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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on 08/11/2023. Claims 1-64 have been examined.
Claim Objections
Claim 64 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 64 is depends on claim 64. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
In regards to Claims 33,44, 47-48, the claimed limitation means for “receiving”, “determining” have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use “means” coupled with functional language “receiving” and “determining” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) 33-48 have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation: Applicant's own specification PGPUB para [0124], [0126] discloses correspond structures.
Para [0126][Fig.11] shows and discloses the means for “receiving” include the one or more wireless transceivers 1178, the one or more modems 1176, the one or more SIMs 1174, the one or more processors 1184, the one or more DSPs 1182, the one or more memory devices 1186, any combination thereof, or other component(s) of the client device, the means for “determining” include the one or more processors 1184, the one or more DSPs 1182, the one or more memory devices 1186, any combination thereof, or other component(s) of the client device.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner's interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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 1-5, 8-21, 24-37, 40-53 and 56-64 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (2) as being anticipated by MICHALOPOULOS et al. (2022/0173857).
As of claim 1, MICHALOPOULOS discloses an apparatus for facilitating positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization (para [0055] [0061] discloses a transmission of PRS signals in a beamformed fashion on the beams measured and reported by a UE on those beams that the UE can detect with sufficient quality, when UE determines serving cell beams (e.g. the downlink reference signals) to be reported, the UE further prioritize the signals),
the apparatus comprising: at least one receiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one receiver and the at least one memory (see [FIG. 6b] apparatus 20 (= UE) includes a transceiver 28, a memory 24; and a processor 22 coupled to the memory) and configured to:
receive, via the at least one receiver, beam index information associated with a PRS beam set (para [0061] [0062] discloses the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include indicating to the UE the reference beams (=beam set) for PRS transmission, e.g., association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index);
determine an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam or both based on the beam index information (para [0082] disclose the UE report the reference signal time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS transmissions on the indicated or configured beams (=assigned beam) which corresponds to UE determine an assigned beam); and
determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam or both (para [0082] disclose the OTDOA-ProvideLocationlnformation IE be used by the UE to provide OTDOA location measurements which corresponds to UE determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam).
As of claim 17, MICHALOPOULOS discloses a computer-implemented method for facilitating positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization (para [0055] [0061] discloses a transmission of PRS signals in a beamformed fashion on the beams measured and reported by a UE on those beams that the UE can detect with sufficient quality, when UE determines serving cell beams (e.g. the downlink reference signals) to be reported, the UE further prioritize the signals), the method comprising:
receiving, at a user equipment, beam index information associated with a PRS beam set (para [0061] [0062] discloses the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include indicating to the UE the reference beams (=beam set) for PRS transmission, e.g., association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index);
determining, by the user equipment, an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam or both based on the beam index information (para [0082] disclose the UE report the reference signal time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS transmissions on the indicated or configured beams (=assigned beam) which corresponds to UE determine an assigned beam); and
determining, by the user equipment, one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam or both (para [0082] disclose the OTDOA-ProvideLocationlnformation IE be used by the UE to provide OTDOA location measurements which corresponds to UE determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam).
As of claim 33, MICHALOPOULOS discloses an apparatus for facilitating positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization (para [0055] [0061] discloses a transmission of PRS signals in a beamformed fashion on the beams measured and reported by a UE on those beams that the UE can detect with sufficient quality, when UE determines serving cell beams (e.g. the downlink reference signals) to be reported, the UE further prioritize the signals),
the apparatus comprising: means for receiving beam index information associated with a PRS beam set (para [0061] [0062] discloses the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include indicating to the UE the reference beams (=beam set) for PRS transmission, e.g., association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index);
means for determining an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam or both based on the beam index information (para [0082] disclose the UE report the reference signal time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS transmissions on the indicated or configured beams (=assigned beam) which corresponds to UE determine an assigned beam); and
means for determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam or both (para [0082] disclose the OTDOA-ProvideLocationlnformation IE be used by the UE to provide OTDOA location measurements which corresponds to UE determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beams).
