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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the claims filed on September 1, 2026.
Claims 14, 15, and 18-21 have been canceled.
Claim 11 has been amended.
Claims 11-13, 17, 23, and 33-34 have been withdrawn.
Claims 1-10, 16, 22, and 24-32 are pending in the application and have been examined.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant' s election without traverse of group I (claims 1-10, 16, 22, and 24-32) in the reply filed on 01 September 2026 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) received on October 11, 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “is arranged request” contains a typographical error. For the purposes of examination, this will be interpreted as “is arranged to request”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7 ,16, 22 , 24-27, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bao et al. (US 20220287000 A1), hereinafter Bao.
Regarding claim 1, Bao discloses:
A device comprising:
a processor circuit and a memory circuit, wherein the memory is arranged to store instructions for the processor circuit (Bao [0062] “Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein.”),
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wherein the processor circuit is arranged to determine a timing difference between a target mobile device and an anchor device of a ranging constellation (Bao [0198] “A differential hardware group delay between the first and second wireless nodes may be derived as follows:
whereby GD.sub.2 denotes the hardware group delay of the second wireless node, GD.sub.1 denotes the hardware group delay of the first wireless node (e.g., a reference wireless node, such as a reference gNB), and T.sub.2_UE denotes a differential between a double propagation time between the second wireless node and the UE and a double propagation time between the first wireless node and the UE” Examiner notes that “group delay” is considered to be a timing difference),
wherein the timing difference supports a positioning service provided in a wireless network (Bao [0150] “Using these measurements and the known locations of the measured network nodes (i.e., the base station(s) 602 or antenna(s) that transmitted the reference RF signals that the UE 604 measured), the UE 604 or the location server can determine the distance between the UE 604 and the measured network nodes and thereby calculate the location of the UE 604.”, further, Bao [0170] “Hardware group delays such as 1002-1008 can contribute to timing errors and/or calibration errors that can impact RTT as well as other measurements such as TDOA, RSTD, and so on, which in turn can impact positioning performance.”),
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to initiate a calibration procedure in response to a detection that the timing difference has exceeded a threshold (Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”).
Regarding claim 2, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to receive a synchronization signal from the anchor device (Bao [0148] “ To support position estimates, the base stations 602 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS), Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc.) to UEs 604 in their coverage areas to enable a UE 604 to measure reference RF signal timing differences (e.g., OTDOA or reference signal time difference (RSTD)) between pairs of network nodes and/or to identify the beam that best excite the LOS or shortest radio path between the UE 604 and the transmitting base stations 602.”),
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to detect the timing difference based on the synchronization signal (Bao [0117] “A primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS.” Examiner notes that the radio frame timing is used to in the RTT procedure to determine said timing difference.).
Regarding claim 3, Bao discloses the device of claim 2. Bao further discloses:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to perform the calibration procedure using the synchronization signal so as to change at least one communication parameter (Bao [0182] “Otherwise, in some designs, differential RTT is performed so that the hardware group delay can be canceled out. In some designs where the positioning engine is implemented at the network-side (e.g., gNB/LMU/eSMLC/LMF), the group hardware delay at the UE is not known (and vice versa).”, further, Bao [0201] “In some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be triggered in response to a determination to perform the positioning estimate of the UE, and the second differential RTT measurement is triggered in response to a determination to calibrate a hardware group delay of the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both.” Examiner notes that “group hardware delay” is a communications parameter, and the word “calibrate” makes clear that is being changed / adjusted.)
Regarding claim 4, Bao discloses the device of claim 2. Bao further discloses:
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wherein the processor circuit is arranged to compensate for the timing difference by using a timing correction value (Bao [0216] “SDs relative to the receive side be used to eliminate or mitigate UE clock offsets, chip implementation discrepancies (e.g., manufacturer, reference, algorithms), BB to RF group delay (unknown), etc.” Here examiner notes that “SD” denotes a single difference.
Further, Bao Eq. 7 calculated the timing correction value / hardware group delay
G
d
i
f
f
,
2
_
1
. This quantity originates from the RTT / synchronization signals.),
wherein the timing correction value is based on the synchronization signal (Bao [0168] “In some designs, the RTT response signal 920 may explicitly include the difference between time t.sub.3 and time t.sub.2 (i.e., T.sub.Rx.fwdarw.Tx 912). Using this measurement and the difference between time t.sub.4 and time t.sub.1 (i.e., T.sub.Tx.fwdarw.Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE”, Bao [0216] “For example, a first SD may be taken between TOAs of PRSs 2010 and 2012 and a second SD may be taken between TOAs of PRSs 2014 and 2016.”, Examiner notes that “PRS” is a positioning reference symbol and is interpreted as the “synchronization signal” of the claim.).
