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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR 10-2022-0189882, filed on December 29, 2022, has been filed in Application No. 18/491,468, filed on November 21, 2023. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/07/2026 has been considered by examiner and made of record in the application file.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/13/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant Argues (Remarks, page 4, 02/13/2026):
The presently amended claims are directed to a technique for temporally controlling a reception gain based on a first arrival path (FAP)-based time estimation, thereby accurately estimating time and angle information of a direct path even in a multipath environment and utilizing such information for high-precision wireless positioning. In particular, the amended claims address a situation in which a direct path (DP) signal 530 is not completely blocked but is attenuated, while still being receivable. In such a situation, the amended claims are distinguished in that gain control is performed so as to enable reception of the direct path signal. Referring to FIG. 5 of the present disclosure, although a signal 541, that is, an FAP signal, which is first received at or above a predetermined reception level by a receiver 520 corresponds to a reflected path signal, gain control enables reception of a direct path signal 530. Through such gain control, the direct path signal is measured, and measurement values (e.g., distance and angle) derived therefrom are used for positioning. This constitutes the core concept of the presently-presented claims.
Examiner Respectfully Disagrees:
Applicant independent claim 1 is not limited to a scenario wherein direct path (DP) signal is not completely blocked. For instance, claim 1, lines 4-5, estimating a first time interval corresponding toa a first path detected as a first arrival path (FAP) among one or more paths through which the first signal is received. As claimed, the first communication node is receiving a first signal path from multiple paths, but none of these paths guarantee direct path between the nodes. Therefore, one in ordinary skill in the art with broadest reasonable interpretation can interpret another scenario wherein the path between the first and second nodes are completely blocked and thus the first communication node will only receive signal via reflected paths. Then using the estimated time interval to pick the path with earliest time interval such as time of arrival (ToA) as the “Direct Path.”
Applicant Further Argues (Remarks, page 5, 02/13/2026):
1) controlling a reception gain differently according to a time interval;
2) defining a gain control function based on an FAP signal (i.e., controlling a gain before and after a first time interval as recited in the claims), such that increasing the gain enables reception of a direct path signal;
3) suppressing multipath components through gain control so as to "recover" a weak LoS component; and
4) a hierarchical reception structure comprising a first reception gain adjustment second reception. Specifically, the present embodiments have a hierarchical structure in which, in a first round, an FAP signal is received to estimate a time interval (the first time interval (τ₂) as recited in the claims and illustrated in FIG. 6), and thereafter, the gain is adjusted to receive the direct path and estimate an actual time interval of the direct path (the second time interval (τ₁)). Positioning is then performed using the estimated time interval of the direct path.
Examiner Respectfully Disagrees:
1) SADIQ Fig.5A, Fig.5B, and paragraph 55, disclose of adjusting the gain to the earliest time of arrival (ToA) (Sadiq, paragraph [0055], Fig.5A:5B, " In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas (e.g., antennas 352 in FIG. 3) in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., RSRP, SINR, etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction.”). As shown in Fig.5B a beam is created which is equivalent to adjusting the gain compared to other received clusters which are signal received from different paths.
2) Applicant amended claim 1 to specify the “defining a first gain control function…” is change from a first gain to a second gain. Sadiq implies there is a first gain as shown in Fig.5A, but the examiner is relying on Chuang to teach the first node is preemptively adjusting to first gain to properly receive all the multipath signal. Then, Sadiq discloses adjusting that initial gain in Fig.5A to create a beam, such as Fig.5B:524, to the earliest time of arrival.
3) Independent Claims 1, and 10 do not state suppressing multipath component. The claim is describing a form of beamforming wherein the first node will increase the gain in one direction of the earliest first-time interval. Sadiq describes this type of beamforming in Fig.5B:524 and paragraph 55.
4) Sadiq describes the “hierarchical reception structure” as mapped in rejection of claim 1. See Sadiq, paragraphs 55-56, 61, 63, Figs.5A and 5B. Specifically paragraph 61 discloses the “subsequent measurement of a reference RF signal, the receiver can reuse the receive beam for the new reference RF…”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4, lines 5-6, recites the limitation “controlling a reception gain for a component received after the estimated first time interval to a second gain that is smaller than the first gain” renders the claim indefinite because claim 1, last three lines, recites the limitation “wherein the first gain control function is definite to change the reception gain of the first communication node from a first gain to a second gain…the second gain being a larger gain than the first gain.” It’s unclear to which gain the first communication node is adjusting to or which adjustment is larger.
Regarding Claim 12, which is similar in scope to claim 4, thus rejected under the same rationale.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in further view of JIANG (US-20210286041-A1) (IDS).
