DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on June 9, 2026. Claims 1, 9, and 17 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
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 § 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin et al. (US 2024/0007968) in view of Si et al. (US 2022/0052813).
Regarding Claim 1, Shin teaches a first user equipment (UE) (Terminal – See Fig. 14), comprising:
a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver (“Referring to FIG. 14, the terminal includes a receiver 1400, a transmitter 1404, and/or a processor 1402” – See [0331]; “At this time, it will be understood that each block of the process flowchart illustrations and combinations of the flowchart illustrations may be executed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions may be mounted on a processor of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment may generate means for executing functions described in the flowchart block(s). Since these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory which may direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to function in a particular manner, the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory may produce a manufacture article including instruction means which implement the function described in the flowchart block(s)” – See [0041]), the at least one processor configured to:
determine a candidate comb pattern associated with transmission of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) across multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) that results in an unequal distribution of occupied resource elements (REs) per PRB (“the UE may be configured to receive (or, configured with) the positioning information from another UE or the LS. One or more pieces of configuration information may be received. For example, the SL-PRS information may be determined to configure only one pattern and may allow to configure one or more pattern information” – See [0128]; “a method for reusing a pattern based on a UL SRS for the SL-PRS is explained. In Table 910 of FIG. 9, comb patterns and the number of SRS symbols supported in the UL SRS for the positioning may be reused as the SL-PRS. For example, an SL-PRS pattern 911 for comb-2 and the number of PRS symbols=1 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 912 for comb-2 and the number of PRS symbols=2 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 913 for comb-2 and the number of PRS symbols=4 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 914 for comb-4 and the number of PRS symbols=2 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 915 for comb-4 and the number of PRS symbols=4 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 916 for comb-4 and the number of PRS symbols=8 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 917 for comb-4 and the number of PRS symbols=12 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 918 for comb-8 and the number of PRS symbols=4 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 919 for comb-8 and the number of PRS symbols=8 is shown. An SL-PRS pattern 920 for comb-8 and the number of PRS symbols=12 is shown” – See [0124]; “An RBdensity is a density on the frequency axis (or, frequency domain) transmitting the SL-PRS and may indicate whether the SL-PRS is transmitted every RB on the frequency domain with the RB-based density of 1, whether the SL-PRS is transmitted every two RBs on the frequency domain with RB-based density of ½, and/or whether the SL-PRS is transmitted every four RBs on the frequency domain with the RB-based density of ¼” – See [0209]; The UE determines a candidate comb pattern for transmitting a SL-PRS across multiple PRBs, wherein the comb-8 pattern occupies different/unequal numbers of REs in each PRB); and
transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, the SL-PRS to a second UE (“transmitting, to a second UE, the SL-PRS on a SL BWP” – See [0013]).
Shin does not explicitly teach that the processor is configured to determine that at least one rule associated with a set of rules is satisfied, the set of rules comprising one or more of: a first rule that a frequency allocation allotted to the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE is a multiple of a first frequency block sufficient to obtain a first equal distribution of occupied REs per first frequency block, or a second rule that a subchannel allocation allotted to a resource pool pre-configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS is a multiple of a second frequency block per subchannel sufficient to obtain a second equal distribution of occupied REs per second frequency block, or a third rule that a SL-PRS configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE comprises a multiple of a third frequency block that is sufficient to obtain an equal distribution of occupied REs per third frequency block, wherein the multiple of the third frequency block is greater than one.