As of claim 49, MICHALOPOULOS discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to: receive beam index information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS) beam set (para [0061] [0062] discloses the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include indicating to the UE the reference beams (=beam set) for PRS transmission, e.g., association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index);
determine an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam or both based on the beam index information (para [0082] disclose the UE report the reference signal time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS transmissions on the indicated or configured beams (=assigned beam) which corresponds to UE determine an assigned beam); and
determine one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam or both (para [0082] disclose the OTDOA-ProvideLocationlnformation IE be used by the UE to provide OTDOA location measurements which corresponds to UE determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beams).
As of claims 2, 18, 34 and 50, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacency beam rule stored in the at least one memory (para [0053] [FIG. 1] [0073] there are eight beams per cell , the Location Management Function (LMF) contain(=store) information on which beams and from which cells (i.e., both the serving and neighboring cells) are detectable at the UE).
As of claims 3, 19, 35, and 51, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacency beam rule that is received from a location server (para [0070] [0073] [0079] discloses Location Management Function (LMF) contain information on which beams and from which cells (i.e., both the serving and neighbouring cells) are detectable at the UE).
As of claims 4, 20, 36 and 52, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacency beam rule that is received from a base station (para [0062] discloses the PRS measurement assistance data include the network indicating to the UE the reference beams for PRS transmission, e.g., it provide association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index. [0076]-[0082] PRS at all the detectable neighboring cell-ID and beam-ID (a PRS transmission at beam #8 of Cell B and beam #8 of Cell B is triggered).
As of claims 5, 21, 37 and 53, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses wherein the PRS beam set is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam (see [FIG. 1] plurality of beams and adjacent beam, para [0070] there are eight beams per cell which correspond to a total of eight PRS transmissions per cell, LMF may contain information on which beams and from which cells (i.e., both the serving and neighbouring cells) are detectable at the UE).
As of claims 8, 24, 40 and 56, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmission reception point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof (para [0008] [0142] the measurements include UE assistance measurements on PRS for UE location measurements. Para [0062] the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include the network indicating to the UE the reference beams for PRS transmission, e.g., it provide association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index).
As of claims 9, 25, 41 and 57, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the beam index information is received from a base station (para [0062] the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include the network indicating to the UE the reference beams for PRS transmission, e.g., it provide association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index).
As of claims 10, 26, 42 and 58, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the beam index information is received from a location server (para [0079] [FIG. 3] discloses at 306, the LMF (=location server) provide PRS assistance information to the UE and inform the UE about which beam-IDs and cell-IDs convey the PRS information that is relevant for this particular UE).
As of claims 11, 27, 43, and 59, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the location measurement includes at least one of a downlink angle of departure, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, time of arrival of an earliest path, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof (para [0012] [0068] the UE report the PRS measurement of the beam with highest RSRP on each group or in each cell).
As of claims 12, 28, 44 and 60, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one receiver, updated beam index information associated with an updated PRS beam set ([FIG. 3] shows, at 306, the LMF provide PRS assistance information to the UE, after the PRS are activated, the LMF inform the UE about which beam-IDs and cell-IDs (=which implies updated beam index) convey the PRS information that is relevant for this particular UE).
As of claims 13, 29, 45 and 61, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the beam index information is a PRS resource index (para [0062] the network provide the UE with PRS measurement assistance data that include the network indicating to the UE the reference beams for PRS transmission, e.g., it provide association of a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (=PRS resource) (beam) index).
As of claims 14, 30, 46 and 62 , rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof (para [0062] disclose the PRS measurement assistance data include the reference beams for PRS transmission, e.g., a specific PRS index and reported DL RS (beam) index, the network indicate grouping information for PRS measurement where specific signals in a group be considered from UE perspective to be one of the reference points for positioning procedure, a reference point be one point for PRS based location measurement).