Regarding Claim 1, SADIQ discloses an operation method of a first communication node in a communication system, the operation method comprising:
receiving a first signal (par.61, previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.)) from a second communication node (par.56, a UE 104/350/404) of the communication system (paragraph [0056], Fig.5A, "FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary representation of a wireless channel between a transmitter (e.g., a base station 102/310/402 or a UE 104/350/404) and a receiver 504 (e.g., another of a UE 104/350/404 or a base station 102/310/402) from the point of view of the receiver 504…A “cluster” corresponding to an RF signal is formed when the RF signal (i.e., an electromagnetic wave) reflects off of one or more surfaces of one or more objects as it travels from the transmitter to the receiver 504," and paragraph [0061], “previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.)” (i.e., UE 504 receiving signal from a transmitter as shown in 5A. Examiner is reading as all the cluster are multipath signals from one source. The “previous reception of reference RF signals” will be explained later in rejection of claim 1.));
estimating a first time interval (par.57, Time of Arrival ToA) corresponding to a first path detected as a first arrival path (FAP) among one or more paths through which the first signal is received (paragraph [0057], Fig.5A, "In FIG. 5A, each cluster 512 is illustrated as one circle. The angle between a cluster/circle 512 and the receiver 504 indicates the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of that cluster 512 at the receiver 504…The size and shade of a cluster/circle 512 represents the time of arrival at the receiver 504 of that cluster 512, where a smaller size and a darker shade of the cluster/circle 512 indicate an earlier time of arrival than a larger size and a lighter shade." (i.e., "a first time interval" reading as time of arrival and is shown as the size of the cluster as the smaller cluster is the earliest ToA.));
defining a first gain control function (par.55, receiver gain settings) based on the estimated first time interval (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." and paragraph [0055], "In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas (e.g., antennas 352 in FIG. 3) in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., beamforming is reading on "defining a first gain control function". The beamforming is formed based on the ToA as shown by Fig.5B:524 beamforming to the earliest ToA since it’s the smallest cluster.));
receiving a second signal (par.61, new reference RF signal measurement) transmitted from the second communication node by variably controlling a reception gain based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0061], Fig.5B, "The receiver can determine which receive beam is best suited for performing which type of measurement based on experimenting with different receive beams during previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.) and performing one or more measurements (e.g., RSRP, ToA, etc.) on the received RF signals. Then, for a subsequent measurement of a reference RF signal, the receiver can reuse the receive beam for the new reference RF signal measurement that was best suited for that type of measurement previously, provided its location and/or environment has not meaningfully changed since the previous measurement." (i.e., Examiner is reading as there is retransmissions, for instance, "previous reception" meaning there was a first signal, such as Fig.5A and Fig.5B is the next set of signals but now the receiver has a defined beam to focus on that earliest ToA signal. Read more on par.70 on "previous reception". “A reception gain” is reading using the beam for the new reference RF signal measurement and its controlling since with the previous measurement there was no specific beam.));
estimating a second time interval corresponding to a direct path (DP) between the first and second communication nodes (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." (i.e., as stated in paragraph 61, the "new reference signal" is the second signal and discloses identifying the ToA of that second signal.)),
based on a result of receiving the second signal based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0061], " The receiver can determine which receive beam is best suited for performing which type of measurement based on experimenting with different receive beams during previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.) and performing one or more measurements (e.g., RSRP, ToA, etc.) on the received RF signals." (i.e., the first gain control function is the beam formed from previous RF signal i.e., first signal and the Fig.5B is shows the ToA of the second signal and thus showing the receiver estimating the ToA based on the second signal.)).
and wherein the first gain control function is defined to change the reception gain of the first communication node from a (paragraph [0055], "In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas (e.g., antennas 352 in FIG. 3) in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., After receiving first signal and determining ToA, the beamforming is adjusted to a different value. "A first gain" does read on the initial gain the receiving UE Fig.5:504 set but will be explicitly mapped by another prior art. Chuang will explicitly disclose “a first gain.”)),
based on the estimated first time interval (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." (i.e., Again, adjusting the beamforming based on the ToA of the first signal.)),
the second gain being a larger gain than the first gain (paragraph [0055], Fig.5B:524, "Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., RSRP, SINR, etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., the UE initially has a default gain when receiving all the reference RF signal in Fig.5A, the UE then adjust the beam on direction that is higher in one particular direction Fig.5B:524 and therefore the gain is of the receiver is larger for the earliest ToA.)).
However, SADIQ does not disclose a first gain, transmitting relative distance information on the second time interval to a first positioning device, wherein the information on the second time interval is used for the first positioning device to perform a positioning operation for the second communication node, and the second communication node is a positioning target.
Chuang discloses to a first gain (paragraph [0069], "The UE 704-1 further needs the direction information of the SL-PRS transmission from the UE 704-2, or the presence of another reference signal from the UE 704-2 having similar transmission direction as the SL-PRS. This information facilitates the UE 704-1 to adjust its beamforming before receiving the SL-PRS, in order to properly receive the directional SL-PRS signal." (i.e., The UE is setting up beamforming before receiving any RF signals from other UE.))
SADIQ and Chuang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field local resource management, between terminals. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to adjust the beamforming before receiving any signal because it’s obvious to try to adjust the beam in order to maximize the signal strength and quality of the RF signal upon arrival.
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang do not disclose transmitting relative distance information on the second time interval to a first positioning device, wherein the information on the second time interval is used for the first positioning device to perform a positioning operation for the second communication node, and the second communication node is a positioning target.
