DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on February 12, 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
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 Statements filed on 2/12/2024 and 5/14/2025 have been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10, 12, 14-16, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bayesteh et al. (US 2022/0155435).
Regarding Claim 1, Bayesteh teaches a sensing assistance method, comprising:
receiving, by a network side node, a first message from a terminal, wherein the first message is used to request to register the terminal as a sensing assistance node (“FIG. 5 illustrates, in a signal flow diagram, interaction between a UE 110 and a BS 170 for arranging sensing assisted by the UE 110” – See [0061]; “Initially, the UE 110 transmits (step 502), to the BS 170, a sensing capability report indicating the sensing capability of the UE 110. The sensing capability report may include an indication of supported sensing types (including RF, imaging, LIDAR and camera) and the details of capability for each of supported sensing types. For example, for RF sensing, the sensing capability report may indicate a supported frequency bands and bandwidth, supported sensing signals and supported duplexing mode (full duplex or half duplex). The sensing capability report can be transmitted together with a known UE capability report. The known UE capability report is usually transmitted, to the BS 170 and by the UE 110, upon connecting to the BS 170” – See [0062]; Upon the UE (terminal) connecting/registering to the base station (network side node), the base station receives a first message from the UE indicating that the UE is a sensing assistance node that has a sensing assistance capability); and
responding, by the network side node, a second message to the terminal based on the first message (“Subsequent to receiving (step 504) the sensing capability report, the BS 170 may transmit (step 506), to the UE 110, a sensing configuration. Upon receiving (step 508) the sensing configuration, the UE 110 may implement the sensing configuration” – See [0063]; The base station responds to the first message with a second message 506).
Regarding Claim 3, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 1. Bayesteh further teaches that the first message is an initial registration message or a registration update message (“Initially, the UE 110 transmits (step 502), to the BS 170, a sensing capability report indicating the sensing capability of the UE 110. The sensing capability report may include an indication of supported sensing types (including RF, imaging, LIDAR and camera) and the details of capability for each of supported sensing types. For example, for RF sensing, the sensing capability report may indicate a supported frequency bands and bandwidth, supported sensing signals and supported duplexing mode (full duplex or half duplex). The sensing capability report can be transmitted together with a known UE capability report. The known UE capability report is usually transmitted, to the BS 170 and by the UE 110, upon connecting to the BS 170” – See [0062]; The first message is an initial registration message transmitted when the terminal initially connects to the base station).
Regarding Claim 4, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 1. Bayesteh further teaches that the first message comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the terminal; an indication indicating that the terminal supports a sensing assistance function; an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by the terminal; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the terminal; or synchronization information (“Initially, the UE 110 transmits (step 502), to the BS 170, a sensing capability report indicating the sensing capability of the UE 110. The sensing capability report may include an indication of supported sensing types (including RF, imaging, LIDAR and camera) and the details of capability for each of supported sensing types. For example, for RF sensing, the sensing capability report may indicate a supported frequency bands and bandwidth, supported sensing signals and supported duplexing mode (full duplex or half duplex). The sensing capability report can be transmitted together with a known UE capability report. The known UE capability report is usually transmitted, to the BS 170 and by the UE 110, upon connecting to the BS 170” – See [0062]; The first message includes an indication of a sensing service/function type that the terminal supports).
Regarding Claim 5, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 4. Bayesteh further teaches that the second message comprises at least one of the following: an indication indicating a network sensing capability of a network side; an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by the network side; configuration information of the sensing service type supported by the network side; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the network side; configuration information of the sensing function type supported by the network side; related information of a first node, wherein the first node is a node configured to implement a sensing control function; synchronization information related to the sensing assistance function; or configuration information of a protocol data unit session used for sensing (“Subsequent to receiving (step 504) the sensing capability report, the BS 170 may transmit (step 506), to the UE 110, a sensing configuration. Upon receiving (step 508) the sensing configuration, the UE 110 may implement the sensing configuration” – See [0063]; “The details of the sensing signal may be communicated to the UE 110 through sensing configuration signaling that is sent to the UE 110” – See [0074]; “The details of the sensing signal may include a “tight synchronization request” (TSR) for the UE 110 in case of bi-static sensing” – See [0076]; The second message includes configuration information of the sensing service that the base station supports/configures. The second message may also include synchronization information related to the sensing assistance).
