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 .
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.
Claims 3-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos et al (US 20240244568 A1) in view of Kumar et al (WO-2024025640 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Manolakos et al discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), the method comprising: performing (a wireless communication performed by a user equipment), by the target terminal (a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment includes identifying at least one potential positioning peer UE; and sending, to a network node, a request for assistance data; paragraph 0007-0008), a sidelink discovery procedure to determine one or more sidelink positioning terminals (the UE 302 may identify the potential positioning peer UEs by performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process; perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm ; paragraph 0114- 0115); receiving (receiving, from a user equipment, a request for assistance data, the request comprising information associated with at least one potential positioning peer UE; paragraph 0008) by the target terminal from a Location Management Function a message that provides assistance data (an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204; the LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers; the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; the target UE 1202 sends a message 1216 to request assistance data from the LMF/gNB 1204; paragraph 0145), wherein the message (message 1214 or message 1216 ; paragraph 0145) comprises: information related to one or more sidelink-positioning-specific identifiers (the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; the target UE 1202 sends a message 1216 to request assistance data from the LMF/gNB 1204; paragraph 0145; in addition, NR supports positioning signals such as DL positioning reference signal, sidelink PRS, and UL sounding reference signal; paragraph 0115-0116); and information (the information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises an anchor quality, a response time, a channel quality; paragraph 0128) related to Positioning Reference Signal configuration (a UE that transmits a SL-PRS may be referred to as a “TxUE” and a UE that receives a SL-PRS may be referred to as an “RxUE”; a relay UE 400 participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE 402; paragraph 0099); receiving (a UE may receive assistance data from a location server or LMF; paragraph 0098) the target terminal from the LMF a message requesting location information (the LMF /gNB 1204 sends AD based on Primary Cell ID in one message 1220 and AD based on SL UE information in another message 1222; the LMF /gNB 1204 may send both types of AD data in one message; paragraph 0040, 0072), wherein the message comprises: information (sending, to the UE, assistance data based at least in part on the information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE, wherein the assistance data may comprise assistance data for sidelink positioning; paragraph 0008) related to one or more sidelink positioning terminals (UE can inform a network node such as a gNB or LMF about potential sidelink positioning-peer UEs in the vicinity of the UE, the network node can control activation of SL and Uu positioning sessions; paragraph 0148); and information (the message 1216 identifies the Primary Cell ID and also includes information about some or all of the SL UEs UE1 1206, UE2 1208, and UE3 1210; paragraph 0145) related to a specific identifier related to sidelink positioning reception (identifying the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process; paragraph 0152); and transmitting by the target terminal to the LMF a message providing location information (sending, to a network node, a request for assistance data, the request comprising information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE ; the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; paragraph 0049, 0145), wherein the message comprises: information related to Reference Signal Received Power result of sidelink PRS resource (sending, to a network node, a request for assistance data, the request comprising information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE; for instance, a stronger received signal strength (reference signal received power, reference signal received quality; Channel quality -SINR, RSRP, QoS, which may be reported by the potential positioning UE and determined by the target UE based on signals transmitted by the potential positioning UE; paragraph 0049, 0116, 0119).
However, Manolakos et al, does not specifically disclose the features of information related to sidelink PRS resource identity; information related to sidelink-positioning-specific identifier of a specific sidelink positioning terminal; and information representing a likelihood of a direct path for sidelink PRS measurement.
On the other hand, Kumar et al, from the same field of endeavor, discloses the features of information (a location server includes means for receiving first sidelink information from a first sidelink UE identifying a serving cell of a first set of one or more sidelink UEs; paragraph 0010) related to sidelink PRS resource identity (the location server 1314 may obtain information about the resources used by Base Station 2 1312 and Base Station 1 1306 to select a PRS configuration with the correct slot-offsets and synchronization that may be used by all the in-coverage sidelink UEs for positioning operations; in addition, the location server sends a first sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration to the first sidelink UE for use in first positioning operations with the first set of one or more sidelink UEs; note that a “ PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP paragraph; 0112, 0164, 0167); information related to sidelink-positioning-specific identifier of a specific sidelink positioning terminal (the location server 1314 may also facilitate the assignment of positioning resources used by the target sidelink UE (sidelink UE2) and the out-of- coverage sidelink UEs (sidelink UE5 and sidelink UE6) for positioning; furthermore, the location server receives second sidelink information from the first sidelink UE identifying a second set of one or more sidelink UEs; the location server sends a first sidelink positioning reference signal PRS configuration to the first sidelink UE for use in first positioning operations with the first set of one or more sidelink UEs; paragraph 0166, 0176-0177); and information (the UE obtains location information for a UE) representing a likelihood of a direct path (the UE may receive second sidelink discovery information from the one or more second sidelink UEs during the sidelink discovery operations, wherein the second sidelink discovery information; paragraph 0007-0008) for sidelink PRS measurement (the base station 602 or a location server may configure the SL-PRS to be exchanged between the UEs and the respective measurement reports; the target UE 604 transmits SL-PRS to the assisting UE 606, which is received by the assisting UE 606 after some propagation time, denoted “T_prop,UE2-UEl” ; paragraph 0131-0132). Note that the positioning entity uses a measurement report from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station (paragraph 0118-0119). Furthermore, the assisting UE 606 provides an additional RTF measurement to assist the Uu positioning procedure between the base station 602 and the target UE 604 (paragraph 0131). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to apply the technique of Kumar to the communication system of Manolakos in order to provide a method of wireless communication performed by a location server for measuring the location of a mobile device using the sidelink positioning reference signal configuration.
