Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/435,910

INTEGRATING AUDIO SIGNAL INFORMATION FOR POSITIONING AND SENSING

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 07, 2024
Examiner
DAI, GABRIELLE NICOLE
Art Unit
2681
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 0% of cases
0%
Career Allow Rate
0 granted / 0 resolved
-62.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
24
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
§103
60.9%
+20.9% vs TC avg
§102
3.1%
-36.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 0 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/12/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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 1-5 and 7-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wild et al., U.S. Patent No 9,689,958 (hereinafter “Wild”) in view of Parker et al., US 2023 0284178 A1 (hereinafter “Parker”). Regarding Claim 1, Wild teaches a network entity, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to (Wild, Col. 5, Line 40-61, Fig. 1, server 102, memory, processors; Col 16, Lines 24-29, RF transceiver 104): receive, via the one or more transceivers, radiofrequency (RF) signaling from a user equipment (UE) (Wild, Col. 6, Line 4-24, client receivers, RF signals; Col 16. Line 24-29, positioning nodes); determine to activate audio positioning for the UE (Wild, Col. 6, Line 4-24, acoustic waves, computing a position of the mobile device, protocol RF information) based on one or more criteria (Wild teaches RF protocol information in Col. 11, Lines 41-57); transmit, via the one or more transceivers, audio positioning configuration information to the UE (Wild, Col. 2, Line 24-37, acoustic ranging signals, Col. 6, Lines 4-42, positioning nodes, server-initiated transmission/reception of acoustic ranging signals; Col. 11, Lines 41-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-2, protocol RF information); and receive, via the one or more transceivers, positioning information for the UE in accordance with the audio positioning configuration information (Wild, Col. 14, Lines 50-67, Col 15, Lines 1-2, mobile device position), the positioning information for the UE including audio measurement information or a location estimate of the UE based on audio measurements (Wild, Col 6, Line 25-42, acoustic waves, radio waves; Col. 14, Line 50-67, Col. 15, Lines 1-2, computed position). Wild fails to fully teach the limitation: determine to activate audio positioning for the UE based on one or more criteria However, Parker further teaches the limitation: determine to activate audio positioning for the UE based on one or more criteria (Parker, Pages 7-10, Paragraph 106, characteristics and/or parameters of the UE; Paragraph 119-120, vision sensors, captured image parameters indicative of device location or position; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Blocks 6328 and 6330, determine location of antennas, obtain SRS capabilities). Although Wild addresses the remaining limitations of claim 1, Parker demonstrates a network entity, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, (Parker, Page 8, Paragraphs 110 and 112, location engine circuitry; Pages 28-37, Paragraphs 241 and 312, location edge server/the NG-RAN includes and/or implements the location engine circuitry; Page 20, Paragraph 191, processor, transceiver) either alone or in combination, configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, radiofrequency (RF) signaling from a user equipment (UE) (Parker, Page 7, Paragraph 105, detection of SRS data received; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Blocks 6322-6326, request for UE location, identifier[s] associated with UE); determine to activate audio positioning for the UE based on one or more criteria (Parker, Pages 7-10, Paragraph 106, characteristics and/or parameters of the UE; Paragraph 119-120, vision sensors, captured image parameters indicative of device location or position; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Blocks 6328 and 6330, determine location of antennas, obtain SRS capabilities); transmit, via the one or more transceivers, audio positioning configuration information to the UE (Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 279, SRS configuration; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Block 6332, set SRS configuration for the UE); and receive, via the one or more transceivers, positioning information for the UE in accordance with the audio positioning configuration information, the positioning information for the UE including audio measurement information or a location estimate of the UE based on audio measurements (Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based techniques, signal-based techniques, UE-based techniques, network or UE-assisted technique; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Blocks 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Parker and Wild are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of position-fixing by coordinating two or more distance determinations using active systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wild to incorporate the teachings of Parker to determine to activate audio positioning for the UE based on one or more criteria. Doing so could enable a more customized audio configuration information output tailored for the UE based on the further evaluation of the vision-based criteria. Regarding Claim 18, Wild in view of Parker teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 54-65, mobile devices 130; Col. 7, Lines 5-40, positioning