Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/835,854

RESPONSE TIME BASED MANAGEMENT FOR SL POSITIONING RESOURCES

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 05, 2024
Priority
Apr 29, 2022 — GR 20220100354 +2 more
Examiner
DONADO, FRANK E
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allowance Rate
368 granted / 531 resolved
+9.3% vs TC avg
Strong +58% interview lift
Without
With
+58.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
551
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.5%
-35.5% vs TC avg
§103
57.0%
+17.0% vs TC avg
§102
30.7%
-9.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.2%
-33.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 531 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 . Priority Foreign Applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f) or 365 (b) is acknowledged, which papers have been placed of record in the file. Domestic Applicant’s claim for domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C.120, 121 or 365(c) or 365 (a) of any PCT Application international application is acknowledged, which papers have been placed of record in the file. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement submitted on 8/5/2024 has been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file. 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 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 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. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8-12, 14, 15, 18-23, 26, 27 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan, et al. (WO 2023197311), hereafter Pan, in view of Liu, et al (US PG Publication 2025/0293834), hereafter Liu. Regarding claim 1, Pan teaches a method of managing response time in a positioning session between a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE conducted via sidelink (SL), the method comprising: sending, from the first UE to the second UE, a first message comprising a quality of service (QoS) profile, wherein the QoS profile includes a response time requirement for providing positioning information within the positioning session (Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8), or another node can request the location from the UE (e.g. FIG. 7). The location request may include a request to perform sidelink positioning. The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s), a request to transmit assistance data configuration to other UE(s), the location request may include a response time, timing quality, etc Pg. 10, 3rd Paragraph The assistance data response may include a QoS requirement, such as response time); receiving a second message at the first UE from the second UE, wherein the second message comprises an indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph UE location response may include a successful location response that indicates the UE can perform SL positioning. Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Pan does not teach determining, with the first UE, resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement; and sending, from the first UE to the second UE, a third message comprising the resource pool parameters. In the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches determining, with the first UE, resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed [0073] Clause 5 The method as recited in Clause 4, further comprising: if the determined period of the one or more positioning reference signals is less than the determined smallest period requested by the one or more other user equipment, transmitting, by the user equipment, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals (If the determined resource period available for the PRS transmission < the period requested/needed by the other UEs for the PRS transmission, the UE 104 will request to change the PRS transmission period to the UE anchor node 102, which will allocate smallest PRS period to meet requirement)); and sending, from the first UE to the second UE, a third message comprising the resource pool parameters ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed (The UE anchor node 102 allocates and sends smallest PRS period to the UE 104)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 2, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 1. Liu further teaches wherein the resource pool parameters comprise: a dedicated positioning resource pool ([0046] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 receive the configuration of resource pool(s) through the broadcasting of a serving RAN node (e.g., gNB 110) or some dedicated signaling or use the pre-configuration of resource pools), a contention based pool, a sensing-window-positioning duration, a type of sensing, or a combination thereof. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 4, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 1. Pan further teaches wherein the QoS profile further comprises: a horizontal accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, horizontal accuracy), a vertical accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, vertical accuracy), a vertical coordinate request indicator, a velocity request indicator, or a combination thereof. Regarding claim 5, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 1. Pan further teaches wherein the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement comprises an indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Regarding claim 8, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 5. Liu further teaches further comprising, responsive to the indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the first UE, a physical (PHY) layer transmission parameter, wherein the PHY layer transmission parameter is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session ([0031] With continued reference to FIG. 1, illustratively the anchors 102 and UEs 104 can exchange signals, such as positioning signals, in accordance with a sidelink communication channel. Illustratively, the sidelink communication channel can correspond to NR SL, which is a physical layer composed of several physical channels and signals. The SL physical channels are a set of resource elements carrying information of higher layers of the protocol stack). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 9, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 1. Liu further teaches further teaches wherein: the second message is received and the third message is sent prior to the positioning session; or the second message is received and the third message is sent during to the positioning session ([0065] Clause 1 A method for using a user equipment in a sidelink communication, the method comprising: [0066] Obtaining, by the user equipment, configuration information that defines a set of resource periods for obtaining one or more positioning reference signals from one or more anchor devices [0069] transmitting, by the user equipment, based on the determining whether to transmit, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 10, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 1. Liu further teaches wherein the positioning session uses a resource pool carrying SL positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), SL physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) ([0045] Aspects of the present application correspond to the request and exchange of PRS information utilizing a pool of allocation of radio resources. Illustratively, a resource pool limits the radio resources for PSCCH and PSSCH), or both. