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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s remarks have been given full consideration, as such this Office Action has been modified in view of Amendments filed on 05/27/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed "Remarks" on 05/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claims 1, 9, and 14 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.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-11, 14-16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BAO et al. (US 2024/0306113 A1, hereinafter Bao) in view of Shimizu et al. (US 2019/0238658 A1, hereinafter Shimizu).
Regarding claim 1, Bao teaches a positioning system ([0032] method allows a UE to achieve a high accuracy positioning measurement, i.e. a positioning system), comprising: one or more processors; and a memory communicably coupled to the one or more processors and storing ([0073] referring to FIG. 3 the controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data): a control module including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to ([0073] the control module/controller/processor 359, which [0036] may include instructions): establish a communication link from a device to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node ([0106] the PRU 704 may be used for both territorial network (NT) based positioning and non-territorial network (NTN) based positioning. In some scenarios, a UE may have the capability to communicate with a server or another UE via an NTN. An NTN may refer to a network, or segments of a network, using at least one airborne device (e.g., an aircraft) or satellite (e.g., a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite); acquire environmental characteristics associated with the device and the NTN node ([0142] referring to FIG. 14, at 1422, in response to the UE 1402's indication to perform the UE-based positioning, the network entity 1404 may configure assistance data 1406 for the UE 1402, where the assistance data 1406 may include a list of virtual anchors 1408 and a list of VPRUs (virtual positioning reference units) 1410 for the UE-based positioning, such as described in connection with FIGS. 8-11 and 13); determine, via sensor data acquired from one or more environmental sensors of the device ([0088] describes positioning methods and how the UE may send positioning signals (which may be “sensor based,” and including the virtual positioning reference units VPRU and virtual anchors) to the network entity, which may be used to send measurement signals based on a NLOS effect signal according to [0152]), determine whether a signal from the NTN node is a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal according to the environmental characteristics- ([0207] the set of measurements or the correction data may be further generated based on one or more error sources including at least one of: an anchor clock bias, a group delay, an atmospheric effect or delay, a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) effect, or at least one environmental effect) -to the NTN node ([0106] as described above, wireless signals may be sent to and from an NTN node, also see FIG. 5/6); compute a position of the device using the signal and a compensation parameter when the signal is NLOS-; and provide the position ([Figure 14, operation 1438/1426] and [0151] at, 1438, the network entity 1404 may transmit the set of measurements or correction data associated with the VPRU 1412 to the UE 1402, next, [0154] at 1426, based on the assistance data 1406, the UE 1402 may perform the UE-based positioning using at least one virtual anchor and/or at least one VPRU, such as described in connection with FIGS. 7, 10, and 13).
Bao is not relied on for the claim language including instructions to identify at least whether a dynamic object is present in a surrounding environment of the device that blocks a line-of-sight (LOS)-and -including instructions to estimate a path of the signal by determining the path according to a blockage from a dynamic object detected in a surrounding environment of the device that is reflecting the signal, the dynamic object being an object that moves, and the device being a vehicle. However, Shimizu teaches [abstract] embodiments for performing beam alignment for non-line of sight (NLOS) scenarios between vehicles. Shimizu also teaches including instructions (see [0009] for “instructions” performing the operations described below) to identify at least whether a dynamic object is present in a surrounding environment of the device that blocks a line-of-sight (LOS)- ([0056] describes “the sensor set 150 may include one or more devices that provide sensor data 157 about a vehicle operation. For example, the sensor set 150 may include one or more sensors that detect a presence of objects that surround the vehicle 123,” i.e. the vehicle 123, vehicle 123 read as “device”, may detect objects in the devices’ surroundings through the use of sensors. Additionally, referring to FIG. 5 [0101] describes how sensor data and wireless messages may be used to detect blocker 510, blocker 510 read as “device that blocks a line-of-sight (LOS),” i.e. using sensors to detect an object blocking a LOS signal as depicted in FIG. 5) and -including instructions to estimate a path of the signal by determining the path according to a blockage from a dynamic object detected in a surrounding environment of the device that is reflecting the signal (referring to FIG. 5, [0103] describes “the path module 204 determines an NLOS path for avoiding the blocker 510 by using the reflector 520 to reflect the beam to the second vehicle 123 and, as a result, completely avoid the blocker 510,” i.e. determining the path according to a blockage in accordance with reflecting the signal. Furthermore, [0005] specifically states “determining an NLOS path based on the vehicle data and the sensor data so that the NLOS path avoids a potential blockage”), the dynamic object being an object that moves, and the device being a vehicle (FIG. 5 depicts Blocker 510 as a moveable object, i.e. the dynamic object being an object that moves. FIG. 5 also depicts the second vehicle 123, second vehicle 123 read as “the device”, being a vehicle).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bao to include the ability to estimate a path of the signal by determining the path according to a blockage from a dynamic object detected in a surrounding environment of the device that is reflecting the signal, as taught by Shimizu, in order to aid in an NLOS situation via signal reflection as shown in FIG. 5, which therefore [0011] results in safer, efficient, and proactive driving because it is possible to share sensor data among different vehicles.
