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 .
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)(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 – 7, 11 – 15, 41 – 47 and 51 – 55 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable by
Li US PGPub: US 2024/0353523 A1 Oct. 24, 2024.
Regarding claims 1, 41, Li discloses,
a method of operating a device and a device (the base station or the UE reports the position information of the some UEs – paragraph 0329), comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination (computing node and the to-be-sensed target UE. obtaining, by a computing node, a sensing measurement quantity result, where the positioning sensing method includes: the sensing measurement quantity result is obtained by performing, by a sensing node, signal processing on a first signal that is sent by the sensing node itself and that is reflected by a to-be-sensed target; and determining, by the computing node, a positioning sensing result of the to-be-sensed target based on the sensing measurement quantity result – ABSTRACT. Figs. 1 – 5, 8, 9, paragraphs 0006 – 0024. The base station or the UE reports the position information of the some UEs – paragraph 0329), comprising:
transmitting a request (sensing demand – paragraphs 0105, 0133. The to-be-sensed target is also a UE. The sensing demand information may be sent by the sensing demand initiator to the core network – i.e., a sensing network function or a sensing network element – Fig. 4, paragraphs 0068, 0312, 0316. Obtaining, by the computing node, first information, where the first information includes: positioning sensing demand information of the to-be-sensed target and position information of the sensing node – Fig. 4/401, paragraphs 0068, 0179) to a network component (computing node. Obtaining, by the computing node, first information, where the first information includes: positioning sensing demand information of the to-be-sensed target and position information of the sensing node – Fig. 4/401, paragraphs 0068, 0179) corresponding to a location management system LMF (the UE measures the corresponding reference signal received power RSRP and reports the measurement result to the LMF through LPP protocol– paragraphs 0053, 0054)
or a sensing management function SnMF (sensing network function. A computing node, and the computing node may include a core network - for example, a sensing network function/sensing network element in the core network, an access network - for example, a base station or a sensing network function/sensing network element in a base station, and the like – paragraph 0068) for a position estimation session of a user equipment UE (the to-be-sensed target is also a UE. The sensing demand information may be sent by the sensing demand initiator to the core network – i.e., a sensing network function or a sensing network element – Fig. 4, paragraphs 0068, 0312, 0316. The sensing demand information includes measuring the movement speed of the to-be-sensed target or estimating the movement track – paragraph 0105. Obtaining, by the computing node, first information, where the first information includes: positioning sensing demand information of the to-be-sensed target and position information of the sensing node – paragraph 0179) that is based on one or more radio frequency for sensing RF-S signals (first signal - obtaining, by the computing node, first information, where the first information includes: positioning sensing demand information of the to-be-sensed target and position information of the sensing node – paragraph 0179) to be transmitted and measured by one or more wireless nodes (sensing node. Determining, by the computing node, the sensing node according to the first information – paragraphs 0181, 0182) other than the UE (the first signal may be an NR reference signal or ….. a newly designed sensing signal – Fig. 4, paragraphs 0071, 0072); and
receiving location information associated with the UE based on the position estimation session (the sensing results can be fed back in real time …. The computing node sends the ….. sensing result …..which can be the result of the current position of the to-be-sensed target …. To the sensing demander - paragraphs 0400, 0401).
Regarding claims 2, 42, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the request comprises an indication of: two dimensional (2D) position estimation of the UE in a global coordinate frame or a reference coordinate frame that is translatable to the global coordinate frame, or three dimensional (3D) position estimation of the UE in the global coordinate frame or the reference coordinate frame, or distance information between the UE and the one or more wireless nodes, or orientation information between the UE and the one or more wireless nodes, or
mobility information associated with the UE (the sensing demand information includes measuring the movement speed of the to-be-sensed target or estimating the movement track – paragraph 0105),
or assistance data, or confidence information or quality information or uncertainty information associated with at least one parameter indicated via the request, or an initial coarse position estimate of the UE, or
any combination thereof (various alternative conditions - paragraphs 0203 – 0216).
Regarding claims 3, 43, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the request is aperiodic, periodic (periodic transmission – paragraph 0057. A periodic measurement – paragraphs 0231, 0348, 0369) or semi- persistent.
Regarding claims 4, 44, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the position estimation session of the UE is further based on at least one signal transmitted by the UE (the first measurement quantity result includes a Doppler frequency in the sensing measurement quantity result (for example, based on the current Doppler frequency measurement result, it is found that the to-be-sensed target spectrum peak power measured by the base station, or another measurement quantity result related to the Doppler frequency measurement - for example, the echo received power of the sensing/integrated communication and sensing signal/NR signal, or RSRP – paragraphs 0261, 0265, 0409, 0410) or measured by the UE (the first measurement quantity result includes a Doppler frequency in the sensing measurement quantity result (for example, based on the current Doppler frequency measurement result, it is found that the to-be-sensed target spectrum peak power measured by the base station, or another measurement quantity result related to the Doppler frequency measurement - for example, the echo received power of the sensing/integrated communication and sensing signal/NR signal, or RSRP – paragraphs 0261, 0265, 0409, 0410. The UE measures the corresponding reference signal received power RSRP and reports the measurement result – paragraphs 0053, 0054) or both (the first measurement quantity result includes a Doppler frequency in the sensing measurement quantity result (for example, based on the current Doppler frequency measurement result, it is found that the to-be-sensed target spectrum peak power measured by the base station, or another measurement quantity result related to the Doppler frequency measurement - for example, the echo received power of the sensing/integrated communication and sensing signal/NR signal, or RSRP – paragraphs 0261, 0265, 0409, 0410).
