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 .
Status of Claims
The following is a non-final, first office action in response to the communication filed 12/28/2023 and the amended claims filed 5/13/2024. Claims 1, 3-5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 21, 22, 26, 63, 67, 68, 70 and 76-78 are currently pending and have been examined.
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, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Benefit is given to the priority document EP21182993.2 and the effective filing date of 06/30/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/13/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1, 3, 11, 16, 22, 63, 67, 76 and 77 recite a “network generated UE position” or a “NW generated UE position”, for example in claim 1, lines 5, 7, 17 and 19. A hyphen is required between the word “network” or “NW” and the word “generated” in order to show that the word network modifies the word generated: network-generated or NW-generated. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 1, 63 and 76 contain the phrase “in case”. "In case" is a phrase used to talk about taking a precautionary action for a possible future event. However, in the cited claims, “in case” appears to be used to mean “when”. Correction to “when” or other appropriate phrasing is required.
Claim 4, line 1 is missing the word “of” in the phrase “The network, NW, entity of claim 3”.
Claim 4, line 11 is missing the word “of” in the phrase “a combination of one or more measurements…”
Claims 4, 67 and 68 contain several acronyms that are not spelled out upon first usage. Examples include UL, DL, ToF, TDOA and RAN.
In claim 63, lines 3-4, it appears that “a network, NW, entity determining a NW generated UE position by solving equations” would be better phrased as “a network, NW, entity that determines a NW generated UE position by solving equations”. As currently written, it appears that the NW entity is being claimed only when it is actively determining a NW-generated UE position.
Claim 63 is further objected to because it appears to duplicate the same limitation twice: in the final line of page 8 through the first 2 lines of page 9, and again in lines 3-8 of page 9, the claims states “the UE position (is) indicated by…” “a geographical location of the UE” and “information derived from a UE location and from assistance data obtained from the wireless communication network”. Deletion of the duplication or clarification of the distinctions between the apparently repeated limitations is required.
Claim 67 should have a comma at the end of line 6 instead of a period.
Claim 76, line 7 recites the method step of “determining using as an input one or some or all of the obtained information the NW generated UE position by solving equations”. In the preceding phrase, commas are required after the words “determining” and “information” in order to make clear that it is the UE position that is being determined.
Claims 10, 11, 14, 16, 21, 22 and 26 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim cannot depend from any other multiple dependent claim. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims 10, 11, 14, 16, 21, 22 and 26 have not been further treated on the merits.
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 3-5, 8, 63, 67, 68, 70, 77 and 78/77 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 are replete with uses of the words “like” and “e.g.”. Use of these phrases 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). These phrases can be found at least in:
Claim 3, page 3, lines 1 and 7
Claim 4 lines 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 19
Claim 5, line 6
Claim 8, lines 4 and 5
Claim 63, page 9, lines 8 and 11
Claim 68, lines 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 16
Claim 70, line 4
Claim 77, lines 9 and 10.
Although claims 10, 11, 14, 16, 21, 22 and 26 are not considered on the merits, Examiner notes that similar issues are present in these claims.
Claim 4 recites “The network, NW, entity of claim 3, wherein the one or more measurements comprise…”. The antecedent basis for “the one or more measurements” is unclear: claim 3 recites three different kinds of “one or more measurements” (see page 3, lines 1, 4 and 7), and it is not clear to which of these the “one or more measurements” of claim 4 refers.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the RAN" in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, as a RAN has not been previously introduced in the claims. For examination purposes, “the RAN” of claim 4 will be read as “the wireless communication network”.
Claim 8 recites “the UE position” in line 2. The antecedent basis for “the UE position” is unclear: the preceding claims recite both a “NW generated UE position” and a “received UE position”, and it is not clear to which of these “UE positions” claim 8 refers.
Claim 68 recites the limitation "the RAN" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, as a RAN has not been previously introduced in the parent claims. For examination purposes, “the RAN” of claim 68 will be read as “the wireless communication network”.
Claim 78/77 is also rejected since the claim is dependent on a previously rejected claim.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 77 and 78/77 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Edge (US-20210143900-A1; hereinafter Edge).