Regarding Claim 6, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 1. Bayesteh further teaches that before the responding a second message to the terminal based on the first message, the method further comprises: performing, by the network side node, at least one of the following: obtaining a subscription information of the terminal, and determining whether the subscription information of the terminal comprises a subscription indication related to a sensing assistance function; or storing a sensing assistance context of the terminal (“The BS memory 358 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the base station 170” – See [0052]; “the BS 170 and the UE both store at least some configuration information to, thereby, allow the UE 110 to reconnect to the BS 170, by way of a resume procedure, more rapidly than the UE 110 would be able to reconnect, by way of the connection establishment procedure, in the case wherein the UE 110 is in the RRC_IDLE state 802. The storage of at least some configuration information when the UE 110 is in the RRC_INACTIVE state 806 is one aspect that distinguishes the RRC_INACTIVE state 806 from the RRC_IDLE state 802” – See [0104]; The base station stores generated and collected data, such as the sensing configuration and sensing assistance capability of the UE, which is considered a sensing context. Further regarding the context of the terminal, the base station stores information to allow the UE to perform a connection re-establishment procedure).
Regarding Claim 7, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 1. Bayesteh further teaches that the first message and the second message are at least one of the following message types: a non-access stratum message; or a sensing control layer message (“FIG. 5 illustrates, in a signal flow diagram, interaction between a UE 110 and a BS 170 for arranging sensing assisted by the UE 110” – See [0061]; The first and second messages are part of a sensing control layer between the base station and the UE).
Regarding Claim 8, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 7. Bayesteh further teaches that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, the network side node is a second node configured to implement an access and mobility management function; or when the first message and the second message are sensing control layer messages, the network side node is a first node that implements a sensing control function (“FIG. 5 illustrates, in a signal flow diagram, interaction between a UE 110 and a BS 170 for arranging sensing assisted by the UE 110” – See [0061]; The first and second messages are part of a sensing control layer between the base station and the UE. Furthermore, the base station (network side node) is a first node that implements a sensing control function, as shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 10, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 6. Bayesteh further teaches that the sensing assistance context of the terminal comprises at least one of the following: an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by a network side; configuration information of the sensing service type supported by the network side; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the network side; configuration information of the sensing function type supported by the network side; related information of a first node, wherein the first node is a node configured to implement a sensing control function; synchronization information related to the sensing assistance function; or configuration information of a protocol data unit session used for sensing (“the BS 170 may transmit (step 506), to the UE 110, a sensing configuration” – See [0063]; “The BS memory 358 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the base station 170” – See [0052]; The base station stores generated data as the sensing assistance context, such as the sensing configuration (configuration information of the sensing service/function supported by the network side)).
Claims 12 and 19 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claim 14 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 4.
Claim 15 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 7.
Regarding Claim 20, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 12. Bayesteh further teaches a terminal, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program or the instruction is executed by the processor, steps of the sensing assistance method according to claim 12 are implemented (“the UE memory 208 could store software instructions or modules configured to implement some or all of the functionality and/or embodiments described above and that are executed by the UE processing unit(s) 200” – See [0050]).
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 2, 9, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bayesteh et al. (US 2022/0155435) in view of Velev (US 2019/0261185).
Regarding Claim 2, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 1. Bayesteh does not explicitly teach that the responding, by the network side node, a second message to the terminal based on the first message comprises: when determining that subscription information of the terminal comprises a subscription indication related to a sensing assistance function, responding, by the network side node, the second message to the terminal based on the first message.
However, Velev teaches that the responding, by the network side node, a second message to the terminal based on the first message comprises: when determining that subscription information of the terminal comprises a subscription indication related to a sensing assistance function, responding, by the network side node, the second message to the terminal based on the first message (“In a fourth communication 620 transmitted from the UDM/UDR 612 to the serving vAMF 606, the serving vAMF 606 may retrieve access and mobility subscription data and SMF selection subscription data using a service Nudm_SDM_Get, for example” – See [0129]; “In an eighth communication 632 from the serving vAMF 606 to the UE 602, the serving vAMF 606 may transmit a registration accept message to the UE 602” – See [0141]; When determining a subscription indication of the terminal, the network side node responds with a second message 632 in response to a first message 614).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bayesteh such that the responding, by the network side node, a second message to the terminal based on the first message comprises: when determining that subscription information of the terminal comprises a subscription indication related to a sensing assistance function, responding, by the network side node, the second message to the terminal based on the first message. Motivation for doing so would be to notify the terminal that the registration request was accepted (See Velev, [0141]).
Regarding Claim 9, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 7. Bayesteh does not explicitly teach that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, before the responding a second message to the terminal based on the first message, the method further comprises: performing, by a second node, at least one of the following: sending a third message to a first node; or obtaining a sensing assistance context of the terminal from the first node, wherein the third message comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the terminal; an indication indicating that the terminal supports a sensing assistance function; an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by the terminal; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the terminal; or synchronization information.