Regarding claim 4, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein the message providing location information further comprises information indicating a time instance at which sidelink PRS measurement is performed (performing the operation of block 1120 may include the network transceiver 390 of network entity 306; in addition, the information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises an anchor quality, a response time, a channel quality, a mobility state, a time stamp of discovery, a bandwidth capability, a resource pool configuration, a geographic region, a zone ID, a UE ID, or a unique positioning peer UE ID; paragraph 0128, 0153).
Regarding claim 5, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein the specific sidelink (the assistance data comprising assistance data for sidelink positioning) positioning terminal performs transmission on sidelink PRS resource (the remote UE 706A sends a request for sidelink positioning resources to the relay UE 704A ; the relay UE 704A sends a request for RPP resources to the gNB 702, which responds with a set of RPP configurations and optionally, a set of SL- PRS configurations within the RPP configurations; paragraph 0099, 0103).
Regarding claim 6, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein the one or more sidelink-positioning-specific identifiers are related to one or more sidelink positioning terminals that are discovered during the sidelink discovery procedure (identifying the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process; furthermore, the process 1200 may include a sidelink discovery and synchronization step (block 1212), during which the target UE 1202 discovers the presence of, and learns the capabilities of, sidelink UEs UE1 1206, UE2 1208, and UE3 1210 ; paragraph 0152, 0144).
Regarding claim 7, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein: the sidelink-specific identifier is determined in a specific layer (the UE 302 may identify the potential positioning peer UEs by performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process involving the transmitter 314 and receiver 312; paragraph 0115); and the specific layer resides in the target terminal and does not reside in a specific base station (the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; the target UE 1202 sends a message 1216 to request assistance data from the LMF/gNB 1204); and the target terminal is connected to the specific base station (performing the operation of block 1110 may include the network transceiver 390 of network entity 306; for instance, the network entity 306 may receive the request for assistance data directly from the UE or via a serving gNB; paragraph 0075, 0144-0145).
Regarding claim 8, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein the sidelink-positioning-specific ID and a layer 2 ID of the sidelink positioning terminal (one potential positioning peer UE comprises a resource pool configuration, a geographic region, a zone ID, a UE ID, or a unique positioning peer UE ID; paragraph 0137, 0144) are transmitted to the target terminal by the specific sidelink positioning terminal (the relay UE 704A sends a configuration message 808 to remote UE 706A; the configuration message 808 identifies the RPP to be used by remote UE 706A and may also specify a subset of SL-PRS resources within the RPP to be used by remote UE 706A; in addition, NR supports positioning signals such as DL positioning reference signal PRS, sidelink PRS , and UL sounding reference signal ; paragraph 0098-0099, 0109).
Regarding claim 9, Manolakos et al as modified discloses a method (fig. 12) performed by a target terminal (target UE), wherein sidelink PRS transmission is performed based on the layer 2 ID of the sidelink positioning terminal (a remote UE requests sidelink positioning resources generally or an RPP in particular from the relay UE; note that the LMF/gNB 1204 sends AD based on Primary Cell ID (P1) in one message 1220 and AD based on SL UE information (P2) in another message 1222; the target UE 1202 performs Uu measurements (block 1224), and reports those measurements to the LMF/gNB 1204 in message 1226 ; furthermore, the data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, which implements Layer-3 and Layer-2 functionality ; paragraph 0087-0088, 0145).
