DETAILED ACTION
Claim(s) 1-5, 8-14 and 17-20 are presented for examination.
Claim(s) 2-5, 8, 9, 11-13, 18 and 20 are amended.
Claims 6, 7, 15 and 16 are canceled.
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 .
Priority
As required by M.P.E.P.201.14(c), acknowledgement is made to applicant’s claim for priority based on application(s) 63/044,782 submitted on June 26th, 2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on May 17th, 2024 and August 8th, 2024 follow the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 17/355,762, filed June 23, 2021, now issued as Patent (US 12,022,388 B2), entitled “POSITIONING SIGNAL MEASUREMENT WITH DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION,” that claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/044,782, filed June 26, 2020, entitled “POSITIONING SIGNAL MEASUREMENT WITH DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION,” …
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “means for operating …”; “means for determining …” and “means for measuring …” etc. in claims 19 and 20.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification fig. 5, ¶112 and fig. 13, ¶135-¶141 as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8, 10-12, 14, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over CHA et al. (US 2022/0132463 A1) hereinafter “Cha” in view of CHA et al. (US 2022/0224498 A1) hereinafter “Cha ‘498”.
Regarding Claims 1 and 10,
Cha discloses a user equipment (UE) [see fig(s). 19 & 23, pg. 24, ¶518 lines 1-3, a UE] comprising:
a transceiver [see fig(s). 19 & 23, pg. 24, ¶519 lines 1-9, a radio frequency (RF) module (transceiver)];
a memory [see fig(s). 19 & 23, pg. 24, ¶519 lines 1-9, a memory device]; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory [see fig(s). 19 & 23, pg. 24, ¶519 lines 1-9, a digital signal processor (DSP)/microprocessor], operate in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 19, pgs. 21-22, ¶471 lines 1-27; ¶472 lines 1-9, when the UE is configured with DRX, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring during the “On” Duration, and when the UE fails in detecting any PDCCH during the PDCCH monitoring, the UE transitions to a sleep state after the “On” Duration], wherein the time interleaved ON times defines an ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 19, pgs. 21-22, ¶471 lines 1-27; ¶472 lines 1-9, when DRX is configured, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring/reception discontinuously in the time domain. For example, when DRX is configured, PDCCH reception occasions (e.g., slots with PDCCH search spaces) are configured discontinuously according to a DRX configuration].
Although Cha discloses operating in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode, Cha does not explicitly teach “determine whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses operate in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6, the UE decodes a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a predetermined PDSCH resource region. In this case, based on discontinuous reception (DRX) being configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the PDSCH is monitored within an “On” duration related to the DRX], wherein the time interleaved ON times defines an ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3, based on the UL RS being configured for positioning, the preset offset differs among the at least one OFDM symbol. For example, each of the at least one RE is configured at intervals of “N” from the starting position in an ascending order in the frequency domain]; and
determine whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, the starting position of each of the at least one RE in the frequency domain is determined based on a modulo “N” operation performed on a value obtained by adding the comb offset and the preset offset].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “determine whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for providing a positioning method capable of reducing signaling overhead because a starting position in the frequency domain of at least one RE included in the UL RS resource is obtained based on an offset included in UL RS configuration information and a predefined offset [see Cha ‘498, pg. 1, ¶7 lines 1-8].
Regarding Claims 2 and 11,
Cha discloses the UE of claim 1.
Cha does not explicitly teach, wherein the processor is configured to at least one of:
“measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window”; or “measure a second part of the portion of the positioning signal in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window, the second part of the positioning signal being less than the portion of the positioning signal”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4; ¶432 lines 1-3, a transmit power for the UL RS is determined based on a path-loss measured from an RS configured as quasi co-location (QCL) type-D].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window”; or “measure a second part of the portion of the positioning signal in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window, the second part of the positioning signal being less than the portion of the positioning signal” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for the same motivation as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding Claims 3 and 12,
Cha discloses the UE of claim 2.
Cha does not explicitly teach, wherein the processor is configured to “receive configuration information via the transceiver and to determine, based on the configuration information, whether to measure all of the portion of the positioning signal, or measure the second part of the portion of the positioning signal, in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses to receive configuration information via the transceiver [see fig. 26: Step “4010”, pg. 30, ¶425 lines 1-2; ¶427 lines 1-6, the UE receives uplink reference signal (UL RS) configuration information] and to determine [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, determining], based on the configuration information [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, based on a modulo “N” operation performed on a value obtained by adding the comb offset and the preset offset], whether to measure all of the portion of the positioning signal [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, the starting position of each of the at least one RE in the frequency domain].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “receive configuration information via the transceiver and to determine, based on the configuration information, whether to measure all of the portion of the positioning signal, or measure the second part of the portion of the positioning signal, in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for the same motivation as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding Claims 5 and 14,
Cha discloses the UE of claim 1.
