Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/804,057

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REQUESTING AND RECEIVING CONDITIONAL POSITIONING ASSISTANCE DATA IN MOBILE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 14, 2024
Priority
Oct 05, 2021 — RE 10-2021-0131338 +3 more
Examiner
BROCKMAN, ANGEL T
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Soenghun KIM
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
595 granted / 728 resolved
+21.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
757
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
83.0%
+43.0% vs TC avg
§102
7.5%
-32.5% vs TC avg
§112
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 728 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 § 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. Claims 1-4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gunnarson (US 2023/0164512 A1, hereinafter Gunnarson) in view of Godin et al. (US 2020/0314737 A1, hereinafter Godin ). Regarding claim1, Gunanrson discloses a method by a wireless device, the method comprising: transmitting, by the wireless device to a Location Management Function (LMF), a first positioning protocol message, wherein the first positioning protocol message comprises an indication that a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) data with validity arca information is requested (figures 10-12), ¶[0120]-¶[0121]) ; receiving, by the wireless device from the LMF (¶[0121]-¶[0129]), a second positioning protocol message, wherein the second positioning protocol message comprises the PRS data with validity area information (¶[0121]-¶[0129]), wherein the PRS data with validity arca information comprises: a set of parameters for validity area; (¶[0122-¶[0129]) and a plurality of sets of PRS resource parameters; and transmitting, by the wireless device to the LMF, a third positioning protocol message, wherein the third positioning protocol message comprises: a plurality of PRS resource identifiers; and a plurality of time differences between Transmission Reception Points (TRPs (¶[0122]-¶[0135], figures 10-13)), wherein: the set of parameters for validity area comprises one or more cell specific identifiers (figures 10-13); Gunnason does not disclose and each of the one or more cell specific identifiers consists of a base station identifier and a cell identifier. Goodin discloses and each of the one or more cell specific identifiers consists of a base station identifier and a cell identifier (¶[0044],¶[0053], figure 2). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the proposed modification of the base station and cell identifier as disclosed by Goodin along with the system of Gunnason to improve interoperability. Regarding claim 2, Gunnarson discloses wherein each set of the plurality of sets of PRS resource parameters comprises :a parameter for code sequence (figure 8B); a parameter for starting slot; and a parameter for quasi-collocation (figure 8B) Regarding claim 3, Gunnarson discloses wherein: the third positioning protocol message further comprises an identifier related to the PRS data; and the identifier related to the PRS data is associated with the plurality of PRS resource identifiers (¶[0133],¶[0172]). Regarding claim 4, Gunnarson discloses wherein the wireless device determines the PRS data with validity information is valid in a specific cell based on that the cell specific identifier received in a system information of the specific cell is indicated in the set of parameters for validity area (¶[0133],¶[0143]). Regarding claim 9, Gunnason discloses a wireless device comprising: a transceiver, a memory, and a controller coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the controller is configured to cause the wireless device to: transmit, by the wireless device to a Location Management Function (LMF), a first positioning protocol message, wherein the first positioning protocol message comprises an indication that a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) data with validity area information is requested figures 10-12), ¶[0120]-¶[0121]; receive, by the wireless device from the LMF, a second positioning protocol message, wherein the second positioning protocol message comprises the PRS data with validity area information, wherein the PRS data with validity area information comprises: a set of parameters for validity area (¶[0121]-¶[0129]); and one or more sets of PRS resource parameters; and transmit, by the wireless device to the LMF, a third positioning protocol message, wherein the third positioning protocol message comprises: a plurality of PRS resource identifiers (¶[0121]-¶[0129]) plurality of time differences between Transmission Reception Points (TRPs), wherein: the set of parameters for validity arca comprises one or more cell specific identifiers; Gunnarson does not disclose and each of the one or more cell specific identifiers consists of a base station identifier and a cell identifier. Gunnarson does not disclose and each of the one or more cell specific identifiers consists of a base station identifier and a cell identifier.` Goodin discloses and each of the one or more cell specific identifiers consists of a base station identifier and a cell identifier (¶[0044],¶[0053], figure 2). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the proposed modification of the base station and cell identifier as disclosed by Goodin along with the system of Gunnarson to improve interoperability. Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gunnarson and Goodin in view of 3GPP (ETSI TS 138 305 V16.7.0 , NR Radio access Network (NG-RAN) Stage 2 functional Specification of UE positioning in NG-RAN , hereinafter 3GPP) . Regarding claim 5, Gunnarson and Godi disclose all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of the method further comprising: receiving, by the wireless device from a base station, a System Information Block1 (SIB1), wherein the SIB1 comprises: scheduling information for one or more non-positioning SIBs; scheduling information for one or more positioning SIBs; and requesting, by the wireless device to the base station, transmission of one or more posit ioning SIBs based on the scheduling information for one or more positioning SIBs. 3GPP discloses receiving, by the wireless device from a base station, a System Information Block1 (SIB1), wherein the SIB1 comprises: scheduling information for one or more non-positioning SIBs; scheduling information for one or more positioning SIBs; and requesting, by the wireless device to the base station, transmission of one or more positioning SIBs based on the scheduling information for one or more positioning SIBs. (section 5.1 , section 5.3.3, section 5.3.4) . Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to make the proposed modification of the SIB processing as disclosed by 3GPP along with the system of Gunnarson and Godi to provide a known mechanism for scheduling requesting and obtaining positioning information through positioning SIBs thereby enabling efficient delivery of positioning assistance information while reducing unnecessary system information transmissions. Regrading claim 6, Gunnarson and Godi disclose all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of transmitting, by a terminal to the base station, a first capability information and a third capability information; and transmitting, by the terminal to the LMF, a second capability information and the third capability information.3GPP discloses transmitting, by a terminal to the base station, a first capability information and a third capability information; and transmitting, by the terminal to the LMF, a second capability information and the third capability information (figure 7.1.3, section 8.13.3.1, 8.13.3.4). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to make the proposed modification of capability information according to the network entity using the capability of 3GPP so that each entity receives positioning functions. Regarding claim 7,Gunnarson and Godi disclose all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of wherein: the first capability information is related to a first specific capability that is required to be known by the base station; the second capability information is related to a second specific capability that is required to be known by the LMF; and the third capability information is related to a third specific capability that is required to be known by both the base station and the LMF. 3GPP discloses wherein: the first capability information is related to a first specific capability that is required to be known by the base station; the second capability information is related to a second specific capability that is required to be known by the LMF; and the third capability information is related to a third specific capability that is required to be known by both the base station and the LMF (section 8.13.3.1, 8.13.3.4). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to make the proposed modification of capability information according to the network entity using the capability of 3GPP so that exach entity receives positioning functions. Regarding claim 8, Gunnerson and Godi disclose all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of wherein: the first specific capability comprises capability to support small data transfer the second specific capability comprises capability to support positioning protocol message segmentation; and the third specific capability comprises capability to support positioning sounding reference signal. 3GPP discloses wherein: the first specific capability comprises capability to support small data transfer the second specific capability comprises capability to support positioning protocol message segmentation; and the third specific capability comprises capability to support positioning sounding reference signal (section 8.13.3.1, 8.13.3.4). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to make the proposed modification of capability information according to the network entity using the capability of 3GPP so that each entity receives positioning functions. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGEL T BROCKMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6:00 AM-4:30 PM. 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, Charles Jiang can be reached at 571-270-7191. 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. /ANGEL T BROCKMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 14, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+6.4%)
2y 8m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 728 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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