CTNF 18/730,537 CTNF 81498 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 7/19/2024 and 10/23/2025 have been considered by the examiner. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 7 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities: Regarding claim 7. This claim recites “…location associated with the WTRU is included the second PRS…” It appears a linking word is missing between “included” and “the” . Appropriate correction is required. Regarding claim 14. The claim recites “…the metric associated with the TRP is determined metric...” It appears a linking word is missing between “is” and “determined”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claims 1-10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as failing to set forth the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant regards as the invention. Regarding claim 1. Claim 1 is directed to a wireless transmit/receive unit in the preamble, however the body of the claim includes not structural elements/hardware. It is suggested to add some form of hardware within the body of the claim, to ensure it is positively recited and so that the claim is not subject to a 112b rejection. One suggestion would be to move the processor and memory to the body of the claim, such as: (below is merely an example, however, the hardware components need to be positively recited in the body of the claim in some manner) A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a processor, and a memory, wherein, the processor and memory are configured to; receive…” Regarding claims 2-10. These claims inherent the same deficiencies as the parent claim and are therefore rejected for the same reasons. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as failing to set forth the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant regards as the invention. Regarding claim 9. Claim 9 (which depends from claim 1) recites the limitation "the weight" in line 1. Neither claim 9 or claim 1 previously mention a weight. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, and 3-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos et al. (US 20240063862, hereinafter Manolakos) in view of Cha et al. (US 2022/0132463, hereinafter Cha) . Regarding claims 1 and 11. Manolakos teaches a method and wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising a processor and a memory (Figure 3A) , the processor and the memory configured to: receive configuration information indicating that the WTRU is configured to receive positioning reference signals (PRSs) from a first set of one or more transmission-reception points (TRPs), the configuration information comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration information associated with the first set of one or more TRPs (Figure 8, item 810 and par. 133) determine a metric associated with a transmission-reception point (TRP) (figure 8, item 820 and par. 138, perform measurements of the PRS transmitted from the TRP, further par. 139 explains calculating a position estimate based on the measurements (and other provided info), then par. 140 explains metrics such as RSRP, ToA, QoS, RSSI, SINR, AoD metrics) , the determined metric being based on one or more of: a location associated with the TRP (examiners note: this limitation is written in alternative form, and thus only one of the alternatives is required to be shown by the prior art, examiner recommends positively reciting each limitation to ensure it is considered part of the claim) , a location associated with the WTRU (par. 139, “estimated location of the receiving entity”, examiners note: this limitation is written in alternative form, and thus only one of the alternatives is required to be shown by the prior art, examiner recommends positively reciting each limitation to ensure it is considered part of the claim) , or a measurement associated with the TRP (figure 8, item 820 and par. 138, examiners note: this limitation is written in alternative form, and thus only one of the alternatives is required to be shown by the prior art, examiner recommends positively reciting each limitation to ensure it is considered part of the claim) ; send a PRS activation request to activate PRS from the TRP , wherein the PRS activation request includes the determined metric associated with the TRP (figure 8 item, 840, further par. 140) . receive a message indicating the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP, the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP (Figure 8, item 810 and par. 133) . However, Manolakos does not specifically disclose wherein the transmission-reception point (TRP) is a TRP that is not included in the first set of one or more TRPs . Further, he does not specifically disclose send a PRS activation request to activate PRS from the TRP . Cha, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method and system for wireless device positioning (title and abstract). Cha teaches wherein the determine a metric associated with a transmission-reception point (TRP) is for a TRP is not included in the first set of one or more TRPs (par. 444, UE receives PRS from three TRPs and determines them to not be suitable, UE request changing TRP; par. 445, the BS and/or LMF and/or location server will transmit the PRS in response to request and the UE may receive the PRS…UE would then determine the suitability of the new TRP as the process continues, thus measurements of a TRP not included in the first set of one or more TRPs) . Cha further teaches, send a PRS activation request to activate PRS from the TRP (par. 49, UE requests PRS when specific condition is satisfied; par. 438-438, the request of the UE may be a request to change TRP) . Although Manolakos teaches the idea of receive a message indicating the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP, the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP, as