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 11, Pan teaches a method of managing response time in a positioning session between a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE conducted via sidelink (SL), the method comprising: receiving, at the second UE from the first UE, a first message comprising a quality of service (QoS) profile, wherein the QoS profile includes a response time requirement for providing positioning information within the positioning session (Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8), or another node can request the location from the UE (e.g. FIG. 7). The location request may include a request to perform sidelink positioning. The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s), a request to transmit assistance data configuration to other UE(s). Tthe location request may include a response time, timing quality, etc Pg. 10, 3rd Paragraph The assistance data response may include a QoS requirement, such as response time); sending a second message from the second UE to the first UE, wherein the second message comprises an indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph UE location response may include a successful location response that indicates the UE can perform SL positioning. Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Pan does not teach receiving, at the second UE from the first UE, a third message comprising resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement. In the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches receiving, at the second UE from the first UE, a third message comprising resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed [0073] Clause 5 The method as recited in Clause 4, further comprising: if the determined period of the one or more positioning reference signals is less than the determined smallest period requested by the one or more other user equipment, transmitting, by the user equipment, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals (If the determined resource period available for the PRS transmission < the period requested/needed by the other UEs for the PRS transmission, the UE 104 will request to change the PRS transmission period to the UE anchor node 102, which will allocate smallest PRS period to meet requirement, where the UE anchor node 102 allocates and sends smallest PRS period to the UE 104)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 12, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 11. Liu further teaches wherein the resource pool parameters comprise: a dedicated positioning resource pool ([0046] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 receive the configuration of resource pool(s) through the broadcasting of a serving RAN node (e.g., gNB 110) or some dedicated signaling or use the pre-configuration of resource pools), a contention based pool, a sensing-window-positioning duration, a type of sensing, or a combination thereof. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 14, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 11. Pan further teaches wherein the QoS profile further comprises: a horizontal accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, horizontal accuracy), a vertical accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, vertical accuracy), a vertical coordinate request indicator, a velocity request indicator, or a combination thereof. Regarding claim 15, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 11. Pan further teaches further comprising determining, with the second UE, that the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Regarding claim 18, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 15. Liu further teaches further comprising, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the second UE, a physical (PHY) layer transmission parameter ([0031] With continued reference to FIG. 1, illustratively the anchors 102 and UEs 104 can exchange signals, such as positioning signals, in accordance with a sidelink communication channel. Illustratively, the sidelink communication channel can correspond to NR SL, which is a physical layer composed of several physical channels and signals. The SL physical channels are a set of resource elements carrying information of higher layers of the protocol stack). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 19, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 11. Liu further teaches wherein: the second message is sent and the third message is received to the positioning session; or the second message is sent and the third message is received during to the positioning session ([0065] Clause 1 A method for using a user equipment in a sidelink communication, the method comprising: [0066] Obtaining, by the user equipment, configuration information that defines a set of resource periods for obtaining one or more positioning reference signals from one or more anchor devices [0069] transmitting, by the user equipment, based on the determining whether to transmit, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 20, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 11. Liu further teaches wherein the positioning session uses a resource pool carrying SL positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), SL physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) ([0045] Aspects of the present application correspond to the request and exchange of PRS information utilizing a pool of allocation of radio resources. Illustratively, a resource pool limits the radio resources for PSCCH and PSSCH), or both. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 21, Pan teaches a first user equipment UE for managing response time in a positioning session between the first UE and a second UE conducted via sidelink (SL), the first UE comprising (Fig. 2 Mobile device 200 includes): a transceiver (Fig. 2 Tx/Rx Circuitry 230); a memory (Fig. 2 Memory 220); and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to (Fig. 2 Processor(s) 216 coupled with Tx/Rx Circuitry 230 and memory 220, processor(s) 216 configured to): send, via the transceiver to the second UE, a first message comprising a quality of service (QoS) profile, wherein the QoS profile includes a response time requirement for providing positioning information within the positioning session (Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8), or another node can request the location from the UE (e.g. FIG. 7). The location request may include a request to perform sidelink positioning. The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s), a request to transmit assistance data configuration to other UE(s). Tthe location request may include a response time, timing quality, etc Pg. 10, 3rd Paragraph The assistance data response may include a QoS requirement, such as response time); receive a second message via the transceiver from the second UE, wherein the second message comprises an indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph UE location response may include a successful location response that indicates the UE can perform SL positioning. Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Pan does not teach determine resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement; and send, via the transceiver to the second UE, a third message comprising the resource pool parameters. In the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches determine resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed [0073] Clause 5 The method as recited in Clause 4, further comprising: if the determined period of the one or more positioning reference signals is less than the determined smallest period requested by the one or more other user equipment, transmitting, by the user equipment, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals (If the determined resource period available for the PRS transmission < the period requested/needed by the other UEs for the PRS transmission, the UE 104 will request to change the PRS transmission period to the UE anchor node 102, which will allocate smallest PRS period to meet requirement)); and send, via the transceiver to the second UE, a third message comprising the resource pool parameters ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed (The UE anchor node 102 allocates and sends smallest PRS period to the UE 104)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 22, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the first UE of claim 21. Liu further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to include, in the resource pool parameters: a dedicated positioning resource pool ([0046] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 receive the configuration of resource pool(s) through the broadcasting of a serving RAN node (e.g., gNB 110) or some dedicated signaling or use the pre-configuration of resource pools), a contention based pool, a sensing-window-positioning duration, a type of sensing, or a combination thereof. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 23, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the first UE of claim 21. Pan further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to include, in the QoS profile: a horizontal accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, horizontal accuracy), a vertical accuracy requirement Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8). The location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s) and may include response time, vertical accuracy), a vertical coordinate request indicator, a velocity request indicator, or a combination thereof. Regarding claim 26 Pan teaches a second user equipment (UE) for managing response time in a positioning session between a first UE and the second UE conducted via sidelink (SL), the second UE comprising (Fig. 2 Mobile device 200 includes): a transceiver (Fig. 2 Tx/Rx Circuitry 230); a memory (Fig. 2 Memory 230); and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to (Fig. 2 Processor(s) 216 coupled with Tx/Rx Circuitry 230 and memory 230, processor(s) 216 configured to): receive, via the transceiver from the first UE, a first message comprising a quality of service (QoS) profile, wherein the QoS profile includes a response time requirement for providing positioning information within the positioning session (Pg. 8, 6th Paragraph The UE can request a location (e.g. FIG. 8), or another node can request the location from the UE (e.g. FIG. 7), the location request may include a request to perform sidelink positioning, the location request may include a request to receive a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) from other UE(s), a request to transmit assistance data configuration to other UE(s), the location request may include a response time, timing quality, etc Pg. 10, 3rd Paragraph The assistance data response may include a QoS requirement, such as response time); send a second message via the transceiver to the first UE, wherein the second message comprises an indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph UE location response may include a successful location response that indicates the UE can perform SL positioning. Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Pan does not teach receive, via the transceiver from the first UE, a third message comprising resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement. In the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches receive, via the transceiver from the first UE, a third message comprising resource pool parameters for the positioning session, wherein the resource pool parameters are based at least in part on the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement ([0050] The UE(s) 104 and anchor(s) 102 will attempt to allocate the smallest PRS period (*smallest resource allocation) requested from all relevant UEs to effectively transmit/receive PRS [0064] The UE 104 can request lower period of PRS transmissions if needed [0073] Clause 5 The method as recited in Clause 4, further comprising: if the determined period of the one or more positioning reference signals is less than the determined smallest period requested by the one or more other user equipment, transmitting, by the user equipment, the request to change the period of the one or more positioning reference signals (If the determined resource period available for the PRS transmission < the period requested/needed by the other UEs for the PRS transmission, the UE 104 will request to change the PRS transmission period to the UE anchor node 102, which will allocate smallest PRS period to meet requirement, where the UE anchor node 102 allocates and sends smallest PRS period to the UE 104)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Regarding claim 27, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the second UE of claim 26. Pan further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, with the second UE, that the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement (Pg. 9, 2nd Paragraph Alternatively, the location response may include a location response failure that indicates the UE cannot perform SL positioning). Regarding claim 30, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the second UE of claim 27. Liu further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determine a physical (PHY) layer transmission parameter ([0031] With continued reference to FIG. 1, illustratively the anchors 102 and UEs 104 can exchange signals, such as positioning signals, in accordance with a sidelink communication channel. Illustratively, the sidelink communication channel can correspond to NR SL, which is a physical layer composed of several physical channels and signals. The SL physical channels are a set of resource elements carrying information of higher layers of the protocol stack). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Liu’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of designing PRS transmission essential for the performance of positioning in term of positioning accuracy, resource efficiency and positioning latency etc (see [0024]). Claims 3, 6, 7, 13, 16, 17, 24, 25, 28 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan, in view of Liu, and further in view of Ren, et al (US PG Publication 2025/0048395), hereafter Ren. Regarding claim 3, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 2. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the type of sensing comprises: full sensing, partial sensing, or random selection sensing. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the type of sensing comprises: full sensing ([0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided [0138] In addition, in this embodiment, optionally, the resource-sensing includes at least one of the following: full sensing), partial sensing ([0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided [0138] In addition, in this embodiment, optionally, the resource-sensing includes at least one of the following: periodic partial sensing; continuous partial sensing), or random selection sensing ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 6, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 5. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach further comprising, responsive to the indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the first UE, a priority level for the positioning session, wherein the priority level is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches further comprising, responsive to the indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the first UE, a priority level for the positioning session, wherein the priority level is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information; [0133] priority information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 7, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 5. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach further comprising, responsive to the indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the first UE, random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session, wherein the random selection sensing is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches further comprising, responsive to the indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the first UE, random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session, wherein the random selection sensing is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 13, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 12. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the type of sensing comprises: full sensing, partial sensing, or random selection sensing. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the type of sensing comprises: full sensing ([0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided [0138] In addition, in this embodiment, optionally, the resource-sensing includes at least one of the following: full sensing), partial sensing ([0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided [0138] In addition, in this embodiment, optionally, the resource-sensing includes at least one of the following: periodic partial sensing; continuous partial sensing), or random selection sensing ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 16, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 15. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach further comprising, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the second UE, a priority level for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches further comprising, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the second UE, a priority level for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information; [0133] priority information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 17, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the method of claim 15. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach further comprising, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the second UE, random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches further comprising, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determining, with the second UE, random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 24, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the first UE of claim 21. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine a priority level for the positioning session, wherein the priority level is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session when the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement comprises an indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine a priority level for the positioning session, wherein the priority level is included in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session when the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement comprises an indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information; [0133] priority information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 25, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the first UE of claim 24. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session when the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement comprises an indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to include random selection sensing in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session when the indication of whether the second UE can meet the response time requirement comprises an indication the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to include random selection sensing in the resource pool parameters for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 28, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the second UE of claim 27. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determine a priority level for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determine a priority level for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information; [0133] priority information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Regarding claim 29, Pan, in view of Liu, teaches the second UE of claim 27. Pan, in view of Liu, does not teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determine random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session. In the same field of endeavor, Ren teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, responsive to determining the second UE cannot meet the response time requirement, determine random selection sensing as a type of sensing for the positioning session ([0129] Determining, by the first terminal, whether to determine the first resource through the resource-sensing or the random selection according to at least one of the following: [0130] a sensing capability of the first terminal; [0131] positioning delay requirement information [0135] The requirements of different scenes can be met, the time-frequency resource conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals can be avoided). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Pan, in view of Liu, which includes meeting requirements for positioning between devices, to include Ren’s teaching of meeting requirements for positioning between devices, including determining response time resources, for the benefit of avoiding conflict between the sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by the terminals (see [0135]). Conclusion Citation of Pertinent Prior Art not Applied The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Rastegardoost, et al (US PG Publication 2023/0354220), hereafter Rastegardoost, teaches sidelink communications, where a random access response window timer may be used for measuring a window of time for receiving a random access response. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Frank Donado whose telephone number is (571) 270-5361. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays through Fridays between 8 am and 4 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone 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 Patent Examiner (SPE) Charles Appiah can be reached at 571-272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov.Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /FRANK E. DONADO/Examiner, Art Unit 2641 /Rafael Pérez-Gutiérrez/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2642
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 05, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12726891
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EFFICIENT NEIGHBORING CELL SEARCH IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK
2y 6m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12713287
NETWORK NODE AND A METHOD THEREIN
2y 6m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12706869
MEDIA ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM
5y 3m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12707462
METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM
1y 0m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12701482
SWITCHING CELLS BASED ON MONITORING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
3y 7m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
69%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+58.5%)
3y 0m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 531 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month