components; Col. 10, Lines 8-41, transceiver, processor; Col. 27, Lines 5-30, memory; Parker, Page 6, Paragraph 100, Page 52, Paragraph 420, UE) either alone or in combination, configured to: obtain one or more measurements of radiofrequency (RF) signals (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 54-65, radio-based positioning, positioning process of mobile devices; Col. 8, Lines 24-30, RF transceiver; Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based, UE-based, UE-assisted techniques); receive, via the one or more transceivers, audio positioning configuration information from a network entity (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 4-24, server-initiated transmission/reception of acoustic ranging signals, protocol RF information; Col. 6, Lines 54-65, Col. 8, Lines 62-64, acoustic waves; Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 279, SRS configuration; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Block 6332, set SRS configuration for the UE); transmit, via the one or more transceivers, audio signals, detecting audio signals, or both, according to the audio positioning configuration information (Wild, Col. 14, Lines 50-67, Col 15, Lines 1-2, transmitted position from the mobile device); and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, information indicative of the detected audio signals, the transmitted audio signals, or both to the network entity (Wild, Col 12, Line 3-14, calculated position information; Col. 14, Lines 50-67, Col 15, Lines 1-2, computed position; Parker, Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Blocks 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Regarding Claim 27, Wild in view of Parker teaches a method at a network entity comprising: receiving radiofrequency (RF) signaling from a user equipment (UE) (Wild, Col. 6, Line 4-24, client receivers, RF signals; Col 16. Line 24-29, positioning node; Parker, Page 7, Paragraph 105, detection of SRS data received; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Blocks 6322-6326, request for UE location, identifier[s] associated with UE); determining to activate audio positioning for the UE based on one or more criteria (Wild, Col. 6, Line 4-24, acoustic waves, computing a position of the mobile device, protocol RF information; Parker, Pages 7-10, Paragraph 106, characteristics and/or parameters of the UE; Paragraph 119-120, vision sensors, captured image parameters indicative of device location or position; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Blocks 6328 and 6330, determine location of antennas, obtain SRS capabilities); transmitting audio positioning configuration information to the UE (Wild, Col. 2, Line 24-37, acoustic ranging signal, Col. 6, Lines 4-42, server-initiated transmission/reception of acoustic ranging signals, Lines 25-42, positioning nodes 110; Col. 11, Lines 41-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-2, protocol RF information; Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 279, SRS configuration; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Block 6332, set SRS configuration for the UE); and receiving positioning information for the UE in accordance with the audio positioning configuration information, the positioning information for the UE including audio measurement information or a location estimate of the UE based on audio measurements (Wild, Col 6, Line 25-42, acoustic waves, radio waves; Col. 14, Line 50-67, Col. 15, Lines 1-2, computed position; Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based techniques, signal-based techniques, UE-based techniques, network or UE-assisted technique; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Blocks 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Regarding Claim 29, Wild in view of Parker teaches a method of wireless communication for a user equipment (UE) comprising: obtaining one or more measurements of radiofrequency (RF) signals (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 54-65, radio-based positioning, positioning process of mobile devices; Col. 8, Lines 24-30, RF transceiver; Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based, UE-based, UE-assisted techniques); receiving audio positioning configuration information from a network entity; transmitting audio signals, detecting audio signals, or both, according to the audio positioning configuration information (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 4-24, server-initiated transmission/reception of acoustic ranging signals, protocol RF information; Col. 6, Lines 54-65, Col. 8, Lines 62-64, acoustic waves; Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 279, SRS configuration; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Fig. 63B, Block 6332, set SRS configuration for the UE); and transmitting information indicative of the detected audio signals, the transmitted audio signals, or both to the network entity (Wild, Col 12, Lines 3-14, calculated position information; Col. 14, Lines 50-67, Col 15, Lines 1-2, computed position; Parker, Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Blocks 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Regarding Claim 2, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria comprise one or more vision based criteria, one or more RF based criteria, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 11, Lines 41-57, various RF protocol RF information; Parker, Page 10, Paragraphs 118-120, RSSI values, vision-based analysis; Page 17, Paragraphs 168-175, time-based positioning techniques). Regarding Claim 3, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 2, wherein the one or more vision based criteria, one or more RF based criteria, or a combination thereof comprises an RF signal quality; an indication of partial or full visual occlusion; an indication of a vision restricted area; an indication of position quality for a position determined based on RF measurements, vision information, or both; or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 43-65, radio based positioning approaches, RSS; Parker, Page 10, Paragraph 118, RSSI values; Pages 30-31, Paragraphs 266-270, Fig. 15A, RF interface receives wireless data from UE, sounding reference signal [SRS] data in accordance with policies; Page 43, Paragraph 360, the location engine can be configured and/or transitioned into a mode of operation). Regarding Claim 4, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein, to receive the RF signaling from the UE, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to receive UE audio positioning capability, UE battery status, UE connectivity status, UE audio sampling frequency capability, UE audio bandwidth range capability, UE microphone transmission capability, UE audio protocol capability, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 4-24, processors on the server, transmission and reception of acoustic ranging signals and protocol RF information; Col. 6, Lines 25-67, Col. 1-3, Fig. 1, positioning nodes, proximity nodes, mobile devices, RF transceiver configured to provide RF communication between components communicatively coupled to server; Col. 6, Lines 34-42, positioning nodes configured to transmit/receive messages used for network protocol, operations, and communications; Col. 24, Lines 10-38, proximity nodes, signaling beacon; Col. 23, Lines 7-12, Col. 24, Lines 14-37, mobile device connectivity status within communication range; Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 281, SRS capability of the UE; Pages 67-68, Paragraphs 590-602, Fig. 63C, determinations of UE capability). Regarding Claim 5, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the audio positioning configuration information comprises configuration of audio frequency resources to obtain audio positioning information, wherein the network entity is configured to schedule audio positioning for a plurality of UEs including the UE (Wild, Col. 22, Lines 55-67, Col. 23, Lines 1-28, pre-determined time transmit window) and wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, different audio positioning configuration information to a different UE included in the plurality of UEs (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 25-42, Fig. 1, plurality of mobile devices 130; Col. 10, Lines 51-67, Col. 11, Lines 1-67, multiple acoustic ranging signals, can be differentiated by frequency, amplitude, etc.; Col. 11, Lines 41-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-2, protocol RF information); and wherein the different audio positioning configuration information for the different UE comprises configuration of different audio frequency resources to obtain audio positioning information, and wherein the audio frequency resources and the different audio frequency resources are orthogonal (Wild, Col. 23, Lines 48-57, acoustic ranging signal codes, minimizing interference resulting from acoustic ranging sequences of the various acoustic ranging signals; Parker, Page 5, Paragraph 101, location determination of objects which may have different measurement requirements). Regarding Claim 7, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the positioning information for the UE includes: audio measurement information received from the UE, audio measurement information received from one or more audio devices separate from the UE, or both; and RF positioning information or vision positioning information or both, wherein the RF positioning information, vision positioning information, or both is received from the UE, received from one or more vision devices separate from the UE, received from one or more RF devices separate from the UE, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 25-42, Lines 54-65, mobile device, position calculation, identification, radio based positioning approaches; Col. 7, Lines 44-67, Col. 9, Lines 1-2, speaker used to transmit acoustic waves to positioning nodes, proximity nodes and/or mobile devices; Parker, Page 46, Paragraph 306, SRS data from the UE, multiple techniques to generate the location result). Regarding Claim 8, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: estimate a position of the UE based on the audio measurement information and further based on the RF positioning information, the vision positioning information, or both (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 4-67, Col. 7, Lines 1-10, positioning nodes configured to transmit/receive acoustic and/or radio waves, which may be used for computing a position of the mobile devices 130; Parker, Page 19, Paragraphs 186-187, multi-spectrum, multi-modal data). Regarding Claim 9, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the positioning information for the UE is associated with a device identifier for the UE and an audio identifier for the UE (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 25-42, Lines 54-65, mobile device, position calculation, identification; Col. 11, Lines 41-57, identification of the mobile device; Parker, Pages 19-20, Paragraph 190, multi-spectrum, multi-modal data can include device identification data, time-based measurements and data, event data, SRS