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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 July 24, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicants’ remarks, filed July 24, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 4, 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly cited prior art Duan et al. (US 2023/0035261).
Prakash teaches a positioning method, performed by a terminal, comprising: sending first indication information to an access network device, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate at least one of: a type of the terminal, and positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS)).
Duan teaches wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal (Section 0125, NR-Light UE is the RedCap terminal), and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal (enhancing the precision of the positioning of the NR-Light UE via use of PRSs (Section 0125)).
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) 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 31 – 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prakash et al. (US 2021/0329584) in view of Duan et al. (US 2023/0035261).
Regarding Claim 1, Prakash teaches a positioning method, performed by a terminal, comprising: sending first indication information to an access network device, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate at least one of: a type of the terminal, and positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS), PLEASE NOTE: Section 0066 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive).
Prakash does not teach wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal, and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal.
Duan, which also teaches the use of PRSs, teaches wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal (Section 0125, NR-Light UE is the RedCap terminal), and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal (enhancing the precision of the positioning of the NR-Light UE via use of PRSs (Section 0125)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash with the above features of Duan for the purpose of providing a power efficient mobile device as taught by Duan.
Regarding Claim 4, Prakash teaches a positioning method, performed by an access network device, comprising: receiving first indication information from a terminal, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate at least one of: a type of the terminal, and positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS), PLEASE NOTE: Section 0066 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive); and sending second indication information to a core network device, wherein the second indication information is generated according to the first indication information (Section 0083, UE can assist core network entity in calculating an estimate of its position thus there will be a transmission or connection to said core network entity that enables the transmission of positioning information to said core network entity).
Prakash does not teach wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal, and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal.
Duan, which also teaches the use of PRSs, teaches wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal (Section 0125, NR-Light UE is the RedCap terminal), and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal (enhancing the precision of the positioning of the NR-Light UE via use of PRSs (Section 0125)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash with the above features of Duan for the purpose of providing a power efficient mobile device as taught by Duan.
Regarding Claim 9, Prakash teaches a positioning method, performed by a core network device, comprising: receiving second indication information from an access network device (Section 0083, UE can assist core network entity in calculating an estimate of its position thus there will be a transmission or connection to said core network entity that enables the transmission of positioning information to said core network entity), wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate at least one of the followings: a type of a terminal, and positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS), PLEASE NOTE: Section 0066 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive).
Prakash does not teach wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal, and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal.
Duan, which also teaches the use of PRSs, teaches wherein the type of the terminal is a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal or a non-reduced capability terminal (Section 0125, NR-Light UE is the RedCap terminal), and the positioning reference signaling measurement information is calibrated by determining that the type of the terminal is the RedCap terminal (enhancing the precision of the positioning of the NR-Light UE via use of PRSs (Section 0125)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash with the above features of Duan for the purpose of providing a power efficient mobile device as taught by Duan.
Regarding Claim 6, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash further teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a measured time difference of arrival of positioning reference signaling (Section 0082, TDOA), and the method further comprises: calibrating the measured time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal and determining a calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling (Section 0082, TDOA, UE can be different types such as mobile phone, tablet computer or smartwatch for example (Section 0040)); and generating the second indication information according to the calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling, wherein the second indication information comprises the calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling (Section 0082, TDOA).
Prakash does not teach determining that type of terminal is the RedCap terminal.
Duan, which also teaches the use of PRSs, teaches determining that type of terminal is the RedCap terminal (Section 0125, NR-Light UE is the RedCap terminal)
Regarding Claim 7, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash further teaches wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate at least one of: the type of the terminal, and the positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS), PLEASE NOTE: Section 0066 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive).
Regarding Claim 31, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Prakash further teaches a terminal, comprising: a processor, and a memory storing a computer program that, when executed by the processor, causes the method of claim 1 (Figure 3, Section 0066)
Regarding Claim 32, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Prakash further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed, cause the method of claim 1 to be implemented (Figure 3, Section 0066, memory (382)).
Regarding Claim 33, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash further teaches an access network device, comprising: a processor, and a memory storing a computer program that, when executed by the processor, causes the method of claim 4 to be implemented (Figure 3, Section 0066).
Regarding Claim 34, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 9. Prakash further teaches a core network device, comprising: a processor, and a memory storing a computer program that, when executed by the processor, causes the method of claim 9 to be implemented (Figure 1, EPC (160), 5GCN (190), serving gateways such as serving gateway (166) comprise processors and memory storing executable code run by said processors).
Regarding Claim 35, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed, cause the method of claim 4 to be implemented (Figure 3, Section 0066, memory (342)).
Claim(s) 2, 3, 8, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prakash et al. (US 2021/0329584) in view of Duan et al. (US 2023/0035261) and in further view of Aldana (US 2017/0289946)
Regarding Claims 2, 15, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 1, 9. Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is at least one of: a calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; and a calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling.
Aldana, which also teaches the use of TDOA, teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is at least one of: a calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; and a calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling (PLEASE NOTE: Section 0070 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive Section 0035, calibrated time difference of arrival).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Bao with the above features of Aldana for the purpose of providing precise timing measurements despite variations in hardware/software configurations of wireless communication devices as taught by Aldana.
Regarding Claim 3, Prakash in view of Duan and in further view of Aldana teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 2. Prakash in view of Duan does not teach calibrating the measured strength value of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal is the RedCap terminal and determining the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; or calibrating the time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal is the RedCap terminal and determining the calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling. (PLEASE NOTE: It has already been established as set forth above that Duan teaches the determining of a RedCap type terminal and thus will not be repeated)
Aldana, which also teaches the use of TDOA, teaches calibrating the measured strength value of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal and determining the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; or calibrating the time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal and determining the calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling (Section 0035, client device can be a mobile phone type (Section 0028)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Aldana for the purpose of providing precise timing measurements despite variations in hardware/software configurations of wireless communication devices as taught by Aldana.
