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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 15, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues, see page 10, that the prior art of record, i.e. Baek, does not disclose “wherein the request includes an identifier of a reference UE”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The Examiner notes that Baek clearly suggests a positioning request that contains a UE ID, see Baek citations below:
(i.e. The remote UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network that requests the relay UE to perform positioning for the remote UE. The remote UE-assisted information may include positioning-related signaling information received by the relay UE from the remote UE, and measurement information measured by the relay UE measuring the SL-PRS. For example, the positioning-related signaling information received from the remote UE may include remote-UE ID information, remote-UE movement speed information, remote-UE heading information, etc.) Para [0243-0244]
(i.e. the PP RequestCapabilities message may include a remote UE ID by which the network can report and receive capability information. The relay UE can receive (default) capability information from the UE corresponding to the remote UE ID included in the PP RequestCapabilities message, and can transmit the received capability information to the network) Para [0322]
(i.e. the network may provide, through the PP ProvideAssistanceData message, a guide for a method of reporting 1) information related to a reference cell and a candidate neighbor cell for RSTD measurement, 2) remote UE-associated information, and 3) information about relay UE-associated measurements composed of relay UE-associated information and remote UE-associated information…Information (Remote UE Info) related to the remote UE provided to obtain remote UE-assisted information through the sidelink of the relay UE: Elements included in the related information may include information about the positioning method with the remote UE so as to obtain a remote UE ID (or UE ID) (or the list of remote UE IDs) for the remote UE located within a predetermined radius from the relay UE as well as the remote UE-assisted information.) Para [0369-70]
(i.e. The positioning signaling information may include at least one of: a remote UE ID) Para [0040]
(i.e. The discovery channel may be a resource pool used for the transmitting UE to transmit information such as the ID thereof) Para [0125]
(i.e. the network may regard the relay UE providing the remote UE-assisted information corresponding to the same remote UE ID as the anchor node (AN), and may perform UL-TDoA positioning based on the ToA information measured by each AN, thereby measuring the absolute position of the remote UE.) Para [0248]
The Applicant argues, see page 10, that the prior art of record, i.e. Baek, does not disclose “receiving, from a core network node (CNN) associated with the RAN, a request for a position of a target UE that is present but out-of-coverage with respect to the RAN, wherein the request includes an identifier of a reference UE for communication between the target UE and the RAN; obtaining, from the reference UE, positioning measurements performed on a sidelink between the reference UE and the target UE; determining the position of the target UE based on the obtained positioning measurements; and sending the position of the target UE to the CNN, in accordance with the request.” Emphasis added.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Baek suggests, “Referring to FIG. 10, an AMF may receive a request for a location service associated with a particular target UE (i.e. a particular UE indicates that there is an identifier to distinguish a UE from other UEs) from another entity such as a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) or the AMF itself decides to initiate the location service on behalf of the particular target UE. Then, the AMF transmits a request for a location service to a location management function (LMF) (i.e. the LMF receives a positioning request that contains information regarding a particular UE). Upon receiving the request for the location service, the LMF may process the request for the location service and then returns the processing result including the estimated position of the UE to the AMF. In the case of a location service requested by an entity such as the GMLC other than the AMF, the AMF may transmit the processing result received from the LMF to this entity.” Para [0175]
The Examiner asserts Baek suggests the limitations the claimed invention as shown in the rejection below.
Therefore the previous rejection are maintained.
Regarding Claim 1, Baek teaches a method for a positioning node associated with a radio access network[[,]](RAN) (“The ng-eNB and the gNB (i.e. RAN) may measure radio signals for a target UE and transmits a measurement result value to the LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0176]), the method comprising:
receiving(“In step 2, the AMF (i.e. core network node (CNN)) transfers the request for the location service to an LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0183]) that is present but out-of- coverage with respect to the RAN (“in the NR-V2X communication system supporting a relay function, when a remote UE is located outside a network coverage of the base station (BS) or does not secure a Line of Sight (LoS) with the base station (BS) (i.e. present but still out of coverage), a method for effectively performing network-based positioning supported by the relay UE”[0195] and FIG 11, 12 & 13), wherein the request includes an identifier of a reference UE (“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID (i.e. identifier)”[0242]) for communication between the target UE and the RAN[[:]] (“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may serve to transmit messages/information/signaling/RS (reference sequence) received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to other remote UEs or base stations (i.e. RAN).”[0199]).