Regarding claim 5, Bao discloses the device of claim 4. Bao further discloses:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to periodically update the timing correction value during a ranging measurement (Bao Fig. 16, Element 1630) until the determined timing error has reached a threshold (Bao [0209] “In another example, the hardware group delay calibration capability may be dynamically indicated. For example, the hardware group delay calibration error could change over some factors, for example, time, frequency, BW, temperature, etc. Hence, a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically indicate a respective accuracy level of hardware group delay calibration. In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”).
Regarding claim 7, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to a provide a configurable threshold level (Bao [0097] “The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on).”, further, Bao [0209] “In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”),
wherein the threshold level is set by a ranging service of the ranging constellation (Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.” Examiner notes that LMF (location management function) is interpreted as a ranging service.), by a user of the target mobile device or application of the target mobile device.
Regarding claim 16, Bao discloses a method comprising [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
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determining a timing difference between a target mobile device and an anchor device of a ranging constellation (Bao [0198] “A differential hardware group delay between the first and second wireless nodes may be derived as follows: whereby GD.sub.2 denotes the hardware group delay of the second wireless node, GD.sub.1 denotes the hardware group delay of the first wireless node (e.g., a reference wireless node, such as a reference gNB), and T.sub.2_UE denotes a differential between a double propagation time between the second wireless node and the UE and a double propagation time between the first wireless node and the UE” Examiner notes that “hardware group delay” is considered to be a timing difference),
wherein the timing difference supports a positioning service provided in a wireless network (Bao [0150] “Using these measurements and the known locations of the measured network nodes (i.e., the base station(s) 602 or antenna(s) that transmitted the reference RF signals that the UE 604 measured), the UE 604 or the location server can determine the distance between the UE 604 and the measured network nodes and thereby calculate the location of the UE 604.”); and
initiating a calibration procedure in response to a detection that the timing difference has exceeded a threshold level (Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”).
Regarding claim 22, Bao discloses the method as claimed in claim 16. Bao further discloses:
A computer program stored on a non- transitory medium, wherein the computer program when executed on a processor performs the method as claimed in claim 16 (Bao [0062] “Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein.”).
Regarding claim 24, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses:
receiving a synchronization signal from the anchor device (Bao [0148] “ To support position estimates, the base stations 602 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS), Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc.) to UEs 604 in their coverage areas to enable a UE 604 to measure reference RF signal timing differences (e.g., OTDOA or reference signal time difference (RSTD)) between pairs of network nodes and/or to identify the beam that best excite the LOS or shortest radio path between the UE 604 and the transmitting base stations 602.”); and
detecting the timing difference based on the synchronization signal (Bao [0117] “A primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS.”).
Regarding claim 25, Bao discloses the method of claim 24. Bao further discloses:
further comprising performing the calibration procedure using the synchronization signal so as to change at least one communication parameter (Bao [0182] “Otherwise, in some designs, differential RTT is performed so that the hardware group delay can be canceled out. In some designs where the positioning engine is implemented at the network-side (e.g., gNB/LMU/eSMLC/LMF), the group hardware delay at the UE is not known (and vice versa).”, further, Bao [0201] “In some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be triggered in response to a determination to perform the positioning estimate of the UE, and the second differential RTT measurement is triggered in response to a determination to calibrate a hardware group delay of the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both.” Examiner notes that “group hardware delay” is a communications parameter, and the word “calibrate” makes clear that is being changed / adjusted.).
Regarding claim 26, Bao discloses the method of claim 24. Bao further discloses:
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compensating for the timing difference by using a timing correction value (Bao [0216] “SDs relative to the receive side be used to eliminate or mitigate UE clock offsets, chip implementation discrepancies (e.g., manufacturer, reference, algorithms), BB to RF group delay (unknown), etc.” Here examiner notes that “SD” denotes a single difference.
