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 filed 4/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Lin and Cheng does not disclose all the particulars of the claim, especially the limitations of,
transmit or receive a signal comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion comprises an advertisement signal and the second portion comprises a positioning signal usable by a first node to determine a location of the first node with respect to a second node, and
wherein the first portion is transmitted or received using a first radio device and the second portion is transmitted or received using the first radio device or a second radio device based on an instruction.
However, due to the broadness of the claim language, Examiner asserts that Lin does disclose the limitations of
transmit or receive a signal comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion comprises an advertisement signal and the second portion comprises a positioning signal usable by a first node to determine a location of the first node with respect to a second node (Fig. 13, [0167]-[0172], [0169]: receiving, at the UE from the network, a signal comprising a positioning configuration indicating disjoint bandwidths containing a positioning reference signal (the second portion) and an advertised preferred bandwidth (the first portion)),
wherein the first portion is transmitted or received using a first radio device and the second portion is transmitted or received using the first radio device or a second radio device based on an instruction (Fig. 13, [0167]-[0172], [0169]: the UE transmitting a first portion which is one or more indications of preferred bandwidth configurations and then receiving, at the UE from the network a second portion which is a signal that comprises a positioning configuration indicating disjoint bandwidths containing a positioning reference signal and an advertised preferred bandwidth).
Objection
Claim 22 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 16-21, 23, 24, 26-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (US 2022/0045811; hereinafter Lin).
Regarding claims 16, 29 and 30, Lin discloses an apparatus comprising:
at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 3: UE), cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit or receive a signal comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion comprises an advertisement signal and the second portion comprises a positioning signal usable by a first node to determine a location of the first node with respect to a second node (Fig. 13, [0167]-[0172], [0169]: receiving, at the UE from the network, a signal that comprises a positioning configuration indicating disjoint bandwidths containing a positioning reference signal and an advertised preferred bandwidth),
wherein the first portion is transmitted or received using a first radio device and the second portion is transmitted or received using the first radio device or a second radio device based on an instruction (Fig. 13, [0167]-[0172], [0169]: the UE transmitting a first portion which is one or more indications of preferred bandwidth configurations and then receiving, at the UE from the network a second portion which is a signal that comprises a positioning configuration indicating disjoint bandwidths containing a positioning reference signal and an advertised preferred bandwidth).
Regarding claim 17, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second portion of the signal is transmitted or received using the second radio device in place of the first radio device based on the instruction ([0172]: wherein the UE can initiate the request from the base station for said positioning configuration signal).
Regarding claim 18, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the instruction is provided by the advertisement signal of the first portion (Fig. 13, [0167]-[0172], [0169]: receiving, at the UE from the network, a signal that comprises a positioning configuration indicating disjoint bandwidths containing a positioning reference signal and an advertised preferred bandwidth).
Regarding claim 19, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16 configured to calculate a start time or end time of the second portion based on a reference point in the advertisement signal ([0171]: positioning reference signal).
Regarding claim 20, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second portion of the signal transmitted or received by the second radio device has a wider bandwidth than that of the first radio device ([0047], [0117]: wider bandwidth).
Regarding claim 21, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16 configured to change a center frequency of the second portion of the signal to be transmitted or received by the second radio device ([0101], [0118], : the center frequency).
Regarding claim 23, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, configured to provide first and second channels associated with signal outputs of the first and second radio devices respectively, one or more antennas being associated with at least the first channel wherein the apparatus is further configured to direct or switch the signal output of the second radio device to the one or more antennas associated with the first channel during transmitting or receiving the second portion of the signal based on the instruction ([0073], [0084], [0086], [201]: Bluetooth).
Regarding claim 24, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first radio device is a Bluetooth radio device ([0073], [0084], [0086], [201]: Bluetooth).
Regarding claim 26, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second radio device is a Wi-Fi, 5G, or ultra-wideband (UWB) radio device, the second portion being transmitted or received by the second radio device having a wider bandwidth than that of the first radio device ([0061]: use of UWB).
Regarding claim 27, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further configured to receive the signal comprising the first portion and the second portion and process the positioning signal in the second portion to determine the location of the first node with respect to the second node ([0171]: using the disjoint bandwidth for recceing positioning data from the base station).
Regarding claim 28, Lin discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein processing the positioning signal comprises Angle of Arrival processing, Angle of Departure processing, or relative time of arrival processing ([0049]: TOA estimate).
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.
Claim(s) 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Cheng et al. (US 2022/0247226; hereinafter Cheng).
Regarding claim 25, Lin discloses all the particulars of the claim but is unclear about the apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein the second portion of the signal transmitted or received using the first radio device is a Constant Tone Extension (CTE).
However, Cheng does disclose the limitation of wherein the second portion of the signal transmitted or received using the first radio device is a Constant Tone Extension (CTE) ([0163]: CTE process is within the Bluetooth core specification that can be used with BLUETOOTH version 5.1).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of invention to incorporate Cheng’s disclosure to provide updated BLUETOOTH capability.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 CHUCK HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)272-7866. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10am - 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHUCK HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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