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)(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 1-4, 10-11, 20-21, 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 1, Baek teaches a method for a positioning node associated with a radio access network[[,]](RAN) (“The ng-eNB and the gNB (i.e. RAN) may measure radio signals for a target UE and transmits a measurement result value to the LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0176]), the method comprising:
receiving(“In step 2, the AMF (i.e. core network node (CNN)) transfers the request for the location service to an LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0183]) that is present but out-of- coverage with respect to the RAN (“in the NR-V2X communication system supporting a relay function, when a remote UE is located outside a network coverage of the base station (BS) or does not secure a Line of Sight (LoS) with the base station (BS) (i.e. present but still out of coverage), a method for effectively performing network-based positioning supported by the relay UE”[0195] and FIG 11, 12 & 13), wherein the request includes an identifier of a reference UE (“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID (i.e. identifier)”[0242]) for communication between the target UE and the RAN[[:]] (“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may serve to transmit messages/information/signaling/RS (reference sequence) received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to other remote UEs or base stations (i.e. RAN).”[0199])
obtaining(“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may transmit the relative position information received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to a network (e.g., LCS) (i.e. LMF) through the base station (i.e. RAN).”[0229]), positioning measurements performed on a sidelink between the reference UE and the target UE (“Relative position information between the remote UE and the relay UE may be obtained through RTT distance measurement (ranging) and AoA (Angle of Arrival) measurement through sidelink, or may be obtained using a distance measurement sensor mounted to the relay UE and/or the remote UE.”[0227] and FIG 13);
determining(“The network may calculate (i.e. determine) the absolute position of the remote UE (i.e. target UE) based on the pre-measured absolute position of the relay UE and relative position information on the remote UE.”[0229] and FIG 13); and
sending(“In step 4, the LMF (i.e. positioning node) may provide a location service response to the AMF (i.e. CNN). The location service response may include information as to whether UE (i.e. target UE) positioning is successful and include a location estimate value of the UE.”[0184] and FIG 11).
Regarding Claim 23, Baek suggests all the limitations of claim 1 in device form rather than method form. Baek also discloses the positioning node comprising:
communication interface circuitry(UE), via the RAN (“The ng-eNB and the gNB (i.e. RAN) may measure radio signals for a target UE and transmits a measurement result value to the LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0176]); and processing circuitry(“a server for performing network-based positioning may include: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal to and from a base station (BS); a processor connected to the transceiver”[0032]).
Therefore, the rejection of claim 1 applies equally as well to the limitations of claim 23.
Regarding Claim 2, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses
wherein the obtained positioning measurements include first positioning measurements performed by the target UE (“the UE requiring its own positioning using the relay is classified as a remote UE, and the UE-assisted measurement information includes relay UE-assisted measurement information for performing positioning of the relay UE and remote UE-assisted measurement information for performing positioning of the remote UE.”[0079]) and
second positioning measurements performed by the reference UE (“determining at least one relay UE to be used as an anchor node (AN) for positioning of the UE when the positioning using the relay is required; requesting UE-assisted measurement information for positioning of the UE from the relay UE; receiving the UE-assisted measurement information from the relay UE; and measuring an absolute position of the UE based on the UE-assisted measurement information. ”[0079]).
Regarding Claim 3, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 2, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses
wherein the first positioning measurements performed by the target UE include any of the following on signals transmitted by the reference UE:
timing measurements (“a relay UE in which reliability of the measured absolute position is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is regarded as an anchor node (AN) (i.e. candidate reference UE) for positioning the remote UE, so that the absolute position for the remote UE can be measured. At this time, the absolute position of the relay UE (i.e. reference UE) can be measured through the DL-TDoA positioning method, and the absolute position of the remote UE (i.e. target UE) may be measured by applying the UL-TDoA positioning method between the relay UE and the remote UE or a method similar to the UL-TDoA positioning method.”[0217]), and
power measurements (“The positioning signaling information may include at least one of: a remote UE ID, a remote UE speed, a remote UE heading, a Time of Arrival (ToA) or Time of Flight (ToF) or relative position measured based on the SL-PRS received from the relay UE, a time at which the ToA, the ToF, or the relative position is measured, a quality level for the ToA, the ToF, or the relative position, and a reference signal received power (RSRP) for the SL-PRS received from the relay UE.”[0030]).