Regarding claim 77, Edge discloses:
A method for operating a user device, UE, for a wireless communication network (see at least Figs. 1-3, communication system 100/200/300), the wireless communication network including one or more non- terrestrial network, NTN, components (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302), the method comprising:
providing, by the UE, one or more of the following information:
- information for determining and/or verifying a network, NW, generated UE position of the UE at a network, NW, entity of the wireless communication network, and/or
- a UE position (see at least [0318]; “At stage 7, UE 105 may send to the sNB 106/202/307 via the SV 102/202/302 and using the selected radio cell an RRC Setup Request message (e.g. after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell). If the location and/or country of the UE 105 is obtained at stage 5, the UE may include the location and/or country in the RRC Setup Request message.”) determined by the UE using a separate positioning system, the separate positioning system including one or more of the following: a non-terrestrial system (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”), like an assisted global navigation satellite system, A-GNSS, e.g., GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, and/or a terrestrial system, like a sensor system, a Wireless Local Access Network, WLAN, system, a Bluetooth system or a Terrestrial Beacon System, TBS.
Regarding claim 78/77, Edge discloses:
A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer, perform the method of claim 77 (see at least [0382], which discusses the hardware of the UE: “The one or more processors 3904 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 3904 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 3920 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as medium 3918 and/or memory 3916. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 3904 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing procedure or process related to the operation of UE 3900.”).
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 63, 67, 68, 70, 76 and 78/76 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge in view of further embodiments of Edge.
Regarding claim 1, Edge discloses [Note: what Edge fails to disclose is strike-through]
A network, NW, entity (see at least Figs. 1-3, sNB 106/202/307) for a wireless communication network (see at least Figs. 1-3, communication system 100/200/300), the wireless communication network including one or more non-terrestrial network, NTN, component (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302),
wherein the NW entity is to
determine(see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”)
receive from the UE a UE position, the UE position indicated by a geographical location of the UE (see at least [0318]; “At stage 7, UE 105 may send to the sNB 106/202/307 via the SV 102/202/302 and using the selected radio cell an RRC Setup Request message (e.g. after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell). If the location and/or country of the UE 105 is obtained at stage 5, the UE may include the location and/or country in the RRC Setup Request message.”) or by information derived from a UE location and from assistance data obtained from the wireless communication network, and
verify the received UE position using the NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”),
wherein the NW entity is to verify the received UE position to be correct or acceptable in case the UE position is within a geographical area identified by the NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “The sNB 106/202/307 may then determine whether the country of the UE 105 (e.g. as received at stage 7 and/or determined or verified at stage 8) is supported by the sNB 106/202/307.” The UE presence in a country is verified by the sNB.), and
wherein the NTN component is an airborne vehicle or a spaceborne vehicle (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302).
However, Edge does not explicitly teach that the same network entity that verifies the UE position is also configured to
obtain information for determining a network, NW generated UE position of a user device, UE, and
determine, using as an input some of the obtained information, the NW generated UE position by solving equations.
Edge does teach that the UE is configured to
obtain information for determining a UE position of a user device, UE (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”), and
determine, using as an input some of the obtained information, the UE position (see at least [0316]; “At stage 5, the UE 105 may optionally determine the location of the UE 105 from the location related measurements from stage 3 if stage 3 occurs. UE 105 may optionally determine the UE 105 country in which the UE 105 is located using the determined location and the location related information received at stage 4 if stage 4 occurs. In some implementations, to assist country determination at stage 5, geographic information for a country or countries (e.g. information defining a border or borders of one or more countries) may be pre-configured in a UE 105 or may be obtained by a UE 105 from a home PLMN at some previous time.”) by solving equations (see at least [0109]; “When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if needed, convert the local coordinates into absolute ones (e.g. for latitude, longitude and altitude above or below mean sea level).”).
Edge furthermore teaches that the sNB determines the location and country of the UE in a manner similar to the method previously described (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the claimed invention that the sNB of Edge also performs the steps of obtaining information for determining a UE position and determining the UE position by solving equations, as these make up the method previously described, referenced in [0319].
