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 .
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 1/14/2026. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been considered below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 filed 1/14 have been considered but they are moot in view of new ground of rejection necessitated by the amendment.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1,11,13-15,20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei et al. (US 2020/0245372) in view of Kim et al. (US 11,792,764).
Regarding claims 1, 20:
Lei discloses a system and method for a user equipment (UE) (abstract; figures), comprising:
at least one memory (fig 3 [blocks 359 and 360]; para 63-64; fig 10); and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (fig 3; fig 11 [1104, and 1106]) and configured to cause the UE to:
receive a configuration for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) type (para 130, partially reproduced herein with emphasis {…configuring the parameters the configuration component 806 may configure one or more of a waveform type of the NR-PRS,..}; para 188 {..information for the PRS transmission is signaled by a SIB, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration, a data structure for a format of the PRS transmission}), wherein the configuration comprises at least one parameter comprising (Note: multiple recitations of optional claim language, that require only one element, the prior art may be teaching more than one element):
a PRS bandwidth (para 130,137,145,150 [bandwidth associated with the NR-PRS]); and
a mapping type comprising at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length (para 130) for:
at least one frequency domain repetition (Lei, para 130; para 145 {NR-PRS comprises… concatenation of chirp sequences in at least one of time or frequency domain}[that is similar to present application, PGpub para 54 [Zadoff-chu sequence (e.g. generalized chrip-like sequence)]; also see Lei para 75,80,88,92,107);
a number of repetitions; a cyclic shift (para 81,92,112); or
a combination thereof; and
one or more of transmit a ranging signal to at least one device, and receive a ranging signal from the at least one device (para 129,137,143; figures; para 146 {a ranging operation… using the received NR-PRS}; para 150,152; and see throughout the disclosure).
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that a number of time domain symbol for PRS transmission in a slot.
However, Kim in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for data communication where a number of time domain symbol for PRS transmission in a slot (column 25, lines 60-66 {positioning reference signal configuration-related information provided to the UE may include information, such as positioning reference signal transmission bandwidth, positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration index, number of consecutive positioning reference signal subframes, and positioning reference signal (PRS) muting pattern}; see figures; see column 26, lines 42-56 {PRS location in time domain: … according to the disclosure, the transmission position of the positioning reference signal may be freely determined by the base station. For example, in the NR 14-symbol slot, up to 14 OFDM symbols may be selected to transmit the positioning reference signal. Thus, the corresponding field may be defined with, e.g., PRS location in time domain or PRS_mapping_time information and may be expressed as 14-bit information, such as [l.sub.0, l.sub.1, l.sub.2, l.sub.3, . . . l.sub.13]. For example, if this information is set to [00111111111111], the positioning reference signal may be transmitted in the OFDM symbols in the entire NR slot except for the first two OFDM symbols} [PRS transmission in 12 out of 14 number of symbols, as an example]; see claim 1; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Kim in Lei in order to provide flexible configuration numerology for radio resources used in transmission of PRS per time interval per bandwidth part in performing positioning in next generation [colm 1-2] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 11:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above and wherein interlace a PRS sequence, a PRS block, or a combination thereof in the frequency domain into a plurality of interfacing blocks, and each interfacing block of the plurality of interfacing blocks comprises M PRBs, M subchannels, M REs, or a combination thereof [Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element, for reading on the claims, however the prior art may be teaching other element(s)] (see para 62,100 [interleaving]; and throughout).
Regarding claim 13:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above and wherein receive cyclic shift in a downlink control information (DCI) field, and the DCI field comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number field for PRS [Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element, for reading on the claims, however the prior art may be teaching other element(s)] (see para 54,58,107 [DCI in PDCCH]; para 60,65,68 [HARQ]; para 81,92,112; para 123-126 [cyclic shift]; and see throughout the disclosure).
Regarding claim 14:
Lei and Kim discloses all of the subject matter as described above in claim 1, and Lei further discloses a processor for wireless communication (fig 3 [356,368]), comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory (figure 3 [359 controller, processor and 360 memory]; fig 10-11; and see throughout the disclosure) to perform functions as above, thus claim 14 is rejected with similar rationale under the combined teachings of the prior art as discussed above.