explained above, this is also taught by Cha. Cha teaches receive a message indicating the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP (par. 446, a changed TRP may transmit PRS in response to the request and the UE may receive the PRS) , the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP. (par. 446, UE may received the PRS from the changed TRP; par. 459, UE may receive configuration information required to perform this) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of (effective) filing to incorporate the measurements performed on another TRP of Cha into the method and system of Manolakos. The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 3 . Manolakos further teaches receive PRS from the first set of one or more TRPs (figure 8, item 810) ; and determine the location associated with the WTRU based on the PRS received from the first set of one or more TRPs (figure 8, item 820, 830) . Regarding claim 4 . The combination of Manolakos and Cha further teaches wherein the processor and the memory are configured to: determine an estimated location associated with the WTRU based on PRS received from the TRP (Manolakos figure 8 item 820/830) ; and send an indication of the estimated location associated with the WTRU (Manolakos figure 8 item 840) . Although Manolakos specifically teaches these limitations for all TRPs, he does not specifically teach that the TRP is the TRP not included in the first set of TRPs. This can be seen in Cha (par. 49, UE requests PRS when specific condition is satisfied; par. 438-438, the request of the UE may be a request to change TRP, par. 446, a changed TRP may transmit PRS in response to the request and the UE may receive the PRS). (par. 446, a changed TRP may transmit PRS in response to the request and the UE may receive the PRS) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 5 . Cha teaches wherein the indication of the estimated location associated with the WTRU is signaled as a differential value relative to the determined location associated with the WTRU based on the PRS received from the first set of one or more TRPs (par. 234, location related information may be a reference signal time difference measured by the UE) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 6 . Cha further teaches wherein the estimated location associated with the WTRU is determined using an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) model. (par. 576 artificial intelligence module as part of the UE) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 7 . The combination of Manolakos and Cha further teach wherein the processor and the memory are configured to: send a second PRS activation request (Cha, par. 49, UE requests PRS when specific condition is satisfied; par. 438-438, the request of the UE may be a request to change TRP) , wherein the estimated location associated with the WTRU is included the second PRS activation request. (Manolakos, figure 8 item, 840, further par. 140) The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 8 . Manolakos further teaches wherein the measurement associated with the TRP comprises at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, a line of sight (LOS) measurement, a non-line of sight (NLOS) measurement, a distance measurement, or a timing measurement. (par. 140 explains metrics such as RSRP, ToA, QoS, RSSI, SINR, AoD metrics and LOS in par. 114) Regarding claim 9 . Cha further teaches wherein the weight associated with the TRP is determined using an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) model. (par. 576 artificial intelligence module as part of the BS/UE etc.) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 10 . Manolakos further teaches wherein the PRS configuration information comprising PRS configuration information for each of the first set of TRPs. (figure 11 item 1110) Regarding claim 12 . Cha further teaches wherein the metric is determined using an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) model (par. 576 artificial intelligence module as part of the UE) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 13 . Manolakos teaches a base station comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory configured to: transmit configuration information indicating that a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) is configured to receive positioning reference signals (PRSs) from a first set of one or more transmission-reception points (TRPs), the configuration information comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration information associated with the first set of TRPs (Figure 11, item 1110 and par. 149) receive a PRS activation request to activate PRS from a transmission-reception point (TRP) that is not included in the first set of one or more TRPs, wherein the PRS activation request includes a metric associated with the TRP (figure 8 item, 840, further par. 140) ; and transmit a message indicating that the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP, the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP (Figure 8, item 810 and par. 133) . However, Manolakos does not specifically disclose wherein the transmission-reception point (TRP) is a TRP that is not included in the first set of one or more TRPs . Further, he does not specifically disclose send a PRS activation request to activate PRS from the TRP . Cha, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method and system for wireless device positioning (title and abstract). Cha teaches wherein the determine a metric associated with a transmission-reception point (TRP) is for a TRP is not included in the first set of one or more TRPs (par. 444, UE receives PRS from three TRPs and determines them to not be suitable, UE request changing TRP; par. 445, the BS and/or LMF and/or location