data, etc.). Regarding Claim 10, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: use the audio identifier to associate the audio measurement information or the location estimate of the UE based on audio measurements with RF positioning information for the UE, vision positioning information for the UE, or both (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 25-42, Lines 54-65, mobile device, position calculation, identification, radio-based positioning approaches; Col. 11, Lines 41-57, device identification; Parker, Pages 19-20, Paragraph 190, multi-modal data). Regarding Claim 11, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: detect a trigger condition to perform device-free positioning of a target not in communication with the network entity (Wild, Col. 20, Lines 57-67, Col. 21, Lines 1-28, an embodiment utilizing a trigger condition, alarm; Parker, Pages 18-19, Paragraphs 181-182, event causing action[s], operation[s], etc. to be executed); configure one or more audio devices to perform positioning of the target using transmitted audio signals, received audio signals, or both (Wild, Col. 20, Lines 6-46, positioning nodes, mapping of obstacles); and receive, via the one or more transceivers, audio signal measurement information for the target or an indication of the position of the target from the one or more audio devices (Wild, Col 6, Line 25-54, positioning nodes; Col. 14, Line 50 -67, Col. 15, Lines 1-2, device position; Col. 20, Lines 6-46). Regarding Claim 12, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 11, wherein the one or more audio devices comprise one or more on-site audio devices including one or more speakers, one or more microphones, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 6, Lines 25-54, positioning nodes; Col. 7, Lines 40-67, Col. 8, Lines 1-67, Col. 9, Lines 1-53, Figs. 2A-2B, embodiments of a positioning node, location speakers 207, 208, 226, location microphones 227, 228, 206). Regarding Claim 13, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 11, wherein the trigger condition is based on a time since receiving a communication from the target exceeding a threshold time, based on detecting an alarm, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 20, Lines 57-67, Col. 21, Lines 1-28, trigger condition, alarm; Parker, Pages 18-19, Paragraphs 181-182, event causing action[s], operation[s], etc. to be executed). Regarding Claim 14, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein, to receive positioning information for the UE, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to receive audio signal power measurement information, audio signal direction measurement information, audio signal phase measurement information, audio time of receipt measurement information, audio time difference of arrival measurement information, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 11, Lines 58-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-26, mobile device transmits arrival times and/or elapsed times, mobile device calculations using measurement information; Parker, Page 17, Paragraphs 168-173, time of arrival, SRS data, time elapsed since time of transmission). Regarding Claim 15, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the audio positioning configuration information comprises configuration information for the UE to: detect audio signals from one or more infrastructure speakers using one or more audio receivers, the audio signals from the one or more infrastructure speakers transmitted according to an audio signal transmission protocol (Wild, Col. 22, Lines 55-67, Col. 23, Lines 1-6, positioning nodes, transmission of acoustic ranging signals, protocol RF information; Parker, Page 33, Paragraph 279, SRS configuration). Regarding Claim 16, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: activate one or more infrastructure audio devices to generate audio signals according to a time and frequency configuration, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the positioning information for the UE by receiving an indication of a time of receipt at the UE for at least some of the audio signals generated according to the time and frequency configuration (Wild, Col. 12, Lines 28-42, Fig. 3-4, acoustic ranging signals 302 emitted from plurality of speakers 207, 208 and/or 226, input signal 402). Regarding Claim 17, Wild in view of Parker teaches the network entity of claim 1, wherein the audio positioning configuration information transmitted to the UE comprises configuration information to generate audio signals according to a time and frequency configuration, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the positioning information for the UE by receiving an indication of time of receipt of the audio signals generated according to the time and frequency configuration at one or more infrastructure audio devices (Wild, Col. 11, Lines 41-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-2, protocol RF information). Regarding Claim 19, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 18, wherein the information indicative of the detected audio signals, the transmitted audio signals, or both comprises a location estimate of the UE based at least in part on the detected audio signals (Wild, Col. 10, Lines 51-67, Col. 11, Lines 1-37, Fig. 3, mobile device 130, estimate range R, acoustic ranging signal[s] 302; Col. 12, Lines 3-27, transmission of arrival times and/or elapsed times, radio message, acoustic ranging signal; Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based techniques, signal-based techniques, UE-based