Regarding claim 3, Edge teaches the network, NW, entity of claim 1. Edge further teaches:
wherein the information for determining the NW generated UE position of the UE comprises one or more of the following:
- one or more measurements from the UE, e.g., a receive-transmit, Rx-Tx, time difference between a time the UE received a DL reference signal and a time the UE sent out an UL reference signal,
- one or more measurements from one or more further NW entities of the wireless communication network, the one or more further NW entities performing the one or more measurements,
- one or more measurements made by the NW entity, e.g., a receive-transmit, Rx-Tx, time difference between a time the NW entity received an UL reference signal and a time the NW entity sent out a DL reference signal (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”).
It would have been obvious for the NW entity to use the same information as taught for the UE in generating position for the reasons given regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, Edge teaches the network, NW, entity of claim 3. Edge further teaches:
The network, NW, entity of claim 3, wherein the one or more measurements comprise one or more of the following:
- one or more measurements of one or more ranges between the UE and at least one satellite of a Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, used by the UE to determine the UE position (see at least [0199]; “At stage 3, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements from the DL signals from SVs 102/202/302 from stage 2. The UE 105 may additionally or alternatively obtain location measurements from DL signals received from GNSS SVs 190 and/or terrestrial base stations (BSs) such as gNB 114.” It is shown in [0201] that this location information is shared with the sNB.),
- one or more measurements of a range, like ToF, or a range difference, like TDOA, between one or more reference devices, like a terrestrial transmission and reception point, TRP,
- a combination one or more measurements of a range, like ToF, and/or a range difference, like TDOA, using one or more signals transmitted and/or received by at least a first system and at least a second system,
- one or more measurements of a range, like time of flight, ToF, between the UE and a first entity in the RAN and one or more measurements of a range difference, like TDOA, between the UE and at least a second entity in the RAN,
- one or more time variant measurements from the satellite, e.g., one or more of the following: a change in the measured range from the UE to the satellite, a change in a measured Doppler shift, a change in a measured angle from the satellite to the UE.
In regard to claim 5, the limitation(s) recited is not required to be part of the claimed invention. Parent claim 4 teaches alternative limitations, i.e., "one or more of the following". If a parent claim includes alternative limitations, and the reference teaches one of them, further limitations to the other alternative(s) in dependent claims are not required limitations. See Ex parte Werner, Appeal 2019-001448, Application No. 15/109,888, March 23, 2020, 15 pages. Here, Edge teaches “one or more measurements of one or more ranges between the UE and at least one satellite of a Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, used by the UE to determine the UE position”, as detailed in the rejection of claim 4. Claim 5 is based on another alternative/other alternatives, i.e., “a combination one or more measurements of a range, like ToF, and/or a range difference, like TDOA, using one or more signals transmitted and/or received by at least a first system and at least a second system” and “one or more measurements of a range, like time of flight, ToF, between the UE and a first entity in the RAN and one or more measurements of a range difference, like TDOA, between the UE and at least a second entity in the RAN”.
Regarding claim 8, Edge teaches the network, NW, entity of any one of the preceding claims. Edge further teaches:
wherein the UE position is determined using a separate positioning system, the separate positioning system including one or more of the following: a non-terrestrial system (see at least [0199]; “At stage 3, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements from the DL signals from SVs 102/202/302 from stage 2. The UE 105 may additionally or alternatively obtain location measurements from DL signals received from GNSS SVs 190 and/or terrestrial base stations (BSs) such as gNB 114.” It is shown in [0201] that this location information is shared with the sNB.), like an assisted global navigation satellite system, A-GNSS, e.g., GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, and/or a terrestrial system, like a sensor system, a Wireless Local Access Network, WLAN, system, a Bluetooth system or a Terrestrial Beacon System, TBS.