Regarding Claim 4, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 2, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses wherein the second positioning measurements performed by the reference UE include any of the following:
timing measurements made by the reference UE on signals transmitted by the target UE (“When the relay UE receives, from the remote UE through the sidelink, signaling information and SL-PRS necessary for the network to perform positioning for the remote UE, the relay UE may measure ToA (Time of Arrival) (i.e. timing measurement) using the received SL-PRS, and may measure the quality of the received packets and SL-PRS. For example, the relay UE may measure an RSSI or RSRP for the received packet, and may measure an RSRP for the SL-PRS.”[0238]);
power measurements made by the reference UE on signals transmitted by the target UE (“When the relay UE receives, from the remote UE through the sidelink, signaling information and SL-PRS necessary for the network to perform positioning for the remote UE, the relay UE may measure ToA (Time of Arrival) using the received SL-PRS, and may measure the quality of the received packets and SL-PRS. For example, the relay UE may measure an RSSI or RSRP (i.e. power measurement) for the received packet, and may measure an RSRP for the SL-PRS.”[0238]);
timing measurements made by the reference UE on signals transmitted by a RAN node (“The relay UE may measure the RSTD (i.e. Reference Signal Time Difference or timing measurement) and quality of the Uu-PRS (i.e. power measurement) received from the base station through the Uu link… the relay UE may measure the RSRP (i.e. Reference Signal Received Power or power measurement) for Uu-PRS.”[0239]);
power measurements made by the reference UE on signals transmitted by a RAN node (“The relay UE may measure the RSTD (i.e. Reference Signal Time Difference or timing measurement) and quality of the Uu-PRS (i.e. power measurement) received from the base station through the Uu link… the relay UE may measure the RSRP (i.e. Reference Signal Received Power or power measurement) for Uu-PRS.”[0239]); and
time-difference measurements made by the reference UE on signals transmitted by a plurality of RAN nodes (“For accurate OTDoA measurement, it is necessary to measure Time of Arrival (ToA) of signals received from three or more geographically distributed TPs or base stations. For example, the relay UE may measure the ToA for each of TP1, TP2 and TP3. RSTD (i.e. reference signal time difference) for TP1-TP2, RSTD for TP2-TP3, and RSTD for TP3-TP1 may be calculated based on the three ToAs, geometric hyperbolas may be determined based on the calculated RSTDs, and a point where the hyperbolas cross each other can be estimated as the absolute position of the relay UE.”[0232]).
Regarding Claim 10, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Further Baek teaches wherein the positioning node is a location management function[[,]] (LMF)[[,]] and the CNN is an access and mobility management function[[,]] (AMF) (“In step 2, the AMF (i.e. core network node (CNN)) transfers the request for the location service to an LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0183]).