techniques, network or UE-assisted technique; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Block 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Regarding Claim 20, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 18, wherein, to detect audio signals according to the audio positioning configuration information, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to detect reception timing of one or more audio signals transmitted from one or more infrastructure speakers with a microphone according to the audio positioning configuration information (Wild, Col. 3, Lines 6-37, plurality of positioning nodes; Col. 12, Lines 3-42, Fig. 4, speakers 207, 208, 226, microphone 206, arrival times of acoustic ranging signals; Parker, Page 17, Paragraphs 168-170, time of arrival, SRS data). Regarding Claim 21, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 20, wherein, to detect reception timing of the one or more audio signals transmitted from the one or more infrastructure speakers with the microphone, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to detect a time difference of arrival between audio signals received from different infrastructure speakers (Wild, Col. 12, Lines 3-42, Fig. 4, plurality of speakers 207, 208, 226, elapsed times; Parker, Page 17, Paragraphs 168-170, time of arrival, SRS data; Page 17, Paragraph 171-173, time elapsed since time of transmission). Regarding Claim 22, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 20, wherein, to detect reception timing of one or more audio signals transmitted from one or more infrastructure speakers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to detect a time of arrival for the audio signals (Wild, Col. 12, Lines 3-14, calculated range, arrival of acoustic ranging signals, arrival times of acoustic ranging signals; Parker, Page 17, Paragraphs 168-170, time of arrival). Regarding Claim 23, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: subsequently receive, via the one or more transceivers, an indication to deactivate audio positioning from the network entity; and perform RF-based positioning, vison-based positioning, or a combination thereof in response to receiving the indication to deactivate the audio positioning (Wild, Col. 22, Lines 55-67, Col. 23, Lines 1-28, transmission window assignments according to protocol RF information, beginning time, duration, and/or ending time). Regarding Claim 24, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 18, wherein, to transmit information indicative of the detected audio signals, the transmitted audio signals, or both to the network entity, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are configured to transmit an indication of a round trip time (Wild, Col. 20, Lines 6-33, round trip time). Regarding Claim 25, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 18, wherein the audio positioning configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information (Wild, Col. 11, Lines 41-67, Col. 12, Lines 1-2, protocol RF information; Col. 10, Lines 51-67, Col. 11, Lines 1-67, differentiation of multiple acoustic ranging signals; Col. 22, Lines 55-67, Col. 23, Lines 1-28, pre-determined time transmit window; Parker, Page 67, Paragraph 585, SRS configuration for the UE). Regarding Claim 26, Wild in view of Parker teaches the user equipment of claim 25, wherein the frequency configuration information comprises one or more tones at predefined frequencies, and wherein the time configuration information comprises one or more time slots (Wild, Col. 10, Lines 51-67, Col. 11, Lines 1-67, differentiation of multiple acoustic ranging signals; Col. 22, Lines 55-67, Col. 23, Lines 1-28, pre-determined time transmit window). Regarding Claim 28, Wild in view of Parker teaches the method of claim 27, wherein the one or more criteria comprise one or more vision based criteria, one or more RF based criteria, or a combination thereof (Wild, Col. 11, Lines 41-57, various RF protocol RF information; Parker, Page 10, Paragraphs 118-120, RSSI values, image analysis; Page 17, Paragraphs 168-175, time-based positioning techniques). Regarding Claim 30, Wild in view of Parker teaches the method of claim 29, wherein the information indicative of the detected audio signals, the transmitted audio signals, or both comprises a location estimate of the UE based at least in part on the detected audio signals (Wild, Col. 10, Lines 51-67, Col. 11, Lines 1-37, Fig. 3, mobile device 130, estimate range R, acoustic ranging signal[s] 302; Col. 12, Lines 3-27, transmission of arrival times and/or elapsed times, radio message, acoustic ranging signal; Parker, Pages 10-11, Paragraphs 122-125, time-based techniques, signal-based techniques, UE-based techniques, network or UE-assisted technique; Page 67, Paragraphs 580-588, Block 6334-6336, obtain measurements of the UE). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GABRIELLE N DAI whose telephone number is (571)272-6693. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thu. 8:30am - 5:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, AKWASI SARPONG can be reached at (571) 270-3438. 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. /GABRIELLE N DAI/Examiner, Art Unit 2681 /AKWASI M SARPONG/SPE, Art Unit 2681 2/23/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 07, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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1-2
Expected OA Rounds
Grant Probability
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
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