techniques), UE Rx-Tx measurements (for RTT positioning techniques), and/or any other positioning measurement(s) that the premium UE(s) 504 are able to perform/acquire…”).
Consider claim 14 (depends on at least claim 11), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 11 as applied to claim rejection 11 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the predefined rule comprises: a value of the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device equals to a value obtained by subtracting a first value from a value of the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0105], “…the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be reduced. In addition, such a low-tier UE may not be able to receive multiple PRS from multiple TRPs, further reducing positioning accuracy…” and see at least ¶ [0119], “…These measurement reports may also include information about the measured TRP(s) (e.g., location(s) of the TRP(s)). The premium UE(s) 504 may also send the quality of the measurements to the low-tier UE 506 in the measurement reports. The premium UE(s) 504 may also send information about the measured PRS (e.g., scrambling ID, bandwidth, number of ports, number of averaging across occasions) that were used to derive the reported measurements…”).
Consider claim 17 (depends on at least claim 15), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 15 as applied to claim rejection 15 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the parameter for the measurement configuration of the RedCap terminal device comprises at least one of:
a beam measurement quality threshold for beam consolidation based on channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement results by the RedCap terminal device;
a maximum number of CSI-RS measurement results which are to be averaged for each of beams by the RedCap terminal device;
a maximum number of SSB measurement results which are to be averaged for each of beams by the RedCap terminal device; or
an offset of a measurement result for a neighboring cell, used by the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0082], “…a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity…”).
Consider claim 19 (depends on at least claim 15), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 15 as applied to claim rejection 15 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of: a type of the RedCap terminal device; a level of receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or a number of receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 20 (depends on at least claim 15), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 15 as applied to claim rejection 15 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the type of the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of: the level of the receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or the number of the receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 23 (depends on at least claim 1), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is determined based on a predefined rule (see at least ¶ [0136], “…the low-tier UE determines a location estimate of the low-tier UE based on the one or more positioning measurements in the measurement report…”).
Consider claim 24 (depends on at least claim 1), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the predefined rule comprises: a value of the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device equals to a value obtained by subtracting a first value from a value of the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0105], “…the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be reduced. In addition, such a low-tier UE may not be able to receive multiple PRS from multiple TRPs, further reducing positioning accuracy…” and see at least ¶ [0119], “…These measurement reports may also include information about the measured TRP(s) (e.g., location(s) of the TRP(s)). The premium UE(s) 504 may also send the quality of the measurements to the low-tier UE 506 in the measurement reports. The premium UE(s) 504 may also send information about the measured PRS (e.g., scrambling ID, bandwidth, number of ports, number of averaging across occasions) that were used to derive the reported measurements…”).
Consider claim 25 (depends on at least claim 11), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 11 as applied to claim rejection 11 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of:
a type of the RedCap terminal device;
a level of receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or
a number of receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 26 (depends on at least claim 11), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 11 as applied to claim rejection 11 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the type of the RedCap terminal device is associated with at least one of:
the level of the receiving antenna gain of the RedCap terminal device; or
the number of the receiving antennas of the RedCap terminal device (see at least ¶ [0104], “…Low-tier UEs may alternatively be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR super light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Low-tier UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities…”).
Consider claim 27 (depends on at least claim 15), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 15 as applied to claim rejection 15 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device is determined based on a predefined rule (see at least ¶ [0136], “…the low-tier UE determines a location estimate of the low-tier UE based on the one or more positioning measurements in the measurement report…”).
Consider claim 28 (depends on at least claim 27), Duan in view of Zhang discloses the limitations of claim 27 as applied to claim rejection 27 above and further discloses:
Duan teaches wherein the predefined rule comprises: a value of the measurement parameter for the RedCap terminal device equals to a value obtained by subtracting a first value from a value of the measurement parameter for the first terminal device (see at least ¶ [0105], “…the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be reduced. In addition, such a low-tier UE may not be able to receive multiple PRS from multiple TRPs, further reducing positioning accuracy…” and see at least ¶ [0119], “…These measurement reports may also include information about the measured TRP(s) (e.g., location(s) of the TRP(s)). The premium UE(s) 504 may also send the quality of the measurements to the low-tier UE 506 in the measurement reports. The premium UE(s) 504 may also send information about the measured PRS (e.g., scrambling ID, bandwidth, number of ports, number of averaging across occasions) that were used to derive the reported measurements…”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUONG A NGO whose telephone number is (571)270-7264. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 5:30AM-3:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony S Addy can be reached at (571) 272-7795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHUONG A NGO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
Prosecution Insights