Regarding Claim 11, Baek discloses a method for a core network node[[,]](CNN)[[,]] configured to support positioning of user equipment[[,]](UEs)[[,]] in a radio access network[[,]](RAN) (“the serving AMF (i.e. CNN) may determine the need for the location service for measuring the position of the target UE according to step 1b. For example, the serving AMF may determine that itself will perform the location service in order to measure the position of the UE”[0182] and FIG 11), the method comprising:
receiving (1410), from a first positioning node, a first request for positioning of a target UE (“In step 1a (see, FIG 11), a 5GC entity such as GMLC (i.e. first positioning node) may transmit a request for a location service for measuring the position of a target UE to a serving AMF (i.e. CNN).”[0182] and Fig 10 & 11);
determining (1420) that the target UE is present but out-of-coverage with respect to the RAN (“in the NR-V2X communication system supporting a relay function, when a remote UE is located outside a network coverage of the base station (BS) or does not secure a Line of Sight (LoS) with the base station (BS) (i.e. present but still out of coverage), a method for effectively performing network-based positioning supported by the relay UE”[0195] and FIG 11, 12 & 13);
sending (1460), to a second positioning node, a second request for a position of the target UE (“In step 2, the AMF transfers the request for the location service to an LMF.”[0183] and FIG 11), wherein the second request includes an identifier of a reference UE (“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID (i.e. identifier)”[0242]) for communication between the target UE and the RAN (“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may serve to transmit messages/information/signaling/RS (reference sequence) received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to other remote UEs or base stations (i.e. RAN).”[0199]);
receiving (1470) the position of the target UE from the second positioning node, in accordance with the second request (“In step 4, the LMF may provide a location service response to the AMF. The location service response may include information as to whether UE positioning is successful and include a location estimate value of the UE.”[0184] and FIG 11); and
sending (1480) the position of the target UE to the first positioning node, in accordance with the first request (“the AMF may transfer the location service response to a 5GC entity such as a GMLC.”[0184] and Fig 11).
Regarding Claim 20, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses
wherein the first positioning node is a gateway mobile location center[[,]] (GMLC) (“a 5GC entity such as GMLC may transmit a request for a location service for measuring the position of a target UE to a serving AMF.”[0182]); the second positioning node is a location management function[[,]] (LMF); and the CNN is an access and mobility management function[[,]] (AMF) ) (“In step 2, the AMF (i.e. core network node (CNN)) transfers the request for the location service to an LMF (i.e. second positioning node).”[0183]).
Regarding Claim 21, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses further comprising: in response to the first request,
paging(“The relay UE may receive signaling information necessary for the network to perform positioning for the remote UE from the remote UE through sidelink, and may measure Time of Flight (ToF) by transmitting and receiving an SL-PRS. Here, the SL-PRS may include a request PRS transmitted (i.e. paging) by the relay UE (i.e. reference UE) to the remote UE (i.e. target UE) through sidelink and a response PRS transmitted by the remote UE to the relay UE in response to the request PRS.”[0252]); and
sending(“The relay UE may transmit remote UE-assisted information and relay UE-assisted information to the network through the Uu link (or other radio channel link).”[0253]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 factual inquiries 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.
Claims 5, 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter) in view of Goyal (US 20220295442 A1 and Goyal hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 5, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Further Baek teaches
receiving(“the candidate relay UE(s) may refer to a UE equipped with a relay function that is currently connected to or accessible to a base station (i.e. RAN) corresponding to the remote UE (i.e. target UE).”[0292]); [[and]]
obtaining(“the network may measure the absolute position of at least one candidate relay UE based on BS (base station) position information corresponding to the remote UE (S1420).”[0291]);
selecting a first one of the candidate reference UEs as the reference UE for the target UE, based on the further positioning measurements (“The network may determine at least one relay UE as an anchor node (AN) for the remote UE based on the reliability (or quality level) of the absolute position measured corresponding to the candidate relay UE(s) (S1430)”[0292]); and
Baek doesn’t explicitly teach
sending to the CNN an identifier of the selected first candidate reference UE, in accordance with the further request
However, in a similar field of endeavor Goyal teaches
sending to the CNN an identifier of the selected first candidate reference UE, in accordance with the further request (“The selection of anchor WTRU(s) may be performed by a network entity, e.g., a positioning server. For example, a selection (e.g., initial selection) of anchor WTRU(s) may include the WTRU(s) for which the positions (e.g., absolute positions) are known. A list of anchor WTRU(s), for example, WTRU IDs (e.g., IMSI, IMEI, etc.) (i.e. identifiers) may be provided to the BS, e.g., in a group formation request.”[0125]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek with the method suggested by Goyal. The motivation would be to determine the geographical location of a WTRU using positioning Goyal at [0002].