Further, Bao Eq. 7 calculated the timing correction value / hardware group delay
G
d
i
f
f
,
2
_
1
. This quantity originates from the RTT / synchronization signals.), wherein the timing correction value is based on the synchronization signal (Bao [0168] “In some designs, the RTT response signal 920 may explicitly include the difference between time t.sub.3 and time t.sub.2 (i.e., T.sub.Rx.fwdarw.Tx 912). Using this measurement and the difference between time t.sub.4 and time t.sub.1 (i.e., T.sub.Tx.fwdarw.Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE”, Bao [0216] “For example, a first SD may be taken between TOAs of PRSs 2010 and 2012 and a second SD may be taken between TOAs of PRSs 2014 and 2016.”, Examiner notes that “PRS” is a positioning reference symbol and is interpreted as the “synchronization signal” of the claim.).
Regarding claim 27, Bao discloses the method of claim 26. Bao further discloses:
further comprising, periodically updating the timing correction value during a ranging measurement (Bao Fig. 16, Element 1630) until the determined timing error has reached a threshold (Bao [0209] “In another example, the hardware group delay calibration capability may be dynamically indicated. For example, the hardware group delay calibration error could change over some factors, for example, time, frequency, BW, temperature, etc. Hence, a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically indicate a respective accuracy level of hardware group delay calibration. In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”).
Regarding claim 29, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses:
further comprising providing a configurable threshold level (Bao [0097] “The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on).”, further, Bao [0209] “In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”),
wherein the threshold level is set by a ranging service of the ranging constellation, by a user of the target mobile device or application of the target mobile device (Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.” Examiner notes that LMF (location management function) is interpreted as a ranging service.).
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 6-9, 28, and 30-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bao et al. (US 20220287000 A1), hereinafter Bao, in view of Ferrari et al. (US 20230035463 A1), hereinafter Ferrari.
Regarding claim 6, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to transmit a ranging request (Bao [0224] “Referring to FIG. 21, in some designs, the IE NR-DL-TDOA-RequestLocationInformation is used by the position estimation entity (e.g., LMF) to request NR DL-TDOA location measurements from a target device.”) (Bao Figs. 9 and 10 show a request (Element 910) from a base station, and an acknowledgement (920) from a UE).,
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wherein the processor circuit is arranged to calculate the timing difference based on local transmission and reception times of the ranging request and/or the acknowledgement (Bao [0168] “In some designs, the RTT response signal 920 may explicitly include the difference between time t.sub.3 and time t.sub.2 (i.e., T.sub.Rx.fwdarw.Tx 912). Using this measurement and the difference between time t.sub.4 and time t.sub.1 (i.e., T.sub.Tx.fwdarw.Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE”, further, Bao Equation 7:Here examiner notes that the quantity
G
D
d
i
f
f
2
-
1
is the timing difference, which is calculated by the RTT response signal.)
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
transmit a ranging request to the anchor device (Ferrari [0043] “The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.”)
receive an acknowledgment from the anchor device (Ferrari [0095] “[0095] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE.”, further Ferrari [0096] “In an RTT procedure, an initiator (a base station or a UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a responder (a UE or base station), which transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the initiator.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao transmit a ranging request from the user device to the anchor device, then receive an acknowledgement by the user device that was transmitted from the anchor device as taught by Ferrari. This process is discussed precisely in Bao, but in the opposite order. This requires swapping the definitions of said nodes, which as described by Ferrari is known as uplink time difference of arrival. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to verify the integrity of the clock bias in anchor nodes, rather than user nodes. Generally, these operations may be interchanged between various nodes within the positioning system to synchronize their timing systems (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126]).
Regarding claim 8, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to transmit a ranging request (Bao Figs. 9 and 10, Element 910),
wherein the round trip time is measured for the time taken for the ranging request to be acknowledged ( Bao Figs. 9 and 10, Element 922),
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to calculate a ranging distance based on the measured round trip time if the timing difference has not reached a threshold (Bao [0192] “[0192] At 1610, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, network interface(s) 380 or 390, etc.) obtains a first differential RTT measurement based on a first RTT measurement between a UE and a first wireless node and a second RTT measurement between the UE and a second wireless node. In this case, the UE corresponds to a target UE for which a positioning estimate is desired, and the first and second wireless nodes have known locations.”, further, Bao [0210] “Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive, from the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both, a request to trigger the second differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration.” , further, Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.” Examiner notes that the position estimation entity measures a distance based upon a round trip time, until a timing difference exceeds a threshold at which point a calibration process is started.).