JIANG discloses transmitting relative distance information on the second time interval to a first positioning device (paragraph [0040], Fig.2, "As shown in FIG. 2, a positioning apparatus 1 includes a processing circuitry 10 configured to determine location information of the mobile node based on distance measurement information determined by a neighbor node of the mobile node in response to distance measurement requests sent by the mobile node multiple times and location information of the neighbor node." And paragraph [0043], "According to the present disclosure, the mobile node may send distance measurement requests to a neighbor node multiple times in a form of, for example, a broadcast, and the neighbor node may perform distance measurement in response to the distance measurement requests sent by the mobile node multiple times, that is, the neighbor node measures the distance between the neighbor node and tire mobile node sending the distance measurement request." and paragraph [0045], "the neighbor node performs distance measurement in response to each of the multiple distance measurement requests sent by the mobile node multiple times." and paragraph [0048], “…the neighbor node may fed back the distance measurement results of the distance measurements that are performed to the positioning apparatus 1, so that the positioning apparatus 1 collects more information for positioning the mobile node…” (i.e., the neighboring nodes which maps to Sadiq Fig.5:504 receiver sends the measurement of mobile node to a positioning apparatus.)),
wherein the information on the second time interval is used for the first positioning device to perform a positioning operation for the second communication node, and the second communication node is a positioning target (paragraph [0040], Fig.2, "As shown in FIG. 2, a positioning apparatus 1 includes a processing circuitry 10 configured to determine location information of the mobile node based on distance measurement information determined by a neighbor node of the mobile node in response to distance measurement requests sent by the mobile node multiple times and location information of the neighbor node." and paragraph [0046], "The neighbor node feeds back all the distance measurement results of the measurements performed by mobile node to the positioning apparatus in response to the last one of distance measurement requests of the mobile node," (i.e., The positioning apparatus gathers measurement from the neighboring nodes to perform positioning of the mobile node.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang and Jiang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the teachings of Jiang to send all the measurement performed by a first communication node to a positioning apparatus (Jiang, Fig.2:1, positioning apparatus) in order to reduce signaling and Jiang also enables to first node to perform a plurality of measurement in order to increase accuracy (Jiang, paragraph [0012], “The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure can achieve at least the following advantages: a search area can be effectively reduced m the positioning process by sending the distance measurement requests multiple times, thereby eliminating the mirror-image error and significantly reducing the positioning error.” and paragraph [0046], “The neighbor node feeds back all the distance measurement results of the measurements performed by mobile node to the positioning apparatus in response to the last one of distance measurement requests of the mobile node, thereby reducing unnecessary communication overhead.”).
Regarding Claim 2, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
SADIQ further discloses further comprising, after receiving the first signal, estimating a first angle of arrival corresponding to the FAP (paragraph [0057], Fig.5A, "In FIG. 5A, each cluster 512 is illustrated as one circle. The angle between a cluster/circle 512 and the receiver 504 indicates the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of that cluster 512 at the receiver 504." (i.e., Fig.5A shows the AoA as the big circle and the cluster is the AoA that the signal arrived.)).
Regarding Claim 5, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
SADIQ further discloses wherein in the estimating of the second time interval, when the estimated second time interval and the estimated first time interval have a same value, the first path is determined to correspond to the direct path (paragraph [0061], "Then, for a subsequent measurement of a reference RF signal, the receiver can reuse the receive beam for the new reference RF signal measurement that was best suited for that type of measurement previously, provided its location and/or environment has not meaningfully changed since the previous measurement…As another example, the receive beam that produces the most reliable ToA estimate (e.g., the highest strength of the first detected channel tap) would be selected as the most-suited for performing a ToA measurement and would be selected for that purpose subsequently." and paragraph [0070], "In an aspect, the previously received reference RF signal may be a previous transmission of the current reference RF signal to be measured, or a reference RF signal transmitted using the same transmit beam as the reference RF signal to be measured. That is, the previous reference RF signal and the reference RF signal to be measured may be spatially quasi collocated." (i.e., SADIQ discloses as long as the relative location of the transmitter does not move the signal arriving at the receiver would be at the same ToA as shown by Fig.5A, 5B and its needs to be the same location because SADIQ is creating a beam based on previous RF signals. Fig.5A:514 discloses as earliest ToA and considered as the LOS, and 5B:514 could be the subsequent RF signal but now the receiver having a beam to focus on that 514 signal which correlates to the LOS/direct path.)).
Regarding Claim 6, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
SADIQ further discloses further comprising, after receiving the second signal, estimating a second angle of arrival corresponding to the direct path (paragraph [0061], Fig.5A,5B, "The receiver can determine which receive beam is best suited for performing which type of measurement based on experimenting with different receive beams during previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.)…provided its location and/or environment has not meaningfully changed since the previous measurement." (i.e., Figure 5A and 5B and paragraph 61 indicates that 5A could be the previous measurement as in "the first signal" and 5B is the second signal, and 5B shows the AOA as the big circle.)).
Jiang further discloses wherein in the transmitting of the information on the second time interval to the first positioning device, information on the second angle of arrival is transmitted to the first positioning device together with the information on the second time interval (paragraph [0042], " For example, the neighbor node may perform the distance measurement using a conventional distance measurement technique such as RSSI (received signal strength indication), TDOA (time difference of arrival), TOA (time of arrival), and AOA (angle of arrival), and the specific operations thereof are known in the field, which is not repeated here. " and paragraph [0046], “The neighbor node feeds back all the distance measurement results of the measurements performed by mobile node to the positioning apparatus in response to the last one of distance measurement requests of the mobile node,” (i.e., Jiang discloses neighboring nodes to transmit AoA to the positioning apparatus, SADIQ discloses time of arrival and angle of arrival as disclosed Fig.5A,5B.)).
The proposed combination as well as the motivations for combining the references presented in the rejection of the parent claim apply to this claim and are incorporated herein by reference.
Claim(s) 10-11, 13-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in further view of Yue (US-20250048407-A1).