Regarding Claim 6, Baek in view of Goyal, Baek-Goyal hereinafter, teaches all the limitations of claim 5, as discussed above. Further Baek teaches wherein the further positioning measurements associated with each candidate reference UE include one or more of the following:
one or more of the following measurements made by the candidate reference UE of signals transmitted by a RAN node: received power, and timing (“The relay UE may measure the RSTD (i.e. timing measurements) and quality of the Uu-PRS received from the base station (i.e. RAN) through the Uu link. As an example, the relay UE may measure the RSRP (i.e. receiver signal reference power) for Uu-PRS.”[0239]);
one or more of the following measurements made by the RAN node of signals transmitted by the candidate reference UE: received power, and timing (“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network (i.e. RAN) to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID, relay UE speed information, relay UE heading information, RSTD information measured for Uu PRS, time information at which the RSTD is measured, information about the quality of measured RSTD, and RSRP information (i.e. receiver signal reference power) for the Uu PRS.”[0242]); and
a degree of stationarity of the candidate reference UE (“the network may measure the absolute position (i.e. degree of stationary based on absolute position) of at least one candidate relay UE based on BS (base station) position information corresponding to the remote UE (S1420).”[0291]); and
energy conditions associated with the candidate reference UE.
Regarding Claim 9, Baek-Goyal teaches all the limitations of claim 5, as discussed above.
Baek doesn’t explicitly teach
where the identifier of the selected first candidate reference UE sent to the CNN is the identifier of a reference UE that is received from the CNN in the request for a position of the target UE
In a similar field of endeavor Goyal teaches
where the identifier of the selected first candidate reference UE sent to the CNN is the identifier of a reference UE that is received from the CNN in the request for a position of the target UE (“The selection of anchor WTRU(s) may be performed by a network entity, e.g., a positioning server. For example, a selection (e.g., initial selection) of anchor WTRU(s) may include the WTRU(s) for which the positions (e.g., absolute positions) are known. A list of anchor WTRU(s), for example, WTRU IDs (e.g., IMSI, IMEI, etc.) may be provided to the BS, e.g., in a group formation request.”[0125]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek with the method suggested by Goyal. The motivation would be to determine the geographical location of a WTRU using positioning Goyal at [0002].
Claims 12-14 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter) in view of Hong (US 20230198708 A1 and Hong hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 12, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as discussed above.
Further Baek teaches
each record including a last known location for a particular UE (“the base station corresponding to the remote UE may include at least one of a base station currently in an RRC_CONNECTED state and a base station last connected (i.e. location) before entering the RRC_IDLE state.”[0291]) and a last known reference UE for the particular UE (“the network may measure the absolute position of at least one candidate relay UE based on BS (base station) position information corresponding to the remote UE (S1420)”[0291]).
Baek doesn’t explicitly teach
wherein the CNN is associated with a database that includes a plurality of records associated with a respective plurality of UEs,
In a similar field of endeavor Hong teaches
wherein the CNN is associated with a database that includes a plurality of records associated with a respective plurality of UEs (“The positioning server 2830 may store information (i.e. records) on the RSUs 2820-1 to 2820-4 (i.e. plurality of UEs), and provide information related to the serving cell and neighboring cells, which is helpful for PRS measurement for OTDOA, and PRS information of each RSU to the terminal #0 2810, which is a target device, through the first RSU 2820-1.”[0346] and FIG 28).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek with the method suggested by Hong. The motivation would be to determine the position of a terminal (i.e. UE) based on the at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), see Hong at Abstract.
Regarding Claim 13, Baek-Hong teaches all the limitations of claim 12, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses wherein:
determining one of the following by the target UE:
a previous authentication (“the network confirms that a positioning target UE is located outside the base station (BS) coverage”[0313]), or
a previous registration; and
the previous authentication or the previous registration was performed by the CNN according to one of the following:
directly with the target UE (“the network confirms that a positioning target UE is located outside the base station (BS) coverage”[0313]), or
indirectly with the target UE via the reference UE (“When at least one of the above-mentioned four events is detected, the network regards the measurement target UE as a remote UE, requests assistance measurement information necessary for positioning of the remote UE from the relay UE located around the remote UE, and may obtain assistance measurement information from the relay UE.”[0317]).
Regarding Claim 14, Baek-Hong teaches all the limitations of claim 12, as discussed above. Further Baek discloses further comprising
determining (“the candidate relay UE(s) may refer to a UE equipped with a relay function that is currently connected to or accessible to a base station (i.e. RAN) corresponding to the remote UE (i.e. target UE).”[0292]) for communication between the target UE and the RAN (“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may serve to transmit messages/information/signaling/RS (reference sequence) received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to other remote UEs or base stations (i.e. RAN).”[0199]).
