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 .
Status of Claims
The following is a non-final, first office action in response to the communication filed 08/08/2024. Claims 16-35 are currently pending and have been examined.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. CN202210152359.5, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. Claims 16-35 contain material which is not supported by the specification, as is described in more detail below regarding the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejections.
Thus, claims 16-35 of this application are not entitled to the benefit of the prior-filed application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 08/08/2024 and 05/14/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: it appears that the phrase “line of sight” was intended instead of “light of sight” in paragraphs [11], [50] and [130].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 16-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 16, 21, 26 and 31, Examiner has not been able to find support in the specification for the limitation “the configuration information includes information on a DL reference carrier phase difference (DL RSCPD)”. Paragraph [119] of the instant specification includes a detailed list of information that may be included in the configuration information, but the described information does not include information related to DL RSCPD. A “carrier phase difference” is taught in, for example, paragraphs [24-26] and [58-60]. However, this carrier phase difference does not appear to be tied to configuration information. Therefore, sufficient support has not been found.
Regarding claims 18, 23, 28 and 33, Examiner has not been able to find support in the specification for the limitation “a difference of DL reference signal carrier phases (DL RSCPs), and wherein a DL RSCP indicates a phase associated with a first path on which a DL PRS is received”. Paragraph [25] discusses “the carrier phase measurement result may include the integer part carrier phase difference and/or the fractional part carrier phase difference between the current carrier phase measurement and the last carrier phase measurement”, which may be interpreted as indirect support for DL RSCPs. However, although a power difference between paths is taught in [11], no support has been found for indicating a phase associated with a first path on which a DL PRS is received. Therefore sufficient support has not been found.
Regarding claims 19, 24, 29 and 34, Examiner has not been able to find support in the specification for the limitation “the configuration information includes a line of sight (LoS) or a non-line of sight (NLoS) indicator for carrier phase-based positioning measurement”. Although a “Light of Sight/Non-Light of Sight indication signal” is discussed in [11], [50] and [130], these paragraphs do not teach that the LOS/NLOS indicator is included in the configuration information. Therefore, sufficient support has not been found.
Regarding claims 20, 25, 30 and 35, Examiner has not been able to find support in the specification for the limitation “wherein the result of the measurement includes a timestamp associated with a DL reference signal carrier phase (DL RSCP) or the DL RSCPD” or the limitation “wherein the timestamp includes a symbol index”. Timestamps are mentioned in paragraphs [15], [17], [53] and [142] in the context of clock synchronization, but these paragraphs do not teach timestamps in connection with DL RSCP, DL RSCPD, or a symbol index. The phrase “symbol index” does not appear in the specification. Therefore, sufficient support has not been found.
Dependent claims are likewise rejected.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US-20250142584-A1 is considered relevant prior art because it teaches receiving PRS configuration information from a BS, measurements including RSTD, RSCPD, RSCP and a LOS indicator.
US-20250261015-A1 is considered relevant prior art because it teaches receiving PRS configuration information from an LMF, measurements including RSTD, RSCPD, RSCP and a LOS indicator.
US-20240381299-A1 is considered relevant prior art because it also teaches receiving PRS configuration information from a server and measurements including RSTD, RSCPD, RSCP.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ashley B. Raynal whose telephone number is (703)756-4546. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at (571) 270-5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ASHLEY BROWN RAYNAL/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/OLUMIDE AJIBADE AKONAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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