Regarding claim 2, Bao teaches the instructions to estimate a path of the signal when the signal is NLOS include instructions to generate the compensation parameter that corrects for positioning error due to the signal being NLOS ([0207] the set of multiple measurements (which may form a path with multiple VPRUs or virtual anchors) or the correction data may be further generated based on one or more error sources including at least one of: an anchor clock bias, a group delay, an atmospheric effect or delay, a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) effect, or at least one environmental effect), and wherein the NTN node is one of: a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite ([0106] the PRU 704 may be used for both territorial network (NT) based positioning and non-territorial network (NTN) based positioning. In some scenarios, a UE may have the capability to communicate with a server or another UE via an NTN. An NTN may refer to a network, or segments of a network, using at least one airborne device (e.g., an aircraft) or satellite (e.g., a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite).
Regarding claim 3, Bao is not relied on for the claim language wherein the instructions to estimate the path include instructions to determine at least one characteristic of the dynamic object selected from the group consisting of: size, position, speed, and heading of the dynamic object, and to calculate the compensation parameter based, at least in part, on a reflection path of the signal determined using the at least one characteristic. However, Shimizu teaches as such ([0083] describes “the path module 204 receives vehicle data 155 that describes a blocker position, a blocker speed, and a blocker heading,” i.e. capabilities to collect characteristics of the blocker, blocker read as dynamic object, in order to calculate parameters used to adjust the signal path/reflection, see FIG. 5 for depiction of blocker 510 and example of estimating the path).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bao to include the ability to estimate a path of the signal by determining the path according to parameters based on the blockage from a dynamic object, as taught by Shimizu, in order to aid in performing an NLOS via signal reflection as shown in FIG. 5, which therefore [0011] results in safer, efficient, and proactive driving because it is possible to share sensor data among different vehicles.
Regarding claim 6, the instructions to acquire the environmental characteristics ([0142] Referring to FIG. 14, at 1422, in response to the UE 1402's indication to perform the UE-based positioning, the network entity 1404 may configure assistance data 1406 for the UE 1402, where the assistance data 1406 may include a list of virtual anchors 1408 and a list of VPRUs (virtual positioning reference units) 1410 for the UE-based positioning, such as described in connection with FIGS. 8-11 and 13) include instructions to acquire the sensor data from environmental sensors of the device about a surrounding environment of the device in order to detect a presence of dynamic objects that can interfere with receiving the signal ([0187] FIG. 18 is a diagram 1800 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1804. The apparatus 1804 may be a UE, the apparatus 1804 may further include a Bluetooth module 1812, a WLAN module 1814, an SPS module 1816 (e.g., GNSS module), one or more sensor modules 1818 (e.g., barometric pressure sensor/altimeter; motion sensor such as inertial measurement unit (IMU), gyroscope, and/or accelerometer(s); light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation and ranging (SONAR), magnetometer, audio and/or other technologies used for positioning), i.e. the apparatus 1804 may receive instructions to acquire sensor data from a plurality of types of sensors), and acquiring signal information that includes measurements about the signal from the NTN node ([0058] the signals measured may also be based on one or more of a satellite positioning system (SPS) 170 (e.g., one or more of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), global position system (GPS), non-terrestrial network (NTN), or other satellite position/location system)).
Regarding claim 7, Bao teaches the instructions to provide the position include instructions to communicate the position to a subsystem within an apparatus in which the device is integrated to facilitate navigation ([0154] referring to FIG. 14, at 1426, based on the assistance data 1406, the UE 1402 may perform the UE-based positioning using at least one virtual anchor and/or at least one VPRU, such as described in connection with FIGS. 7, 10, and 13), and wherein the apparatus is one of: a ground vehicle, a maritime vehicle, an aerial vehicle, a space vehicle, a mobile device, user equipment, and a network infrastructure node ([0059] Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc.)).
Regarding claim 8, Bao teaches the instructions to acquire the environmental characteristics include instructions to acquire ([0142] referring to FIG. 14, at 1422 the network entity 1404 may configure assistance data 1406, assistance data read as environmental characteristics) at least one of: a radio propagation metric derived from the signal, path information about the signal, the sensor data from the device, including one or more signals received from another device, a prior position estimate of the device, and ancillary position information ([0187] the UE/apparatus 1804 may include one or more of a plurality of types of sensors as described in claim 6, and [0033] the location of a VPRU may be pre-assigned (e.g., which may be more suitable for an NTN) or generated based on the location of a target UE (e.g., the generated VPRU is in proximity to the target UE), i.e. the configurations used to generate virtual anchors may be created from environmental characteristics of the UE captured by the UE sensors, i.e. captured via sensor data from the device).