However, Si teaches determining that at least one rule associated with a set of rules is satisfied, the set of rules comprising one or more of: a first rule that a frequency allocation allotted to the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE is a multiple of a first frequency block sufficient to obtain a first equal distribution of occupied REs per first frequency block, or a second rule that a subchannel allocation allotted to a resource pool pre-configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS is a multiple of a second frequency block per subchannel sufficient to obtain a second equal distribution of occupied REs per second frequency block, or a third rule that a SL-PRS configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE comprises a multiple of a third frequency block that is sufficient to obtain an equal distribution of occupied REs per third frequency block, wherein the multiple of the third frequency block is greater than one (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8” – See [0070]-[0072]; “When an RE of a symbol on an odd-numbered RB or an even-numbered RB exceeds the range of two consecutive RBs after calculation based on the RE shift, a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; See also Fig. 3; Fig. 3 shows a third rule comprising a multiple of a PRB (third frequency block) that is sufficient to obtain an equal distribution of PRS REs per PRB. The equal distribution includes 12 PRS REs in the first PRB and 12 PRS REs in the second PRB. In this example, the number of PRBs is 2, which is a multiple of 2. Furthermore, the value of 2 is greater than 1); and
wherein the SL-PRS is transmitted in accordance with the candidate comb pattern based on the at least one rule being satisfied (“the terminal may send the SRS resource” – See [0110]; The UE transmits the PRS based on the rule).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shin such that the processor is configured to determine that at least one rule associated with a set of rules is satisfied, the set of rules comprising one or more of: a first rule that a frequency allocation allotted to the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE is a multiple of a first frequency block sufficient to obtain a first equal distribution of occupied REs per first frequency block, or a second rule that a subchannel allocation allotted to a resource pool pre-configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS is a multiple of a second frequency block per subchannel sufficient to obtain a second equal distribution of occupied REs per second frequency block, or a third rule that a SL-PRS configuration associated with the transmission of the SL-PRS per UE comprises a multiple of a third frequency block that is sufficient to obtain an equal distribution of occupied REs per third frequency block, wherein the multiple of the third frequency block is greater than one; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, the SL-PRS to a second UE in accordance with the candidate comb pattern based on the at least one rule being satisfied. Motivation for doing so would be to distribute the SL-PRS resource at equal intervals in frequency domain, thereby increasing transmit power of the SL-PRS resource (See Si, [0062]).
Regarding Claim 2, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 1. Si further teaches that the first frequency block comprises: a number of subcarriers per UE or REs per UE that is a multiple of a least common multiple (LCM) of a first comb number associated with the candidate comb pattern and a second comb number associated with a highest available comb pattern that results in an equal distribution of the occupied REs per PRB, or a number of PRBs per UE that is a multiple of a respective number of PRBs in a group of PRBs with an equal distribution of occupied REs across the group of PRBs, or a combination thereof (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The first comb number is M=8 and the second comb number is M=12, which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple of 12 and 8).
Regarding Claim 3, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 2. Si further teaches that the candidate comb pattern is comb-8 and the first comb number is 8, wherein the highest available comb pattern is comb-12 and the second comb number is 12, and wherein the LCM is 24, the number of PRBs per UE is a multiple of 2, or both (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The candidate comb pattern is M=8 (i.e., comb-8) and the second comb pattern is M=12 (i.e., comb-12), which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple (LCM) of 12 and 8, and wherein there are 2 consecutive RBs per UE, wherein 2 is a multiple of 2).
Regarding Claim 4, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 1. Si further teaches that the second frequency block comprises: a number of subcarriers per subchannel or REs per subchannel that is a multiple of a least common multiple (LCM) of a first comb number associated with the candidate comb pattern and a second comb number associated with a highest available comb pattern that results in an equal distribution of the occupied REs per PRB, or a number of PRBs per subchannel that is a multiple of a respective number of PRBs in a group of PRBs with an equal distribution of occupied REs across the group of PRBs, or a combination thereof (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The first comb number is M=8 and the second comb number is M=12, which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple of 12 and 8).
Regarding Claim 5, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 4. Si further teaches that the candidate comb pattern is comb-8 and the first comb number is 8, wherein the highest available comb pattern is comb-12 and the second comb number is 12, and wherein the LCM is 24, the number of PRBs per subchannel is a multiple of 2, or both (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The candidate comb pattern is M=8 (i.e., comb-8) and the second comb pattern is M=12 (i.e., comb-12), which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple (LCM) of 12 and 8, and wherein there are 2 consecutive RBs per UE, wherein 2 is a multiple of 2).
Regarding Claim 6, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 1. Si further teaches that the third frequency block comprises: a number of subcarriers per SL-PRS transmission in the SL-PRS configuration or REs per SL-PRS transmission in the SL-PRS configuration that is a multiple of a least common multiple (LCM) of a first comb number associated with the candidate comb pattern and a second comb number associated with a highest available comb pattern that results in an equal distribution of the occupied REs per PRB, or a number of PRBs per SL-PRS transmission that is a multiple of a respective number of PRBs in a group of PRBs with an equal distribution of occupied REs across the group of PRBs, or a combination thereof (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The first comb number is M=8 and the second comb number is M=12, which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple of 12 and 8).