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
ranging request to the anchor device (See below Ferrari [0095] citation)
acknowledged by the anchor device (Ferrari [0095] “Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE.”, further Ferrari [0096] “In an RTT procedure, an initiator (a base station or a UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a responder (a UE or base station), which transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the initiator.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao transmit a ranging request from the user device to the anchor device, then receive an acknowledgement by the user device that was transmitted from the anchor device as taught by Ferrari. This process is discussed precisely in Bao, but in the opposite order (i.e. from the anchor to the UE). This requires swapping the definitions of said nodes, which as described by Ferrari is known as uplink time difference of arrival. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to verify the integrity of the clock bias in anchor nodes, rather than user nodes. Generally, these operations may be interchanged between various nodes within the positioning system to synchronize their timing systems (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126]).
Regarding claim 9, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to request a timing synchronization procedure (Bao [0210] “Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive, from the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both, a request to trigger the second differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration.”)
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to transmit the timing difference to the anchor device (Ferrari [0126] “In an aspect, a UE detecting a bias event may also report that event directly to other UEs in the vicinity.”),
via a sidelink interface (Ferrari [0126] “For example, the UE could broadcast a message on a control or data sidelink channel, such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao to transmit a calculated timing difference to the anchor device using sidelink communications, as taught by Ferrari. As Bao performs the calculation using the anchor node, this modification would require implementing uplink rather than downlink ranging. Sidelink communications are supported in modern cellular communications protocols and could be readily implemented at the UE of Bao (See Bao [0218]). One would be motivated to modify the device in order to mitigate timing errors from external nodes to the UE such as the anchor node or separate UE devices in a constellation, providing greater integrity to the bias determination (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126], [0129] Bao [0218]).
Regarding claim 28, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
transmitting a ranging request (Bao [0224] “Referring to FIG. 21, in some designs, the IE NR-DL-TDOA-RequestLocationInformation is used by the position estimation entity (e.g., LMF) to request NR DL-TDOA location measurements from a target device.”) (Bao Figs. 9 and 10 show a request (Element 910) from a base station, and an acknowledgement (920) from a UE)
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calculating the timing difference based on local transmission and reception times of the ranging request and/or the acknowledgement (Bao [0168] “In some designs, the RTT response signal 920 may explicitly include the difference between time t.sub.3 and time t.sub.2 (i.e., T.sub.Rx.fwdarw.Tx 912). Using this measurement and the difference between time t.sub.4 and time t.sub.1 (i.e., T.sub.Tx.fwdarw.Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE”, further, Equation 7:Here examiner notes that the quantity
G
D
d
i
f
f
2
-
1
is the timing difference, which is calculated by the RTT response signal.)
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
Transmitting a ranging request to the anchor device (See below Ferrari [0095] citation)
Receive an acknowledgement from the (Ferrari [0095] “Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE.”, further Ferrari [0096] “In an RTT procedure, an initiator (a base station or a UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a responder (a UE or base station), which transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the initiator.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method as disclosed by Bao transmit a ranging request from the user device to the anchor device, then receive an acknowledgement by the user device that was transmitted from the anchor device as taught by Ferrari. This process is discussed in Bao, but in the opposite order (i.e. from the anchor to the UE). This requires swapping the definitions of said nodes, which as described by Ferrari is known as uplink time difference of arrival. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to verify the integrity of the clock bias in anchor nodes, rather than user nodes. Generally, these operations may be interchanged between various nodes within the positioning system to synchronize their timing systems (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126]).
Regarding claim 30, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
transmitting a ranging request (Bao Figs. 9 and 10, Element 910),
wherein the round trip time is measured for the time taken for the ranging request to be acknowledged ( Bao Figs. 9 and 10, Element 922)
calculating a ranging distance based on the measured round trip time if the timing difference has not reached a threshold (Bao [0192] “[0192] At 1610, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, network interface(s) 380 or 390, etc.) obtains a first differential RTT measurement based on a first RTT measurement between a UE and a first wireless node and a second RTT measurement between the UE and a second wireless node. In this case, the UE corresponds to a target UE for which a positioning estimate is desired, and the first and second wireless nodes have known locations.”, further, Bao [0210] “Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive, from the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both, a request to trigger the second differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration.” , further, Bao [0209] “For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.” Examiner notes that the position estimation entity measures a distance based upon a round trip time, until a timing difference exceeds a threshold at which point a calibration process is started.).
