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 is response to Application 18/602,932 filed on 03/12/2024 in which claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ghimire et al. (US 2024/0098679 A1).
1. Regarding claims 1 and 10, Ghimire teaches an apparatus and method for wireless communication at a location server (Figure 2 and 17 LMF), comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one
processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:
receive a set of non-terrestrial network (NTN) capabilities associated with
a user equipment (UE) (Fig.2 and 17 and Paragraph [0367] provide capabilities ) ;
receive an indication of the UE being camped on an NTN cell based on at
least one of: (1) when a radio resource connection (RRC) reconnection is
established for the UE between a terrestrial network (TN) and an NTN during
a positioning session, (2) when the UE has both TN connectivity and NTN
connectivity during the positioning session, or (3) when the UE has at least
one high priority task (Paragraphs [0066] to [0068] camping on different cells, requires different assistance data, associated with current location); and transmit, for the UE in response to the indication, updated assistance data (AD) based on the set of NTN capabilities associated with the UE (Fig.2 and 17 and Paragraph [0367] provide assistance data).
2. Regarding claim 11, Ghimire teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 2 and 17), comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one
processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:
transmit a set of non-terrestrial network (NTN) capabilities associated with
the UE (Fig. 17 ProvideCapabilities);
camp on an NTN cell based on at least one of: (1) when a radio resource
connection (RRC) reconnection is established for the UE between a terrestrial
network (TN) and an NTN during a positioning session, (2) when the UE has
both TN connectivity and NTN connectivity during the positioning session, or
(3) when the UE has at least one high priority task (Paragraphs [0066] to [0068] camping on different cells, requires different assistance data, associated with current location); and
receive, from a location server based on the UE being camped on the NTN
cell, updated assistance data (AD) configured based on the set of NTN
capabilities associated with the UE (Fig.2 and 17 and Paragraph [0367] LMF provides assistance data to UE).
3. Regarding claims 2 and 12, Ghimire teaches wherein the set of NTN capabilities includes one or more of:
a supported NTN band,
NTN cell camped information (Paragraph [0326] cell where the UE is camped),
an NTN cell type,
an NTN public land mobile network (PLMN), or
a support for dual TN and NTN connectivity (Fig.2 and 17 and Paragraphs [0066] to [0068], [0367] and [0429] provide capabilities; terrestrial and non-terrestrial network; current location).
4. Regarding claims 3 and 13, Ghimire teaches wherein the at least one high priority task includes at least one of:
an emergency call (paragraphs [0044] and [0047]),
an emergency short message service (SMS),
a voice message, a data message, or an SMS message from a high priority user,
wireless emergency alerts (WEA), or
a lawful interception.
5. Regarding claims 4 and 14, Ghimire teaches wherein to receive the set of NTN capabilities, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:
receive, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), the set of NTN
capabilities (Fig. 2 and 17 Paragraph [0044] positioning procedure, AMF).
6. Regarding claims 5 and 15, Ghimire teaches wherein to receive, from the AMF, the set of NTN capabilities, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured o:
receive, from the AMF, the set of NTN capabilities based on a positioning
protocol (Fig. 2 and 17 Paragraph [0044] positioning procedure, AMF).
7. Regarding claims 6 and 16, Ghimire teaches wherein to receive the set of NTN capabilities, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:
receive, from the UE, the set of NTN capabilities (Fig. 17 Paragraph [0367] UE provides positioning capabilities).
8. Regarding claims 7 and 17, Ghimire teaches wherein to receive, from the UE, the set of NTN
capabilities, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured
to: receive, from the UE, the set of NTN capabilities based on a positioning protocol (Fig. 17 Paragraph [0367] UE provides positioning capabilities for UE positioning).
9. Regarding claims 8 and 18, Ghimire teaches wherein to transmit the updated AD, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:
transmit the updated AD via the NTN (Fig 8, new AD).
10. Regarding claims 9 and 19, Ghimire teaches wherein the location server is a location management function (LMF) (Figure 2 and 17 LMF).
11. Regarding claim 20, Ghimire teaches, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in
any combination, is further configured to:
initiate or resume the positioning session based on the updated AD (Paragraph [0052] update of assistance data).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Zhang et al. (US 2025/0267448 A1)
Huang et al. (US 2025/0016841 A1)
Qiao et al. (US 2021/0360371 A1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANE LEE LO whose telephone number is (571)270-1952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Faruk Hamza can be reached at (571)272-7969. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DIANE L LO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466