Regarding claim 9, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 1, further in view of Bao teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions- ([0187] FIG. 18 is a diagram 1800 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1804. The apparatus 1804 may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus 1804 may include additional memory modules 1826, which may also be considered a computer-readable medium/memory. Each computer-readable medium/memory 1824′, 1806′, 1826 may be non-transitory).
Regarding claim 10, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 2.
Regarding claim 11, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 14, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 2.
Regarding claim 16, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 19, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 6.
Regarding claim 20, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 7 and 8.
Claims 4-5, 12-13, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BAO et al. (US 2024/0306113 A1, hereinafter Bao) and Shimizu et al. (US 2019/0238658 A1, hereinafter Shimizu) as applied in claims above and in view of HAUSTEIN et al. (US 2024/0128999 A1, hereinafter Haustein).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Bao and Shimizu is not relied on for the claim language the instructions to estimate the path include instructions to assume that a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) reflects the signal from the NTN node to the device and determine the path according to the signal reflecting from a location of the RIS in relation to a dynamic position of the NTN node. However, Haustein teaches [abstract] a method for identifying the path component of a wireless signal traveling through a radio propagation environment in accordance with [0006] reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), and [0190-0194] the utilization of a plurality of types of satellites. Haustein also teaches as such (FIG.16-21 represent a multitude of locations of UE 44 being measured, a multitude of locations, read as path, via a reflected signal from RIS 58, connecting the node 14 with UE 44 when the signal is OLOS or BLOS, i.e. the RIS 58 reflects the signal and determines the path of UE 44 according to the position of the node 14, and [0189] describes a beacon can be induced by the source and/or the satellite acting as a relay and/or a repeater itself, i.e. the BS node 14 depicted in FIG. 16-21 may be a satellite node).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Bao and Shimizu to include the ability for the use of RIS reflections from the NTN node to the device to help determine a path, as taught by Haustein, in order to [0011] enhance communications by identifying the path component allowing a reliable use of the path component, e.g., to distinguish a stable path component from a sporadic or unstable path component which renders the communication more reliable and therefore enhances wireless communication, and therefore [0006] improving the energy efficiency and capacity of wireless networks.
Regarding claim 5, Bao teaches the instructions to determine whether the signal is NLOS include instructions to identify- ([0207] as described in claim 1, an error defining NLOS may trigger the event to send/configure assistance data, i.e. instructions to determine a NLOS signal is generated via a possible NLOS error) and the sensor data representing ([0187] FIG. 18 is a diagram 1800 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1804. The apparatus 1804 may be a UE, the apparatus 1804 may further include one or more sensor modules 1818 (e.g., barometric pressure sensor/altimeter; motion sensor such as inertial measurement unit (IMU), gyroscope, and/or accelerometer(s); light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation and ranging (SONAR), magnetometer, audio and/or other technologies used for positioning), i.e. the UE sensor may contain a plurality of sensors used for gathering environment information) at least one of: a size of the dynamic object, a position of the dynamic object, a speed of the dynamic object, and a heading of the dynamic object ([0128] FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating an example of pre-assigning locations of VRSs, (which may be based on the physical location of a UE or its surroundings, as described in [0130 and 0207]) in one example, a network may generate a grid of X meters (m) or kilometers (km) on Earth, where the grid size may be pre-defined (e.g., 1 m, 2 m, 5 m, etc. for indoor applications, and 5 km, 10 km, 50 km, etc. for outdoor applications), then, the network may associate each cross point on the grid with an identifier (ID), i.e. the position of each object).
The combination of Bao and Shimizu is not relied on for the claim language ii) whether a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is reflecting the signal of the NTN node, and wherein the instructions to determine whether the signal is NLOS include instructions to analyze the environmental characteristics that include the sensor data perceiving the dynamic object. However, Haustein ii) whether a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is reflecting the signal of the NTN node, and wherein the instructions to determine whether the signal is NLOS include instructions to analyze the environmental characteristics that include sensor data perceiving the dynamic object (FIG.16-21 depicts RIS 58 with signal 32 being reflected from the node 14, wherein the signal is originally determined to be the OLOS, OLOS read as NLOS, signal as shown, which is being obstructed via the perceived dynamic object 38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Bao and Shimizu to include the ability for the use of RIS reflections from the NTN node to the device to help determine a path, as taught by Haustein, in order to [0011] enhance communications by identifying the path component allowing a reliable use of the path component, e.g., to distinguish a stable path component from a sporadic or unstable path component which renders the communication more reliable and therefore enhances wireless communication, and therefore [0006] improving the energy efficiency and capacity of wireless networks.
Regarding claim 12, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 13, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 5.
Regarding claim 17, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 18, the claimed limitations of claim are rejected as the same reasons as set forth in claim 5.
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 MATTHEW JAMES DWYER whose telephone number is (571)272-5121. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6 a.m. - 3 p.m. EST.
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, Yuwen Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. 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.
/MATTHEW JAMES DWYER/Examiner, Art Unit 2649
/GEORGE ENG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2699
Prosecution Insights