Regarding Claim 19, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as discussed above. Baek does not explicitly disclose
storing
In a similar field of endeavor Hong teaches
storing(“The positioning server 2830 may store information (i.e. records) on the RSUs 2820-1 to 2820-4 (i.e. plurality of UEs), and provide information related to the serving cell and neighboring cells, which is helpful for PRS measurement for OTDOA, and PRS information (i.e. position information) of each RSU to the terminal #0 2810, which is a target device, through the first RSU 2820-1.”[0346] and FIG 28).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek with the method suggested by Hong. The motivation would be to determine the position of a terminal (i.e. UE) based on the at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), see Hong at Abstract.
Claims 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter) in view of Hong (US 20230198708 A1 and Hong hereinafter) and further in view of Tsuda (US 20180146507 A1 and Tsuda hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 15 Baek-Hong teaches all the limitations of claim 14, as discussed above. Further Baek teaches
sending, to the second positioning node, a third request to identify a reference UE(“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID (i.e. identifier)”[0242]) for communication between a target UE and the RAN (“The relay UE (i.e. reference UE) may serve to transmit messages/information/signaling/RS (reference sequence) received from the remote UE (i.e. target UE) to other remote UEs or base stations (i.e. RAN).”[0199]): and
receiving, from the second positioning node, a third response including an identifier of a candidate reference UE selected by the second positioning node (“Among at least one candidate relay UE determined based on base station position information corresponding to the remote UE, a candidate relay UE in which a positioning quality indicator (PQI) of an absolute position measured at a network stage is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold may be determined to be the anchor node (AN) for positioning of the remote UE”[0031]).
Baek and Hong don’t explicitly teach
wherein determining
sending
receiving
selecting
However in a similar field of endeavor Tsuda suggests
PNG
media_image1.png
640
596
media_image1.png
Greyscale
wherein determining
sending (“eNodeB” element 901 and 911) for the target UE (“UE A” element 908) to a last known reference UE (“UE B” element 904) for the target UE (FIG 9, element 901, 904, and 911);
receiving(FIG 9, element 901, 904, and 911); [[and ]]
selecting(“UE B 904 is able to relay paging messages and signals representing data 911 between the eNodeB 901 and the UE A 903 should the UE A move outside of the coverage area 902 of the eNodeB 901 when in the idle mode, providing the UE A 903 stays in coverage of the UE B 904.”[0066]) FIG 9, elements 901, 904, and 911) based on the response indicating that the target UE responded to the page (FIG 9, elements 904, 908 and 911);
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek-Hong with the method suggested by Tsuda. The motivation would be so terminals that are in close proximity to communicate directly with each other, both when within and when outside of a coverage area or when the network fails, see Tsuda at [0009].
Regarding Claim 17 Baek-Hong in view of Tsuda, Baek-Hong-Tsuda hereinafter, teaches all the limitations of claim 15, as discussed above. Further Baek teaches
wherein the identifier of the candidate reference UE that is received from the second positioning node is the identifier of a reference UE that is sent to the second positioning node in the second request (“The relay UE-assisted information may refer to information requested by the network to perform positioning for the relay UE, and may include at least one of a cell ID (i.e. identifier)”[0242]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter) in view of Hong (US 20230198708 A1 and Hong hereinafter) and in view of Tsuda (US 20180146507 A1 and Tsuda hereinafter) and further in view of Wang (US 20220061020 A1 and Wang hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 18, Baek-Hong-Tsuda teaches all the limitations of claim 15, as discussed above.
Baek, Hong and Tsuda don‘t explicitly teach
wherein sending (1434) the request to identify a reference UE to the second positioning node is based on one or more of the following:
the database record associated with the target UE does not include a last known reference UE; and an indication that the target UE did not respond to a page via the last known reference UE.