Regarding Claim 8, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is at least one of: a calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; and a calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling.
Aldana, which also teaches the use of TDOA, teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is at least one of: a calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; and a calibrated time difference of the arrival of the positioning reference signaling (PLEASE NOTE: Section 0070 of Applicants’ specification indicate that the “at least one of” limitation can be disjunctive therefore Examiner has interpreted said limitation as disjunctive Section 0035, calibrated time difference of arrival).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Aldana for the purpose of providing precise timing measurements despite variations in hardware/software configurations of wireless communication devices as taught by Aldana.
Claim(s) 5, 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prakash et al. (US 2021/0329584) in view of Duan et al. (US 2023/0035261) and in further view of Zhang et al. (US 2021/0410103).
Regarding Claim 5, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 4. Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a measured strength value of positioning reference signaling, and the method further comprises: calibrating the measured strength value of the positioning reference signaling by determining that the type of terminal is the RedCap terminal and determining the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling; and generating the second indication information according to the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling, wherein the second indication information comprises the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling. (PLEASE NOTE: It has already been established as set forth above that Duan teaches the determining of a RedCap type terminal and thus will not be repeated)
Zhang, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a measured strength value of positioning reference signaling (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions), and the method further comprises: calibrating the measured strength value of the positioning reference signaling by determining the type of terminal and determining the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a measured strength value of positioning reference signaling (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions, UE can different types such as cellphones, smartphones, or laptops for example (Section 0039)); and generating the second indication information according to the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling, wherein the second indication information comprises the calibrated strength value of the positioning reference signaling (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Zhang for the purpose of improving positioning estimates as taught by Zhang.
Regarding Claim 13, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 9. Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate positioning reference signaling measurement information, wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value, and the method further comprises: determining a position of the terminal according to the calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value.
Zhang, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate positioning reference signaling measurement information, wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions), and the method further comprises: determining a position of the terminal according to the calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions which enable the determination of the position).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Zhang for the purpose of improving positioning estimates as taught by Zhang.
Regarding Claim 14, Prakash in view of Duan and in further view of Zhang teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 13. Prakash further teaches wherein the calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value comprises: a calibrated strength value of positioning reference signaling, or a calibrated time difference of arrival of the positioning reference signaling (Section 0082, TDOA).
Claim(s) 10 – 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prakash et al. (US 2021/0329584) in view of Duan et al. (US 2023/0035261) in view of Zhang et al. (US 2021/0410103), as applied to Claim 9 set forth above, and further in view of Choi et al. (US 2019/0349881)
Regarding Claim 10, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 9. Prakash further teaches wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS)).
Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal and, wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a positioning reference signaling measurement value, and the method further comprises: determining a positioning algorithm according to the type of the terminal; and determining a position of the terminal by processing the positioning reference signaling measurement value with the positioning algorithm.
Zhang, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a positioning reference signaling measurement value (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions), and the method further comprises: determining a positioning algorithm according to the type of the terminal (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions, UE can different types such as cellphones, smartphones, or laptops for example (Section 0039)); and determining a position of the terminal by processing the positioning reference signaling measurement value with the positioning algorithm (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions which enable the determination of the position).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Zhang for the purpose of improving positioning estimates as taught by Zhang.
Prakash in view of Duan and in further view of Zhang does not teach wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal.
Choi, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal (Section 0125).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Bao and in further view of Zhang with the above features of Choi for the purpose of providing narrowband internet of things (NB IoT) capability which provides long battery life and high connection density, which are benefits of NB IoT.
Regarding Claim 11, Prakash in view of Duan teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 9. Prakash further teaches wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the positioning reference signaling measurement information (Section 0082, positioning reference signals (PRS)).
Prakash in view of Duan does not teach wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal and, wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a positioning reference signaling measurement value, and the method further comprises: calibrating the positioning reference signaling measurement value by determining that the type of terminal is the RedCap terminal; and determining a position of the terminal according to a calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value. (PLEASE NOTE: It has already been established as set forth above that Duan teaches the determining of a RedCap type terminal and thus will not be repeated)
Zhang, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement information is a positioning reference signaling measurement value (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions), and the method further comprises: calibrating the positioning reference signaling measurement value by determining the type of terminal (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions, UE can different types such as cellphones, smartphones, or laptops for example (Section 0039)); and determining a position of the terminal according to a calibrated positioning reference signaling measurement value (Section 0112, signal strengths of PRS transmissions which enable the determination of the position).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan with the above features of Zhang for the purpose of improving positioning estimates as taught by Zhang.
Prakash in view of Duan and in further view of Zhang does not teach wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal.
Choi, which also teaches positioning, teaches wherein the indication information is configured to indicate the type of the terminal (Section 0125).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Prakash in view of Duan and in further view of Zhang with the above features of Choi for the purpose of providing narrowband internet of things (NB IoT) capability which provides long battery life and high connection density, which are benefits of NB IoT.
Regarding Claim 12, Prakash in view of Duan in view of Zhang and in further view of Choi combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 10. Prakash further teaches wherein the positioning reference signaling measurement value comprises: a measured strength value of positioning reference signaling, or a measured time difference of arrival of the positioning reference signal (Section 0082, TDOA).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND S DEAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7877. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 6:00-2:30, EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony S Addy can be reached at 571-272-7795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RAYMOND S DEAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 Raymond S. Dean
August 4, 2026
Prosecution Insights