Regarding claim 63, Edge teaches [Note: what Edge fails to disclose is strike-through]
A user device, UE (see at least Figs. 1-3, UE 105), for a wireless communication network (see at least Figs. 1-3, communication system 100/200/300), the wireless communication network including one or more non-terrestrial network, NTN, component (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302) and a network, NW, entity (see at least Figs. 1-3, sNB 106/202/307) determining a NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”)
wherein, for allowing the NW entity to verify a UE position using the NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”), the UE is to transmit to the NW entity the UE position, the UE position indicated by a geographical location of the UE (see at least [0318]; “At stage 7, UE 105 may send to the sNB 106/202/307 via the SV 102/202/302 and using the selected radio cell an RRC Setup Request message (e.g. after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell). If the location and/or country of the UE 105 is obtained at stage 5, the UE may include the location and/or country in the RRC Setup Request message.”) or by information derived from a UE location and from assistance data obtained from the wireless communication network,
wherein the UE position is indicated by one or more of the following information:
- information derived from a UE location and from assistance data obtained from the wireless communication network
- a geographical location of the UE (see at least [0318]; “At stage 7, UE 105 may send to the sNB 106/202/307 via the SV 102/202/302 and using the selected radio cell an RRC Setup Request message (e.g. after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell). If the location and/or country of the UE 105 is obtained at stage 5, the UE may include the location and/or country in the RRC Setup Request message.”), e.g., a position determined by the UE using a separate positioning system, the separate positioning system including one or more of the following: a non-terrestrial system, like an assisted global navigation satellite system, A-GNSS, e.g., GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, and/or a terrestrial system, like a sensor system, a Wireless Local Access Network, WLAN, system, a Bluetooth system or a Terrestrial Beacon System, TBS
wherein the NW entity is to verify the received UE position to be correct or acceptable in case the UE position is within a geographical area identified by the NW Generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “The sNB 106/202/307 may then determine whether the country of the UE 105 (e.g. as received at stage 7 and/or determined or verified at stage 8) is supported by the sNB 106/202/307.” The UE presence in a country is verified by the sNB.), and
wherein the NTN component is an airborne vehicle or a spaceborne vehicle (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302).
However, Edge does not explicitly teach that the NW-generated UE position is determined by solving equations.
Edge does teach, in the context of the UE calculating its own position, solving equations (see at least [0109]; “When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if needed, convert the local coordinates into absolute ones (e.g. for latitude, longitude and altitude above or below mean sea level).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to similarly use equations when calculating the location of a UE using a NW entity, as Edge teaches this is common practice in computing a UE location.
Regarding claim 67, Edge teaches the user device, UE, entity of claim 63. Edge further teaches:
wherein the information for determining the NW generated UE position of the UE (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”) comprises one or more of the following:
- a report of one or more measurements by the UE (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”),
- a report of coordinates of a reference point in the wireless communication network that is less than a predefined distance from the UE or coordinates of the UE location as computed by the UE,
- one or more UL reference signals.
Regarding claim 68, Edge teaches the user device, UE, entity of claim 67. Edge further teaches:
wherein the one or more measurements comprise one or more of the following:
- one or more measurements of one or more ranges between the UE and at least one component of the separate positioning system used by the UE to determine its position (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”),
- one or more measurements of a range, like time of flight, ToF, or a range difference, like time difference of arrival, TDOA, between the one or more NTN components,
- one or more measurements of a range, like ToF, or a range difference, like TDOA, between one or more reference devices, like a terrestrial transmission and reception point, TRP,
- one or more measurements of a range, like time of flight, ToF, between the UE and a first entity in the RAN and one or more measurements of a range difference, like TDOA, between the UE and at least a second entity in the RAN,
- a receive-transmit, Rx-Tx, time difference between a time the UE received a DL reference signal and a time the UE sent out an UL reference signal,
- a receive time of a DL reference signal or a quality corresponding to the receive time, like a ToA or a phase,
- a difference in receive time between first and second reference signals, like a Reference Signal Time Difference, RSTD, between two DL reference signals, DL-RSs,
- one or more Doppler values.
Regarding claim 70, Edge teaches the user device, UE, entity of any one of the claims 63-68. Edge further teaches:
wherein the UE is to receive assistance data (see at least [0200]; “At stage 4, the UE 105 may obtain its position based on the location measurements. The UE 105, for example, may determine its position using a UE based positioning method or a UE assisted positioning method. With a UE based positioning method, the UE 105 computes a location of the UE 105 (e.g. with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as LMF 124 or broadcast by SVs 102/202/302).”) and/or a measurement request, the assistance data and/or the measurement request indicating to the UE one or more of the following:
- signals to be measured by the UE, e.g., downlink reference signals, like Demodulation Reference Signals, DMRSs, Positioning Reference Signals, PRSs, or sidelink reference signals, or Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, signals, or signals of a terrestrial beacon system (see at least [0115]; “The LMF 124 may support positioning of the UE 105 when UE accesses the NG-RAN 112 and may support position procedures/methods such as A-GNSS, OTDOA, RTK, PPP, DGNSS, ECID, AOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT and/or other positioning procedures including positioning procedures based on communication signals from one or more SVs 102.”),
- one or more configurations for transmitting one or more reference signals,
- one or more configurations for reporting the one or more measurements.
