DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-2, 4-5, 7, 9-10, 12-15, 17-18, 20, 22-23, and 25-26 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
need to fix claims 7 and 20:
7. The method according to claim 1
20. The apparatus according to claim 14 successfully or part of the PSR resources are configured successfully, select PRS configuration information or PRS change information for a UE from successfully configured PRS resources according to the information that the PRS resources are configured successfully or part of the PSR resources are configured successfully; and when the feedback message comprises information that the PRS resources fail to be configured, select the PRS configuration information or the PRS change information for the UE from other actually available PRS resources, or reselect a positioning apparatus.
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 patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-5, 9, 12-15, 17-18, 22, and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoon et al. (US 20230299923 A1).
Considering claims 1, 14, Yoon teaches a method/an apparatus for determining positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration information ([0006])), the method/ apparatus comprising:
a memory, configured to store program instructions; and a processor, configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory
determining, by a location management function entity (LMF) (Fig.4, 9, 910), a positioning service requirement ([0028] performing positioning of a UE, [0138]-[0139] SRS for positioning, [0185]); and
determining, by the LMF (Fig.4, 9), PRS configuration information for a PRS resource allocation object based on preset available PRS configuration information according to the positioning service requirement ([0104] a DL PRS resource set may be configured in a single base station (or a transmission reception point (TRP)), [0186] UE may need to verify whether remaining resources are available in consideration of rating matching and thus), the preset available PRS configuration information being dynamically changeable PRS configuration information ([0104], [0186]-[0188] configured by modifying a parameter for the existing periodic DL PRS resource):
wherein the PRS resource allocation object comprises a cell or a transmission point (TRP). and the PRS configuration information comprises one or more of following information:
an identifier (ID) of bandwidth part (BWP) corresponding to an added downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource, or a changed DL-PRS resource, or a deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106]:
an ID of a positioning frequency layer corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106] DL PRS sequence ID, [0199] adding or deleting, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter):
an ID of a base station (cell ID) corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0104] DL PRS resource ID, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter);
an ID of a TRP corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
an ID of an added DL-PRS resource set, or a changed DL-PRS resource set, or a deleted DL-PRS resource set;
an ID of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of added DL-PRS resource periods, or changed DL-PRS resource periods, or deleted DL-PRS resource periods;
a set of repetition times of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of muting patterns of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a beam direction for transmitting a changed PRS ([0185] DL PRS is configured, whether the DL PRS considers all beams or considers only some beams needs to be indicated and a parameter for this needs to be configured).
Considering claims 9, 22, Yoon teaches a method for determining positioning reference signal(PRS) configuration information, the method comprising:
a memory, configured to store program instructions; and a processor, configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory
receiving, by a base station (gNB), a message sent by a location management function, LMF (Fig.4, 9, [0139] an entity (e.g., LMF) configured to control positioning transmits configuration information on a positioning reference signal related to the UE and/or the base station); and
obtaining, by the base station (gNB), PRS configuration information from the message (Fig.4, 9, [0139] positioning transmits configuration information), wherein the PRS configuration information is determined by the LMF for a PRS resource allocation object based on preset available PRS configuration information ([0104] a DL PRS resource set may be configured in a single base station (or a transmission reception point (TRP)), [0186] UE may need to verify whether remaining resources are available in consideration of rating matching and thus), the preset available PRS configuration information being dynamically changeable PRS configuration information ([0104], [0186]-[0188] configured by modifying a parameter for the existing periodic DL PRS resource);
wherein the PRS resource allocation object comprises a cell or a transmission point (TRP). and the PRS configuration information comprises one or more of following information:
an identifier (ID) of bandwidth part (BWP) corresponding to an added downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource, or a changed DL-PRS resource, or a deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106]:
an ID of a positioning frequency layer corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106] DL PRS sequence ID, [0199] adding or deleting, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter):
an ID of a base station (cell ID) corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0104] DL PRS resource ID, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter);
an ID of a TRP corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
an ID of an added DL-PRS resource set, or a changed DL-PRS resource set, or a deleted DL-PRS resource set;
an ID of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of added DL-PRS resource periods, or changed DL-PRS resource periods, or deleted DL-PRS resource periods;
a set of repetition times of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of muting patterns of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a beam direction for transmitting a changed PRS ([0185] DL PRS is configured, whether the DL PRS considers all beams or considers only some beams needs to be indicated and a parameter for this needs to be configured).