Regarding Claim 10, SADIQ discloses a first communication node (Fig.5B:504) in a communication system (Fig.1), comprising a processor (Fig.2:210, processor), wherein the processor causes the first communication node to perform:
receiving a first signal from a second communication node of the communication system (paragraph [0056], Fig.5A, "FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary representation of a wireless channel between a transmitter (e.g., a base station 102/310/402 or a UE 104/350/404) and a receiver 504 (e.g., another of a UE 104/350/404 or a base station 102/310/402) from the point of view of the receiver 504…A “cluster” corresponding to an RF signal is formed when the RF signal (i.e., an electromagnetic wave) reflects off of one or more surfaces of one or more objects as it travels from the transmitter to the receiver 504," and paragraph [0061], “previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.)” (i.e., UE 504 receiving signal from a transmitter as shown in 5A. Examiner is reading as all the cluster are multipath signals from one source. The “previous reception of reference RF signals” will be explained later in rejection of claim 10.));
estimating a first time interval corresponding to a first path detected as a first arrival path (FAP) among one or more paths through which the first signal is received (paragraph [0057], Fig.5A, "In FIG. 5A, each cluster 512 is illustrated as one circle. The angle between a cluster/circle 512 and the receiver 504 indicates the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of that cluster 512 at the receiver 504…The size and shade of a cluster/circle 512 represents the time of arrival at the receiver 504 of that cluster 512, where a smaller size and a darker shade of the cluster/circle 512 indicate an earlier time of arrival than a larger size and a lighter shade." (i.e., "a first time interval" reading as time of arrival and is shown as the size of the cluster as the smaller cluster is the earliest ToA.));
defining a first gain control function based on the estimated first time interval (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." and paragraph [0055], "In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas (e.g., antennas 352 in FIG. 3) in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., beamforming is reading on "defining a first gain control function". The beamforming is formed based on the ToA as shown by Fig.5B:524 beamforming to the earliest ToA since it’s the smallest cluster.));
receiving a second signal transmitted from the second communication node by variably controlling a reception gain based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0061], Fig.5B, "The receiver can determine which receive beam is best suited for performing which type of measurement based on experimenting with different receive beams during previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.) and performing one or more measurements (e.g., RSRP, ToA, etc.) on the received RF signals. Then, for a subsequent measurement of a reference RF signal, the receiver can reuse the receive beam for the new reference RF signal measurement that was best suited for that type of measurement previously, provided its location and/or environment has not meaningfully changed since the previous measurement." (i.e., Examiner is reading as there is retransmissions, for instance, "previous reception" meaning there was a first signal, such as Fig.5A and Fig.5B is the next set of signals but now the receiver has a defined beam to focus on that earliest ToA signal. Read more on par.70 on "previous reception". “A reception gain” is reading using the beam for the new reference RF signal measurement and its controlling since with the previous measurement there was no specific beam.));
estimating a second time interval corresponding to a direct path (DP) between the first and second communication nodes (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." (i.e., as stated in paragraph 61, the "new reference signal" is the second signal and discloses identifying the ToA of that second signal.)),
based on a result of receiving the second signal based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0061], " The receiver can determine which receive beam is best suited for performing which type of measurement based on experimenting with different receive beams during previous receptions of reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, SS, etc.) and performing one or more measurements (e.g., RSRP, ToA, etc.) on the received RF signals." (i.e., the first gain control function is the beam formed from previous RF signal i.e., first signal and the Fig.5B is shows the ToA of the second signal and thus showing the receiver estimating the ToA based on the second signal.)),
wherein the first gain control function is defined to change the reception gain of the first communication node from a (paragraph [0055], "In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas (e.g., antennas 352 in FIG. 3) in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., After receiving first signal and determining ToA, the beamforming is adjusted to a different value. "A first gain" does read on the initial gain the receiving UE Fig.5:504 set but will be explicitly mapped by another prior art.)),
based on the estimated first time interval (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B:524, "In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster)." (i.e., Again, adjusting the beamforming based on the ToA of the first signal.)),
the second gain being a larger gain than the first gain (paragraph [0055], Fig.5B:524, "Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., RSRP, SINR, etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction." (i.e., the UE initially has a default gain when receiving all the reference RF signal in Fig.5A, the UE then adjust the beam on direction that is higher in one particular direction Fig.5B:524 and therefore the gain is of the receiver is larger for the earliest ToA.)).
However, SADIQ does not explicitly disclose a first gain and performing a positioning operation for the second communication node based on information on the second time interval, wherein the second communication node is a positioning target.
Chuang discloses to a first gain (paragraph [0069], "The UE 704-1 further needs the direction information of the SL-PRS transmission from the UE 704-2, or the presence of another reference signal from the UE 704-2 having similar transmission direction as the SL-PRS. This information facilitates the UE 704-1 to adjust its beamforming before receiving the SL-PRS, in order to properly receive the directional SL-PRS signal." (i.e., The UE is setting up beamforming before receiving any RF signals from other UE.))
SADIQ and Chuang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field local resource management, between terminals. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to adjust the beamforming before receiving any signal because it’s obvious to try to adjust the beam in order to maximize the signal strength and quality of the RF signal upon arrival.
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang do not explicitly disclose and performing a positioning operation for the second communication node based on information on the second time interval, wherein the second communication node is a positioning target.
