Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/539,605

SIDELINK POSITIONING WITH DEDICATED RESOURCE POOL

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 14, 2023
Examiner
SEN, ANINDITA
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
62 granted / 75 resolved
+24.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
51 currently pending
Career history
126
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
78.5%
+38.5% vs TC avg
§102
14.7%
-25.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 75 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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 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. Claim(s) 1,3,18,19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (US20240356699A1) Regarding Claim 1, Li teaches, One or more processors comprising circuitry configured to execute instructions that cause a user equipment (UE) to perform operations comprising: obtaining a message that configures a dedicated resource pool for sidelink positioning; [58] UE can be (pre-) configured by high layers with only one SL-PRS resource pool(=configures a dedicated resource pool). determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool; and [58]- Each SL-PRS resource pool consists of one or more SL-PRS configurations…Different SL-PRS configuration may be chosen by higher layer (UE's higher layer(=determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool), or gNB via RRC/DCI, LMF via LPP signaling) based on different positioning services transmitting a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) using the sidelink positioning resource. [219]- When UE transmits SL-PRS, control information can be transmitted along with SL-PRS resource. Regarding Claim 3, Li teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein obtaining the message comprises at least one of: receiving the message from a base station, or accessing a memory of the UE to retrieve the message. [105]- the target UE 510 may obtain QCL information from a serving base station, e.g., the TRP 531, or from the anchor UE 520 and the TRP 531. Regarding Claim 18, Li teaches, A user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver; a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the instructions that cause the UE to perform operations comprising: obtaining a message that configures a dedicated resource pool for sidelink positioning; [58] UE can be (pre-) configured by high layers with only one SL-PRS resource pool(=configures a dedicated resource pool). determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool; and [58]- Each SL-PRS resource pool consists of one or more SL-PRS configurations…Different SL-PRS configuration may be chosen by higher layer (UE's higher layer(=determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool), or gNB via RRC/DCI, LMF via LPP signaling) based on different positioning services transmitting, by the transceiver, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) using the sidelink positioning resource. resource. [219]- When UE transmits SL-PRS, control information can be transmitted along with SL-PRS resource. Regarding Claim 19 , Li teaches, A method comprising: obtaining a message that configures a dedicated resource pool for sidelink positioning; [58] UE can be (pre-) configured by high layers with only one SL-PRS resource pool(=configures a dedicated resource pool). determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool; and [58]- Each SL-PRS resource pool consists of one or more SL-PRS configurations…Different SL-PRS configuration may be chosen by higher layer (UE's higher layer(=determining a sidelink positioning resource from the dedicated resource pool), or gNB via RRC/DCI, LMF via LPP signaling) based on different positioning services transmitting a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) using the sidelink positioning resource. [219]- When UE transmits SL-PRS, control information can be transmitted along with SL-PRS resource. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 2,4-14,20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US20240356699A1) in view of Zhou et al. (US20240147501A1) Regarding Claim 2, Li does not teach, the one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, and wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and -Fig 7 1st stage SCI and 2nd stage SCI.[82]- FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the SL-PRS slot structure in the dedicated SL-PRS pool with 2nd stage SCI, according to an embodiment.[83]- The slot structure for a dedicated resource pool configured for SL-PRS may include one AGC symbol 602 or 702. one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, and wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections. Fig 7 The 1st and 2nd stage SCI are place in slot before PRS.[83]- The slot structure for a dedicated resource pool configured for SL-PRS may include one AGC symbol 602 or 702 at the beginning of the SL-PRS slot, two or three symbols for PSCCH transmission 604 704, symbols for SL-PRS based on resource pool configuration 606 or 706, and one guard symbol 608 or 708 for Tx/Rx switching. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, and wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections.as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 4, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein each of the one or more SCI sections is preceded by an SCI automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, and wherein each of the one or more SL-PRS sections is preceded by an SL-PRS AGC symbol Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein each of the one or more SCI sections is preceded by an SCI automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, and wherein each of the one or more SL-PRS sections is preceded by an SL-PRS AGC symbol.[83]- The slot structure for a dedicated resource pool configured for SL-PRS may include one AGC symbol 602 or 702 at the beginning of the SL-PRS slot. Fig 7 shows AGC symbol 702 previous to Ist stage SCI. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, and wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 5, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein the message further comprises one or more gap symbols, and wherein each gap symbol is preceded by (i) one of the one or more SCI sections, or (ii) one of the one or more SL-PRS sections. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein the message further comprises one or more gap symbols, and wherein each gap symbol is preceded by (i) one of the one or more SCI sections, or (ii) one of the one or more SL-PRS sections. Fig 8 [90]- The first symbol 802 is for AGC and the last symbol 808 is a gap symbol for Tx/Rx switching. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, and wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 6, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: receiving an SCI signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); decoding the SCI signal; and measuring a reference signal received power (RSRP) of the PSCCH, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource is based at least on the decoded SCI signal, the measured RSRP, and the one or more SL-PRS sections. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: receiving an SCI signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); decoding the SCI signal; and [76]- The SL shared channel (SL-SCH), which carries the transport blocks (TBs) of data for transmission over SL, and the 2nd stage SCI may be carried over the PSSCH 402 or 50 measuring a reference signal received power (RSRP) of the PSCCH, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource is based at least on the decoded SCI signal, the measured RSRP, and the one or more SL-PRS sections. [146]- the measured RSRP of the corresponding SCI being above a pre-configured threshold. In this case, if the measured RSRP is above a threshold then the UE will not transmit its SL-PRS in the PSFCH channel. