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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
This office acknowledges receipt of the following item(s) from the applicant:
Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS) filed on 31 May 2024 and 10 July 2026. The references have been considered.
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)(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, 14-17, 28-31, 40-43 and 52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ryden et al. (Ryden, US PGPub 2020/0120479).
Referring to Claim 1, Ryden teaches obtaining one or more non-RF measurements associated with a target object of RF sensing ([0030], [0039] and Fig. 2 #2:5 and 2:6; [0044-0045]); determining one or more object features associated with the target object based on the one or more non-RF measurements (Fig. 2 #2:5, above citations as well as [0058]); generating an object feature report comprising the one or more object features associated with the target object (Fig. 2 #2:5 and Fig. 4 #404 and associated text); and sending the object feature report to a server in the wireless network; Fig. 2 #2:6; [0048].
Referring to Claims 2, 16, 30 and 42, Ryden teaches wherein the one or more non-RF measurements comprises measurements performed by one or more of a camera, ultra-sound sensor, lidar, and barometer; [0032].
Referring to Claims 3, 17, 31 and 43, Ryden teaches sending a capability message to the server indicating support for object feature reporting; Fig. 2 #2:2; [0042].
Referring to Claim 14, 28, 40 and 52, Ryden teaches wherein the object feature report has a format for object features that is used in an RF sensing measurement report for the target object sent to the server; see disclosure on location reporting.
Referring to Claim 15, Ryden teaches at least one transceiver ([0003]); one or more non-RF sensors; at least one memory (Fig. 5 #M; [0068]); and at least one processor (Fig; #P; [0068]) coupled to the at least one transceiver, the one or more non-RF sensors, and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the network node to: obtain, from the one or more non-RF sensors, one or more non-RF measurements associated with a target object of RF sensing; determine one or more object features associated with the target object based on the one or more non-RF measurements; generate an object feature report comprising the one or more object features associated with the target object; and send, via the at least one transceiver, the object feature report to a server in the wireless network; See citations of Claim 1 above.
Referring to Claim 29, Ryden teaches sending to a network node an indication of object features of a target object of RF sensing to be included in an object feature report; and receiving the object feature report from the network node comprising one or more object features determined by the network node based on one or more non-RF measurements associated with the target object of RF sensing; See Citations of Claim 1 above.
Referring to Claim 41, Ryden teaches at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the server to: send, via the at least one transceiver, to a network node an indication of object features of a target object of RF sensing to be included in an object feature report; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, the object feature report from the network node comprising one or more object features determined by the network node based on one or more non-RF measurements associated with the target object of RF sensing; See citations of Claim 15 above.
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.
Claim(s) 4-10, 18-24, 32-37 and 44-49 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryden in view of Edge et al. (Edge, US PGPub 2019/0166453).
Referring to Claim 4 and 18, Ryden teaches the object feature report, but does not explicitly disclose nor limit receiving an indication of object features to be included in the object feature report.
However, Edge teaches receiving an indication of object features to be included in the object feature report; Fig. 10 and 11 and [0115].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ryden with the object features as taught by Edge so as to predictably provide additional location measurements to provide greater location accuracy.
Referring to Claims 5, 19, 32 and 44, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein determining the one or more object features comprises determining different object features for each different non-RF sensor used for the one or more non-RF measurements; [0032] of Ryden as well as measurements taught with respect to Fig. 10 and 11 of Edge.
Referring to Claims 6, 20, 33 and 45, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein determining the one or more object features comprises determining a common set of object feature for different non-RF technologies used for the one or more non-RF measurements; [0032] of Ryden as well as measurements taught with respect to Fig. 10 and 11 of Edge.
Referring to Claims 7, 21, 34 and 46, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein the common set of object feature comprises one or more of radar cross section, radar cross section variance, speed, position, trajectory, direction, or a combination thereof; [0032] of Ryden as well as measurements taught with respect to Fig. 10 and 11 of Edge.
Referring to Claims 8, 22, 35 and 47, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein the object feature report further comprises a time stamp associated with the one or more non-RF measurements; [0096] of Edge.
Referring to Claims 9, 23, 36 and 48, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein the object feature report further comprises an object identity (ID) associated with each object feature; Edge teaches that features contain a timestamp and teaches in [0049] the use of IDs, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for IDs to accompany the report along with the timestamp.
Referring to Claims 10, 24, 37 and 49, Ryden as modified by Edge teach wherein the object feature report further comprises in indication of a report period; see rationale related to Claim 9 above as the same would apply here as well.
Claim(s) 11-13, 25-27, 38, 39 and 50-52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryden in view of Manolakos et al. (Manolakos, US PGPub 2023/0040590).
Referring to Claim 11, 25, 38 and 50, Ryden teaches the object feature, but does not explicitly disclose nor limit prioritizing the object feature report over another object feature report.
However, Manolakos teaches prioritizing the object feature report over another object feature report; [0153-0154].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ryden with the prioritizing as taught by Manolakos so as to predictably improve the accuracy of the location estimate by managing allocated resources of the wireless network.
Referring to Claims 12 and 26, Ryden as modified by Manolakos teach wherein prioritization of the object feature report is dynamically requested by the server or requested by the network node; [0153-0154] of Manolakos.
Referring to Claims 13 and 27, Ryden as modified by Manolakos teach obtaining a subsequent set of one or more non-RF measurements associated with the target object of RF sensing; determining a change in one or more object features determined from the subsequent set of the one or more non-RF measurements with respect to the one or more object features in the object feature report is less than a threshold; and not reporting the one or more object features; [0153-0154] of Manolakos.
Referring to Claims 39 and 51, Ryden as modified by Manolakos teach wherein object feature reports are received periodically from the network node, determining there is no update to one or more object features that are not received in a report period; [0094] and Fig. 8 and associated text of Manolakos.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WHITNEY T MOORE whose telephone number is (571)270-3338. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 7am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jack Keith can be reached at (571) 272-6878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WHITNEY MOORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3646
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