Regarding claim 15:
Lei discloses an apparatus for performing a network function (abstract; see figures), the apparatus comprising:
at least one memory (fig 3 [block 376]; para 68-70; fig 8-9); and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (375 in fig 3; 904,and 906 in figure 9; para 135,136) and configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a configuration for a transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) type (para 130, {…configuring the parameters …configure one or more of a waveform type of the NR-PRS...}; para 188), wherein the configuration comprises at least one parameter comprising (Note: multiple recitations of optional claim language, that require only one element, the prior art may be teaching more than one element):
a PRS bandwidth (para 130,137,145,150 [bandwidth associated with the NR-PRS]); and
a mapping type comprising at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length (para 130) for:
at least one frequency domain repetition (Lei, para 130; para 145 {NR-PRS comprises… concatenation of chirp sequences in at least one of time or frequency domain}[that is similar to present application, PGpub para 54 [Zadoff-chu sequence (e.g. generalized chrip-like sequence)]; also see Lei para 75,80,88,92,107);
a number of repetitions; a cyclic shift (para 81,92,112);
or a combination thereof; and
one or more of receive a ranging signal to at least one device, and transmit a ranging signal from the at least one device (para 129,137,143; figures; para 146 {a ranging operation… using the received NR-PRS}; para 150,152; and see throughout the disclosure).
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that a number of time domain symbol for PRS transmission in a slot.
However, Kim in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for data communication where a number of time domain symbol for PRS transmission in a slot (column 25, lines 60-66 {positioning reference signal configuration-related information provided to the UE may include information, such as positioning reference signal transmission bandwidth, positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration index, number of consecutive positioning reference signal subframes, and positioning reference signal (PRS) muting pattern}; see figures; see column 26, lines 42-56 {PRS location in time domain: … according to the disclosure, the transmission position of the positioning reference signal may be freely determined by the base station. For example, in the NR 14-symbol slot, up to 14 OFDM symbols may be selected to transmit the positioning reference signal. Thus, the corresponding field may be defined with, e.g., PRS location in time domain or PRS_mapping_time information and may be expressed as 14-bit information, such as [l.sub.0, l.sub.1, l.sub.2, l.sub.3, . . . l.sub.13]. For example, if this information is set to [00111111111111], the positioning reference signal may be transmitted in the OFDM symbols in the entire NR slot except for the first two OFDM symbols} [PRS transmission in 12 out of 14 number of symbols, as an example]; claim 1; and see throughout disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Kim in Lei in order to provide flexible configuration numerology for radio resources used in transmission of PRS per time interval per bandwidth part in performing positioning in next generation [colm 1-2] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Claim(s) 2-10,12,16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei et al. (US 2020/0245372) in view of Kim et al. (US 11,792,764) as above, and further in view of Chen (US 2011/0124347).