Yue discloses and performing a positioning operation for the second communication node based on information on the second time interval, wherein the second communication node is a positioning target (paragraph [0182], Fig.8, "By using one or more of these mechanisms, an exchange of position information is triggered via a sidelink communication (e.g., directly between the UEs without interaction by the 5G network.) The UEs can then determine the position of the target UE by measurements made on the position information…" and paragraph [0186], "Six positioning methods are adopted for NR RAT dependent positioning solutions, namely, DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, UL-TDOA, UL-AOA, multi-RTT, and E-CID. For sidelink communications, timing based techniques can also be applied." and paragraph [0195], "In SL positioning, either the target UE 803 or an anchor UE 801 can trigger the SL positioning process, which initiates the transmission of SL Pos-RS and the corresponding information exchange. The information exchange may include the location information of the anchor UEs 801 to the target UE 803 or the measurements at anchor UEs 801 to the anchor UE 801 that performs the location estimation of the target UEs 803." (i.e., The anchor that obtains the information can estimate the location of the target UE. The anchor UE 801 that maps to Sadiq Fig.5:504 UE obtains measurement from other anchors and perform measurement of the target UE and in this case the target UE is the second communication node.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang and Yue are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of SADIQ (SADIQ, Fig.6) to have a plurality of UEs capable of determining the location of each other without relying on the 5G network such as situations where the UEs are outside the range of network coverage (Yue, paragraph [0182], “The UEs can then determine the position of the target UE by measurements made on the position information without the need to rely on location systems in the 5G network. As such, the present mechanisms cause UEs to perform beneficial functions, such as allowing UEs (e.g. vehicles) to determine their position even when outside the range of network coverage.”).
Regarding Claim 11, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
SADIQ further discloses wherein the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: after receiving the first signal, estimating a first angle of arrival corresponding to the FAP (paragraph [0057], Fig.5A, "In FIG. 5A, each cluster 512 is illustrated as one circle. The angle between a cluster/circle 512 and the receiver 504 indicates the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of that cluster 512 at the receiver 504." (i.e., Fig.5A shows the AoA as the big circle and the cluster is the AoA that the signal arrived.)).
Regarding Claim 13, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
SADIQ further discloses wherein in the estimating of the second time interval, the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: when the estimated second time interval and the estimated first time interval have a same value, determining the first path as corresponding to the direct path (paragraph [0061], "Then, for a subsequent measurement of a reference RF signal, the receiver can reuse the receive beam for the new reference RF signal measurement that was best suited for that type of measurement previously, provided its location and/or environment has not meaningfully changed since the previous measurement…As another example, the receive beam that produces the most reliable ToA estimate (e.g., the highest strength of the first detected channel tap) would be selected as the most-suited for performing a ToA measurement and would be selected for that purpose subsequently." and paragraph [0070], "In an aspect, the previously received reference RF signal may be a previous transmission of the current reference RF signal to be measured, or a reference RF signal transmitted using the same transmit beam as the reference RF signal to be measured. That is, the previous reference RF signal and the reference RF signal to be measured may be spatially quasi collocated." (i.e., SADIQ discloses as long as the relative location of the transmitter does not move the signal arriving at the receiver would be at the same ToA as shown by Fig.5A, 5B and its needs to be the same location because SADIQ is creating a beam based on previous RF signals. Fig.5A:514 discloses as earliest ToA and considered as the LOS, and 5B:514 could be the subsequent RF signal but now the receiver having a beam to focus on that 514 signal which correlates to the LOS/direct path.)).
Regarding Claim 14, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
SADIQ further discloses wherein the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: after receiving the second signal (Fig.5B:514), estimating a second angle of arrival corresponding to the direct path (paragraph [0063], Fig.5B “In contrast, if the receiver 504 is interested in measuring the time of arrival of the reference RF signal received over the shortest path, which also corresponds to the first detected channel tap, then the receiver 504 would beamform in the direction (AoA) of the cluster corresponding to the shortest path (i.e., the cluster from which a detectable RF signal arrives earlier than from any other cluster). In the example of FIG. 5B, the cluster with the earliest time of arrival is cluster 514 (represented as a small black circle).” (i.e., Fig.5B showing the receiver is performing AoA of the second signal. Again, as explain in rejection of claim 1, the UE 504 receives “previous transmissions” and calculates the AoA, it then uses those previous RF signals to create a beam for the subsequent RF signal and also calculates the AoA for that subsequent RF signal.)).
Regarding Claim 16, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
Yue discloses wherein in the performing of the positioning operation for the second communication node, the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: transmitting information on the second time interval to a first positioning device (paragraph [0182], Fig.8, " the target UE can either measure the location of the target UE or send the position information back to an anchor UE, such as a serving anchor UE, to allow the anchor UE to measure the location of the target UE. Position information from coordinating UEs can also be sent to a serving anchor UE, either directly or via target UE." (i.e., Examiner points to Fig.8 one of those Anchor UE is a coodinating UE and that can be SADIQ UE Fig.5A:504, then there is another UE that receives all the measurement from other UEs, thus the coordinating UE sending to the serving anchor UE that comprises relative distance information.)),
wherein the information on the second time interval is used for the first positioning device to perform the positioning operation for the second communication node (paragraph [0182], Fig.8, "By using one or more of these mechanisms, an exchange of position information is triggered via a sidelink communication (e.g., directly between the UEs without interaction by the 5G network.) The UEs can then determine the position of the target UE by measurements made on the position information…" and paragraph [0186], "Six positioning methods are adopted for NR RAT dependent positioning solutions, namely, DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, UL-TDOA, UL-AOA, multi-RTT, and E-CID. For sidelink communications, timing based techniques can also be applied." and paragraph [0195], "In SL positioning, either the target UE 803 or an anchor UE 801 can trigger the SL positioning process, which initiates the transmission of SL Pos-RS and the corresponding information exchange. The information exchange may include the location information of the anchor UEs 801 to the target UE 803 or the measurements at anchor UEs 801 to the anchor UE 801 that performs the location estimation of the target UEs 803." (i.e., The anchor that obtains the information can estimate the location of the target UE.)).
