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 § 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.
Claims 1-3, 7-11, 16-19 and 23-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LG Electronics: "Discussion on other enhancements for positioning" (hereinafter, R1-2110093).
Regarding claim 1, R1-2110093 discloses a method of operating a user equipment (UE) (page 3, fig. 2, “PRS reception at UE in RRC inactive state”), comprising:
determining a first window of time associated with a periodic positioning reference signal (PRS) instance (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”);
determining a second window of time associated with a paging occasion (P0) of the UE based in part upon the first window of time associated with the PRS instance (page 3, fig. 2, “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’”);
transitioning from a discontinuous reception (DRX) OFF state to a DRX ON state (page 3, fig. 2, “from left bo[a]rder to begin of sleep”);
monitoring, while in the DRX ON state, the P0 during the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “paging occasion”);
performing, while in the DRX ON state, one or more measurements of one or more PRS resources associated with the PRS instance during the first window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “3 times PRS”); and
transitioning from the DRX ON state to the DRX OFF state after the first window of time and the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “Sleep”).
Regarding claim 9, R1-2110093 discloses a method of operating a base station (page 1, section 2.1, “RAN1”), comprising:
determining a first window of time associated with a periodic positioning reference signal (PRS) instance for a user equipment (UE) (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”);
determining a second window of time associated with a paging occasion (PO) of the UE based in part upon the first window of time associated with the PRS instance (page 3, fig. 2, “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’”);
transmitting paging information associated with the PO during the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, where the RAN1 transmits in a paging frame “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’” where the UE should look for the paging messages); and
transmitting PRS on one or more PRS resources associated with the PRS instance during the first window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”).
Regarding claim 17, R1-2110093 discloses a user equipment (UE) (page 3, fig. 2, “UE”), comprising:
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 (page 3, UEs inherently comprise at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions that are executed by at least one processors. Also UEs comprise at least a transceiver or transmitter, receiver among other elements, where the different elements are interconnected) configured to:
determine a first window of time associated with a periodic positioning reference signal (PRS) instance (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”);
determine a second window of time associated with a paging occasion (PO) of the UE based in part upon the first window of time associated with the PRS instance (page 3, fig. 2, “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’”);
transition from a discontinuous reception (DRX) OFF state to a DRX ON state (page 3, fig. 2, “from left bo[a]rder to begin of sleep”);
monitor, while in the DRX ON state, the PO during the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “paging occasion”);
perform, while in the DRX ON state, one or more measurements of one or more PRS resources associated with the PRS instance during the first window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “3 times PRS”); and
transition from the DRX ON state to the DRX OFF state after the first window of time and the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “Sleep”).
Regarding claim 25, R1-2110093 discloses a base station (page 1, section 2.1, “RAN1”), comprising:
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 (page 1, RANs inherently comprise at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions that are executed by at least one processors. Also RANs comprise at least a transceiver or transmitter, receiver among other elements, where the different elements are interconnected) configured to:
determine a first window of time associated with a periodic positioning reference signal (PRS) instance for a user equipment (UE) (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”);
determine a second window of time associated with a paging occasion (PO) of the UE based in part upon the first window of time associated with the PRS instance (page 3, fig. 2, “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’”);
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, paging information associated with the PO during the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, where the RAN1 transmits in a paging frame “duration of ‘Paging Occasion’”); and
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, PRS on one or more PRS resources associated with the PRS instance during the first window of time (page 3, fig. 2, “‘window or timer’” above 3 PRS in the DRX cycle”).
Regarding claims 2, 10, 18 and 26, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claims 1, 9, 17 and 25, respectively. R4-2114730 further discloses wherein the first window of time follows the second window of time (page 3, fig. 2, please see “window or timer” starting after “Paging Occasion”).
Regarding claims 3, 11, 19 and 27, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claims 1, 9, 17 and 25, respectively. R4-2114730 further discloses wherein a gap between a time gap between the first window of time and the second window of time is less than a threshold, or wherein the first window of time and the second window of time are adjacent without an intervening time gap (page 3, fig. 2, please see “window or timer” and “Paging Occasion” being adjacent to each other with no gap in between).
Regarding claims 7, 16 and 23, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claims 1, 9 and 17, respectively. R4-2114730 further discloses wherein the second window of time for the PO is determined implicitly based on knowledge of the PRS instance and an initial window of time associated with the PO (page 3, Option 2, where the RAN1 knows about the PRS instance and the scheduling the PO schedules of the POs; therefore, it selects a PO that would ensure for them to be close together enough to fall within the same cycle and prevent a waking up).
Regarding claims 8 and 24, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claims 1 and 17, respectively. R4-2114730 discloses wherein the second window of time is configured by a network component (page3, section 2.2, where RAN1 is a component of the network and RAN1 configures scheduling and resources).
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.
Claims 4-6 , 12-14, 20-22 and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over R1-2110093 in view of US 20210014822 A1 (Gurumoorthy et al., hereinafter Gurumoorthy).
Regarding claims 4, 12, 20 and 28, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claims 1, 9, 17 and 25, respectively.
Although implied by R4-2114730, R4-2114730 does not explicitly disclose comprising: transmitting, to a base station, a request for the P0 to be scheduled during the second window of time.
In related art concerning communication coordination and collision mitigation for multi-subscriber identity module devices, Gurumoorthy discloses transmitting, to a base station, a request for the P0 to be scheduled during the second window of time (par. [0098], “the UE 106 may transmit a coordination request to a network in order to alter a paging occasion…”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Gurumoorthy’s teachings about transmitting, to a base station, a request for the P0 to be scheduled during the second window of time with the positioning enhancements in RRC_INACTIVE method disclosed by R4-2114730 because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that “the UE 106 may transmit a coordination request to a network in order to alter a paging occasion of first SIM in order to coordinate with a paging occasion of a second SIM. This approach may be useful in scenarios where the various SIMs are camped on different networks or base stations”, among others (Gurumoorthy, par. [0098]). Note that several aspects of LTE paging are used in NR paging.
