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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1,19,20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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 1-7,13,19,20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang)
Regarding claim 1, Huang discloses a measurement method, comprising:
receiving, by a first terminal, a sidelink reference signal of a second terminal device (Fig. 6 and Par. 136: Lines 1-3; The first device receives a sidelink positioning reference signal sent by the second device and obtains a measurement);
determining, by the first terminal device, a first measurement result corresponding to the sidelink reference signal, wherein the first measurement result comprises at least one of the following: a relative position, a distance, a position of the first terminal device, an angle measurement result (Fig. 6 and Par. 137 The first UE calculates its position; Par. 138: The first terminal calculates its position based on the measurement obtained from the position reference signal sent from the second terminal; The remaining limitations were given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or”); and
and the first measurement result further comprises a time stamp corresponding to the first terminal (Par. 228; The measurement value includes time information associated with the first terminal device); and the time stamp corresponding to the first terminal device is based on timing of a sidelink or timing of Uu (Par. 221; The fisrt terminal device receives a sidelink positioning reference signal sent by the second terminal device; Par: 228; The measurement value includes time information associated with the first terminal).
Huang does not disclose wherein the first measurement result is associated with an antenna reference point (ARP), the first measurement result further comprises identification information of a receive ARP.
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Wang, however, discloses the first measurement result is associated with an antenna reference point (ARP) (Page 18: Lines 4-17; The positioning measurement parameters include information regarding one or more ARPs, and the ARP parameters are used in obtaining positioning measurements using sidelink reference signals),
the first measurement result further comprises identification information of a receive ARP (Page 18: Lines 4-17; Each ARP is associated with an ARP identity that identifies the particular antenna reference point used for positioning measurements);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Huang to associate the measurement result with an antenna reference point (ARP) and to include ARP identification information as taught by Wang. Doing so would have enabled the positioning measurements to be correlated with a particular antenna reference point used to obtain the measurements, thereby improving the accuracy, consistency, and interpretability of positioning measurements obtained using sidelink reference signals.
Regarding claim 2 as applied to claim 1, claim 1 was rejected based on the determination of a position of the first terminal device, which is one of the alternative measurement results recited therein. Claim 2 further limits the measurement result to a relative position, which is a different alternative no relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, no patentable weight is being given to claim 2.
Regarding claim 3 as applied to claim 1, claim 1 was rejected based on the determination of a position of the first terminal device, which is one of the alternative measurement results recited therein. Claim 3 further limits the measurement result to an angle measurement, which is a different alternative no relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, no patentable weight is being given to claim 3.
Regarding claim 4 as applied to claim 2, claim 2 was given no patentable weight due to claim 2 further limiting a measurement result not relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, claim 4 is given no patentable weight.
Regarding claim 5 as applied to claim 3, claim 3 was given no patentable weight due to claim 3 further limiting a measurement result not relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, claim 5 is given no patentable weight.
Regarding claim 6 as applied to claim 3, claim 3 was given no patentable weight due to claim 3 further limiting a measurement result not relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, claim 6 is given no patentable weight.
Regarding claim 7 as applied to claim 6, claim 6 was given no patentable weight due to claim 6 further limiting a measurement result not relied upon in the rejection of claim 1. Therefore, claim 7 is given no patentable weight.
Regarding claim 13 as applied to claim 1, Huang discloses wherein the determining, by the first terminal device, a first measurement result corresponding to the sidelink reference signal comprises:
in a case that the first terminal device has not received a measurement result request and the first terminal device has received the sidelink reference signal (Fig. 6 and Par. 136: Lines 1-3; The first device receives a sidelink positioning reference signal sent by the second device and obtains a measurement; Huang does not require/condition on receiving a request) and/or first assistance information (No patentable weight given due to the optional language “or”), measuring and/or sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result corresponding to the sidelink reference signal (Fig. 6 and Par. 137 The first UE calculates its position; Par. 138: The first terminal calculates its position based on the measurement obtained from the position reference signal sent from the second terminal; The sending limitation is given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or”).
Regarding claim 19, the rejection of claim 1 addresses the limitations presented in claim 29. Therefore, the limitations of claim 19 have been addressed. A device capable of performing the recited functions necessarily includes a processor, memory, and instructions stored in the memory.
Regarding claim 20, the rejection of claim 1 addresses the limitations presented in claim 20. Therefore, the limitations of claim 20 have been addressed. A storage medium is necessary to perform the recited functions.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Lee et al. (US 20120244880, hereinafter Lee)
Regarding claim 9 as applied to claim 1, Huang in view of Wang discloses determining, by the first terminal device, a first measurement result (the position of the first terminal) corresponding to a sidelink reference signal (as detailed in the rejection of claim 1).
Huang in view of Wang does not disclose the determining further comprising: sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result (the position of the first terminal) to the second terminal device and/or a control node.