The proposed combination as well as the motivations for combining the references presented in the rejection of the parent claim apply to this claim and are incorporated herein by reference.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of JIANG (US-20210286041-A1) (IDS) in further view of Wang (US-20230079177-A1).
Regarding Claim 7, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
Jiang further discloses receiving a positioning request signal from the second communication node before receiving the first signal (paragraph [0043], "the mobile node may send distance measurement requests to a neighbor node multiple times in a form of, for example, a broadcast, and the neighbor node may perform distance measurement in response to the distance measurement requests sent by the mobile node multiple times, that is, the neighbor node measures the distance between the neighbor node and tire mobile node sending the distance measurement request." (i.e., The mobile node which is the second communication node request the neighbor node to perform distance measurement before sending the first signal.)).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang do not disclose determining whether the second communication node is located indoors or outdoors based on the positioning request signal.
Wang discloses determining whether the second communication node is located indoors or outdoors based on the positioning request signal (paragraph [0137], "…The positioning device obtains positioning measurement data from the terminal device, and determines, based on the positioning measurement data, whether the terminal device is located indoors or outdoors." (i.e., determining if the device is indoors or outdoors.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang and Wang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to determine if the UE that is transmitting RF signal is located indoor or outdoor in order for the receiving UE such as SADIQ Fig.5B:504 to can adjust the communication frequency and improve adaptation of communication of indoor and outdoor scenario (Wang, paragraph [0132], “In this way, a communication frequency of the terminal device can be flexibly adjusted, to avoid interference caused by an improper communication frequency of the terminal device to other communication in an indoor or outdoor scenario, and improve adaptation of communication of the terminal device to the indoor or outdoor scenario.”).
Claim(s) 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of Yue (US-20250048407-A1) in further view of Wang (US-20230079177-A1).
Regarding Claim 15, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
Yue further discloses wherein the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: receiving a positioning request signal from the second communication node before receiving the first signal (paragraph [0196], Fig.9, "FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating sidelink positioning 900 triggered by a target UE 903. Sidelink positioning and the SL Pos-RS transmissions may be triggered by an explicit request 905. Depending on which device performs the positioning or the timing/angle measurements, the explicit request 905 can be sent from the target UE 903 or an anchor UE 901." (i.e., target UE 903 sending a request Fig.9:905 which triggers SL Pos-RS.)).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue do not disclose and determining whether the second communication node is located indoors or outdoors based on the positioning request signal.
Wang discloses and determining whether the second communication node is located indoors or outdoors based on the positioning request signal (paragraph [0137], "…The positioning device obtains positioning measurement data from the terminal device, and determines, based on the positioning measurement data, whether the terminal device is located indoors or outdoors." (i.e., determining if the device is indoors or outdoors.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue and Wang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to determine if the UE that is transmitting RF signal is located indoor or outdoor in order for the receiving UE such as SADIQ Fig.5B:504 to can adjust the communication frequency and improve adaptation of communication of indoor and outdoor scenario (Wang, paragraph [0132], “In this way, a communication frequency of the terminal device can be flexibly adjusted, to avoid interference caused by an improper communication frequency of the terminal device to other communication in an indoor or outdoor scenario, and improve adaptation of communication of the terminal device to the indoor or outdoor scenario.”).
Claim(s) 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of JIANG (US-20210286041-A1) (IDS) in view of Cheng (US-20190274130-A1) in further view of Fischer (US-20240057015-A1).
Regarding Claim 8, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang do not disclose receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after the transmitting to the first positioning device; and performing communication with the second communication node based on the information on the estimated position.
Cheng discloses receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after the transmitting to the first positioning device (paragraph [0101], Fig.8:816,820, "the LMF 808 can calculate, at block 815, the location of the UE and send the location results back to the UE via the AMF and RAN." (i.e., Yue discloses sending the location measurement through sidelink and Cheng discloses the LMF can receive the measurements and calculate the location and sent it back to UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang and Cheng are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to have the location management function to determine the location of the target UE because Cheng provides a benefit of hiding the location from other users that may receive the location identified based on the measurement (Cheng, paragraph [0106], “The location results may be indexed using an External ID like that described in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8 above, so that the UE's location cannot be easily tracked by other users that may receive the location results 920 because the External ID changes frequently so tracking users for a long period of time is difficult. In some examples, the RAN may broadcast the location results to the UE using MBMS or the like.”).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Cheng do not disclose performing communication with the second communication node based on the information on the estimated position.
FISCHER discloses performing communication with the second communication node based on the information on the estimated position (paragraph [0110], Fig.7, "Exchanging location results at stage 8 may include both of UE 105A and UE 105B sending their location results to the other UE or just one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending its location results to the other UE. In the latter case, just the UE which sends its location results to the other UE may calculate its location results at stage 7." (i.e., Once the UE such as the anchor UE of Yue receives the location determination, the information determination is sends back to original UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Cheng and FISCHER are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the method of FISCHER (FISCHER, Fig. 7) as that would enable a plurality of UEs communicating to perform location determination of each other and not just have multiple UEs attempting to only help one UE to determine the location as its beneficial in having updated location with a coordinate group (FISCHER, paragraph [0121], “The signaling performed in signal flow 700 may be similar to or the same as the SLPP signaling discussed above in reference to FIG. 2 and as illustrated in signal flow 500 in FIG. 5, except that the SLPP signaling can involve a larger number of UEs.”).
Regarding Claim 9, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang do not disclose receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after the transmitting to the first positioning device; and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node.
