DETAILED ACTION
Status of Case
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to the claims filed on 3/15/2024.
Claims 1-3, 5, 8-9, 12, 15-16, 19-21, 23, 26-27, 30, 33-34, and 39-40 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on 3/15/2024 and 10/9/2025 have been considered by Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2, 19-20, 39, 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hunukumbure (WO 2020/204598 A1).
Consider claims 1 and 39, Hunukumbure discloses a resource configuration method (see paragraphs 69-76 and figure 3, reproduced below for convenience, wherein disclosed is said method), and a corresponding terminal, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor (see paragraphs 69-70: the UE includes a processor 510, a transceiver 510, and a memory 530); wherein the processor is configured to:
receive first resource configuration information sent by a network device, the first resource configuration information indicating a transmission resource of a first reference signal, and the first reference signal being a reference signal for a positioning purpose (see paragraphs 69-76: the processor may receive a first positioning reference signal, PRS, from a neighbor base station, BS…the processor may be informed from the serving BS about PRS configuration in the neighbor BS through physical downlink control channel, PDCCH); wherein
a frequency domain resource in the transmission resource comprises at least one carrier (see paragraphs 69-73: the processor may receive a first PRS from a neighbor BS and a second PRS from a serving BS, identify the neighbor BS having a lower Sub Carrier Spacing, SCS, than an SCS of the serving BS).
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Consider claims 2 and 20, Hunukumbure discloses a subcarrier space on the at least one carrier is identical; or wherein at least two carriers in the at least one carrier have different subcarrier spaces (see paragraphs 69-73: said subcarrier spacing).
Consider claims 19 and 40, Hunukumbure discloses a resource configuration method (see paragraphs 69-76 and figure 3, reproduced below for convenience, wherein disclosed is said method), and a corresponding network device, comprising a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor performed by a network device (see figure 4, wherein disclosed is said network device 400 comprising a processor 410 and a transceiver 420), comprising:
sending first resource configuration information to a terminal, the first resource configuration information indicating a transmission resource of a first reference signal, and the first reference signal being a reference signal for a positioning purpose (see paragraphs 69-76: the processor may receive a first positioning reference signal, PRS, from a neighbor base station, BS…the processor may be informed from the serving BS about PRS configuration in the neighbor BS through physical downlink control channel, PDCCH); wherein,
a frequency domain resource in the transmission resource comprises at least one carrier (see paragraphs 69-73: the processor may receive a first PRS from a neighbor BS and a second PRS from a serving BS, identify the neighbor BS having a lower Sub Carrier Spacing, SCS, than an SCS of the serving BS).
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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.
Claims 3, 5, 8-9, 12, 15-16, 21, 23, 26, 30, 33-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunukumbure (WO 2020/204598 A1) in view of Hunukumbure2 (USPAN 2020/0267686).
Consider claims 3 and 21, Hunukumbure does not specifically disclose that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to the transmission resource, the time domain parameter indicating a time domain resource on the at least one carrier, and the time domain resource on the at least one carrier is identical; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols.
Hunukumbure2 discloses that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to the transmission resource, the time domain parameter indicating a time domain resource on the at least one carrier, and the time domain resource on the at least one carrier is identical; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols (see paragraphs 60-70 and figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hunukumbure and combine it with the noted teachings of Hunukumbure2. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for receiving positioning reference signals in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 2 of Hunukumbure2).
Consider claims 5 and 23, Hunukumbure does not specifically disclose that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to a reference carrier in the at least one carrier, the time domain parameter corresponding to the reference carrier indicating a time domain resource on the reference carrier; wherein a time domain resource on each carrier other than the reference carrier in the at least one carrier is identical to the time domain resource on the reference carrier; wherein the reference carrier is a carrier having a minimum subcarrier space in the at least one carrier, or a carrier having a maximum subcarrier space in the at least one carrier; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols.
