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 § 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.
Claim(s) 10-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (hereinafter Lee) (US 2016/0165561) in view of Bao et al. (hereinafter Bao) (US 2022/02483666).
Regarding claim 10, Lee teaches a method of wireless communication, comprising: communicating, by a first communication device, a first timing information indicating at least one of time difference, or a timing synchronization information between a third communication device and a fourth communication device and wherein the third and fourth communication devices are UEs(Third UE and first UE are the third and fourth communication device; item S240 timing difference between third UE and first UE; Fig. 11).
Lee did not teach specifically communicating, by a first communication device, with a second communication device wherein each of the first and second communication devices is a user equipment (UE) or a location management function (LMF) and wherein the third and fourth communication devices are UEs that are different from any UE among the first and second communication devices. However, Bao teaches in an analogous art communicating, by a first communication device, with a second communication device wherein each of the first and second communication devices is a user equipment (UE) or a location management function (LMF) and wherein the third and fourth communication devices are UEs that are different from any UE among the first and second communication devices (Fig. 5, stage 10 target UE provides measurement reports to Location server (item 120) and also stage 7, SL reference signal transmission and target UE performs measurements; P[0052], report parameter include or more reference signal time difference etc). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the method of communicating, by a first communication device, with a second communication device wherein each of the first and second communication devices is a user equipment (UE) or a location management function (LMF) and wherein the third and fourth communication devices are UEs that are different from any UE among the first and second communication devices in order to have improved efficiency.
Regarding claim 11, Lee teaches the method of claim 10, wherein the communicating includes at least one of transmitting or reporting(P[0193], reporting to server; RSTD difference).
Claims 12-15 are rejected for the same reason as set forth in claims 10-11, 10-11 respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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.
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 MUTHUSWAMY GANAPATHY MANOHARAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5515. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30am-3:00pm.
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/MUTHUSWAMY G MANOHARAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647