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 .
Priority
Applicant's claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on 03/04/2024 and 01/23/2026 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 11, 12, 18, 21 and 23 is/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.
Regarding claim(s) 4 and 21 the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim(s) 11, 12, 18 and 23 the phrase "for example" or "e.g." renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim(s) 13-17 is/are also rejected by the virtue of it/their dependency on claim 12.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-5, 10 and 18-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by CAPORAL DEL BARRIO et al. -US 20210235359 A1- (hereinafter Caporal).
Regarding claim 1, Caporal discloses a wireless communication scenario comprising a radio propagation environment providing for a propagation of a wireless signal via a path component, the wireless communication scenario comprising (FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, par. 0053 and 0061 for base station 52 and user device 54 in with propagation scenario with multipath and par. 0063, “In the system 50, a plurality of synchronisation symbol blocks (SSBs) are transmitted from the base station 52 to the user device 54 (e.g. using different beams of an antenna of the base station). Thus, different beams take different paths between the base station 52 and the user device 54, such that one or more paths are line of sight (LOS) and one or more paths are non-line of sight (NLOS) paths”):
a plurality of devices configured for wirelessly communicating in the wireless communication scenario (FIG. 5, par. 0062, “The system 50 comprises a base station 52, or some similar communication node, in communication with a user device 54.”);
wherein a member of the wireless communication scenario is configured for identifying the path component of the wireless signal travelling through the radio propagation environment (FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, par. 0065, “where the user device 54 receives a plurality of synchronisation symbol blocks from the base station 52. In one example embodiment, 64 SSBs are sent, sequentially, in different directions (although, of course, many variants to such an arrangement are possible). The user device 54 may receive a subset of the transmitted blocks, with many being non-line of sight (NLOS) beams and perhaps one or a few being line of sight (LOS) beams Details of the SSBs received… ”);
wherein the member is configured for receiving the wireless signal and an identifier and for deriving, based on the identifier, that the wireless signal was received via the path component for identifying the path component (FIG. 14, par. 0111, 0112 and 0116, “The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path). Alternatively, or in addition, the message 157 may include the delay correction factor or a corrected delay for the identified beam.”).
Regarding claim 2, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the wireless communication scenario is adapted for a propagation of the wireless signal via a single path component or via a multiple path components within a multipath propagation environment (par. 0061 for multipath environment).
Regarding claim 3, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member is configured for identifying a plurality of path components available for the member for wireless communication and for selecting a subset from the plurality of path components for the wireless communication based on a criterion whilst not selecting at least one available path component from the plurality of path components and for using the selected subset for the wireless communication (par. 0065 for the user device 54 receives subset of the transmitted blocks, NLOS and LOS beams).
Regarding claim 4, as applied to claim 3 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member is configured for selecting or combining the subset based on a parameter describing the path component being at least one of: received power level, such as RSRP or RSSI or RSRQ delay, delay difference or delay spread stability, long term availability easy to track traceability separability blockage probabilities, accessibility with beamforming capabilities (par. 0070 for ranked based on received power (e.g. RSRP) and par. 0116 for the message 157 may include the delay correction factor or a corrected delay for the identified beam).
Regarding claim 5, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member is configured for identifying a plurality of path components available for the member for wireless communication and for selecting a subset from the plurality of path components for the wireless communication based on a criterion whilst not selecting at least one available path component from the plurality of path components and for reporting the selected subset to another member of the wireless communication scenario as: advantageous or not advantageous for the wireless communication; or being used in the wireless communication with another member (FIG. 14 par. 0116 for message 157, a response to the request 151 is sent to the communication node 141. The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path)).
Regarding claim 10, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the wireless communication scenario is configured for: tagging the path component with an identifier associated with the path component; identifying the path component based on the identifier (par. 0004, 0012 for paths to be identified by providing the beam index; par. 0091).
Regarding claim 18, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member is a first member and wherein the wireless communication scenario comprises a second member communicating via the path component, wherein the first member and the second member are configured for directly or indirectly exchanging information relating to an object or beacon in the wireless communication scenario being detectable for the first member and/or for the second member and for identifying the path component based on the object, e.g., associating the path component with a location of the object (FIGS. 2-5 for base station 52 and user device 54 with path components 38a, 38b, 42a, 42b and SSB1-SSBn and reflector 36).
Regarding claim 19, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member of the wireless communication scenario is configured for detecting an identifier; and for detecting a presence of the path component and for determining an identity of the path component of the wireless communication scenario by use of the identifier (FIG. 14, par. 0111, 0112 and 0116, “The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path). Alternatively, or in addition, the message 157 may include the delay correction factor or a corrected delay for the identified beam”).
