Status of Claims
Claims 21-40 are currently pending and have been examined in this application. This NON-FINAL communication is the first action on the merits.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application filed in DE 102022211976.2 on 11/11/2022 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 21, 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because Claims 21, 39 claim “at least one memory”, which as constituted could include transitory signals – instead of just “non-transitory” subject matter.
The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media, particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP 2111.01. When the broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim covers a signal per se, the claim must be rejected under 35 USC 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter.
A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 by adding the limitation "non-transitory" to the claim. Such an amendment would typically not raise the issue of new matter, even when the specification is silent because the broadest reasonable interpretation relies on the ordinary and customary meaning that includes signals per se. The limited situations in which such an amendment could raise issues of new matter occur, for example, when the specification does not support a non-transitory embodiment because a signal per se is the only viable embodiment such that the amended claim is impermissibly broadened beyond the supporting disclosure. See, e.g., Gentry Gallery, Inc. v. Berkline Corp., 45 USPQ2d 1498. See http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/notices/101_crm_20100127.pdf.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 21-22, 24-31, 33-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manolakos (US 20200382978).
Regarding Claim 21, 30, Manolakos discloses the following limitations:
A user equipment (UE), comprising: (Manolakos – [0007] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving, via one or more component carriers, one or more downlink reference signals from one or more serving or neighboring transmission-reception points (TRPs),)
(Claim 30) A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: (Manolakos – [0097] There are a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity.)
at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: (Manolakos – [0008] In an aspect, a UE includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver,)
transmit location information to a location server for determining correction information, (Manolakos – [Fig. 5], [0099] RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy. [0103] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system 500 in which a UE 504 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein) is attempting to calculate, or assist another entity (e.g., a serving base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) to calculate, an estimate of its location,)
wherein the location information comprises one or more of location determination information, three-dimensional (3D) location information, a height estimate, a velocity estimate; (Manolakos – [0064] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and/or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor. [0103] In an aspect, the location of the UE 504 may be specified using a two-dimensional (2D) coordinate system, or a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system if the extra dimension is desired.)
receive assistance data from the location server for performing reference measurements; (Manolakos – [0050] Another optional aspect may include location server 230, which may be in communication with the NGC 210 to provide location assistance for UEs 204.)
receive a request from the location server to perform the reference measurements;
transmit the reference measurements to the location server; and transmit the reference measurements to the location server; and (Manolakos – [0104] To support location estimates, the cells/TRPs of base stations 502 may be configured to broadcast positioning reference signals… in which the UE 504 measures the time difference, known as the RSTD, between specific reference signals (e.g., LTE PRS) transmitted by the cells/TRPs of different pairs of base stations 502 and either reports these time differences to a location server (e.g., location server 230 or LMF 270), [0110] Still referring to FIG. 5, when the UE 504 obtains a location estimate using the OTDOA/DL-TDOA positioning method, the necessary additional data (e.g., the base stations' 502 locations and relative transmission timing) may be provided to the UE 504 by a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270).)
receive the correction information from the location server for location estimate accuracy for UE-based positioning. (Manolakos – [0101] To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include…, and/or other parameters applicable to the particular positioning method.)