As of claims 15, 31, 47 and 63, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses to determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor is further configured to: determine a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; and determine a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam (See [FIG. 1] there are eight beams per cell which correspond to a total of eight PRS transmissions per cell. Para [0070] transmitting measurements from the UE to a location server, the Location Management Function (LMF), the measurements conveyed to the LMF contain information on which beams and from which cells (i.e., both the serving and neighbouring cells) are detectable at the UE. Para [0076]- [0082] discloses PRS at all the detectable neighboring cell-ID and beam-ID (a PRS transmission at beam #8 of Cell B and beam #8 of Cell B is triggered); and the involved serving and neighboring cells may send to the LMF, an acknowledgment confirming the activation of the PRS transmission on the designated beams. the LMF
provide PRS assistance information to the UE about which beam-IDs and cell-IDs
convey the PRS information that is relevant for this particular UE),
the UE measure and report the reference signal
time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS
transmissions on the indicated or configured beams and cells).
As of claims 16, 32, 48, and 64 , rejection of claims 15, 31, 47 and 63 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS discloses to determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor is further configured to: determine a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; and determine a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and wherein the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam (See [FIG. 1] there are eight beams per cell which correspond to a total of eight PRS transmissions per cell. Para [0070] transmitting measurements from the UE to a location server, the Location Management Function (LMF), the measurements conveyed to the LMF contain information on which beams and from which cells (i.e., both the serving and neighbouring cells) are detectable at the UE. Para [0076]- [0082] discloses PRS at all the detectable neighboring cell-ID and beam-ID (a PRS transmission at beam #8 of Cell B and beam #8 of Cell B is triggered); and the involved serving and neighboring cells may send to the LMF, an acknowledgment confirming the activation of the PRS transmission on the designated beams. the LMF
provide PRS assistance information to the UE about which beam-IDs and cell-IDs
convey the PRS information that is relevant for this particular UE),
the UE measure and report the reference signal
time difference (RSTD) values between PRS transmissions, using the PRS
transmissions on the indicated or configured beams and cells).
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 of this title, 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 6, 7, 22, 23, 38, 39, 54 and 55 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over MICHALOPOULOS et al. (2022/0173857) in view of Karjalainen et al. (US 2022/0345194).
As of claims 6, 22, 38, and 54, rejection of claims 5, 21, 37, and 53 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS does not explicitly disclose plurality of beams are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain however Karjalainen teaches the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain (Karjalainen, para [0121] discloses a unique index of a PRS comprise resource set(s) and/or a sequence ID. Para [0041] [0122] disclose the beam ranking criteria for positioning be based on: received signal information of the downlink transmission beams, angular information (e.g. departure of angle (DoA) in azimuth and/or elevation domains, angle of arrival (AoA) in azimuth and/or elevation domains) of the downlink transmission beams. para [0125] b. discloses angular information, i.e. prioritizing beam directions (=sequentially ordered) with higher spatial separation associated with e.g. the AoA and/or the DoA at the client device 210-side which corresponds to the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain.
Therefore it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of “receiving the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set” as taught by MICHALOPOULOS with the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain as taught by Karjalainen in order to improve positioning accuracy as taught by Karjalainen in para [0104] [0142].
As of claims 7, 23, 39, and 55, rejection of claims 1, 17, 33 and 49 cited above incorporated herein, in addition MICHALOPOULOS does not explicitly disclose but Karjalainen teaches the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of an azimuth domain, an elevation domain, or a combination thereof (Karjalainen, para [0176] [FIG. 5] shows and discloses separated beams in azimuth and/or elevation domain (e.g., beams 1 and 8 or 1 and 9) and considering the case of adjacent beams assuming that beams 8 and 9 with respect to beam 1 are in at least one of an azimuth domain).
Therefore it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of “receiving the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set” as taught by MICHALOPOULOS with the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain as taught by Karjalainen in order to improve positioning accuracy as taught by Karjalainen in para [0104] [0142].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAHMIDA S CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-2547. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am to 5pm.
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/FAHMIDA S CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471