Considering claims 12, 25, Yoon teaches a method for determining positioning reference signal(PRS) configuration information, the method comprising:
a memory, configured to store program instructions; and a processor, configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory
determining, by a user equipment (UE),auxiliary information (PRS) (Fig.4, 9, [0187] UE may need to determine whether to maintain the existing periodic DL PRS transmission);
wherein the auxiliary information (PRS) is configured to assist a location management function, LMF ([0139] UE may transmit the SRS for positioning periodically or aperiodically based on the given configuration, [0231]-[0232]), to determine PRS configuration information for a PRS resource allocation object based on preset available PRS configuration information [0186] UE may need to verify whether remaining resources are available in consideration of rating matching and thus), the preset available PRS configuration information being dynamically changeable PRS configuration information ([0104], [0186]-[0188] configured by modifying a parameter for the existing periodic DL PRS resource); and
reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information to the LMF ([0139], [0231]-[0232] Reporting information may include information indicating which beams are best beams for a corresponding UE among beams (corresponding to SSB indexes 0 to 63) configured in the SSB. Then, the base station may transmit the reporting information received from the UE to an LMF, [0301]);
wherein the PRS resource allocation object comprises a cell or a transmission point (TRP). and the PRS configuration information comprises one or more of following information:
an identifier (ID) of bandwidth part (BWP) corresponding to an added downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource, or a changed DL-PRS resource, or a deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106]:
an ID of a positioning frequency layer corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0106] DL PRS sequence ID, [0199] adding or deleting, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter):
an ID of a base station (cell ID) corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource ([0104] DL PRS resource ID, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter);
an ID of a TRP corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
an ID of an added DL-PRS resource set, or a changed DL-PRS resource set, or a deleted DL-PRS resource set;
an ID of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of added DL-PRS resource periods, or changed DL-PRS resource periods, or deleted DL-PRS resource periods;
a set of repetition times of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a set of muting patterns of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource;
a beam direction for transmitting a changed PRS ([0185] DL PRS is configured, whether the DL PRS considers all beams or considers only some beams needs to be indicated and a parameter for this needs to be configured).
Considering claims 2, 15, Yoon teaches wherein the PRS resource allocation object further comprises a user equipment (UE) and the PRS configuration information comprises one or more of following information: an ID of BWP corresponding to a dynamically configured resource; an ID of a positioning frequency layer corresponding to the dynamically configured DL-PRS resource ([0106] DL PRS sequence ID, [0199] adding or deleting, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter); an ID of a base station corresponding to the dynamically configured DL-PRS resource; an ID of a TRP
Considering claims 4, 17, Yoon teaches wherein in a case that a positioning request message sent by an access and mobility management function; (AMF) entity to he LMF comprises priority information of a UE (Fig.4, [0092] LMF may be controlled by a network end and may interact with the base station through a mobility entity (e.g., access and mobility management function (AMF))), the determining the PRS configuration information for the PRS resource allocation object comprises: determining the PRS configuration information for the PRS resource allocation object according to the priority information (tablet 17, [0278], [0282] for example, DL PRS resources included in each group may have the same value based on priority in the above Table 17 and 1) may have the top priority).
