Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. It would be of great assistance to the office if all incoming papers pertaining to a filed application carried the following items:
i. Application number (checked for accuracy, including series code and serial no.).
ii. Group art unit number (copied from most recent Office communication).
iii. Filing date.
iv. Name of the examiner who prepared the most recent Office action.
v. Title of invention.
vi. Confirmation number (See MPEP § 503).
3. The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages, paragraph and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
4. Claim interpretation: When multiple limitations are connected with “OR”, one of the limitations doesn’t have any patentable weight since both of the limitations are optional.
Claim Rejection- 35 USC § 102
5. 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, 11, 12, 14, 15 are rejected under 35 USC 102 as being clearly anticipated by Maattanen et al (Pub No. US. 2022/0086713).
Regarding claim 1, Maattanen et al discloses a method of a network entity, comprising: configuring a plurality of location services for a user equipment over a non-terrestrial network next generation-radio access network (Fig. 1A & 4A & Para. 30 & 7: non-terrestrial network), the NTN NG-RAN comprising at least one satellite and at least one NTN gateway (Fig. 1: satellite and NTN gateway & Para. 30); determining an architecture type of the NTN NG-RAN (Para. 30: architecture type & Table 3-4); and determining a target-UE position estimate based on the determined architecture type (Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Regarding claim 2, Maattanen et al discloses the architecture type of the NTN NG-RAN comprises either a transparent NTN system or a regenerative NTN system (Para. 46-47 & Table 3-4).
Regarding claim 10, Maattanen et al discloses the network entity is embedded within at least one of the satellite, the NTN gateway, a base station unit, and a roadside unit (Fig. 1A & 4A).
Regarding claim 11, Maattanen et al discloses the network entity has a functional interface with at least one of the satellite, the NTN gateway, a base station unit, and a roadside unit (Fig. 1A & 4A).
Regarding claim 12, Maattanen et al discloses the network entity is communicatively coupled to the UE via multiple satellites and at least one NTN gateway (Fig. 1A & 4A).
Regarding claim 14, Maattanen et al discloses a system comprising: a user equipment ("UE") configured with a plurality of location services (Fig. 1A & 4A Para. 30 & 6-7: non-terrestrial network & Location reporting); a non-terrestrial network ("NTN") next generation-radio access network ("NG- RAN") configured to serve the UE (Fig. 1A & 4A Para. 30 & 6-7), wherein the NTN NG-RAN comprises at least one satellite and at least one NTN gateway (Fig. 1: satellite and NTN gateway & Para. 30); and a location management entity communicatively coupled to the UE and NTN NG- RAN (Fig. 1: satellite and NTN gateway & Para. 30), the location management entity configured to: determine an architecture type of the NTN NG-RAN (Para. 30: architecture type & Table 3-4); and determine a target-UE position estimate based on the determined architecture type (Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Regarding claim 15, Maattanen et al discloses an apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor (Fig. 12: Processor 1202 & Memory-1211), the processor configured to cause the apparatus to: configure a plurality of location services to a user equipment ("UE") over a non- terrestrial network ("NTN") next generation-radio access network ("NG- RAN") (Fig. 1A & 4A Para. 30 & 6-7: non-terrestrial network & Location reporting), the NTN NG-RAN comprising at least one satellite and at least one NTN gateway (Fig. 1A & 4A); determine an architecture type of the NTN NG-RAN (Para. 30: architecture type & Table 3-4); select at least one positioning method to be employed based on the determined architecture type (Para. 7: Position reporting & Para. 30-31: architecture type and Position detection); select a measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed (Para. 34 & 50: measurement associated with each positioning); configure at least one network node with the at least one positioning method to be employed and the respective measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed (Para. 34 & 50-51& 58: measurement associated with each positioning), the network node being one of a UE or an NTN NG-RAN node; and determine a target-UE position estimate based on the determined architecture type (Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Claim Rejection- 35 USC § 103
6. 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 of this title, 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 3-9 & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maattanen et al (Pub No. US. 2022/0086713) and further in view of Edge et al (Pub No. 2021/0144539).
Regarding claim 3, Maattanen et al is silent regarding the network entity comprises a location management function ("LMC") for the NTN NG-RAN, wherein the LMC configures and provides at least one of the plurality of location services.
Edge et al discloses the network entity comprises a location management function ("LMC") for the NTN NG-RAN, wherein the LMC configures and provides at least one of the plurality of location services (Para. 34 & 37: Location management function and service).
At the time of filling, it would have been obvious to use location management function and service to determine device location properly.
Regarding claim 4, Maattanen et al discloses the LMC comprises a Location Measurement Unit ("LMU") configured to: acquire positioning measurements, process the positioning measurements, compute the target-UE position estimate (Para. 7), request applicable positioning measurements based on supported positioning methods, report applicable positioning measurements based on the supported positioning methods, or perform a combination thereof (Para. 39-42: Position detection for the UE).
Regarding claim 5, Maattanen et al discloses comprising receiving an indication of: a number of satellites associated with a positioning protocol session (Fig. 1-2), a number of NTN gateways associated with the positioning protocol session (Fig. 1-2), and a number of satellites per NTN gateway associated with the positioning protocol session, selecting at least one positioning method to be employed during the positioning protocol session (Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Maattanen et al is silent regarding selecting a respective measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed during the positioning protocol session.
Edge et al discloses selecting a respective measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed during the positioning protocol session (Para. 34 & 37: Location management function and service).
At the time of filling, it would have been obvious to use location management function and service to determine device location properly.
Regarding claim 6, Maattanen et al discloses comprising configuring the UE with the at least one positioning method to be employed and the respective measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed (Fig. 1A & 4A & Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Regarding claim 7, Maattanen et al discloses comprising configuring the NTN NG-RAN with the at least one positioning method to be employed and a measurement associated with each positioning method to be employed (Fig. 1A & 4A & Table 3-4 & Para. 45 & 49-50 & 53: UE position estimate based on communication protocol-architecture).
Regarding claim 8 & 9, Maattanen et al is silent regarding the network entity comprises a serving Location Management Function ("LMF") in a mobile communication network, wherein the mobile communication network further comprises a secondary LMF communicatively coupled to the UE via the NTN NG-RAN, the method further comprising receiving assistance from the secondary LMF to determine a position of the UE.
Edge et al discloses the network entity comprises a serving Location Management Function ("LMF") in a mobile communication network, wherein the mobile communication network further comprises a secondary LMF communicatively coupled to the UE via the NTN NG-RAN, the method further comprising receiving assistance from the secondary LMF to determine a position of the UE (Para. 34 & 37: Location management function and service).
At the time of filling, it would have been obvious to use location management function and service to determine device location properly.
Regarding claim 13, Maattanen et al discloses configured plurality of location services comprises a set of location requests supported by an NTN portion of the NTN NG-RAN (Fig. 4A & 1), wherein the set of location requests comprises: a network-induced location request (Para. 42), a mobile-terminated location request, a mobile-originated location request, an immediate location request, a deferred location request, or a combination thereof (Para. 50-51: Location data).
Edge et al discloses a mobile-originated location request, an immediate location request, a deferred location request, or a combination thereof (Para. 150-151: Location request).
At the time of filling, it would have been obvious to use location management function and service to determine device location properly.
Conclusion
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/MD K TALUKDER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648