However, Velev teaches that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, before the responding a second message to the terminal based on the first message, the method further comprises: performing, by a second node, at least one of the following: sending a third message to a first node; or obtaining a sensing assistance context of the terminal from the first node, wherein the third message comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the terminal; an indication indicating that the terminal supports a sensing assistance function; an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by the terminal; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the terminal; or synchronization information (“the UE 402 may send a NAS registration request message to the RAN 404 that may include: a UE ID (e.g., SUPI)” – See [0083]; “In a second communication 414 transmitted from the RAN 404 to the serving AMF 406, the RAN 404 may send the NAS registration request message to the serving AMF 406” – See [0084]; When the messages are NAS (non-access stratum) messages, the base station/second node sends a third message 414 to the AMF (a first node), wherein the third message includes a UE ID (terminal identifier)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bayesteh such that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, before the responding a second message to the terminal based on the first message, the method further comprises: performing, by a second node, at least one of the following: sending a third message to a first node; or obtaining a sensing assistance context of the terminal from the first node, wherein the third message comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the terminal; an indication indicating that the terminal supports a sensing assistance function; an indication indicating a sensing service type supported by the terminal; an indication indicating a sensing function type supported by the terminal; or synchronization information. Motivation for doing so would be to provide an access management function with information that allows it to authenticate the registering terminal (See Velev, [0064]).
Regarding Claim 17, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 16. Bayesteh further teaches that when the first message and the second message are sensing control layer messages, the network side node is a first node that implements a sensing control function (“FIG. 5 illustrates, in a signal flow diagram, interaction between a UE 110 and a BS 170 for arranging sensing assisted by the UE 110” – See [0061]; The first and second messages are part of a sensing control layer between the base station and the UE. Furthermore, the base station (network side node) is a first node that implements a sensing control function, as shown in Fig. 5).
Bayesteh does not explicitly teach that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, the network side node is a second node configured to implement an access and mobility management function.
However, Velev teaches that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, the network side node is a second node configured to implement an access and mobility management function (“the UE 402 may send a NAS registration request message to the RAN 404 that may include: a UE ID (e.g., SUPI)” – See [0083]; “In a second communication 414 transmitted from the RAN 404 to the serving AMF 406, the RAN 404 may send the NAS registration request message to the serving AMF 406” – See [0084]; The first and second messages are NAS messages and the network side node is an AMF (access and mobility management function)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bayesteh such that when the first message and the second message are non-access stratum messages, the network side node is a second node configured to implement an access and mobility management function for the same reasons as those given with respect to Claim 9.
Claims 11, 13, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bayesteh et al. (US 2022/0155435) in view of Shan (US 2022/0095260).
Regarding Claim 11, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 5. Bayesteh does not explicitly teach that the configuration information of the protocol data unit session used for sensing comprises at least one of the following: a data network name; or a slice identifier.
However, Shan teaches that the configuration information of the protocol data unit session used for sensing comprises at least one of the following: a data network name; or a slice identifier (“a PDU session or “session” may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE 301 and a data network (DN) 303 identified by a Data Network Name (DNN)” – See [0377]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bayesteh such that the configuration information of the protocol data unit session used for sensing comprises at least one of the following: a data network name; or a slice identifier. Motivation for doing so would be to enable the data network that exchanges PDUs with the terminal to be identified (See Shan, [0377]).
Regarding Claim 13, Bayesteh teaches the method of Claim 12. Bayesteh does not explicitly teach that when the terminal is not registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, an initial registration message to the network side node; and when the terminal has been registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, a registration update message to the network side node.
However, Shan teaches that when the terminal is not registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, an initial registration message to the network side node; and when the terminal has been registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, a registration update message to the network side node (“In the Registration Request message (e.g. initial Registration Request” – See [0044]; “The Registration type may indicate if the UE wants to perform an Initial Registration (e.g. the UE is in RM-DEREGISTERED state), a Mobility Registration Update (e.g. the UE is in RM-REGISTERED state and initiates a Registration procedure due to mobility or due to the UE needs to update its capabilities or protocol parameters, or to request a change of the set of network slices it is allowed to use” – See [0050]; When the terminal is not registered, an initial registration message is sent, and when the terminal has been registered, a registration update message is sent).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bayesteh such that when the terminal is not registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, an initial registration message to the network side node; and when the terminal has been registered as the sensing assistance node, sending, by the terminal, a registration update message to the network side node. Motivation for doing so would be allow the UE to indicate the type of registration it wants to perform (See Shan, [0050]).
Claim 18 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 11.
Conclusion
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478