DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed on 08/14/2023, in which claims 1-36 pending and ready for examination.
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.
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 1-6, 8, 9-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 102 (a) (2) as being anticipated by Oteri et al. (hereinafter, ‘Oteri”; 20240057012).
In response to claims 1 and 9,
Oteri teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories (paragraph 107, device 106 or 107 is equated to a user equipment, paragraph 113 teaches using a memory);
one or more reception antennas (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to antenna);
one or more transceivers (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to transceiver); and
one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, configured to (paragraph 113 teaches using a processor for the claimed functionality):
transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a UE capability message indicating a capability of the UE to process one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted from one or more transmission antennas and received at the one or more reception antennas (fig. 11, step 1102, paragraph 152, reporting to a base station is interpreted as transmitting via one or more transceiver, one or more capabilities associated with positioning is read as a UE capability message indicating a capability of the UE to process one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted from one or more transmission antennas and received at the one or more reception antennas);
receive, via the one or more transceivers, assistance data comprising information for processing the one or more PRS transmitted from the one or more transmission antennas based on the UE capability message (fig.11, step 1104, paragraph 153, a reference signal configuration for the positioning procedure is equated to a assistance data comprising information for processing the one or more PRS, a reference signal configuration for the positioning procedure from the network explicitly teaches this limitation);
receive, via the one or more reception antennas, the one or more PRS from the one or more transmission antennas (paragraph 153, configuring a reference signal that include a number of resource blocks configuration for positioning reference signal is interpreted as receiving via the one or more reception antennas, the one or more PRS from the one or more transmission antennas); and
obtain one or more measurements based on the one or more PRS and associate each of the one or more measurements with one of the one or more transmission antennas as a PRS source antenna and one of the one or more reception antennas as a PRS reception antenna (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to a PRS source antenna and one of the one or more reception antennas as a PRS reception antenna, paragraph 154, step 1106, performing reference signal measurement based on reference signal configuration explicitly teaches this limitation).
In response to claims 2 and 10,
Oteri teaches wherein the PRS source antenna comprises the one of the one or more transmission antennas that transmitted the one or more PRS from which the one or more associated measurements is obtained (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to the PRS source antenna comprises the one of the one or more transmission antennas, paragraph 154, step 1106, performing reference signal measurement based on reference signal configuration using one or more PRS from which the one or more associated measurements is obtained, paragraph 156, transmitting a reference signal configuration for the positioning procedure is read as transmitting the one or more PRS from which the one or more associated measurements is obtained).
In response to claims 3 and 11,
Oteri teaches wherein the PRS reception antenna comprises the one or more of the reception antennas that received the one or more PRS from which the one or more associated measurements is obtained (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to the PRS reception antenna comprises the one or more of the reception antennas that receives, paragraph 155, receiving a first repetition of FH PRS in a first frequency bandwidth is read as receiving the one or more PRS from which the one or more associated measurements is obtained).
In response to claims 4 and 12,
Oteri teaches wherein the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS transmitted by a plurality of transmission antennas (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to a plurality of transmission antennas, fig. 11, step 1102, paragraph 152, one or more capabilities associated with positioning that includes a number of bandwidth switches for effective coverage is interpreted as the capability of the UE indicates to receive the one or more PRS, using one or more capabilities associated with positioning that includes a number of bandwidth switches for effective coverage is interpreted as the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS transmitted by a plurality of transmission antennas),
each transmission antenna configured with a different positioning frequency layer (paragraph 154, using a first and a second frequency explicitly teaches each transmission antenna configured with a different positioning frequency layer).