Regarding claims 5, 13, 21 and 29, R4-2114730 and Gurumoorthy disclose all the limitations of claims 4, 12, 20 and 28, respectively.
R4-2114730 does not specifically disclose wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an input offset to a PO scheduling algorithm that is used to derive timing of the PO, or wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an output offset from the PO scheduling algorithm, or a combination thereof.
Gurumoorthy discloses wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an input offset to a PO scheduling algorithm that is used to derive timing of the PO, or wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an output offset from the PO scheduling algorithm, or a combination thereof (par. [0098], “…the UE 106 may request to the network to provide an offset to the pre-calculated paging occasion of the first SIM, e.g., to shift the paging occasion by an amount of time equal to the offset…”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Gurumoorthy’s teachings wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an input offset to a PO scheduling algorithm that is used to derive timing of the PO, or wherein the request indicates the second window of time via an output offset from the PO scheduling algorithm, or a combination thereof with the positioning enhancements in RRC_INinactive method disclosed by R4-2114730 because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that “the UE may provide information to the network associated with the first SIM so that the network may determine and provide a collision free paging configuration (Gurumoorthy, par. [0098]). Note that several aspects of LTE paging are used in NR paging.
Regarding claims 6, 14, 22 and 30, R4-2114730 and Gurumoorthy disclose all the limitations of claims 4, 12, 20 and 28, respectively.
R4-2114730 discloses wherein the request corresponds to a Msg3 physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or wherein the request corresponds to a MsgA PUSCH, or wherein the request corresponds to an uplink control information (UCI) multiplexed with PUSCH, or wherein the request corresponds to a Msg3 PUSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource, or wherein the request corresponds to a dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble, or any combination thereof (page 3, “UL-SRS”, where in UL signaling UEs can use PRASH, DM-RS for PUSCH or PUCCH).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over R1-2110093 in view of US 20230069947 A1 (Lee et al., hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 15, R4-2114730 discloses all the limitations of claim 9.
R4-2114730 does not specifically disclose receiving, from a location management function (LMF), a request for the PO to be scheduled during the second window of time.
In related art concerning method for transmitting and receiving signal in wireless communication system and apparatus supporting the same, Lee discloses receiving, from a location management function (LMF), a request for the PO to be scheduled during the second window of time (par. 0377], “when the BS/server/LMF desires to configure/indicate positioning measurement for a specific and/or UE group on a specific paging occasion (PO)…related to configuring/indicating the positioning measurement may correspond/be mapped to both scheduling information for paging and a short message being included in the DCI.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Lee’s teachings about receiving, from a location management function (LMF), a request for the PO to be scheduled during the second window of time with the positioning enhancements in RRC_inactive method disclosed by R4-2114730 because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the LMA constitutes one of several available element of the network that have the capability for scheduling POs; therefore, a decision can be made based on networks needs or availability of a specific element in the network.
Note: The examiner agrees with the PCT/US2022/076996 Written Opinion cited I IDS dated 04/08/2024. The Written Opinion is being quoted in this Office Action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In the Remarks, the Applicant argues in substance:
The examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant’s assertion. First, a PO window of time being “associated” with a first window of a PRS instance is unclear. How are they associated? The limitation does not provide a clear description of the “relationship”; therefore, having two windows of time in a same frame or slots read on the claim. Fig. 2 clearly shows a window of time of the DRX cycle for the PRS and a separate window time where the PO takes place (beginning or end PO).
“note that FIG. 2 of R1-R110093 depicts the PRS occasions inside of the window with solid line and solid fill, while the PRS occasion outside of the window (after the window) with dotted line and white fill. This is used in context to emphasize that the PRS occasion with dotted line and white fill is punctured.”
There is no evidence that the dotted PRS are punctured; instead the measured PRS are being done dynamically, so that power is saved (e.g., skipping some PRS measurements).
“the feature of ‘monitoring, while in the DRX ON state, the PO during the second window of time’ and ‘performing, while in the DRX ON state, one or more measurements of one or more PRS resources associated with the PRS instance during the first window of time’ as recited in independent claim 1 and similarly recited in independent claims 9, 17 and 25, is neither taught nor suggested by R1-2110093.”
In Fig. 2, a paging occasion is monitored while in the DRX cycle window (left side paging occasion). The RDX cycle is different than the “window or timer” of the PRS measurements that are in the DRX cycle. The DRX ON cycle/window ends before the “wake up” cycle starts.
Note: The claims do not indicate how are the first and second window of time related. Are they non-overlapping windows of time, are they overlapping windows of time, is one window larger than the other?
The Examiner has given a broad, but reasonable interpretation to the claims in view of the specification and considers that the prior art cited reads on the claims, as presently written; therefore, the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20230397158 A1, relates to method for UE energy consumption reduction in RRC_INACTIVE STATE.
US 20220030548 A1 (Sungduck Chun, hereinafter Chun), relates to a method for transmitting and receiving paging signal in wireless communication system and apparatus.
US 20230164732 A1, relates to system and method for UL compensation gap.
US 2024/0244533 A1, relates to method for transmitting and receiving signal in wireless communication system and apparatus for supporting same.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Angelica Perez whose telephone number is 571-272-7885. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications.
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/Angelica M. Perez/
Primary Examiner AU 2649
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