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
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/29/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant's arguments, filed on 4/29/2026 with respect to claims 1-3, 5-6, 9-11 and 13-15 in the remarks, have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by the new limitations added to claims 1, 5, 9 and 14. See the rejection below of claims 1, 5, 9 and 14 for relevant citations found in Modarres disclosing the newly added limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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 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 1-3, 5-6, 9-11 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Modarres Razavi et al., (US 2023/0180171), (hereinafter, Modarres).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Modarres discloses a wireless communication method
(= methods for generating, configuring and using integrity parameters associated with positioning measurements and calculation, see [0037 and 0094]), comprising:
identifying, by a wireless communication node (= network node 130), a condition (= integrity parameters such an Alert Limit, Integrity Risk and Protection Level, see [0093 and 0097]) associated with a positioning method related to a wireless communication device (= network node 130 can select an Alert Limit/or Integrity Risk for UE ; and the Alert Limit/or Integrity Risk can be associated with one or more Positioning reference signal (PRSs), see [0093]); and
determining, by the wireless communication node, a value of a qualification flag (= quality of the measurement/reading) based on whether assistance data associated with the positioning method satisfies the condition, wherein the value of the qualification flag indicates whether the assistance data is valid for an integrity application associated with the positioning method (= network node 130 can provide the Alert Limit/or Integrity Risk parameters with OTDOA assistance information to UE; UE monitors the Integrity Risks for its PRSs and obtains positioning measurements, see [0093]; UE provides OTDOA results and quality of measurements and network 130 to identify/determine the integrity of the estimated calculated positioning coordinates, see [0094 and 0096]) and wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a specific transmission reception point (TRP) for the positioning method” (= network node 130 can provide parameter with OTDOA assistance information to UE, see, [0093]).
Regarding claims 2 and 6, as mentioned in claims 1 and 5, Modarres discloses the wireless communication method/ wireless communications node, wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a specific Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) frequency layer (= PRS-based positioning method such as OTDOA; and providing OTDOA results along with quality of measurements, see, [0092-93]).
Regarding claim 3, as mentioned in claim 1, Modarres discloses the wireless communication method, wherein the qualification flag is configured for the specific positioning method (= PRS-based positioning method such as OTDOA; and providing OTDOA results along with quality of measurements, see, [0092-93])
Regarding claims 9 and 14, Modarres discloses a wireless communication method/ wireless communication device (= methods for generating, configuring and using integrity parameters associated with positioning measurements and calculation, see [0037 and 0094]), comprising:
performing, by a wireless communication device (= UE), a positioning method in accordance with at least one of assistance data (= network node 130 can provide the Alert Limit/or Integrity Risk parameters with OTDOA assistance information to UE; UE monitors the Integrity Risks for its PRSs and obtains positioning measurements, see [0093]), wherein a wireless communication node (= network node 130) is configured to determine a value of a qualification flag (= quality of the measurement/reading, see [000093-94]) based on whether (= integrity parameters such an Alert Limit, Integrity Risk and Protection Level, see [0093 and 0097]), wherein the value of the qualification flag indicates whether the assistance data is valid for an integrity application associated with the positioning method and an integrity the positioning method (= network node 130 can provide the Alert Limit/or Integrity Risk parameters with OTDOA assistance information to UE; UE monitors the Integrity Risks for its PRSs and obtains positioning measurements, see [0093]; UE provides OTDOA results and quality of measurements and network 130 to identify/determine the integrity of the estimated calculated positioning coordinates, see [0094 and 0096]) and wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a specific transmission reception point (TRP) for the positioning method” (= network node 130 can provide parameter with OTDOA assistance information to UE, see, [0093]).
Regarding claims 10 and 15, as mentioned in claims 9 and 14, Modarres discloses the wireless communication method/ wireless communications device, wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a specific Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) frequency layer (= PRS-based positioning method such as OTDOA; and providing OTDOA results along with quality of measurements, see, [0092-93]).
Regarding claim 11, as mentioned in claim 9, Modarres discloses the wireless communication method, wherein the qualification flag is configured for the positioning method (= PRS-based positioning method such as OTDOA; and providing OTDOA results along with quality of measurements, see, [0092-93])
Regarding claim 13, as mentioned in claim 9, Modarres discloses the wireless communication method further comprising receiving, by the wireless communication device, the assistance (= network node 130 can provide parameter with OTDOA assistance information to UE, see, [0093])
CONCLUSION
4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kwasi Karikari whose telephone number is
571-272-8566.The examiner can normally be reached on M-Frid (8am – 4pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached on 571-272-7904.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8566.
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/Kwasi Karikari/
Primary Examiner: Art Unit 2641.
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