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
acknowledged by the anchor device (Ferrari [0095] “Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE.”, further Ferrari [0096] “In an RTT procedure, an initiator (a base station or a UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a responder (a UE or base station), which transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the initiator.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao transmit a ranging request from the user device to the anchor device, then receive an acknowledgement by the user device that was transmitted from the anchor device as taught by Ferrari. This process is discussed precisely in Bao, but in the opposite order (i.e. from the anchor to the UE). This requires swapping the definitions of said nodes, which as described by Ferrari is known as uplink time difference of arrival. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to verify the integrity of the clock bias in anchor nodes, rather than user nodes. Generally, these operations may be interchanged between various nodes within the positioning system to synchronize their timing systems (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126]).
Regarding claim 31, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
; and
requesting a timing synchronization procedure (Bao [0210] “Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive, from the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both, a request to trigger the second differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration.”)
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Ferrari discloses
transmitting the timing difference to the anchor device (Ferrari [0126] “In an aspect, a UE detecting a bias event may also report that event directly to other UEs in the vicinity.”)
via a sidelink interface (Ferrari [0126] “For example, the UE could broadcast a message on a control or data sidelink channel, such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Ferrari into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Ferrari are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose method for correction of clock bias in constellation positioning systems. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao to transmit a calculated timing difference to the anchor device using sidelink communications, as taught by Ferrari. As Bao performs the calculation using the anchor node, this modification would require implementing uplink rather than downlink ranging. Sidelink communications are supported in modern cellular communications protocols and could be readily implemented at the UE of Bao (See Bao [0218]). One would be motivated to modify the device in order to mitigate timing errors from external nodes to the UE such as the anchor node or separate UE devices in a constellation, providing greater integrity to the bias determination (See Ferrari [0118-0120], [0124-0126], [0129] Bao [0218]).
Claim(s) 10 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bao et al. (US 20220287000 A1), hereinafter Bao, in view of Bengtsson et al. (US 20190280743 A1), hereinafter Bengtsson.
Regarding claim 10, Bao discloses the device of claim 1. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
wherein the processor circuit is arranged (Bao [0029] “For example, a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may report a high-accuracy group delay calibration capability, which may prompt the position estimation entity to skip a differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration involving that respective wireless node. … In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”) .
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Bengtsson discloses
request the anchor device to change a synchronization schedule (Bengtsson [0059] “The base station and the terminal device 44 may negotiate a time interval for the transmission of synchronization signals precoded individually for the terminal device 44 in steps 111 and 112. … The base station 10 receives the time interval information and determines a corresponding schedule information for transmitting the synchronization signal at certain frequencies/time resources using the precoding information, which directs the synchronization signal specifically to the terminal device 44.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bengtsson into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Bengtsson are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose methods for wireless device synchronization. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Bao to use a dynamic synchronization schedule based upon the determined timing difference as taught by Bengtsson. Bao already teaches adjusting the number of calibrations based upon a hardware capability (i.e. continuously calibrate or do not calibrate based upon the observed timing difference). The modification would be performed by generating a synchronization rate proportional to the observed time difference. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to balance the resource allocation of the calibration procedure, reducing the need for unnecessary calibrations and saving computational load (See Bengtsson [0058]-[0061]).
Regarding claim 32, Bao discloses the method of claim 16. Bao further discloses [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
further comprising(Bao [0029] “For example, a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may report a high-accuracy group delay calibration capability, which may prompt the position estimation entity to skip a differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration involving that respective wireless node. … In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and a respective wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if a respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above threshold), a respective wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double-differential RTT procedure.”).
Bao fails to disclose the limitations below. Bengtsson discloses
Request the anchor device change a synchronization schedule (Bengtsson [0059] “The base station and the terminal device 44 may negotiate a time interval for the transmission of synchronization signals precoded individually for the terminal device 44 in steps 111 and 112. … The base station 10 receives the time interval information and determines a corresponding schedule information for transmitting the synchronization signal at certain frequencies/time resources using the precoding information, which directs the synchronization signal specifically to the terminal device 44.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bengtsson into the invention of Bao. Both Bao and Bengtsson are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose methods for wireless device synchronization. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method as disclosed by Bao to use a dynamic synchronization schedule based upon the determined timing difference as taught by Bengtsson. Bao already teaches adjusting the number of calibrations based upon a hardware capability (i.e. continuously calibrate or do not calibrate based upon the observed timing difference). The modification would be performed by generating a synchronization rate proportional to the observed time difference. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to balance the resource allocation of the calibration procedure, reducing the need for unnecessary calibrations and saving computational load (See Bengtsson [0058]-[0061]).
Conclusion
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/T.J.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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