Regarding claim 20, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses wherein the member of the wireless communication scenario is configured for: identifying a set of path components available for the member; acquiring, for each of the identified path component, associated beacon information that relates to a spatial availability of the path component; and determining a location of the device based on the set of path components and the beacon information (FIG. 14, par. 0110-0117, “At block 153, the synchronisation symbol blocks received at the user device 142 may be classified based on delay relative to an expected or scheduled reception time… At block 154, the classification based on delay may be used to identify one or more candidate line of sight (LOS) beams. For example, NLOS paths may be identified and excluded from a list of candidate line of sight paths… At message 157, a response to the request 151 is sent to the communication node 141. The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path). Alternatively, or in addition, the message 157 may include the delay correction factor or a corrected delay for the identified beam… At block 158, the communication node 141 makes use of the message 157. For example, the identified LOS path and/or the delay correction factor may be used to improve positioning of the user device 142 (e.g. as part of a triangulation algorithm)”).
Regarding claim 21, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses comprising a database having stored therein a set of identifiers and an associated set of beacon information; wherein the beacon information indicates at least one of: a location of a beacon providing the identifier, and an identity of the beacon; an identity of the object to which the beacon is associated; a spatial property of the identifiable path component; one or more coverage directions; one or more beam directions; beam coverage angular range; a type of the beacon such as stationary, transportable or mobile; if mobile, 2D or 3D moving device; if mobile, trajectory information; a modification implemented by the beacon (pa. 0127 for memory 304 and par. 0095, “The user device (e.g. the user device 54 described above) receives the burst and maps the delays with the SSB beam ID”; par. 0091).
Regarding claim 22, Caporal discloses a device configured to operate in a wireless communication scenario comprising a radio propagation environment (FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, par. 0053 and 0061 for base station 52 and user device 54 in with propagation scenario with multipath and par. 0063, “In the system 50, a plurality of synchronisation symbol blocks (SSBs) are transmitted from the base station 52 to the user device 54 (e.g. using different beams of an antenna of the base station). Thus, different beams take different paths between the base station 52 and the user device 54, such that one or more paths are line of sight (LOS) and one or more paths are non-line of sight (NLOS) paths”, the device configured for identifying a path component of a wireless signal travelling through the radio propagation environment (FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, par. 0065, “where the user device 54 receives a plurality of synchronisation symbol blocks from the base station 52. In one example embodiment, 64 SSBs are sent, sequentially, in different directions (although, of course, many variants to such an arrangement are possible). The user device 54 may receive a subset of the transmitted blocks, with many being non-line of sight (NLOS) beams and perhaps one or a few being line of sight (LOS) beams Details of the SSBs received… ”); wherein the device is configured for receiving the wireless signal and an identifier and for deriving, based on the identifier, that the wireless signal was received via the path component for identifying the path component (FIG. 14, par. 0111, 0112 and 0116, “The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path). Alternatively, or in addition, the message 157 may include the delay correction factor or a corrected delay for the identified beam”).
Regarding claim 23, Caporal discloses a device, e.g., a base station configured for operating in a wireless communication scenario, the device configured for selectively tagging a signal transmitted by the device when directing the signal along a predetermined path in the wireless communication scenario and with a tag that is associated with the path; so that the tag identifies the path (FIG. 14, for beam index for identifying paths; par. 0116-0118, “At message 157, a response to the request 151 is sent to the communication node 141. The response may identify the SSB identified in block 156 (e.g. by providing a beam index to the identified path)… At block 158, the communication node 141 makes use of the message 157. For example, the identified LOS path and/or the delay correction factor may be used to improve positioning of the user device 142”; par. 0028, “receiving an indicator (e.g. a beam index) and/or a delay correction factor of a line of sight path from a user device in response to said first enquiry.”).
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) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caporal as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Yang et al. -US 20190320369 A1- (hereinafter Yang).
Regarding claim 6, as applied to claim 3 above, Caporal discloses the claimed invention except wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; and for switching from the first subset to the second subset based on a predetermined event or signal.
In the same field of endeavor, Yang discloses wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; and for switching from the first subset to the second subset based on a predetermined event or signal (FIG. 8, par. 0008, “when the transmission path uses the first physical link group to transmit the data, collecting statistics about quality of service QoS of the first physical link group used by the transmission path, to obtain QoS information; and switching, based on a QoS policy in the link switching policy and the QoS information, the physical link used by the transmission path from the first physical link group to the second physical link group”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate switching from the first physical link group to the second physical link group as taught by Yang to the beams with different paths between the base station and the user device as disclosed by Yang for purpose of switching between group of paths based on a condition such as quality of service.
Regarding claim 7, as applied to claim 3 above, Caporal discloses the claimed invention except wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; wherein the member is configured for selecting the second subset as an auxiliary subset and for using the second subset instead of the first subset in case of a link degradation or link failure.
In the same field of endeavor, Yang discloses wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; wherein the member is configured for selecting the second subset as an auxiliary subset and for using the second subset instead of the first subset in case of a link degradation or link failure (par. 0089, “The data transmit end may switch, based on the link switching policy and the path availability information, the physical link used by the transmission path from the first physical link group to the second physical link group, to avoid a link switching failure caused by a link limitation and a path limitation of the data transmit end”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate switching from the first physical link group to the second physical link group as taught by Yang to the beams with different paths between the base station and the user device as disclosed by Yang for purpose of switching between group of paths to avoid a link switching failure caused by a link limitation and a path limitation.
