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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species covered by claims 1-9 and 18-46 in the reply filed on Jun. 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-17 and 47-60 have been canceled.
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 1-9 and 18-20, 26-28, 30 and 44-45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shah et al. (2025/0300900). 21-25, 29, 31-43 and 46
Regarding claim 1, Shah discloses a method of wireless communication at a method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (see abstract, fig.1B, element 102. Paragraphs [0020], [0056 and its description), comprising: receiving area information for one or more areas, the area information including area identifiers (IDs) of the one or more areas, an area description of the one or more areas, or both (see abstract, fig.8, element 820, steps 808, 810, paragraphs [0008], [0259] and its description); and transmitting an indication of support for area-specific positioning in at least a first area of the one or more areas (see abstract, fig.8, element 820, step 812, paragraphs [0003], [0259] and its description).
Regarding claim 2, Shah further comprising: obtaining one or more measurements of one or more reference signals in the first area (see paragraph [0002], [0271]); and performing the area-specific positioning in the first area using the one or more measurements of the one or more reference signals (see paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 3, Shah further discloses wherein the area information for each of the one or more areas includes an associated area description including geospatial parameters, timing parameters, or both (see paragraph [0063], [0221]).
Regarding claim 4, Shah further discloses wherein the area-specific positioning comprises Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) positioning (see paragraphs [0259-0260]).
Regarding claim 5, Shah further comprising obtaining one or more measurements of one or more reference signals in the first area (see paragraph [0002], [0271]); and applying a machine learning model to the one or more measurements of one or more reference signals in the first area to obtain area-specific positioning information (see paragraph [0007] [0259-0260]).
Regarding claim 6, Shah further discloses wherein transmitting an indication of support for area-specific positioning in at least the first area of the one or more areas is in response to a request for a capability of the UE to perform AI/ML positioning (see paragraph [0007] [0259-0260]).
Regarding claim 7, Shah further discloses wherein the one or more measurements include sensing measurements or positioning measurements or both (see paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 8, Shah further discloses wherein the area information for the one or more areas includes an area ID for each of the one or more areas, wherein the area IDs for the one or more areas include a first portion identifying an area listing and a second portion identifying an area within the area listing (see paragraph [0008]).
Regarding claim 9, Shah further discloses wherein the first portion identifying the area listing identifies whether the area is network-initiated or UE-initiated (see paragraph [0008]).
Regarding claims 18-20, 26-27, 30 and 44-45 recite limitations substantially similar to claims 1-9. Therefore, these claims were rejected for similar reasons as stated above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-25, 29, 31-43 and 46 are 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.
Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
When responding to this Office Action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CongVan Tran whose telephone number is (571) 272-7871. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Th.
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, Alison Slater can be reached on (571) 270-0375. 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.
PNG
media_image1.png
100
100
media_image1.png
Greyscale
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
/CONGVAN TRAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Prosecution Insights