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 .
Status of Claims
This communication is in response to the application filed on 06/23/2026.
Claims 11-19 are pending in this application, with claim 11 being independent.
Claims 1-10 and 20 have been canceled.
Claim Objections
Claims 11-19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The objected claims are not clearly written to recite a terminal involvement in the claimed invention and broadly uses a wireless communication node to perform all the steps supposed to be performed by the terminal as well. The claimed invention involves both the node and the terminal to achieve the intended goal. The applicant is encouraged to fix claims 11-19 or 1-10 and 20 to properly address all the steps of the terminal and the node involvement to clearly present which entity performs each required step. This issue has invoked a 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejection.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II in the reply filed on 06/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-10 and 20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group I, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/23/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 12-19 are rejected based upon claim dependency to claim 28.
Regarding Claim 11, the claims recite the combination of the use of receiving a configuration information from a LMF for a reference signal, measuring the reference signal, its carrier phase on a path and sending measurement results including carrier phase difference between resources of the reference signal wherein all steps are performed by a node which lack proper written description. The specification does not disclose as to the node performing measurements for one or more carrier phase differences between resources of the reference signal for positioning or one or more carrier phase differences between transmission reception points. Applicant has not described in the specification as to how the measurements steps are performed by the node in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor had possession of the claimed invention at the time of filing. Note MPEP 608.01(o).
The published specification states that the node receiving a configuration information from a LMF for a reference signal, measuring the reference signal, its carrier phase on a path and sending measurement results Para[0144-0150]. As such, the specification does not explicitly disclose the use of all steps of the claim. A review of the published specification failed to find explicit support for such a combination and it appears to align with few steps performed by the node.
As to claim 12, the claim recite the steps of measuring carrier phase of the reference signal on one or more paths with the same receiving timing error group. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 13, the claim recite the number of contiguous symbols determined by the node. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 14, the claim recite measuring, one or more carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning on one or more paths; measuring, a carrier phase of the reference signal for positioning on a path different from a first arrival path, wherein the measurement result of the reference signal for positioning further comprises at least one of: one or more carrier phase differences between paths; one or more carrier phase differences between frequency layers. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 15, the claim recite reporting, one or more carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning with an indication of line of sight or non-line of sight; and reporting, one or more carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning with the indication of line of sight or non-line of sight with a confidence level, wherein a report of the one or more carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning is absent in response to a probability of non-line of sight exceeding a threshold, and wherein the threshold is configured by a long-term evolution positioning protocol layer. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 16, the claim recite determining, by the wireless communication node, a signal to noise ratio of the reference signal for positioning when measuring the reference signal for positioning. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 17, the claim recite reporting, one or more carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning with at least one of: a signal to noise ratio, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a reference signal received power, or a reference signal received quality; reporting, the measurement result of the reference signal for positioning on a first arrival path with a fine granularity; reporting, the measurement result of the reference signal for positioning on a path having a strongest receiving power with a fine granularity; reporting, the measurement result of the reference signal for positioning on a path different from the first arrival path with a coarse granularity; and reporting, a differential report associated to a carrier phase of the reference signal, wherein the differential report comprises a differential value relative to the carrier phase of a first arrival path. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 18, the claim reporting, at least one of: an identifier of the reference signal for positioning; an identifier of a resource of the reference signal for positioning; or an identifier of a set of the reference signal for positioning; reporting, the measurement result with a link between different frequency layers; reporting, a differential report with a link between a frequency layer and a reference frequency layer; reporting, the measurement result based on each resource of the reference signal for positioning; and reporting, Q candidates of carrier phases of the reference signal for positioning or Q candidates of carrier phase differences of the reference signal for positioning, wherein Q is an integer, wherein the Q candidates of carrier phases or the Q candidates of carrier phase differences of the reference signal for positioning comprise Q integers of integer parts and corresponding Q floats of fractional parts. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
As to claim 19, the claim recite reporting, Q pair candidates of carrier phase differences of the reference signal for positioning, wherein Q is an integer; reporting, by the wireless communication node to the location management function, Q pair candidates of carrier phases or carrier phase differences of the reference signal for positioning after a de-correlation process, wherein Q is an integer; reporting, Q pair candidates of carrier phases or carrier phase differences of the reference signal for positioning after a de-correlation process and an optimal estimation process, wherein Q is an integer; reporting, a gesture of the wireless communication terminal with timing error groups not in one plane; reporting, a carrier phase of the reference signal for positioning based on a channel impulse response; wherein a number of times of measuring the reference signal for positioning before the measurement result being reported is configured by a network; and reporting, a carrier phase of the reference signal for positioning with at least one of: a location of the wireless communication terminal; an indication of a measurement number; or distance information between the wireless communication terminal and the wireless communication node. The published specification does not disclose these steps performed by the node. Applicant has not provided any disclosure as to how node performs these steps. Thus the specification lacks proper written description.
A prior art rejection has not been applied because the specification fails to provide written description disclosure and the resulting claims do not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired and claims are vague and indefinite. No meaningful search can be performed at this time as it is not clear which entity performs all the steps of claimed invention. However, any subsequently presented claims, in definite form will be subject to rejection on art.
Conclusion
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/defau1Vfiles/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sudesh M. Patidar whose telephone number is (571)272-2768. The examiner can normally be reached M-F:: 10AM-6:30PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached at (571) 270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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