Cheng discloses receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after the transmitting to the first positioning device (paragraph [0101], Fig.8:816,820, " the LMF 808 can calculate, at block 815, the location of the UE and send the location results back to the UE via the AMF and RAN." (i.e., Yue discloses sending the location measurement through sidelink and Cheng discloses the LMF can receive the measurements and calculate the location and sent it back to UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang and Cheng are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to have the location management function to determine the location of the target UE because Cheng provides a benefit of hiding the location from other users that may receive the location identified based on the measurement (Cheng, paragraph [0106], “The location results may be indexed using an External ID like that described in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8 above, so that the UE's location cannot be easily tracked by other users that may receive the location results 920 because the External ID changes frequently so tracking users for a long period of time is difficult. In some examples, the RAN may broadcast the location results to the UE using MBMS or the like.”).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Cheng do not disclose and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node.
FISCHER discloses and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node (paragraph [0110], Fig.7, "Exchanging location results at stage 8 may include both of UE 105A and UE 105B sending their location results to the other UE or just one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending its location results to the other UE. In the latter case, just the UE which sends its location results to the other UE may calculate its location results at stage 7." (i.e., Once the UE such as the anchor UE of Yue receives the location determination, the information determination is sends back to original UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Cheng and FISCHER are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the method of FISCHER (FISCHER, Fig. 7) as that would enable a plurality of UEs communicating to perform location determination of each other and not just have multiple UEs attempting to only help one UE to determine the location as its beneficial in having updated location with a coordinate group (FISCHER, paragraph [0121], “The signaling performed in signal flow 700 may be similar to or the same as the SLPP signaling discussed above in reference to FIG. 2 and as illustrated in signal flow 500 in FIG. 5, except that the SLPP signaling can involve a larger number of UEs.”).
Claim(s) 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of Yue (US-20250048407-A1) in view of Cheng (US-20190274130-A1) in further view of Fischer (US-20240057015-A1).
Regarding Claim 17, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 16.
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue do not disclose wherein in the performing of the positioning operation for the second communication node, the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after transmitting the information on the second time interval to the first positioning device; and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node.
Cheng discloses wherein in the performing of the positioning operation for the second communication node, the processor further causes the first communication node to perform: receiving information on an estimated position of the second communication node from the first positioning device after transmitting the information on the second time interval to the first positioning device (paragraph [0101], Fig.8:816,820, " the LMF 808 can calculate, at block 815, the location of the UE and send the location results back to the UE via the AMF and RAN." (i.e., Yue discloses sending the location measurement through sidelink and Cheng discloses the LMF can receive the measurements and calculate the location and sent it back to UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue and Cheng are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to have the location management function to determine the location of the target UE because Cheng provides a benefit of hiding the location from other users that may receive the location identified based on the measurement (Cheng, paragraph [0106], “The location results may be indexed using an External ID like that described in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8 above, so that the UE's location cannot be easily tracked by other users that may receive the location results 920 because the External ID changes frequently so tracking users for a long period of time is difficult. In some examples, the RAN may broadcast the location results to the UE using MBMS or the like.”).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Yue in further view of Cheng do not disclose and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node.
FISCHER discloses and transmitting information on the estimated position to the second communication node (paragraph [0110], Fig.7, "Exchanging location results at stage 8 may include both of UE 105A and UE 105B sending their location results to the other UE or just one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending its location results to the other UE. In the latter case, just the UE which sends its location results to the other UE may calculate its location results at stage 7." (i.e., Once the UE such as the anchor UE of Yue receives the location determination, the information determination is sends back to original UE.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Yue in further view of Cheng and FISCHER are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field location determination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the method of FISCHER (FISCHER, Fig. 7) as that would enable a plurality of UEs communicating to perform location determination of each other and not just have multiple UEs attempting to only help one UE to determine the location as its beneficial in having updated location with a coordinate group (FISCHER, paragraph [0121], “The signaling performed in signal flow 700 may be similar to or the same as the SLPP signaling discussed above in reference to FIG. 2 and as illustrated in signal flow 500 in FIG. 5, except that the SLPP signaling can involve a larger number of UEs.”).
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of JIANG (US-20210286041-A1) (IDS) in view of Li (US 20100190459 A1) in further view of Amizur (US 20140185709 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang discloses all the limitation of claim 1.
Chuang further discloses controlling a reception gain for a component received before the estimated first time interval to a first gain, based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0069], "The UE 704-1 further needs the direction information of the SL-PRS transmission from the UE 704-2, or the presence of another reference signal from the UE 704-2 having similar transmission direction as the SL-PRS. This information facilitates the UE 704-1 to adjust its beamforming before receiving the SL-PRS, in order to properly receive the directional SL-PRS signal." (i.e., examiner reading "a first gain" that is different from claim 1 "first gain" since the gain happens before claim 1 limitation "estimating a first time interval…")).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang do not disclose and controlling a reception gain for a component received after the estimated first time interval to a second gain that is smaller than the first gain, wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval.
Li discloses controlling a reception gain for a component received after the estimated first time interval to a second gain that is smaller than the first gain (paragraph [0036], "If the receiver gain setting(s) are properly selected, then terminal A may only need to adjust its receiver gain by a small amount instead of a large amount, which may improve performance. Terminal A may determine one or more receiver gain settings for each signal type based on the characteristics of the signals of that type," (i.e., SADIQ par.55 discloses adjust the reception gain after receiving the first time interval. Chuang discloses adjusting the beam before receiving the signal. In combination since adjusting the beam gain before receiving the signal Li discloses that a second adjustment could be a small amount than the initial adjustment.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Jiang and Li are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to adjust the beamforming after receiving the signal because it’s obvious to try to re-adjust the beamforming because of change of environment, to maintain connection and to properly track the direct path signal and enables the UE to adjust the beamforming depending on the different types of signal received (Li, paragraph [0036], “In an aspect, terminal A may use different receiver gain settings for different types of signals received in different frames. A receiver gain setting may also be referred to as a receiver gain mode, an AGC gain setting, an AGC mode, etc.”).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Li do not disclose wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval.