However in a similar field of endeavor Wang teaches
wherein sending (1434) the request to identify a reference UE to the second positioning node is based on one or more of the following:
the database record associated with the target UE does not include a last known reference UE (“In another configuration, the paging relay request message may include one or more paging records (i.e. database record) (e.g., 1210), each paging record (e.g., 1212) may comprise a UE identity (e.g., 1214) for a UE to which the page is directed and the paging type (e.g., 1218), such as described in connection with FIG. 12…Then the first UE may transmit the one or more paging records in the paging message to the second UE if first UE does not detect the UE identity for the second UE in the one or more paging records”[0155]); and
an indication that the target UE did not respond to a page via the last known reference UE.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek-Tsuda with the method suggested by Wang. The motivation would be so to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate , see Wang at [0004].
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek (US 20240031975 A1 and Baek hereinafter) in view of Tsuda (US 20180146507 A1 and Tsuda hereinafter) and further in view of Wang (US 20220061020 A1 and Wang hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 22, Baek teaches all the limitations of claim 21, as discussed above.
Baek doesn’t explicitly teach
wherein paging
sending
receiving
However in a similar field of endeavor Tsuda teaches
wherein paging
receiving(FIG 9, element 901, 904, 908 and 911).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek with the method suggested by Tsuda. The motivation would be so terminals that are in close proximity to communicate directly with each other, both when within and when outside of a coverage area or when the network fails, see Tsuda at [0009].
Baek and Tsuda don’t explicitly teach
sendinga paging message that includes an identifier of the target UE and a paging reason associated with locating the target UE; and
However in a similar field of endeavor Wang teaches
sending(FIG 12, element 1232 and FIG 16; (i.e. according to the Wang reference the UE can perform the same functions as the RAN) see “The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the flowchart of FIG. 16 of any of the aspects performed by the base station 710, 1230, 1306 in FIGS. 7, 12, and 13. As such, each block in the flowchart of FIG. 16 of any of the aspects performed by the base station 710, 1230, 1306 in FIGS. 7, 12, and 13 may be performed by a component and the apparatus (i.e. UE) may include one or more of those components.”[0136]) that includes an identifier of the target UE and a paging reason associated (“the apparatus 1702, and in particular the baseband unit 1704, includes means for generating a paging relay request message including paging information for at least a second UE, the paging information indicating a UE ID (i.e. identifier) for the second UE and a paging type (i.e. paging reason) (e.g., the paging relay request message generation component 1740).”[0137] Fig 12) with locating the target UE (“In one configuration, the first UE may indicate a paging type in the paging message that the first UE transmits to the second UE over the sidelink. In such configuration, the paging type may indicate at least one of: a first type of page triggering a RRC setup over a Uu interface (i.e. location tracking, when a UE is in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE, the network pages it across a specific Tracking Area (TA) or RAN-based Notification Area (RNA). The UE location (access node) is tracked for paging to succeed.), or a second type of page triggering the RRC setup over a PC5 interface (i.e. location-based proximity services, PC5 is used for sidelink communications, where UEs in close proximity (local area) may be paged to establish a direct connection), a third type of page for a system information modification, a fourth type of page for an ETWS notification, or a fifth type of page for a CMAS notification (i.e. geographic location, these are earthquake, tsunami, or public safety warnings (warning systems) that are transmitted to all UEs currently located within a specific, targeted geographical area )”[0154] FIG 12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Baek-Tsuda with the method suggested by Wang. The motivation would be so to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate , see Wang at [0004].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Edge et al. (US Publication No. US 20230408625 A1) “Systems and methods for storage of UE positioning capabilities in a network” (December 21, 2023) is directed to an AMF that includes a UE identifier in location requests with which the location server may retrieve the UE positioning capabilities if stored at the location server or may include the UE positioning capabilities if stored at the AMF.
The Examiner notes that Edge suggests the limitations of claims 1, 11, and 23 as shown in para [0101], [0064], [0127], [0057], [0106], [0108], and [0110].
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Iyonda L. Lewis whose telephone number is (571)272-4440. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm.
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, Alison Slater can be reached at (571) 270-0375. 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.
/IYONDA L LEWIS/Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Iyonda.Lewis@USPTO.gov
/Alison Slater/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Prosecution Insights