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 .
Applicant amended claims 1, 4-5, 13, 16-17 and canceled claims 2-3 and 14-15 in the amendment filed on 07/01/2026.
The claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
A. Applicant argues that Nam does not disclose the first resource pool comprises a third resource, the third resource comprises a resource occupied by a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the first resource is located in a range of the third resource.
In reply, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
Nam discloses an SL-burst portion may occupy a portion (such as a set of symbols or symbol indices) of the slot format that is dedicated for SL-PRSs that, in other slot formats for sidelink communications, is occupied by a data portion (such as a set of symbols or symbol indices that are occupied by a PSSCH in other slot formats) (paragraph 0036; 0091). Thus, the slot format dedicated for SL-PRSs is occupied by the PSSCH in the slot format for sidelink communications. Accordingly, the cited prior art portions disclose the argued claimed limitations.
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)(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, 6-13, 16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nam et al (US Patent Publication No. 2023/0052126 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Nam teaches a communication method, comprising:
transmitting or receiving, by a terminal device, a first positioning reference signal (PRS)
and first control information on a sidelink (Fig. 4; paragraph 0106 disclose the UE 115-f transmit SCI and SL-PRS; the UE 115-f may transmit an indication of a resource to be used for the transmission of the SL-PRS via the SCI), wherein the first control information indicates the first PRS (paragraph 0036; 0097; 0106; 0018 disclose UE 115 receiving an SL-PRS 530 may receive control signaling (such as SCI-2) indicating one or both of the candidate slot and the SL-PRS pattern), wherein a transmission resource of the first PRS is a first resource (paragraph 0089), a transmission resource of the first control information is a second resource, both the first resource and the second resource belong to a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is used for sidelink communication (paragraph 0038; 0089 disclose acquiring or reserving resources (from an allocated resource pool, such as a resource pool that is also allocated for sidelink communication) over which to transmit the SL- PRS and may include information (such as a position of the UE, or a transmit time stamp for the SL-PRS, among other information) within sidelink control information (SCI), such as SCI-1 or SCI-2, to assist a receiving UE with acquiring positioning information), and wherein the first resource pool comprises a third resource, the third resource comprises a resource occupied by a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the first resource is located in a range of the third resource (paragraph 0036; 0089 disclose a UE may transmit an SL-PRS in accordance with a slot format or structure that is dedicated to or exclusively used for SL-PRSs and, in some implementations, such a slot format may be used in a transmission over frequency resources that also may be available for data communications (for example, supporting in-band sidelink sensing and positioning). Such a slot format may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) portion carrying first stage sidelink control information (SCI-1), a portion carrying second stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) portion, and a portion for the SL-PRS, such as an SL-PRS burst portion).
With respect to claim 4, Nam teaches wherein the first control information is comprised in second-order sidelink control information (SCI) (paragraph 0036 disclose the slot format comprises a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) portion, a second stage sidelink control information (SCI) portion).
With respect to claim 6, Nam teaches wherein a transmission resource of the first PRS is a first resource, the first resource belongs to a second resource pool, and the second resource pool and a first resource pool that is used for sidelink communication are configured by using different signalling (paragraph 0097 disclose the UE 115-d may reserve resources across multiple slots (such as a current slot, or one or more future slots, or any combination thereof) and across different sub-channels or in different resource pools (such as different frequency division multiplexed resource pools)).
With respect to claim 7, Nam teaches wherein a transmission resource of the first control information is a second resource, and the second resource belongs to the second resource pool (paragraph 0038; 0089 disclose acquiring or reserving resources (from an allocated resource pool, such as a resource pool that is also allocated for sidelink communication) over which to transmit the SL-PRS and may include information (such as a position of the UE, or a transmit time stamp for the SL-PRS, among other information) within sidelink control information (SCI), such as SCI-1 or SCI-2, to assist a receiving UE with acquiring positioning information).
With respect to claim 8, Nam teaches wherein the second resource is not later than the first resource (paragraph 0038; 0089; Fig. 5 disclose acquiring or reserving resources (from an allocated resource pool, such as a resource pool that is also allocated for sidelink communication) over which to transmit the SL-PRS and may include information (such as a position of the UE, or a transmit time stamp for the SL-PRS, among other information) within sidelink control information (SCI), such as SCI-1 or SCI-2, to assist a receiving UE with acquiring positioning information).