Hunukumbure2 discloses that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to the transmission resource, the time domain parameter indicating a time domain resource on the at least one carrier, and the time domain resource on the at least one carrier is identical; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols (see paragraphs 60-70 and figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hunukumbure and combine it with the noted teachings of Hunukumbure2. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for receiving positioning reference signals in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 2 of Hunukumbure2).
Consider claims 8 and 26, Hunukumbure does not specifically disclose that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to each carrier of the at least one carrier, the time domain parameter indicating a time domain resource on each carrier; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols.
Hunukumbure2 discloses that the first resource configuration information comprises a time domain parameter corresponding to each carrier of the at least one carrier, the time domain parameter indicating a time domain resource on each carrier; wherein the time domain parameter comprises at least one of: a cycle, a start slot, a start symbol, or a number of occupied symbols (see paragraphs 60-70 and figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hunukumbure and combine it with the noted teachings of Hunukumbure2. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for receiving positioning reference signals in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 2 of Hunukumbure2).
Consider claims 9 and 27, Hunukumbure discloses that at least one carrier comprises a first carrier and a second carrier; and in response to a subcarrier space on the first carrier being less than a subcarrier space on the second carrier, a time domain resource on the first carrier comprises a time domain resource on the second carrier; or the at least one carrier comprises a third carrier and a fourth carrier, and a time domain resource on the third carrier is identical to a time domain resource on the fourth carrier; and in response to a subcarrier space on the third carrier being different from a subcarrier space on the fourth carrier, a time domain parameter corresponding to the third carrier is different from a time domain parameter corresponding to the fourth carrier (see paragraphs 69-73: said carriers having said subcarrier spacing).
Consider claims 12 and 30, Hunukumbure does not specifically disclose that the first resource configuration information comprises a frequency domain parameter corresponding to each carrier of the at least one carrier, the frequency domain parameter indicating a frequency domain resource on each carrier; or wherein the first resource configuration information comprises a frequency domain parameter corresponding to a fifth carrier in the at least one carrier, the frequency domain parameter corresponding to the fifth carrier indicating a frequency domain resource on the fifth carrier; wherein a frequency domain parameter corresponding to each carrier other than the fifth carrier in the at least one carrier is a default parameter, or identical to the frequency domain parameter corresponding to the fifth carrier.
Hunukumbure2 discloses that the first resource configuration information comprises a frequency domain parameter corresponding to each carrier of the at least one carrier, the frequency domain parameter indicating a frequency domain resource on each carrier; or wherein the first resource configuration information comprises a frequency domain parameter corresponding to a fifth carrier in the at least one carrier, the frequency domain parameter corresponding to the fifth carrier indicating a frequency domain resource on the fifth carrier; wherein a frequency domain parameter corresponding to each carrier other than the fifth carrier in the at least one carrier is a default parameter, or identical to the frequency domain parameter corresponding to the fifth carrier (see paragraphs 60-70 and figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hunukumbure and combine it with the noted teachings of Hunukumbure2. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for receiving positioning reference signals in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 2 of Hunukumbure2).
Consider claims 15 and 33, Hunukumbure does not specifically disclose that the frequency domain parameter comprises at least one of: a starting physical resource block or a frequency domain comb size, the frequency domain comb size indicating a number of resource elements by which the first reference signal is spaced in the frequency domain.
Hunukumbure2 discloses that the frequency domain parameter comprises at least one of: a starting physical resource block or a frequency domain comb size, the frequency domain comb size indicating a number of resource elements by which the first reference signal is spaced in the frequency domain (see paragraphs 60-70 and figure 2: a starting physical resource block).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hunukumbure and combine it with the noted teachings of Hunukumbure2. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for receiving positioning reference signals in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 2 of Hunukumbure2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16 and 34 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jamal Javaid whose telephone number is 571-270-5137 and email address is Jamal.Javaid@uspto.gov.
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/JAMAL JAVAID/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412