Lee however, discloses sending the position of a first terminal (first measurement) to a second terminal or control node (Par. 50: Lines 1-3; A terminal computes a position estimation for itself; Par. 50: Lines 9-11; The position estimate is provided to a network entity or a terminal interested in the location of the target terminal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang in view of Wang such that, after the first terminal determines its position corresponding to the sidelink reference signal, the first terminal sends (i.e., reports) the determined position to the second terminal device and/or to a control node (i.e., a network entity) as taught by Lee, in order to share positioning information with another device or a network-side entity for coordination, location-based services, and/or use by an entity interested in the terminal’s location, which is a predictable use of known positioning outputs and a straightforward design choice consistent with Lee’s disclosed positioning architecture.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Lee et al. (US 20120244880, hereinafter Lee) in further view of Khoryaev et al. (US 20160095080, hereinafter Khoryaev)
Regarding claim 10 as applied to claim 9, Huang in view of Wang in further view of Lee discloses sending by, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or a control node (as detailed in the rejection of claim 9).
Huang in view of Wang in further view of Lee, does not disclose, wherein the sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or a control node comprises at least one of the following:
sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or the control node in a first manner, wherein the first manner is broadcast, multicast or unicast;
sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or the control node on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH);
sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or the control node on a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH);
sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or the control node through a Uu interface; or
sending, by the first terminal device, the first measurement result to the second terminal device and/or the control node by using a preconfigured candidate resource set or resource pool.
Khoryaev, however, discloses a terminal device sending position metrics to a control node through Uu interface (Par. 16: Lines 4-7; The UE may transmit the first and second position metrics to a server via the cellular network; Par. 64: Lines 8-8; The message may be relayed through serving eNB to the server; The remaining limitations were given to patentable weight due to the optional language “or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure Huang in view of Wang in further view of Lee such that the first terminal device sends the first measurement result (i.e., the position/measurement result as set forth in claim 9) to the second terminal device and/or a control node through a Uu interface, as taught by Khoryaev, because Khoryaev expressly teaches reporting position metrics from a UE to a server via the cellular network (e.g., relayed through the serving eNB), and incorporating this known reporting path would predictably provide a reliable, network-supported mechanism to deliver the measurement result to the control node for centralized processing, storage, coordination, or refinement of positioning results, thereby improving end-to-end positioning operation without changing the underlying measurement technique of Huang in view of Wang in further view of Lee.
Claims 11,12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Manolakos et al. (US 20210051622, hereinafter Manolakos)
Regarding claim 11 as applied to claim 1, Huang in view of Wang does not disclose receiving, by the first terminal device, a measurement result request sent by the second terminal device or the control node, wherein the measurement result request comprises at least one of the following: a positioning measurement result request, a positioning result request, a positioning request type, first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, or a measurement result feedback period, wherein
the first indication information indicates whether additional path measurement is required, the second indication information indicates whether first path measurement is required, and the third indication information indicates whether receive beam information of the first terminal device is required.
Manolakos, however, discloses receiving, by the first terminal device, a measurement result request sent by the second terminal device or the control node (Par. 6: Lines 1-7; A UE receives a request from a network entity (control node) to perform position-related measurements and report them back), wherein the measurement result request comprises at least one of the following: a positioning measurement result request (Par. 6: Lines 1-7; A UE receives a request from a network entity (control node) to perform position-related measurements and report them back; The remaining limitations were given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or” ), a positioning result request, a positioning request type, first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, or a measurement result feedback period,
wherein the first indication information indicates whether additional path measurement is required, the second indication information indicates whether first path measurement is required, and the third indication information indicates whether receive beam information of the first terminal device is required (The “wherein” clause is given no patentable weight because the rejection is based on a different measurement result branch, and this “wherein” clause further limits an alternative branch that is not relied upon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang in view of Wang to further include receiving, by the first terminal device, a measurement result request from the second terminal device or the control node as taught by Manolakos, because wireless positioning systems commonly signal a UE with a request to perform positioning-related measurements and report the requested measurements, and incorporating such request signaling would have been a predictable use of known positioning control signaling to coordinate/trigger measurement reporting (e.g., to obtain requested positioning-related measurement results with desired latency/accuracy/reporting behavior) while using Huang in view of Wang’s sidelink positioning framework.
Regarding claim 12 as applied to claim 11, Huang in view of Wang does not disclose wherein the measurement result request is sent by the second terminal device or the control node in a first manner, wherein the first manner is broadcast, multicast or unicast;
and/or the measurement result request is sent by the second terminal device or the control node by using a preconfigured candidate resource set or resource pool;
and/or the measurement result request is sent by the second terminal device or the control node through a Uu interface;
and/or the measurement result request is carried in first stage sidelink control information (SCI), second stage SCI, or a PSSCH;
and/or the measurement result request is carried in a payload of the sidelink reference signal of the second terminal device for sending;
and/or the measurement result request is carried in first assistance information for sending.
Manolakos, however, discloses wherein the measurement result request is sent by the second terminal device or the control node through a Uu interface (Par. 6: Lines 1-7; A UE receives a request from a network entity (control node) to perform position-related measurements and report them back; A network entity sending a request to a UE is inherently over the Uu interface; The remaining limitations were given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang in view of Wang to transmit the measurement result request from the control node to the first terminal device through a Uu interface, as taught by Manolakos, in order to enable the network entity/control node to request positioning-related measurements from the terminal using conventional network-to-UE signaling, thereby facilitating coordination and reporting of positioning measurements within the wireless communication system.