Regarding Claim 7, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 6. Si further teaches that the candidate comb pattern is comb-8 and the first comb number is 8, wherein the highest available comb pattern is comb-12 and the second comb number is 12, and wherein the LCM is 24, the number of PRBs per SL-PRS transmission is a multiple of 2, or both (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “the pattern of the SRS resource includes two consecutive RBs” – See [0064]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; “a modulo operation (mod 24) may be performed so that an RE frequency domain location may fall within the range of the consecutive 2 RBs … For example, when the RE shift is 1, the number of symbols of the SRS resource is 8, and the comb structure is comb-8, the corresponding pattern of the SRS resource may be shown in FIG. 3” – See [0083]; “the SRS resource may be used for positioning” – See [0085]; “when M is 8, the preset frequency domain range is 2 RBs, and the specific value is 24” – See [0081]; The candidate comb pattern is M=8 (i.e., comb-8) and the second comb pattern is M=12 (i.e., comb-12), which is the highest available comb pattern, wherein modulo 24 is a least common multiple (LCM) of 12 and 8, and wherein there are 2 consecutive RBs per UE, wherein 2 is a multiple of 2).
Regarding Claim 8, Shin in view of Si teaches the first UE of Claim 1. Si further teaches that the candidate comb pattern is comb-8 (“a comb structure corresponding to M subcarriers distributed at equal intervals in frequency domain is comb-M. That is, when M is 6, 8, or 12, the corresponding comb structure is com-6, com-8, or com-12” – See [0060]; “Further, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS resource occupies consecutive N symbols; where … when M=8, N is 1, 2, 4, 8, or an integer greater than 8; and” – See [0070]-[0072]; The candidate comb pattern is M=8 (i.e., comb-8)).
Claims 9 and 17 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claims 10 and 18 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claim 11 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 3.
Claims 12 and 19 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 4.
Claim 13 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 6.
Claim 15 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 7.
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 8.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 10 of the remarks, Applicant argues “First, the Examiner's indication of ‘a multiple (e.g., N=8) of a third frequency block’ is improper because N=8 refers to the number of symbols in time-domain, and is not a multiple of a frequency block in frequency-domain.
Second, in FIG. 3 of Si, an equal distribution for comb-8 is obtained across two PRBs with a total of 24 RBs, because 24 is a multiple of 8. In this scenario, the "third frequency block" appears to be interpreted as a block of 24 RBs, with the ‘multiple’ of the third frequency block being 1.
By the present Amendment, independent claim 1 is amended to specify ‘wherein the multiple of the third frequency block is greater than one’. Support for this amendment is implicit within the original claim language itself – ‘per third frequency block’ encompasses an interpretation where there is more than one third frequency block. Si does not disclose or suggest that the 24 RE block depicted would be treated as a unit if scaled to a higher RE count (e.g., 24, 48, 72, 96, etc.). Rather, FIG. 3 of Si merely depicts an example where ‘the specific [RE] value is 24’ (e.g., see [0081] of Si) and not that this is intended to constitute a unit block of REs to ensure that only multiples of 24 REs are used for SRS transmissions. For completeness, Si does disclose RE scaling beyond 24 for other comb patterns (e.g., see [0100]-[0108] - as high as 32 REs), but notably does not disclose such aspects for comb- 8. Hence, 24 appears to be the maximum RE range contemplated for comb-8 in Si.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. According to the broadest reasonable interpretation, Si’s PRB/resource block is considered to be equivalent to the claimed “frequency block”. The PRB is defined as a block of 12 subcarriers (frequency domain resources) which would comprise a “frequency block”. As shown above in the rejection of independent claim 1, Fig. 3 and paragraphs [0060], [0064], [0070]-[0072], [0081], [0083], and [0085] of Si disclose an example wherein a comb-8 PRS pattern is used. In particular, paragraph [0081] discloses that a specific value of 2 PRBs is used for the PRS transmission when the comb-8 pattern is used. Fig. 3 illustrates how the two PRBs are used for transmitting the PRS, such that an equal distribution of PRS REs is obtained across the two PRBs (i.e., 12 PRS REs in the first PRB and 12 PRS REs in the second RB). Since two PRBs are used, the number of PRBs (third frequency blocks) is two, which is a multiple of two (i.e., “wherein the multiple of the third frequency block is greater than one”).
Additionally, the concept of “scaling” an RE count that is alleged as being missing from Si is not recited in the claims. In response to Applicant’s argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “Si does not disclose or suggest that the 24 RE block depicted would be treated as a unit if scaled to a higher RE count (e.g., 24, 48, 72, 96, etc.). Rather, FIG. 3 of Si merely depicts an example where ‘the specific [RE] value is 24’ (e.g., see [0081] of Si) and not that this is intended to constitute a unit block of REs to ensure that only multiples of 24 REs are used for SRS transmissions”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Scott M Sciacca whose telephone number is (571)270-1919. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 7:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST.
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
Prosecution Insights