DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manolakos et al. (hereinafter Manolakos)(US 2021/0048500).
Regarding claim 17, Manolakos teaches an apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to a target user equipment (UE), one or more positioning reference signals and angle-based configuration information; and receive, from the target UE, a position measurement report generated based at least in part on at least one of angle of departure (AoD) mapping of the one or more positioning reference signals based on local coordinate system (LCS) information and LCS-to-global coordinate system (GCS) translation information, or one or more angle of arrival (AoA) measurements based on the angle-based configuration information(P[0125; 0129-0130]; also Fig. 10; item 1010, configure the angle reporting entity to report angle measurements in either LCS or the GCS; item 1030, measure the AoD of one or more received or transmitted reference signals; P[0104], PRS reference signals).
. Regarding claim 19, Manolakos teaches apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit, to the UE, the LCS information and the LCS-to-GCS translation information(P[0112, 0115], forwarded the transformation of LCS to a GCS).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-8, 10-11, 13-14, 18, 23-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos et al. (hereinafter Manolakos)(US 2021/0048500) in view of Karjalainen et al. (hereinafter Karjalainen)(US 2023/0147613).
Regarding claim 1, Manolakos teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: receive angle-based configuration information; perform one or more angle of arrival (AoA) measurements based at least in part on the angle-based configuration information and one or more positioning reference signals(P[0125; 0129-0130]; also Fig. 10; item 1010, configuration; item 1030, AOA measurements; P[0104], PRS reference signals).
Manolakos did not teach specifically compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements. However, Karjalainen teaches in an analogous art compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements (item 703 in Fig. 7; estimate position; P[0083], estimate position based on angle measurements); and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements(item 615 in Fig. 7; P[0078], positioning report includes angle measurement). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements; and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements in order to have further expansion of applicability to other devices.
Regarding claim 2, Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more positioning reference signals comprise one or more sidelink position reference signals, the angle-based configuration information comprises sidelink angle-based configuration information, and the position measurement report comprises a sidelink position measurement report(P[0064], side link connection; positioning measurement configuration; Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 3, Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 2, wherein the AoA measurements comprise sidelink AoA measurements(P[0068], sidelink; positioning assistance measurements; angular difference).
Regarding claim 4, Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the received angle-based configuration information comprises local coordinate system (LCS) information and LCS-to-global coordinate system (GCS) translation information(P[0112, 0115], forwarded the transformation of LCS to a GCS).
Regarding claim 5, Manolakos in view of Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the position measurement report to an apparatus that transmits at least one of the one or more positioning reference signals or the angle-based configuration information(Manolakos: fig. item 1010 configuration; item 104, measurement report; Karjalainen: Fig. 6, items 605-607, positioning measurement configuration; items 619-620 positioning report).
Regarding claim 7, Manolakos teaches the UE of claim 4, wherein the LCS-to-GCS translation information comprises one or more of bearing angle, downtilt angle, or slant angle(P[0112],transformation from an LCS to a GCS depends only on bearing angle).
Regarding claim 8, Manolakos teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to perform the AoA measurements based at least in part on the angle-based configuration information and a global coordinate system (GCS)(item 1040 in Fig. 10; report angle measurements; GCS).
Regarding claim 10, Manolakos in view of Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to detect a trigger event to generate the position measurement report, and wherein the trigger event comprises one or more of an indication that local coordinate system (LCS) information of the UE changes by more than a configured angular threshold, an initiation of a timer, an expiration of a timer, or an area change with respect to a previously reported location of the UE(Manolakos: P[0083], coverage area; further refine location based on additional AoDs; Karjalainen: out of coverage nodes have been discovered; could refine the location estimate).
Regarding claim 11, Manolakos in view of Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the AoA measurements comprise one or more of: at least one azimuth angle or at least one zenith angle(Manolakos: P[0082], zenith angle of arrival, Zenith angle of departure; Karjalainen: P[0061], azimuth).
Regarding claim 13, Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more positioning reference signals or the angle-based configuration information is received from a transmitter device, and the transmitter device comprises at least one of a second UE, a roadside unit (RSU), an anchor UE, or a sidelink capable device(Figs. 6-8, anchor node).