Regarding claim 8, as applied to claim 3 above, Caporal discloses claimed invention except wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; wherein the member is configured select between the first subset and the second subset based on a condition and/or based on a direct control.
In the same field of endeavor, Yang discloses wherein the member is configured for selecting the subset as a first subset and for selecting a second subset of path components prior to or during using the first subset; wherein the member is configured select between the first subset and the second subset based on a condition and/or based on a direct control (FIG. 8, par. 0008, “when the transmission path uses the first physical link group to transmit the data, collecting statistics about quality of service QoS of the first physical link group used by the transmission path, to obtain QoS information; and switching, based on a QoS policy in the link switching policy and the QoS information, the physical link used by the transmission path from the first physical link group to the second physical link group”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate switching from the first physical link group to the second physical link group as taught by Yang to the beams with different paths between the base station and the user device as disclosed by Yang for purpose of switching between group of paths based on a condition such as quality of service.
Regarding claim 9, as applied to claim 3 above, Caporal discloses claimed invention except wherein the member is configured for using a first subset prior to using a second subset of path components; and for switching from the first subset to the second subset based on a predetermined event or signal; or selecting to use of the first subset or the second subset based on predefined criteria or event.
In the same field of endeavor, Yang discloses wherein the member is configured for using a first subset prior to using a second subset of path components; and for switching from the first subset to the second subset based on a predetermined event or signal; or selecting to use of the first subset or the second subset based on predefined criteria or event (FIG. 8, par. 0008, “when the transmission path uses the first physical link group to transmit the data, collecting statistics about quality of service QoS of the first physical link group used by the transmission path, to obtain QoS information; and switching, based on a QoS policy in the link switching policy and the QoS information, the physical link used by the transmission path from the first physical link group to the second physical link group”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate switching from the first physical link group to the second physical link group as taught by Yang to the beams with different paths between the base station and the user device as disclosed by Yang for purpose of switching between group of paths based on a condition such as quality of service.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caporal as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hasegawa et al. -US 20230388959 A1- (hereinafter Hasegawa).
Regarding claim 11, as applied to claim 1 above, Caporal discloses claimed invention except wherein the wireless communication scenario is configured for instructing at least one beacon to insert a beacon-specific information into a predetermined resource, e.g., a time and/or frequency resource of, e.g., a CORESET, a DCI, MIB or SIB, wherein the beacon is configured to operate accordingly.
In the same field of endeavor, Hasegawa discloses wherein the wireless communication scenario is configured for instructing at least one beacon to insert a beacon-specific information into a predetermined resource, e.g., a time and/or frequency resource of, e.g., a CORESET, a DCI, MIB or SIB, wherein the beacon is configured to operate accordingly (par. 0174, “The WTRU may discover the multiple paths in the channel in response to detecting a variation in RSRP across resource elements in a PRS symbol and/or that the variation (e.g., a standard deviation or variance in RSRP) is above or equal to a threshold configured by the network (e.g., by an LMF or gNB). The WTRU may discover the multiple paths in the channel in response to detecting that there are multiple paths in a measurement and/or a delay time among the multiple paths that the WTRU is reporting is greater or equal to a threshold configured by the network. The delay time may be between the first path and the last path, between the first path and the second path, between the first path and a path associated with a path ID that may be indicated by the network (e.g., via DCI, a MAC-CE, RRC signaling, or LPP message), etc.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate discovering the multiple paths in the channel based detecting a variation in RSRP across resource elements indicated by the network via DCI as taught by Hasegawa to identifying non-line of sights paths conveying synchronisation symbol blocks having a delay relative to the expected reception time in excess of a threshold amount as disclosed by Caporal for purpose of receiving information across resource elements indicated by the network via DCI.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 12-17 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
FANG et al. -US 20240214969 A1- disclose TERMINAL POSITIONING METHOD AND DEVICE, RECEIVING END DEVICE AND CORE NETWORK DEVICE.
BAO et al. -US 20220124665 A1- disclose OUTLIER REJECTION FOR POSITIONING.
Xin et al. -US 20210126695 A1- disclose MILLIMETER-WAVE NON-LINE OF SIGHT ANALYSIS.
SADIQ et al. -US 20200025853 A1- disclose BEAM INDEX AND LINK INDEX DEPENDENT SEQUENCE GENERATION FOR POSITIONING BEACON.
PAN et al. -US 20190313363 A1- disclose METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING LINE OF SIGHT PATH AND WIRELESS DEVICE.
Gomadam et al. -US 20170195938 A1- disclose Micro-route Characterization And Selection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLAHYAR KASRAIA N whose telephone number is (571)270-1772. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5: 00 pm.
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, RAFAEL PEREZ-GUTIERREZ can be reached at (571)272-7915. 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.
/ALLAHYAR KASRAIA N/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
Prosecution Insights