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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-8 and 21-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 1, recites, “determining equiphase contour information associated with an antenna of the first node at one or more carrier frequencies; and transmitting an indication of the equiphase contour information to a second node”.
Step 1: a method claim.
Step 2A, Prong 1: the limitations, “determining equiphase contour information associated with an antenna of the first node at one or more carrier frequencies” are Mental Processes (observation, evaluation, judgment, and/or opinion).
Step 2A, Prong 2: the additional elements individually or as a whole do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application.
The additional element, “transmitting an indication of the equiphase contour information to a second node” is merely data outputting and insignificant extra-solution activity (post-solution activity) (MPEP 2106.05 (g)).
When considered a whole, the claimed invention fails to recite any improvement in any technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)) or recite any meaningful limitations (MPEP 2106.05(e)).
Step 2B: the claim does not recite additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea when considered both individually and as a whole.
under Step 2B, limitation(s) that are insignificant extra-solution activity under step 2A, Prong 2, need to be re-evaluated to determine whether they are well-understood, routine, conventional activities.
Specifically, the limitation, “transmitting an indication of the equiphase contour information to a second node,” is just receiving/transmitting data over a network, which is mere judicial-recognized well-understood, routine, conventional activity (MPEP 2106.05(d)(II).
Therefore, claims 2-8 should have been rejected under 101 Abstract Idea. Claim 2 is merely referring to antenna which is insignificant. Claim 3 is insignificant. Claim 4 is related to equiphase contour information associated with the multiple carrier frequencies. Claim 5 discloses what is the carrier frequency. Claim 6 recites what node corresponds to. Claim 7 discloses what equiphase information comprises which is insignificant. Claim 8 recites again the coordinates related to equiphase information which is also insignificant.
Claim 21, has additional limitations, “a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to perform,” is applying abstract idea using a general-purpose computer (i.e., “apply it”, MPEP 2106.05(f)). It invokes a generic computer (a network node) merely as a tool to perform the judicial exception or an existing process by using of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity. And therefore Claim 21 is ineligible. Claims 22-28 are also ineligible.
It is therefore determined that the instant application not only represents an abstract idea identified as such based on criteria defined by the Courts and on USPTO examination guidelines, but also lacks the capability to bring about "Improvements to another technology or technical field" (Alice), bring about "Improvements to the functioning of the computer itself" (Alice), "Apply the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine" (Bilski), "Effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing" (Diehr), "Add a specific limitation other than what is well-understood, routine and conventional in the field" (Mayo), "Add unconventional steps that confine the claim to a particular useful application" (Mayo), or contain "Other meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment" (Alice), transformed a traditionally subjective process performed by humans into a mathematically automated process executed on computers (McRO), or limitations directed to improvements in computer related technology, including claims directed to software (Enfish).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 4, 6, 21-23, 24 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Montgomery (2010/045522 )(hereafter Montgomery).
Regarding claims 1 and 21, Montgomery discloses a method of operating a first node, comprising: determining equiphase contour information associated with an antenna of the first node at one or more carrier frequencies (paragraph 39, wherein the equiphase values are extracted from the phase center information with same values); and transmitting an indication of the equiphase contour information to a second node (paragraph 39, 42).
Regarding claims 2 and 22, Montgomery further discloses the method of the method of wherein the antenna corresponds to a receive antenna, or wherein the antenna corresponds to a transmit antenna (see, para [0039], [0042]).
Regarding claims 3 and 23, Montgomery further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the equiphase contour information is reported per antenna element, per antenna array, or per beam (see, para [0037], [0038]).
Regarding claims 4 and 24, Montgomery further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the equiphase contour information is associated with multiple carrier frequencies based on a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) configuration, an RS-P measurement requirement, or a combination thereof (see, para [0036], [0037], [0039], [0042]).
Regarding claims 6 and 26, Montgomery further discloses the method of The method of wherein the first node corresponds to a base station and the second node corresponds to a location management function (LMF), or wherein the first node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second node corresponds to the LMF, or wherein the first node corresponds to the base station and the second node corresponds to the UE, or wherein the first node corresponds to the UE and the second node corresponds to the base station, or wherein the first node corresponds to the UE and the second node corresponds to another UE, or any combination thereof (see, para [0038]-[0041]).
7. Claim(s) 9- 12, 14-16, 29 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated Jorma et al. (2 192 707 A 1)(hereafter Jorma) (see IDS).
Regarding claims 9 and 29, Jorma discloses a method of operating a device, comprising: determining equiphase contour information associated with an antenna of a first node at one or more carrier frequencies (paragraphs 15 , 16, 29 31, 37, 38); and correcting measurement information associated with a carrier phase-based position estimation session based at least in part on the equiphase contour information (paragraphs 15 , 16, 29 31, 37, 38).
Regarding claims 10 and 30, Jorma further discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the device corresponds to the first node (see, para paragraphs 15 , 16,29 31, 37, 38)).