Regarding claim 76, Edge discloses [Note: what Edge fails to disclose is strike-through]
A method for operating a network, NW, entity (see at least Figs. 1-3, sNB 106/202/307) for a wireless communication network (see at least Figs. 1-3, communication system 100/200/300), the wireless communication network including one or more non- terrestrial network, NTN, components (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302), the method comprising:
determining (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”)
receiving from the UE a UE position, the UE position indicated by a geographical location of the UE (see at least [0318]; “At stage 7, UE 105 may send to the sNB 106/202/307 via the SV 102/202/302 and using the selected radio cell an RRC Setup Request message (e.g. after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell). If the location and/or country of the UE 105 is obtained at stage 5, the UE may include the location and/or country in the RRC Setup Request message.”) or by information derived from a UE location and from assistance data obtained from the wireless communication network, and
verifying the received UE position using the NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”),
wherein the NW entity is to verify the received UE position to be correct or acceptable in case the UE position is within a geographical area identified by the NW generated UE position (see at least [0319]; “The sNB 106/202/307 may then determine whether the country of the UE 105 (e.g. as received at stage 7 and/or determined or verified at stage 8) is supported by the sNB 106/202/307.” The UE presence in a country is verified by the sNB.), and
wherein the NTN component is an airborne vehicle or a spaceborne vehicle (see at least Figs. 1-3, space vehicles 102/202/302).
However, Edge does not explicitly teach that the same network entity that verifies the UE position is also configured to
obtain information for determining a network, NW generated UE position of a user device, UE, and
determine, using as an input one or some or all of the obtained information, the NW generated UE position by solving equations.
Edge does teach that the UE is configured to
obtain information for determining a UE position of a user device, UE (see at least [0314]; “At stage 3, which is optional, the UE 105 obtains location related measurements, e.g., for DL signals received from the SV 102/202/302, from other SVs 102/202/302, from gNBs 114 (not shown), from navigation SVs 190 (not shown), or from some combination of these.”), and
determine, using as an input the obtained information, the UE position (see at least [0316]; “At stage 5, the UE 105 may optionally determine the location of the UE 105 from the location related measurements from stage 3 if stage 3 occurs. UE 105 may optionally determine the UE 105 country in which the UE 105 is located using the determined location and the location related information received at stage 4 if stage 4 occurs. In some implementations, to assist country determination at stage 5, geographic information for a country or countries (e.g. information defining a border or borders of one or more countries) may be pre-configured in a UE 105 or may be obtained by a UE 105 from a home PLMN at some previous time.”) by solving equations (see at least [0109]; “When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if needed, convert the local coordinates into absolute ones (e.g. for latitude, longitude and altitude above or below mean sea level).”).
Edge furthermore teaches that the sNB determines the location and country of the UE in a manner similar to the method previously described (see at least [0319]; “At stage 8, if the location and/or country are included at stage 7 (e.g. with implementation I7), sNB 106/202/307 may determine and/or verify the location and country for UE 105 in a manner similar to that described for the determination of the location and country.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the claimed invention that the sNB of Edge also performs the steps of obtaining information for determining a UE position and determining the UE position by solving equations, as these make up the method previously described, referenced in [0319].
Regarding claim 78/76, Edge discloses:
A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer, perform the method of claim 76 (see at least [0413], which discusses the hardware of the sNB: “The one or more processors 4104 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 4104 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 4120 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as medium 4118 and/or memory 4116. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 4104 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing procedure or process related to the operation of sNB 4100.”).
Conclusion
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/ASHLEY BROWN RAYNAL/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648