With respect to claim 9, Nam teaches wherein the second resource pool comprises a second slot, both the first resource and the second resource belong to the second slot, and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol occupied by the first resource is different from an OFDM symbol occupied by the second resource (paragraph 0050; 0089; 0106 disclose the UE 115-f may reserve resources across multiple slots (such as a current slot or one or more future slots, or any combination thereof) and across different sub-channels or in different resource pools (such as different frequency division multiplexed resource pools; Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (for example, using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)).
With respect to claim 10, Nam teaches wherein the first control information comprises one or more pieces of the following information: an identity of the first PRS, a position of a resource occupied by the first PRS, a quantity of repetition times of the first PRS, a sending periodicity of the first PRS, and information about a terminal device that sends the first PRS (paragraph 0121 disclose a UE 115 may transmit, via one or both of SCI-1 or SCI-2 525, an indication of its position such that SCI-1 or SCI-2 525 includes the position of the transmitter (which may be an example of a sidelink anchor node). In some implementations, instead of a rough position (such as a zone identifier), a UE 115 transmitting an SL-PRS may include a relatively more accurate geographic position (such as a position determined or inferred from GNSS signaling) in SCI).
With respect to claim 11, Nam teaches wherein the method further comprises: determining, by the terminal device, a global positioning coordinate of the terminal device based on the first PRS (paragraph 0082; 0121 disclose a UE 115 may transmit, via one or both of SCI-1 or SCI-2 525, an indication of its position such that SCI-1 or SCI-2 525 includes the position of the transmitter (which may be an example of a sidelink anchor node). In some implementations, instead of a rough position (such as a zone identifier), a UE 115 transmitting an SL-PRS may include a relatively more accurate geographic position (such as a position determined or inferred from GNSS signaling) in SCI).
With respect to claim 12, Nam teaches wherein the terminal device performs sidelink communication with a first device (paragraph 0078 disclose two or more UEs 115 may communicate with each other over sidelink resources in accordance with slot formats or structures that are dedicated for sidelink communication), and the method further comprises:
determining, by the terminal device, a distance and/or a direction of the terminal device
relative to the first device based on the first PRS (paragraph 0113 disclose the UE 115-f may, in some implementations, calculate positioning information based at least in part on the transmission of the SL-PRS at 420, or 425, or both, and the reception of the SL-PRS at 435, or at 440, or both, where such positioning information may include an absolute position of the UE 115-f or UE 115-g, or a position, distance, or orientation of the UE 115-f relative to the UE 115-g, among other positioning information).
The limitations of claim 13 are rejected in the analysis of claim 1 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 16 are rejected in the analysis of claim 4 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 18 are rejected in the analysis of claim 6 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 19 are rejected in the analysis of claim 7 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 20 are rejected in the analysis of claim 8 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
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) 5 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam et al (US Patent Publication No. 2023/0052126 A1) in view of Hassan et al (WO 2023/093971 A1).
With respect to claim 5, Nam teaches wherein the first resource pool comprises a resource occupied by a physical sidelink control channel PSCCH that schedules a PSSCH (paragraph 0036; 0078 disclose an SL-burst portion may occupy a portion (such as a set of symbols or symbol indices) of the slot format that is dedicated for SL-PRSs that, in other slot formats for sidelink communications, is occupied by a data portion (such as a set of symbols or symbol indices that are occupied by a PSSCH in other slot formats).
Nam does not explicitly disclose an identity of the first PRS is determined by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the PSCCH that schedules the PSSCH.
However, Hassan teaches an identity of the first PRS is determined by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the PSCCH that schedules the PSSCH (page 16, lines 11-33 disclose the position reference signal sequence identity (NPRSID) is selected using the cyclic redundancy check code of a PSCCH transmitted by the first radio node UE1) in order to uniquely identify the PRS (page 16, lines 11-33). Therefore, based on Nam in view of Hassan, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Hassan to the system of Nam in order to uniquely identify the PRS.
The limitations of claim 17 are rejected in the analysis of claim 5 above, and the claim
is rejected on that basis.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHEIKH T NDIAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-3914. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:30pm.
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/CHEIKH T NDIAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447
9/12/2026
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