Regarding claim 11, Jorma further discloses the method wherein the first node is a position estimation entity for the carrier phase-based position estimation session, and wherein the first node derives a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based at least in part upon the corrected measurement information (see, abstract, at least one receiver (RX) of the active antenna is correlated to a calibration signal. Secondly, a received phase pattern is analyzed. Then, the active antenna is adjusted until all receivers (RX) receive substantially in equiphase. Finally, a beam forming function and a phase pattern are applied as forward adjustment to the active antenna, see, para [0031], analyzing receiving phase pattern and adjusting the received antenna until the signals from the transmitters in equiphase and apply beamforming applying a beam forming function and a phase pattern as forward adjustment t the active antenna).
Regarding claim 12, Jorma further discloses the method wherein a second node is a position estimation entity for the carrier phase-based position estimation session, and wherein the corrected measurement information is transmitted to the position estimation entity (see, abstract, at least one receiver (RX) of the active antenna is correlated to a calibration signal. Secondly, a received phase pattern is analyzed. Then, the active antenna is adjusted until all receivers (RX) receive substantially in equiphase. Finally, a beam forming function and a phase pattern are applied as forward adjustment to the active antenna, see, para [0031], analyzing receiving phase pattern and adjusting the received antenna until the signals from the transmitters in equiphase and apply beamforming applying a beam forming function and a phase pattern as forward adjustment t the active antenna).
Regarding claim 14, Jorma further discloses the method of wherein the device corresponds to a second node that receives the equiphase contour information from the first node, wherein the second node is a position estimation entity for the carrier phase- based position estimation, and wherein the second node derives a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based at least in part upon the corrected measurement information ((see, abstract, at least one receiver (RX) of the active antenna is correlated to a calibration signal. Secondly, a received phase pattern is analyzed. Then, the active antenna is adjusted until all receivers (RX) receive substantially in equiphase. Finally, a beam forming function and a phase pattern are applied as forward adjustment to the active antenna, see, para [0031], analyzing receiving phase pattern and adjusting the received antenna until the signals from the transmitters in equiphase and apply beamforming applying a beam forming function and a phase pattern as forward adjustment at the active antenna).
Regarding claim 15, Jorma further discloses the method of The method of wherein the antenna corresponds to a receive antenna, or wherein the antenna corresponds to a transmit antenna (paragraphs 15 , 16, 29 31, 37, 38).
Regarding claim 16, Jorma further discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the equiphase contour information is reported per antenna element, per antenna array, or per beam (see para paragraph 10, 37, 38, 44, 45, 47, 48)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
9. Claim(s) 5 and 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Montgomery in view of Shibaike et al. (US2024/0333364) (hereafter Shibaike).
Regarding claims 5 and 25, Montgomery does not explicitly disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more carrier frequencies comprise one or more sub-bands of at least one positioning frequency layer (PFL), one or more component carriers (CCs), one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs), or a combination thereof. However, in same field of endeavor, Shibaike teaches in para [0143], the component carrier (CC) may be referred to as a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, or the like. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Shibaike with the Montgomery, as a whole, so as to configure the component carrier as carrier frequency, the motivation is to yield predictable results.
10. Claim(s) 7 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Montgomery in view of Zhang et al. (CN113239524)(hereafter Zhang) (see IDS).
Regarding claims 7 and 27, Montgomery does not disclose the method wherein the equiphase contour information comprises: a heatmap of a phase pattern across one or more elevation angles and one or more azimuth angles, or a function that approximates the phase pattern, or statistical information associated with a phase center bias, or identification information associated with the antenna, or a mean phase center offset relative to an antenna reference point, or any combination thereof.
However, in same field of endeavor, CN teaches on page 3, Step 5. After finding the phase center, obtain the xx, yy, and zz values, which are the coordinates of the phase center in the phase center displacement coordinate system; integrate the azimuth angle data and pitch angle data
of the electronic scanning beam and the obtained coordinates into a form Coordinate information. See, page 3, Preferably, when all the test data is collected and analyzed, the azimuth angle and the pitch angle θ are used as parameters to model and analyze the changes of X', Y', and Z'coordinates respectively, and establish a fitting based on the basic data The model calculates and predicts the beam phase center at all azimuth and elevation angles. Preferably, it differs from ordinary antennas with a fixed phase center. The main lobe beams of the electrically scanned array are scanned in different azimuth and elevation (θ) directions, and the phase center position will change and a unique corresponding coordinate will be generated. In theory, this method can traverse to obtain and calculate the phase center position of all the beam scanning states of the antenna.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of CN with the Montgomery, as a whole, so as to use the a heatmap of a phase pattern across one or more elevation angles and one or more azimuth angles as equiphase information, the motivation is to simulate and calculating phase center of electronically scanned array antenna based on mobile rotating reference frame.