Cha does not explicitly teach, wherein the processor is configured to “measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to all of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive in the first one of the ON times of the ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to all of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive in the first one of the ON times of the ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4; ¶432 lines 1-3, a transmit power for the UL RS is determined based on a path-loss measured from an RS configured as quasi co-location (QCL) type-D].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include measure all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to all of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive in the first one of the ON times of the ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for the same motivation as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding Claims 8 and 17,
The combined system of Cha and Cha ’498 discloses the UE of claim 1.
Cha further discloses wherein the processor is configured to transmit a scheduling request to a network entity via the transceiver for an uplink grant to transmit a positioning report above layer 1 and layer 2 [see pg. 5, ¶107 lines 1-9, control information that the UE transmits to the BS is called uplink control information (UCI). The UCI includes a hybrid automatic repeat and request acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK/NACK), a scheduling request (SR), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), etc.].
Regarding Claim 19,
Cha discloses a user equipment (UE) [see fig(s). 19 & 23, pg. 24, ¶518 lines 1-3, a UE] comprising:
means for operating the user equipment in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 19, pgs. 21-22, ¶471 lines 1-27; ¶472 lines 1-9, when the UE is configured with DRX, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring during the “On” Duration, and when the UE fails in detecting any PDCCH during the PDCCH monitoring, the UE transitions to a sleep state after the “On” Duration], wherein the time interleaved ON times defines an ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 19, pgs. 21-22, ¶471 lines 1-27; ¶472 lines 1-9, when DRX is configured, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring/reception discontinuously in the time domain. For example, when DRX is configured, PDCCH reception occasions (e.g., slots with PDCCH search spaces) are configured discontinuously according to a DRX configuration].
Although Cha discloses means for operating the user equipment in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode, Cha does not explicitly teach “means for determining, at the user equipment, whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses means for operating the user equipment in a discontinuous reception mode including time interleaved ON times of the discontinuous reception mode and OFF times of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6, the UE decodes a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a predetermined PDSCH resource region. In this case, based on discontinuous reception (DRX) being configured, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the PDSCH is monitored within an “On” duration related to the DRX], wherein the time interleaved ON times defines an ON time window of the discontinuous reception mode [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3, based on the UL RS being configured for positioning, the preset offset differs among the at least one OFDM symbol. For example, each of the at least one RE is configured at intervals of “N” from the starting position in an ascending order in the frequency domain]; and
means for determining [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, determining], at the user equipment [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, by the UE], whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4, the starting position of each of the at least one RE in the frequency domain based on a modulo “N” operation performed on a value obtained by adding the comb offset and the preset offset].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “means for determining, at the user equipment, whether to measure a portion of a positioning signal based on timing of the portion of the positioning signal relative to at least one of a first one of the ON times of the ON time window” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for providing a positioning method capable of reducing signaling overhead because a starting position in the frequency domain of at least one RE included in the UL RS resource is obtained based on an offset included in UL RS configuration information and a predefined offset [see Cha ‘498, pg. 1, ¶7 lines 1-8].
Regarding Claim 20,
Cha discloses the UE of claim 19.
Cha does not explicitly teach, at least one of:
“first measuring means, for measuring all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window”; or “second measuring means, for measuring a second part of the portion of the positioning signal in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window, the second part of the positioning signal being less than the portion of the positioning signal”.
However Cha ‘498 discloses first measuring means, for measuring all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window [see fig. 26: Step “4050”, pg. 30, ¶427 lines 1-6; ¶428 lines 1-3; ¶429 lines 1-3; ¶430 lines 1-4; ¶432 lines 1-3, a transmit power for the UL RS is determined based on a path-loss measured from an RS configured as quasi co-location (QCL) type-D].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “first measuring means, for measuring all of the portion of the positioning signal in response to a first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window”; or “second measuring means, for measuring a second part of the portion of the positioning signal in response to the first part of the portion of the positioning signal being scheduled to arrive during the first one of the ON times of the ON time window, the second part of the positioning signal being less than the portion of the positioning signal” as taught by Cha ‘498 in the system of Cha for the same motivation as set forth in claim 19.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 9, 13 and 18 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
United States Patent Application Publication: WONG et al. (US 2019/0182794 A1); see fig. 6, pgs. 6-7, ¶57-¶70.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RUSHIL P SAMPAT whose telephone number is (469) 295-9141. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri (8 AM - 5 PM).
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/RUSHIL P. SAMPAT/Primary Examiner- TC 2400, Art Unit 2469