server will transmit the PRS in response to request and the UE may receive the PRS…UE would then determine the suitability of the new TRP as the process continues, thus measurements of a TRP not included in the first set of one or more TRPs) . Cha further teaches, a PRS activation request to activate PRS from the TRP (par. 49, UE requests PRS when specific condition is satisfied; par. 438-438, the request of the UE may be a request to change TRP) . Although Manolakos teaches the idea of receive/transmit a message indicating the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP, the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP, as explained above, this is also taught by Cha. Cha teaches receive/transmit a message indicating the WTRU is to receive PRS from the TRP (par. 446, a changed TRP may transmit PRS in response to the request and the UE may receive the PRS) , the message comprising PRS configuration information associated with the TRP. (par. 446, UE may received the PRS from the changed TRP; par. 459, UE may receive configuration information required to perform this) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of (effective) filing to incorporate the measurements performed on another TRP of Cha into the method and system of Manolakos. The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . Regarding claim 14 . Manolakos further teaches wherein the metric associated with the TRP is determined metric based on one or more of: a location associated with the TRP, a location associated with the WTRU, or a measurement associated with the TRP. (figure 8, item 820 and par. 138, perform measurements of the PRS transmitted from the TRP, further par. 139 explains calculating a position estimate based on the measurements (and other provided info), then par. 140 explains metrics such as RSRP, ToA, QoS, RSSI, SINR, AoD metrics. Examiners note: this limitation is written in alternative form, and thus only one of the alternatives is required to be shown by the prior art, examiner recommends positively reciting each limitation to ensure it is considered part of the claim) , Regarding claim 15 . Cha further teaches wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to determine whether to accept the received PRS activation request based on an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) model. (par. 576 artificial intelligence module as part of the BS) . The motivation for doing so would have been to make a more reliable method/system of UE positioning (Cha par. 3) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2 is is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos in view of Cha, in further view of Bao et al. (US 20230122170. Hereinafter Bao) . Regarding claim 2 . The combination of Manolakos and Cha teach the limitations of claim 1. However, they do not specifically disclose wherein the processor and the memory are configured to: determine a respective weight for each TRP of a second set of one or more TRPs, wherein WTRU is not configured to receive PRS from each TRP of the second set of one or more TRPs, and wherein the PRS activation request further includes the respective weight determined for each TRP of the second set of one or more TRPs. In a similar field of endeavor, Bao teaches a UE performing position measurements and reporting the measurements (title and abstract) . Bao teaches determine a respective weight for each TRP of a second set of one or more TRPs (par. 224-225, the UE performs measurements on a set of PRS for multiple TRPs and combines the measurements to transmit…the combination pattern comprises a weight vector) , wherein WTRU is not configured to receive PRS from each TRP of the second set of one or more TRPs (par. 225, subset of samples, thus not samples from the entire set) , and wherein the PRS activation request further includes the respective weight determined for each TRP of the second set of one or more TRPs. (par. 226, weight vector comprises a set of bits, each bit indicating whether a respective measurement is associated with a corresponding sample) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of (effective) filing to incorporate the weighting of Bao with the combined method and system of Manolakos and Cha. The motivation for doing so would have been to allow for high accuracy in positioning (Bao. Par. 3) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be seen noted on the attached 892. These references all relate to mobile location using PRS and TRP as well as on demand location requesting. Although not specifically used in the rejection, these prior arts include reference to similar method/system and should be considered . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL THIER whose telephone number is (571)272- 2832. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 AM - 4:00 PM, Fri 7:00 AM-10:00 AM. 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. 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. /Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474 Michael Thier Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 2 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 3 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 4 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 5 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 6 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 7 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 8 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 9 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 10 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 11 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 12 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 13 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/730,537 Page 14 Art Unit: 2474
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