Claims 14,15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Zhang et al. (US 20210058889, hereinafter Zhang)
Regarding claim 14 as applied to claim 1, Huang in view of Wang does not disclose wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the first terminal device, first assistance information sent by the second terminal device or a control node, wherein
the first assistance information comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the second terminal device, position information of the second terminal device, identification information of the first terminal device, identification information of a transmit antenna panel, position information of an antenna panel, identification information of a transmit antenna port, position information of an antenna port, identification information of an (ARP), position information of the antenna reference point, height information of a transmit antenna, position information of an antenna, identification information of a transmit beam, angle information of the transmit beam, quasi co-location (QCL) information, speed information of the second terminal device, trajectory information of the second terminal device, a measured and/or reported reference direction, an expected angle measurement window, or a coordinate system and a reference direction of the expected angle measurement window.
Zhang, however, discloses receiving, by the first terminal device, first assistance information sent by the second terminal device or a control node (Par. 22: Lines 3-8; The UE receives location assistance data on a channel of a RAN for positioning), wherein
the first assistance information comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the second terminal device (Par. 7: Lines 8-15; The location assistance data may include identification information for candidate TRPs. The identification information for a candidate TRP may be a physical cell ID, global cell ID, or a UE ID; The remining limitations were given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang in view of Wang to further include receiving, by the first terminal device, first assistance information from a control node that includes identification information for the node providing positioning reference signals (i.e., the second terminal device), as taught by Zhang, in order to enable the first terminal device to identify the appropriate PRS/anchor transmitting entity for positioning, thereby improving coordination and reliability of positioning signaling and avoiding ambiguity as to which transmitting node the received reference signal corresponds to.
Regarding claim 15 as applied to claim 14, claim 15 was given no patentable weight due to claim 15 further limiting a first assistance information not relied upon in the rejection of claim 14. Therefore, claim 15 is given no patentable weight.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Edge et al. (US 20190037529, hereinafter Edge)
Regarding claim 16 as applied to claim 1, Huang in view of Wang does not disclose wherein the first measurement result further comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the first terminal device, identification information of a receive antenna panel, identification information of a receive antenna port, identification information of a receive ARP, identification information of the sidelink reference signal, line of sight LOS/non line of sight NLOS indication information, identification information of a receive beam, speed information of the first terminal device, trajectory information of the first terminal device, and antenna information of the first terminal device.
Edge, however, discloses wherein the first measurement result (Par. 71: Lines 1-3; The UE can obtain location measurements) further comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the sidelink reference signal (Par. 71: Lines 18-23; The UE may use the PRS ID to measure characteristics).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide/associate the first measurement result determined in Huang in view of Wang with a PRS identifier (PRS ID) as taught by Edge, because doing so identifies which sidelink reference signal the measurement corresponds to, which is a known, predictable design choice for organizing and interpreting positioning measurements when multiple reference signals may be present (Edge’s PRS ID usage), thereby improving interoperability and reliability of processing the measurement result without changing the underlying positioning technique of Huang in view of Wang.
Claims 17,18,21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (EP 4054258) in view of Wang et al. (WO 2022184227, hereinafter Wang) in further view of Zhang et al. (US 11337235, hereinafter Zhang2)
Regarding claim 17 as applied to claim 1, Huang in view of Wang does not disclose wherein the method further comprises: sending, by the first terminal device, antenna information to the second terminal device and/or a control node, wherein the antenna information comprises at least one of the following: panel information, antenna information in a panel, ARP information, and an associated relationship between the ARP and a sidelink reference signal resource.
Zhang2, however, discloses wherein the method further comprises: sending, by the first terminal device, antenna information to the second terminal device and/or a control node, wherein the antenna information comprises at least one of the following: panel information (Col. 7: Lines 46-48; The terminal reports panel information to the network device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang in view of Wang to further include sending, by the first terminal device, antenna information (e.g., panel information) to a control node, as taught by Zhang2, in order to enable the network/control node to identify the transmitting antenna panel and thereby facilitate antenna/panel awareness and associated configuration/processing for wireless signaling (e.g., improving beam/panel selection and overall communication/positioning performance), which is a predictable use of known antenna-panel reporting techniques.
Regarding claim 18 as applied to claim 17, claim 18 is given no patentable weight due to claim 18 further limiting antenna information not relied upon in the rejection of claim 17. Therefore, claim 18 is given no patentable weight.
Regarding claim 21 as applied to claim 17, the rejection of claim 1 discloses the limitation of claim 21 of “the first measurement result is associated with one piece of ARP information” as discloses in the rejection of claim 1. The remaining limitations were given no patentable weight due to the optional language “or”. Therefore, the limitations of claim 21 have been addressed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FABIAN BOTELLO whose telephone number is (571)272-4439. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wesley Kim can be reached at 571-272-7867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FABIAN BOTELLO/Examiner, Art Unit 2648
/WESLEY L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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