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: receiving an SCI signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); decoding the SCI signal; and measuring a reference signal received power (RSRP) of the PSCCH, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource is based at least on the decoded SCI signal, the measured RSRP, and the one or more SL-PRS sections as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 7 , Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 6, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP comprises: determining a RSRP threshold; and comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 6, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP comprises: determining a RSRP threshold; [149]- Alternatively, priority-based RSRP thresholds may be configured to decide whether or not to transmit the ACK/NACK feedback and comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. [120]- The sensing UE compares the RSRP to the RSRP threshold configured by the higher layer, at 2306. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 6, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP comprises: determining a RSRP threshold; and comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 8, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein the RSRP threshold is determined based at least on a priority of the SCI signal. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein the RSRP threshold is determined based at least on a priority of the SCI signal. [146]- it may measure the RSRP of the corresponding PSCCH that indicated the reservation and compare it against a threshold based on the priority of its PSFCH transmission. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein the RSRP threshold is determined based at least on a priority of the SCI signal as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 9, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP further comprises: determining an RSRP threshold step size; and in response to a result of comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold, adjusting the RSRP threshold by the RSRP threshold step size. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP further comprises: determining an RSRP threshold step size; and in response to a result of comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold, adjusting the RSRP threshold by the RSRP threshold step size. [125]- SL-PRS resource candidates with RSSI measured above a given threshold to the total number of SL-PRS resources within a given duration. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 7, wherein determining the sidelink positioning resource based on the measured RSRP further comprises: determining an RSRP threshold step size; and in response to a result of comparing the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold, adjusting the RSRP threshold by the RSRP threshold step size as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 10, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: determining an SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections; and transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: determining an SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections; and transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource.[102]- The difference is that the last 3 symbols before the gap symbol in FIG. 15 are used for 2nd stage SCI or PSSCH transmission. Similarly, the last 2 symbols before the gap symbol in FIG. 16 are used for 2nd stage SCI or PSCCH transmission. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: determining an SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections; and transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 11, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: randomly selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and that the UE does not reserve other SCI resources, and wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: randomly selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, [120]- The sensing UE either performs the resource exclusion based on sensing results or performs random selection on the resource from the resource selection window, at 2308 wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and that the UE does not reserve other SCI resources, and [120]- The sensing UE (e.g., the anchor UE) detects and decodes the second UE's SCI to obtain the reservation period and priority, at 2302. wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.[57]- An SRS for positioning may be based on UL SRS design. The periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic transmission of an SRS for positioning may be defined for a gNB UL relative time of arrival (RTOA). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: randomly selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and that the UE does not reserve other SCI resources, and wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 12, Li does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: obtaining a sensing result that indicates one or more reserved SCI resources; and selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections excluding the one or more reserved SCI resources, wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and reserves one or more SCI resources that are periodic or aperiodic, and wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: obtaining a sensing result that indicates one or more reserved SCI resources; and selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections excluding the one or more reserved SCI resources,[120]- The sensing UE either performs the resource exclusion based on sensing results or performs random selection on the resource from the resource selection window, at 2308. wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and reserves one or more SCI resources that are periodic or aperiodic, and [57]- The periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic transmission of an SRS for positioning may be defined for a gNB UL relative time of arrival (RTOA). wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. [57]- The periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic transmission of an SRS for positioning may be defined for a gNB UL relative time of arrival (RTOA). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein determining the SCI resource based at least on the one or more SCI sections comprises: obtaining a sensing result that indicates one or more reserved SCI resources; and selecting the SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections excluding the one or more reserved SCI resources, wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves the selected SCI resource and reserves one or more SCI resources that are periodic or aperiodic, and wherein the SCI signal indicates that the UE reserves one or more sidelink positioning resources that are periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 13, Li does not teach,The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal is a single-stage SCI signal. Fig 6 where PSCCH(- SCI) is single stage. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal is a single-stage SCI signal. Fig 6 where PSCCH(- SCI) is single stage. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal is a single-stage SCI signal. Fig 6 where PSCCH(- SCI) is single stage as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 14, Li does not teach, he one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal further indicates at least one of: a source identifier, a destination identifier, a priority of the SCI signal, a zone identifier, one or more reserved sidelink positioning resources, or one or more reserved SCI resources. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal further indicates at least one of: a source identifier, a destination identifier, a priority of the SCI signal, a zone identifier, one or more reserved sidelink positioning resources, or one or more reserved SCI resources.[47]- At least 4096 different sequence identifiers (IDs) may be supported. Furthermore, a resource element (RE) pattern of a DL PRS may follow a comb-structure with the potential for a larger number of different densities. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The one or more processors of claim 10, wherein the SCI signal further indicates at least one of: a source identifier, a destination identifier, a priority of the SCI signal, a zone identifier, one or more reserved sidelink positioning resources, or one or more reserved SCI resources as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US20240356699A1) in view of Zhou et al. (US20240147501A1) in further view of Liu et al. ( US20240323899A1) Regarding Claim 15, Li teaches, The one or more processors of claim 2, the operations further comprising: transmitting a scheduling request for sidelink positioning to a base station; and Fig 7 step 727 SL PRS req. Li in view of Zhou does not teach, receiving, from the base station and over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a downlink control information (DCI) signal that allocates the sidelink positioning resource from the one or more SL-PRS sections. Liu teaches, receiving, from the base station and over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a downlink control information (DCI) signal that allocates the sidelink positioning resource from the one or more SL-PRS sections. [6]- he control signaling comprises at least one of sidelink control information (SCI), downlink control information (DCI).. The control channel comprises at least one of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). [8]- The communication device comprises a user equipment (UE), a network node, a basestation. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li in view of Zhou, receiving, from the base station and over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a downlink control information (DCI) signal that allocates the sidelink positioning resource from the one or more SL-PRS sections as taught by Liu to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 16,. Li in view of Liu does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further allocates an SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, and wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further allocates an SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, and wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource. [90]- The PSCCH (i.e., SCI) needs to perform repetition to make sure the power on the PSCCH symbols 804 is equal to the SL-PRS symbol to have a correct AGC estimation. Alternatively, when only one subchannel is used by the UE for transmission, the PSCCH subchannel size may be configured such that the PSCCH and PSSCH have the same subchannel size. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li in view of Liu, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further allocates an SCI resource from the one or more SCI sections, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting an SCI signal using the SCI resource, and wherein the SCI signal indicates the sidelink positioning resource Zhou teaches, The one or more processors as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 17, Li in view of Liu does not teach, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further indicates at least one of: a resource pool index, a time gap between (i) the PDCCH and (ii) a SL-PRS transmission or an SCI transmission, one or more SCI format fields that indicate the allocated SCI resource, one or more SL-PRS format fields that indicate the allocated sidelink positioning resource, and a configuration index. Zhou teaches, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further indicates at least one of: a resource pool index, a time gap between (i) the PDCCH and (ii) a SL-PRS transmission or an SCI transmission, one or more SCI format fields that indicate the allocated SCI resource, one or more SL-PRS format fields that indicate the allocated sidelink positioning resource, and a configuration index. [75]- The 1st stage SCI is carried in the PSCCH 406 or 506 with 2 or 3 symbols with format named as SCI format 1-A. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li in view of Liu, The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the DCI signal further indicates at least one of: a resource pool index, a time gap between (i) the PDCCH and (ii) a SL-PRS transmission or an SCI transmission, one or more SCI format fields that indicate the allocated SCI resource, one or more SL-PRS format fields that indicate the allocated sidelink positioning resource, and a configuration index. as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Regarding Claim 20,Li does not teach, The method of claim 19, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections, and wherein each SCI section comprises two or three symbols. Zhou teaches, The method of claim 19, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and -Fig 7 1st stage SCI and 2nd stage SCI.[82]- FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the SL-PRS slot structure in the dedicated SL-PRS pool with 2nd stage SCI, according to an embodiment.[83]- The slot structure for a dedicated resource pool configured for SL-PRS may include one AGC symbol 602 or 702. one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections, and wherein each SCI section comprises two or three symbols. Fig 7 The 1st and 2nd stage SCI are place in slot before PRS.[83]- The slot structure for a dedicated resource pool configured for SL-PRS may include one AGC symbol 602 or 702 at the beginning of the SL-PRS slot, two or three symbols for PSCCH transmission 604 704, symbols for SL-PRS based on resource pool configuration 606 or 706, and one guard symbol 608 or 708 for Tx/Rx switching. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The method of claim 19, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections, and wherein each SCI section comprises two or three symbols. as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li, The method of claim 19, wherein the message comprises: one or more sidelink control information (SCI) sections in a slot, each SCI section comprising a plurality of SCI symbols; and one or more SL-PRS sections in the slot, each SL-PRS section comprising a plurality of SL-PRS symbols, wherein the one or more SCI sections precede the one or more SL-PRS sections, and wherein each SCI section comprises two or three symbols as taught by Zhou to add Stages of SCI for separate sidelink control. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anindita Sen whose telephone number is (571)-272-2390. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-5:30pm. 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, Joseph Avellino can be reached on (571)-272-3905. 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. /ANINDITA SEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2478 /JOSEPH E AVELLINO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 19, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+3.9%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 75 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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