Regarding claim 10, Manolakos et al discloses a terminal (UE 1202) in a wireless communication system (fig. 12), the terminal comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to: perform (a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment includes identifying at least one potential positioning peer UE; and sending, to a network node, a request for assistance data; paragraph 0007-0008), a sidelink discovery procedure to determine one or more sidelink positioning terminals (the UE 302 may identify the potential positioning peer UEs by performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process; perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm ; paragraph 0114- 0115), receive (receiving, from a user equipment, a request for assistance data, the request comprising information associated with at least one potential positioning peer UE; paragraph 0008) from a Location Management Function a message that provides assistance data (an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204; the LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers; the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; the target UE 1202 sends a message 1216 to request assistance data from the LMF/gNB 1204; paragraph 0145), wherein the message (message 1214 or message 1216 ) comprises: information related to one or more sidelink-positioning-specific identifiers (the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; the target UE 1202 sends a message 1216 to request assistance data from the LMF/gNB 1204; paragraph 0145; in addition, NR supports positioning signals such as DL positioning reference signal, sidelink PRS, and UL sounding reference signal; paragraph 0115-0116); and information (the information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises an anchor quality, a response time, a channel quality; paragraph 0128) related to Positioning Reference Signal configuration (a UE that transmits a SL-PRS may be referred to as a “TxUE” and a UE that receives a SL-PRS may be referred to as an “RxUE”; a relay UE 400 participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE 402; paragraph 0099), receive (a UE may receive assistance data from a location server or LMF; paragraph 0098) from the LMF a message requesting location information (the LMF /gNB 1204 sends AD based on Primary Cell ID in one message 1220 and AD based on SL UE information in another message 1222; the LMF /gNB 1204 may send both types of AD data in one message; paragraph 0040, 0072), wherein the message comprises: information (sending, to the UE, assistance data based at least in part on the information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE, wherein the assistance data may comprise assistance data for sidelink positioning; paragraph 0008) related to one or more sidelink positioning terminals (UE can inform a network node such as a gNB or LMF about potential sidelink positioning-peer UEs in the vicinity of the UE, the network node can control activation of SL and Uu positioning sessions; paragraph 0148); and information related to a specific identifier related to sidelink positioning reception (identifying the at least one potential positioning peer UE comprises performing a sidelink positioning peer discovery process; paragraph 0152), and transmit to the LMF a message providing location information (sending, to a network node, a request for assistance data, the request comprising information associated with the at least one potential positioning peer UE ; the LMF/gNB 1204 sends a message 1214 to the target UE 1202, requesting a Uu Measurement; paragraph 0049, 0145), wherein the message comprises: information related to Reference Signal Received Power result of sidelink PRS resource (reference signal received power, reference signal received quality; Channel quality -SINR, RSRP, QoS, which may be reported by the potential positioning UE and/or determined by the target UE based on signals transmitted by the potential positioning UE; paragraph 0049, 0116, 0119).
However, Manolakos et al, does not specifically disclose the features of information related to sidelink PRS resource identity; information related to sidelink-positioning-specific identifier of a specific sidelink positioning terminal; and information representing a likelihood of a direct path for sidelink PRS measurement.
On the other hand, Kumar et al, from the same field of endeavor, discloses the features of information (a location server includes means for receiving first sidelink information from a first sidelink UE identifying a serving cell of a first set of one or more sidelink UEs; paragraph 0010) related to sidelink PRS resource identity (the location server 1314 may obtain information about the resources used by Base Station 2 1312 and Base Station 1 1306 to select a PRS configuration with the correct slot-offsets and synchronization that may be used by all the in-coverage sidelink UEs for positioning operations; in addition, the location server sends a first sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration to the first sidelink UE for use in first positioning operations with the first set of one or more sidelink UEs; note that a “ PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP paragraph; 0112, 0164, 0167); information related to sidelink-positioning-specific identifier of a specific sidelink positioning terminal (the location server 1314 may also facilitate the assignment of positioning resources used by the target sidelink UE (sidelink UE2) and the out-of- coverage sidelink UEs (sidelink UE5 and sidelink UE6) for positioning; furthermore, the location server receives second sidelink information from the first sidelink UE identifying a second set of one or more sidelink UEs; the location server sends a first sidelink positioning reference signal PRS configuration to the first sidelink UE for use in first positioning operations with the first set of one or more sidelink UEs; paragraph 0166, 0176-0177); and information (the UE obtains location information for a UE) representing a likelihood of a direct path (the UE may receive second sidelink discovery information from the one or more second sidelink UEs during the sidelink discovery operations, wherein the second sidelink discovery information; paragraph 0007-0008) for sidelink PRS measurement (the base station 602 or a location server may configure the SL-PRS to be exchanged between the UEs and the respective measurement reports; the target UE 604 transmits SL-PRS to the assisting UE 606, which is received by the assisting UE 606 after some propagation time, denoted “T_prop,UE2-UEl” ; paragraph 0131-0132). Note that the positioning entity uses a measurement report from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station (paragraph 0118-0119). Furthermore, the assisting UE 606 provides an additional RTF measurement to assist the Uu positioning procedure between the base station 602 and the target UE 604 (paragraph 0131). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to apply the technique of Kumar to the communication system of Manolakos in order to provide a method of wireless communication performed by a location server for measuring the location of a mobile device using the sidelink positioning reference signal configuration.
Conclusion
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MARCEAU MILORD
Examiner
Art Unit 2641
/MARCEAU MILORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641