Regarding Claims 22, 31, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the location information transmitted comprises one or more of two dimensional (2D) coordinates, 3D coordinates, time information related to validity of a known location, altitude information, precision information, or integrity information. (Manolakos – [0064], [0103], [0102] A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default level of confidence). [0104] the OTDOA positioning method in LTE is a multilateration method in which the UE 504 measures the time difference, known as the RSTD, between specific reference signals (e.g., LTE PRS) transmitted by the cells/TRPs of different pairs of base stations 502 and either reports these time differences to a location server (e.g., location server 230 or LMF 270), referred to as UE-assisted positioning,)
Regarding Claims 24, 33, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to add information to a specific downlink-positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource measurement, (Manolakos – [0097])
wherein the information comprises binary or soft indicator values regarding a line-of-sight (LOS) or non-LOS (NLOS) state of the specific DL-PRS resource measurement. (Manolakos – [0009] means for performing a downlink path loss estimate, [0062] the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs),)
Regarding Claims 25, 34, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to receive an event-triggered criteria via an LPP configuration or an RRC configuration to enable autonomous transmission of location information elements (IE). (Manolakos – [0046], [0086], [0066] Referring to the processing system 384… error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ),)
Regarding Claims 26, 35, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit updated location information elements (IE) based on changes with respect to previously reported location IEs. (Manolakos – [0064], [0066], [0103])
Regarding Claims 27, 36, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit a validity time of reported location information. (Manolakos – [0005] measure and report the observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) or reference signal timing difference (RSTD) between reference signals received from two or more network nodes)
Regarding Claims 28, 37, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the correction information is applicable to one or more of downlink (DL) time difference of arrival (TDOA) (DL-TDOA), DL angle of departure (AOD) (DL-AOD), or multiple round trip time (RTT) (Multi-RTT). (Manolakos – [0097], [0095] multi-round-trip-time (multi-RTT), angle-of-arrival (AoA), etc.)
Regarding Claims 29, 38, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the correction information comprises one or more of a validity time for which DL-positioning reference signals (PRS) (DL-PRS) corrections are valid, RTT timing correction information, reference signal time difference (RSTD) timing correction information between a pair of transmission and reception points (TRPs), or positioning reference device source information. (Manolakos – [0097], [0104])
Regarding Claims 39, 40, Manolakos discloses the following limitations:
A location server, comprising: (Manolakos – [0007], [0056] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270) to support the file transmission operations as taught herein.)
(Claim 40) A method performed by a location server, the method comprising: (Manolakos – [0056], [0097])
at least one memory; and (Manolakos – [0056])
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the location server to: (Manolakos – [0056])
receive location information to a location server for determining correction information, (Manolakos – [Fig. 5], [0099], [0103])
wherein the location information comprises one or more of location determination information, three-dimensional (3D) location information, a height estimate, a velocity estimate; (Manolakos – [0064], [0103])
transmit assistance data from the location server for performing reference measurements; (Manolakos – [0050])
transmit a request from the location server to perform the reference measurements; receive the reference measurements from a user equipment (UE); and (Manolakos – [0104], [0110])
transmit the correction information from the location server for location estimate accuracy for UE-based positioning. (Manolakos – [0056], [0101])
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 23, 32, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos (US 20200382978) in view of Edge (US 20200267683).
Regarding Claims 23, 32, Manolakos further discloses:
wherein the location information is: transmitted using new radio positioning protocol annex (NRPPa) and radio resource control (RRC) request and response signaling; (Manolakos – [0046] the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. Manolakos does not explicitly teach NRPPa.)
transmitted using long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) request and response signaling; transmitted using LPP providing capability signaling; or transmitted using LPP providing location information signaling. (Manolakos – [0097], [0086] Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may sometimes refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in LTE systems.)
Manolakos does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Edge, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
new radio positioning protocol annex (NRPPa) (Edge – [0053] The LMF 152 and the gNBs 110 may communicate using a New Radio Position Protocol A (NRPPa). NRPPa may be defined in 3GPP TS 38.455, with NRPPa messages being transferred between the gNBs 110 and the LMF 152 via AMF 154. Further, the LMF 152 and UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 36.355 and TS 37.355, where LPP messages are transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 152 via the serving AMF 154 and the serving SgNB 110-1 for UE 105.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the signals of Manolakos with the NRPPa of Edge in order to support positioning of UE (Edge – [0053]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure or directed to the state of art is listed on the enclosed PTO-892.
The following is a brief description for relevant prior art that was cited but not applied:
Agarwal (US 20210185536) describes techniques for detecting a potential false base station (FBS).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON JAMES HENSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/BRANDON JAMES HENSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645