Amizur discloses wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval (paragraph [0047], Fig.7, "(5) calculating the LoS distance based on the earliest ToA. For example, the receiver 220 may estimate the channel for each of preamble A and preamble B. For each estimated channel, the receiver 220 may estimate the respective ToA. For each estimated ToA, the receiver 220 may calculate a respective score. Based on the scores of the estimated ToAs of the components of preamble A and preamble B, the receiver 220 may identify that preamble A has the earliest ToA or the strongest signal strength for its LoS component, or both, since preamble A was transmitted approximately along the line of sight between the transmitter 210 and the receiver 220." (i.e., comparing two signals and identifying one of the signals having an earlier ToA than the other signal.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Jiang in further view of Li and Amizur are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field estimates time of arrival (ToA) of a line-of-sight (LoS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the method of Amizur (Amizur, Fig.7) as that implement a score based decision on which signal is the LoS because there is a scenario where a decision needs to be made to differentiate between two signals with very close time and Amizur is solving that by implementing a score based chose of the LoS (Amizur, paragraph [0002], “In some cases, there may be one or more non-LoS components that arrive at the receiver very close in time to the arrival of the LoS component. This also makes it difficult to identify and measure the ToA of the LoS component.”).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SADIQ (US-20190372652-A1) in view of Chuang (US-20240147500-A1) in view of Yue (US-20250048407-A1) in view of Cheng (US-20190274130-A1) in view of Li (US 20100190459 A1) in further view of Amizur (US 20140185709 A1).
Regarding Claim 12, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue discloses all the limitation of claim 10.
Chuang further discloses controlling a reception gain for a component received before the estimated first time interval to a first gain, based on the first gain control function (paragraph [0069], "The UE 704-1 further needs the direction information of the SL-PRS transmission from the UE 704-2, or the presence of another reference signal from the UE 704-2 having similar transmission direction as the SL-PRS. This information facilitates the UE 704-1 to adjust its beamforming before receiving the SL-PRS, in order to properly receive the directional SL-PRS signal." (i.e., examiner reading "a first gain" that is different from claim 1 "first gain" since the gain happens before claim 1 limitation "estimating a first time interval…")).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue do not disclose and controlling a reception gain for a component received after the estimated first time interval to a second gain that is smaller than the first gain, wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval.
Li discloses controlling a reception gain for a component received after the estimated first time interval to a second gain that is smaller than the first gain (paragraph [0036], "If the receiver gain setting(s) are properly selected, then terminal A may only need to adjust its receiver gain by a small amount instead of a large amount, which may improve performance. Terminal A may determine one or more receiver gain settings for each signal type based on the characteristics of the signals of that type," (i.e., SADIQ par.55 discloses adjust the reception gain after receiving the first time interval. Chuang discloses adjusting the beam before receiving the signal. In combination since adjusting the beam gain before receiving the signal Li discloses that a second adjustment could be a small amount than the initial adjustment.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in further view of Yue and Li are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to adjust the beamforming after receiving the signal because it’s obvious to try to re-adjust the beamforming because of change of environment, to maintain connection and to properly track the direct path signal and enables the UE to adjust the beamforming depending on the different types of signal received (Li, paragraph [0036], “In an aspect, terminal A may use different receiver gain settings for different types of signals received in different frames. A receiver gain setting may also be referred to as a receiver gain mode, an AGC gain setting, an AGC mode, etc.”).
However, SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Yue in further view of Li do not disclose wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval.
Amizur discloses wherein the second time interval has a smaller value than the first time interval (paragraph [0047], Fig.7, "(5) calculating the LoS distance based on the earliest ToA. For example, the receiver 220 may estimate the channel for each of preamble A and preamble B. For each estimated channel, the receiver 220 may estimate the respective ToA. For each estimated ToA, the receiver 220 may calculate a respective score. Based on the scores of the estimated ToAs of the components of preamble A and preamble B, the receiver 220 may identify that preamble A has the earliest ToA or the strongest signal strength for its LoS component, or both, since preamble A was transmitted approximately along the line of sight between the transmitter 210 and the receiver 220." (i.e., comparing two signals and identifying one of the signals having an earlier ToA than the other signal.)).
SADIQ in view of Chuang in view of Yue in further view of Li and Amizur are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field estimates time of arrival (ToA) of a line-of-sight (LoS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified SADIQ to implement the method of Amizur (Amizur, Fig.7) as that implement a score based decision on which signal is the LoS because there is a scenario where a decision needs to be made to differentiate between two signals with very close time and Amizur is solving that by implementing a score based chose of the LoS (Amizur, paragraph [0002], “In some cases, there may be one or more non-LoS components that arrive at the receiver very close in time to the arrival of the LoS component. This also makes it difficult to identify and measure the ToA of the LoS component.”).
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 Erkin S. Abdullaev whose telephone number is (571)272-4135. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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, 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.
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.
ERKIN S. ABDULLAEV
Examiner
Art Unit 2648
/ERKIN ABDULLAEV/Examiner, Art Unit 2648
/WESLEY L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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