Regarding claims 2, 16:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that wherein a long PRS sequence length is mapped in at least one domain symbol over a wide PRS bandwidth, and the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence is mapped via frequency first and time second (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a long PRS sequence length is mapped in at least one domain symbol over a wide PRS bandwidth, and the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence is mapped via frequency first and time second (para 103 [longer PRS sequence. A PRS sequence of length M is generated by]; para 111,115; para 116-123 [Zadoff-Chu sequence for sequence lengths ranges…]; para 128-129; and throughout disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 3, 17:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that wherein a repetition of a substantially similar Zadoff-chu sequence in a frequency domain for wide PRS transmissions, a plurality of repetitions in the frequency domain containing the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length, or a combination thereof are grouped together (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a repetition of a substantially similar Zadoff-chu sequence in a frequency domain for wide PRS transmissions, a plurality of repetitions in the frequency domain containing the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length, or a combination thereof are grouped together (para 128-134 [grouping of repetitions of PRS]; figure 5; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 4, 18:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above except for specifically teaching that wherein at least one repetition of the plurality of repetitions is performed using at least one different sequence length if a PRS bandwidth is not a multiple of a sequence length, and a last repetition of the plurality of repetitions is performed with a different sequence length (para 161 [RTT repeated]) (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein at least one repetition of the plurality of repetitions is performed using at least one different sequence length if a PRS bandwidth is not a multiple of a sequence length, and a last repetition of the plurality of repetitions is performed with a different sequence length (para 53,77; para 128-134 [grouping of repetitions of PRS]; figure 5; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 5, 19:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above except for specifically teaching that wherein at least one repetition of the plurality of repetitions comprises N time domain symbols and M PRBs in the frequency domain, and each of the at least one repetition, each Zadoff-chu sequence of the at least one Zadoff-chu is mapped via frequency first and time second (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element, for instance PRS bandwidth disclosed by the Art, anticipates the claims, and does not require other elements to be taught, however the prior art may be teaching other element(s)).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein at least one repetition of the plurality of repetitions comprises N time domain symbols and M PRBs in the frequency domain, and each of the at least one repetition, each Zadoff-chu sequence of the at least one Zadoff-chu is mapped via frequency first and time second (para 52,53,77; para 128-134 [grouping of repetitions of PRS]; figure 5; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 6:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that wherein a resource pool, a positioning frequency layer, a carrier, or a combination thereof is configured with the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length for autonomous resource selection for PRS (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a resource pool, a positioning frequency layer, a carrier, or a combination thereof is configured with the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length for autonomous resource selection for PRS (para 121 [mapping of PRS sequence to the resource elements]; para 154-156 [PRS in time freq resource]; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 7:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that wherein a first mode comprises the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length, the cyclic shift, the PRS bandwidth, a repetition in a frequency domain and a time domain allocation, or a combination thereof (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a first mode comprises the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length, the cyclic shift, the PRS bandwidth, a repetition in a frequency domain and a time domain allocation, or a combination thereof (para 115,116,123[zadoff-chu sequence length]; para 26,131 [cyclic shift]; para 52-53); and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 8:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above except for specifically teaching that wherein a Zadoff-chu sequence of the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence is mapped in one time domain symbol starting from a first subcarrier via frequency first and time second in response to the Zadoff-chu sequence length being less than or equal to the PRS bandwidth (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a Zadoff-chu sequence of the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence is mapped in one time domain symbol starting from a first subcarrier via frequency first and time second in response to the Zadoff-chu sequence length being less than or equal to the PRS bandwidth (para 111-130; figures; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 9:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above except for specifically teaching that wherein a Zadoff-chu sequence of the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence is mapped via frequency first and time second in a plurality of time domain symbols in response to the Zadoff-chu sequence length being greater than available resource elements (REs) for PRS mapping in a symbol, in the PRS bandwidth, or a combination thereof (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein a first mode comprises the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence length, the cyclic shift, the PRS bandwidth, a repetition in a frequency domain and a time domain allocation, or a combination thereof (para 26; para 111-130; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 10:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to repeat, in the frequency domain, substantially similar Zadoff-chu sequences having the same cyclic shift (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to repeat, in the frequency domain, substantially similar Zadoff-chu sequences having the same cyclic shift (para 111-115; para 128-131; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
Regarding claim 12:
Lei discloses all of the subject matter as described above, except for specifically teaching that wherein repetitions of the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence comprise different sequence lengths in a frequency domain (Note: the optional language in independent claim(s) requires only one parameter/element).
However, Chen in the same field of endeavor discloses a system and method for positioning in networks wherein repetitions of the at least one Zadoff-chu sequence comprise different sequence lengths in a frequency domain (para 120-140 [zadoff chu sequence, mapping and repetition]; and see throughout the disclosure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use teachings of Chen in Lei in order to provide positioning services with cost effective solutions [8,9] (KSR: Combining Prior Art Elements According to Known Methods to Yield Predictable Results).
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 HIRDEPAL SINGH whose telephone number is (571)270-1688. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hannah S Wang can be reached on (571) 272-9018. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HIRDEPAL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
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