Regarding claims 5, 45, Li discloses,
the method of claim 4, wherein the at least one signal comprises at least one RF-S signal (positioning reference signal PRS – paragraphs 0052 - 0054).
Regarding claims 6, 46, Li discloses,
the method of claim 4, wherein the request indicates a maximum number of signals that the UE is capable of transmitting or measurement or both in association with the position estimation session (capacities exchanges between UEs, wireless nodes and the network nodes. Different types of sensing nodes may have different information such as sensing algorithms, sensing capabilities, and number of antennas, which may lead to differences in the reliability of measurement quantities measured by different sensing nodes – paragraphs 0162, 0166. The sensing capability indication information can be used to indicate capability information such as the maximum bandwidth and time-frequency resources, the number of antennas, and the maximum sensing distance that a sensing node can use to support sensing – paragraphs 0186, 0276, 0278).
Regarding claims 7, 47, Li discloses,
the method of claim 4, wherein the at least one signal comprises at least one positioning reference signal PRS (positioning reference signal PRS – paragraphs 0052 – 0054).
Regarding claims 11, 51, Li discloses,
the method of claim 7, wherein the location information is based on first measurement information associated with the one or more RF-S signals (positioning reference signal PRS – paragraphs 0052 – 0054) and second measurement information associated with the at least one PRS (method can be used in combination with other methods (or measurement processes corresponding to other methods) to further improve positioning accuracy. For example, DL-TDOA is combined with DL-AOD, or UL-TDOA is combined with UL-AOA, or multi-RTT is combined with downlink PRS-RSRP measurement or uplink SRS-RSRP and AOA measurement – paragraphs 0056, 0311, 0358).
Regarding claims 12, 52, Li discloses,
the method of claim 7, wherein the location information is based on first measurement information associated with the one or more RF-S signals, further comprising:
receiving second measurement information associated with the at least one PRS (positioning reference signal PRS – paragraphs 0052 – 0054); and
refining the location information based on the second measurement information (the measurement confidence level of the UE affects the accuracy of the final comprehensive result. To obtain a more accurate track tracing result, a corresponding weight can be dynamically adjusted – paragraphs 0457, 0460).
Regarding claims 13, 53, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a first indication of a capability of the network component to support RF-S-only position estimation sessions (capacities exchanges between UEs, wireless nodes and the network nodes. Different types of sensing nodes may have different information such as sensing algorithms, sensing capabilities, and number of antennas, which may lead to differences in the reliability of measurement quantities measured by different sensing nodes – paragraphs 0162, 0166. The sensing capability indication information can be used to indicate capability information such as the maximum bandwidth and time-frequency resources, the number of antennas, and the maximum sensing distance that a sensing node can use to support sensing – paragraphs 0186, 0276, 0278), or
receiving a second indication of a capability of the network component to support position estimation sessions based on both RF-S signals and positioning reference signals PRSs, or a combination thereof.
Regarding claims 14, 54, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the device corresponds to the UE (the base station or the UE reports the position information of the some UEs – paragraph 0329).
Regarding claims 15, 55, Li discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein the device corresponds to an entity that is external to the UE (the base station or the UE reports the position information of the some UEs – paragraph 0329).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 – 10 and 48 – 50 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicants disclosure.
Tadayon US PGPub: US 2024/0069183 A1 Feb. 29, 2024.
Sensing-assisted positioning of mobile devices, where a location management function that receives, from a sensor system, a sensing-based profile that includes a sensing-based observation of a UE and receives, from a communication system, a reference-signal-based observation of the UE. The location management function may derive, from the sensing-based observation, a position hypothesis and may determine, from the reference-signal-based observation, UE identity information for the UE. By processing the reference-signal-based observation in conjunction with the sensing-based observation, the location management function may determine an association between the sensing-based observation and the reference-signal-based observation. The location management function may then transmit, to the UE having the UE identity information determined from the reference-signal-based observation, an indication of the position hypothesis derived from the sensing-based observation.
Kumar US PGPub: US 2023/0296718 A1 Sep. 21, 2023.
Systems and methods for selection of positioning based on user equipment considerations, where supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) in which the UE evaluate available positioning methods based on one or more criteria to determine a prioritized positioning method and provides an indication of the prioritized positioning method to a location server. The UE may additionally provide an indication of the criteria upon which the prioritized positioning method was determined. The UE may send the indication of the prioritized positioning method before the UE performs the positioning measurements and the location server may accept or reject the prioritized positioning method. The UE may alternatively send the indication of the prioritized positioning method and the criteria used in the priority determination after the UE performs the positioning measurements. The location server may use the prioritized positioning method and the criteria used in the priority determination, e.g., in subsequent positioning requests for the UE.
Nam US PGPub: US 2022/0236394 A1 Jul. 28, 2023.
Bistatic sensing-tracking reference signal, where a first and second wireless node communicate a bistatic sensing request and a response to the bistatic sensing request to coordinate setup of a bistatic sensing procedure. The first wireless node transmits a set of sensing signals to one or more target objects in accordance with the bistatic sensing procedure. The second wireless node measures a set of reflections of the set of sensing signals reflected off of one or more target objects in accordance with the bistatic sensing procedure.
Park US PGPub: US 2022/0026550 A1 Jan. 27, 2022.
Managing transmit and receive beams in a millimeter wave (mmW) communication system for use in bistatic radio frequency (RF) sensing. An example method of tracking targets with bistatic radio frequency sensing includes receiving one or more sensing reference signals, generating a signal report based at least in part on the one or more sensing reference signals, transmitting the signal report, receiving tracking signal configuration information, receiving one or more tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and tracking one or more targets associated with the one or more tracking reference signals.
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/NIMESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
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