11. Claim(s) 8 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Montgomery in view of Hasegawa et al. (US2022/0114749) (hereafter Hasegawa).
Regarding claims 8 and 28, Montgomery does not disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the equiphase contour information is described in terms of a global coordinate system (GCS) or a local coordinate system (LCS) in conjunction with information associated with node orientation for LCS-to-GCS coordinate conversion. However, in same field of endeavor, Hasegawa teaches [0067], Further, a value obtained by converting the local coordinate system into the global coordinate system for only tracking data, generating a centroid point from a rectangle, and performing time subsampling processing may be used (tracking through system). The tracking data depth system and the tracking through system are selectable. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hasegawa with the Montgomery, as a whole, to determine equiphase by converting local coordinate to global coordinate system, the motivation is to track data.
12. Claim(s) 13 AND 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jorma in view of Montgomery.
Regarding claim 13, Jorma does not disclose the method of The method of wherein the first node corresponds to a base station and the second node corresponds to a location management function (LMF), or wherein the first node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second node corresponds to the LMF, or wherein the first node corresponds to the base station and the second node corresponds to the UE, or wherein the first node corresponds to the UE and the second node corresponds to the base station, or wherein the first node corresponds to the UE and the second node corresponds to another UE, or any combination thereof. However, Montgomery teaches in para [038]-[0041], this limitation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Montgomery with the Jorma, as a whole, so as to perform communication between base station and UE, the motivation is to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 17, Jorma does not disclose the method of claim 9, wherein the equiphase contour information is associated with multiple carrier frequencies based on a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) configuration, an RS-Pmeasurement requirement, or a combination thereof. However, Montgomery teaches in paras 36, 37, 39 and 42, these limitations. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Montgomery with the Jorma, as a whole, so as to determine equiphase controur information associated with the carrier frequency based on reference signal for positioning, the motivation is to determine position and orientation.
13. Claim(s) 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jorma in view of Shibaike et al. (US2024/0333364) (hereafter Shibaike).
Regarding claim 18, Jorma does not explicitly disclose the method wherein the one or more carrier frequencies comprise one or more sub-bands of at least one positioning frequency layer (PFL), one or more component carriers (CCs), one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs), or a combination thereof. However, in same field of endeavor, Shibaike teaches in para [0143], the component carrier (CC) may be referred to as a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, or the like. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Shibaike with the Jorma, as a whole, so as to configure the component carrier as carrier frequency, the motivation is to yield predictable results.
14. Claim(s) 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jorma in view of Zhang et al. (CN113239524) (hereafter Zhang) (see IDS).
Regarding claim 19, Jorma does not disclose the method wherein the equiphase contour information comprises: a heatmap of a phase pattern across one or more elevation angles and one or more azimuth angles, or a function that approximates the phase pattern, or statistical information associated with a phase center bias, or identification information associated with the antenna, or a mean phase center offset relative to an antenna reference point, or any combination thereof.
However, in same field of endeavor, CN teaches on page 3, Step 5. After finding the phase center, obtain the xx, yy, and zz values, which are the coordinates of the phase center in the phase center displacement coordinate system; integrate the azimuth angle data and pitch angle data
of the electronic scanning beam and the obtained coordinates into a form Coordinate information. See, page 3, Preferably, when all the test data is collected and analyzed, the azimuth angle and the pitch angle θ are used as parameters to model and analyze the changes of X', Y', and Z'coordinates respectively, and establish a fitting based on the basic data The model calculates and predicts the beam phase center at all azimuth and elevation angles. Preferably, it differs from ordinary antennas with a fixed phase center. The main lobe beams of the electrically scanned array are scanned in different azimuth and elevation (θ) directions, and the phase center position will change and a unique corresponding coordinate will be generated. In theory, this method can traverse to obtain and calculate the phase center position of all the beam scanning states of the antenna.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of CN with the Jorma, as a whole, so as to use the a heatmap of a phase pattern across one or more elevation angles and one or more azimuth angles as equiphase information, the motivation is to simulate and calculating phase center of electronically scanned array antenna based on mobile rotating reference frame.
15. Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jorma in view of Hasegawa et al. (US2022/0114749) (hereafter Hasegawa).
Regarding claim 8, Jorma does not disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the equiphase contour information is described in terms of a global coordinate system (GCS) or a local coordinate system (LCS) in conjunction with information associated with node orientation for LCS-to-GCS coordinate conversion. However, in same field of endeavor, Hasegawa teaches [0067], Further, a value obtained by converting the local coordinate system into the global coordinate system for only tracking data, generating a centroid point from a rectangle, and performing time subsampling processing may be used (tracking through system). The tracking data depth system and the tracking through system are selectable.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Hasegawa with the Jorma, as a whole, to determine equiphase by converting local coordinate to global coordinate system, the motivation is to track data.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DHAVAL V PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1818. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday (8:00am-4:30pm).
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, Hannah Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. 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.
/DHAVAL V PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631