Considering claims 5, 18, Yoon teaches wherein the PRS resource allocation object comprises the cell or the TRP, a PRS configuration resource is configured or changed for a cell or a TRP associated with per UE, and PRS configuration information for each UE of the cell or the TRP is determined and is notified to a base station through a message; wherein the message comprises one or more of following information: an ID of BWP corresponding to an added DL-PRS resource, or a changed DL-PRS resource, or a deleted DL-PRS resource of per UE; an ID of a positioning frequency layer corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource of the per UE resource ([0106] DL PRS sequence ID, [0199] adding or deleting, [0296] modifying and deleting parameters included in the periodic DL PRS resource parameter); an ID of a base station corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource of the per UE; an ID of a TRP corresponding to the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource of the per UE; an ID of an added DL-PRS resource set, or a changed DL-PRS resource set, or a deleted DL-PRS resource set of the per UE; an ID of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource of the per UE; a set of added DL-PRS resource periods, or changed DL-PRS resource periods, or deleted DL-PRS resource periods of the per UE; a set of repetition times of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource of the per UE; a set of muting patterns of the added DL-PRS resource, or the changed DL-PRS resource, or the deleted DL-PRS resource; priority information of the UE.
Considering claims 13, 26, Yoon teaches wherein the auxiliary information comprises one or more of following information: a channel quality indication (CQI); non line of sight (NLOS) related information; a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) index ([0152], [0169]).
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 7, 10, 20, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 20230299923 A1) in view of Edge et al. (US 20200154240 A1).
Considering claims 7, 20, Yoon do not clearly teach notifying the PRS configuration information determined for the PRS resource allocation object to a base station; wherein the method further comprises: when a feedback message received from the base station comprises information that PRS resources are configured successfully or part of the PSR resources are configured successfully, selecting PRS configuration information or PRS change information for a UE from successfully configured PRS resources according to the information that the PRS resources are configured successfully or the part of the PSR resources are configured successfully; and when the feedback message received from the base station comprises information that the PRS resources fail to be configured, selecting the PRS configuration information or the PRS change information for the UE from other actually available PRS resources, or reselecting a positioning method.
Edge teaches notifying the PRS configuration information determined for the PRS resource allocation object to a base station (Fig.2, [0069] LMF 120 sends an NRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Request message to each of the gNBs 110); wherein the method further comprises: when a feedback message received from the base station comprises information that PRS resources are configured successfully or part of the PSR resources are configured successfully (Fig.2, [0070] each of the gNBs 110 returns a response to the LMF 120 indicating whether the new PRS configuration can be supported (or is now being transmitted)), selecting PRS configuration information or PRS change information for a UE from successfully configured PRS resources according to the information that the PRS resources are configured successfully or the part of the PSR resources are configured successfully ([0070]); and when the feedback message received from the base station comprises information that the PRS resources fail to be configured (Fig.2, [0070] if some gNBs 110 indicate that a new PRS configuration cannot be supported), selecting the PRS configuration information or the PRS change information for the UE from other actually available PRS resources, or reselecting a positioning method ([0070]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine or modify of Edge to Yoon to improve the geometry for increased PRS transmission for the target UEs.
Considering claims 10, 23, Yoon do not clearly teach completing a corresponding resource configuration based on the PRS configuration information obtained from the message, and sending a feedback message to the LMF; wherein the feedback message comprises a configuration result of the resource configuration; wherein the method further comprises: sending configurable PRS resource information in the cell or the TRP to the LMF.
Edge teaches completing a corresponding resource configuration based on the PRS configuration information obtained from the message, and sending a feedback message to the LMF (Fig.2, [0070] each of the gNBs 110 returns a response to the LMF 120 indicating whether the new PRS configuration can be supported (or is now being transmitted)); wherein the feedback message comprises a configuration result of the resource configuration ([0070] new PRS configuration can be supported…new PRS configuration cannot be supported); wherein the method further comprises: sending configurable PRS resource information in the cell or the TRP to the LMF (Fig.2, [0067], [0070]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine or modify of Edge to Yoon to improve the geometry for increased PRS transmission for the target UEs.
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.
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.
/KHAI M NGUYEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641