In response to claims 5 and 13,
Oteri teaches wherein the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS transmitted by a plurality of transmission antennas (fig. 4 and paragraph 107, element 435 is equated to a plurality of transmission antennas, fig. 11, step 1102, paragraph 152, one or more capabilities associated with positioning that includes a number of bandwidth switches for effective coverage is interpreted as the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS),
each transmission antenna configured with a different frequency offset within a positioning frequency layer (fig. 9A or 9B, paragraph 146, the frequency hopping pattern as shown in figure 9A or 9B is interpreted as using frequency offset, using smallest to largest frequency is read as using different layers, paragraph 154, using a first and a second frequency bandwidth is interpreted as each transmission antenna configured with a different frequency).
In response to claims 6 and 14,
Oteri teaches wherein the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS with antenna switching among a plurality of reception antennas (fig.11, step 1104, paragraph 153, receiving a reference signal configuration for the positioning procedure from the network based on the reported capability message is read as the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS, performing frequency hopping from a first frequency bandwidth to a second frequency bandwidth explicitly teaches receive the one or more PRS with antenna switching among a plurality of reception antennas).
In response to claims 8 and 16,
Oteri teaches wherein the UE capability message includes an on-demand request for PRS transmissions (paragraph 152, bandwidth switches that is needed for covering an effective bandwidth is equated to an on-demand request for PRS transmissions, using one or more capabilities that include bandwidth switches that is needed for covering an effective bandwidth teaches this limitation).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-30 are allowed.
Claims 7 and 15 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.
As for claims 17 and 20, these independent claims allowed, because there is no prior art in the record that teaches claimed limitations “transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a TRP capability message indicating a capability of the TRP to transmit one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) from the one or more transmission antennas; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a PRS resource configuration message comprising information for transmitting PRS using the one or more transmission antennas based on the TRP capability message; transmit, using the one or more transmission antennas, the one or more PRS based on the PRS resource configuration message, wherein one or more identifiers for the one or more PRS incorporates identifiers of the one or more transmission antennas as one or more sources of the one or more PRS.”
The closet reasonable prior art in the record Cheema et al.(20230199701) teaches in paragraphs 133-136 about a base station sending a time-frequency indication with a PRS message to a UE, he also teaches sending a configuration comprising a measurement of PRS of frequencies to a UE, but he fails to teach the above cited limitation.
As for claims 23 and 30, these claims are these independent claims allowed, because there is no prior art in the record that teaches claimed limitations “receive, from a user equipment (UE), a UE capability message indicating a capability of the UE to process one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted from one or more transmission antennas and received at one or more reception antennas of the UE; receive, from a transmission/reception point (TRP), a TRP capability message indicating a capability of the TRP to transmit the one or more PRS from the one or more transmission antennas; determine a PRS resource configuration based on the UE capability message and the TRP capability message; send, via the one or more transceivers to the TRP, a PRS resource configuration message comprising information for transmitting PRS using the one or more transmission antennas based on the TRP capability message; and send, via the one or more transceivers to the UE, assistance data comprising information for processing the PRS transmitted from the one or more transmission antennas based on the UE capability message.”
The closet reasonable prior art in the record Cheema et al.(20230199701) teaches in paragraphs 133-136 about a base station sending a time-frequency indication with a PRS message to a UE, he also teaches sending a configuration comprising a measurement of PRS of frequencies to a UE, but he fails to teach the above cited limitation.
Dependent claims 18-19, 21-22, 24-26, 28-29 and 31-36 are allowed because these claims depend on independent on claims 17, 20, 23 and 30.
As for dependent claims 7 and 15, these claims are objected, because these is no prior art in the record that teaches claimed limitations “wherein the UE capability message indicates the capability of the UE to receive the one or more PRS without antenna switching among a plurality of reception antennas.”
The closest prior art in the record Oteri et al. (20240057012) teaches in paragraphs 152-155 about a UE reporting a UE capability message, receiving a notification from a base station and performing a measurement for a bandwidth based on the notification, and doing frequency hopping for effective communication, but he fails to teach the cited limitation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
20240056249……………….paragraphs 152-154.
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/ABUSAYEED M HAQUE/Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/CHRISTOPHER M CRUTCHFIELD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466