Regarding claim 14, Karjalainen teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the angle-based configuration information is received via one or more of sidelink control information (SCI), one or more sidelink media access control (MAC) control elements (CE), PC5 radio resource control (RRC) information, PC5 signaling, or via a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP)(P[0091], sidelink control channel resources; configuration; D2D links).
Regarding claim 18, Manolakos teaches all the particulars of the claim except the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more positioning reference signals comprise one or more sidelink position reference signals, the angle-based configuration information comprises sidelink angle-based configuration information, and the position measurement report comprises a sidelink position measurement report.
However, Karjalainen teaches in an analogous art wherein the one or more positioning reference signals comprise one or more sidelink position reference signals, the angle-based configuration information comprises sidelink angle-based configuration information, and the position measurement report comprises a sidelink position measurement report(P[0064], side link connection; positioning measurement configuration; Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to wherein the one or more positioning reference signals comprise one or more sidelink position reference signals, the angle-based configuration information comprises sidelink angle-based configuration information, and the position measurement report comprises a sidelink position measurement report in order to have improved efficiency.
Regarding claim 23, Manolakos teaches a processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive angle-based configuration information; perform one or more angle of arrival (AoA) measurements based at least in part on the angle-based configuration information and one or more positioning reference signals(P[0125; 0129-0130]; also Fig. 10; item 1010, configuration; item 1030, AOA measurements).
Manolakos did not teach specifically compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements; and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements. However, Karjalainen teaches in an analogous art compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements(item 703 in Fig. 7; estimate position; P[0083], estimate position based on angle measurements); and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements(item 615 in Fig. 7; P[0078], positioning report includes angle measurement). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to compute a position estimate based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements; and transmit a position measurement report based at least in part on the one or more AoA measurements in order to have further expansion of applicability to other devices.
Regarding claim 24, Manolakos teaches the processor, wherein the received angle-based configuration information comprises local coordinate system (LCS) information and LCS-to-global coordinate system (GCS) translation information, the LCS-to-GCS translation information comprises one or more of bearing angle, down tilt angle, or slant angle, and wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to at least one of: translate, using the LCS-to-GCS translation information, the one or more AoA measurements from the LCS to the GCS and generate the position measurement report to include the AoA measurements in the GCS; or generate the position measurement report to include the AoA measurements in the LCS(P[0112, 0115], forwarded the transformation of LCS to a GCS depends on bearing angle).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos et al. (hereinafter Manolakos)(US 2021/0048500) in view of Karjalainen et al. (hereinafter Karjalainen)(US 2023/0147613) and Gresset et al. (hereinafter Gresset)(EP 2785124 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Manolakos in view of Karjainen teaches all the particulars of the claim except, wherein the UE is a member of a group associated with a group local coordinate system (GLCS) defined to be common reference axes for devices that are members of the group, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: determine a further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS; and report the further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS to one or more other devices that are members of the group. However, Gresset teaches in an analogous art wherein the UE is a member of a group associated with a group local coordinate system (GLCS) defined to be common reference axes for devices that are members of the group, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: determine a further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS; and report the further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS to one or more other devices that are members of the group(item S51, determine common reference position; item S55, compute first estimate of position target node; abstract). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the UE is a member of a group associated with a group local coordinate system (GLCS) defined to be common reference axes for devices that are members of the group, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: determine a further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS; and report the further position estimate of the UE relative to the GLCS to one or more other devices that are members of the group in order to have improved efficiency.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gresset et al. (hereinafter Gresset)(EP 2785124 A1) in view of Karjalainen et al. (hereinafter Karjalainen)(US 2023/0147613).
Regarding claim 20, Gresset teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to:
determine an estimated position of the UE based on a group local coordinate system (GLCS) for a group of devices that share common group location information(item S51, determine common reference position; item S55, compute first estimate of position target node; abstract).
Gresset did not teach specifically transmit the estimated position of the UE to one or more other devices that are members of the group of devices. However, Karjalainen teaches in an analogous art transmit the estimated position of the UE to one or more other devices that are members of the group of devices(item 615-616 in Fig. 8). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to transmit the estimated position of the UE to one or more other devices that are members of the group of devices in order to have wider applicability.
Claim(s) 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gresset et al. (hereinafter Gresset)(EP 2785124 A1) in view of Karjalainen et al. (hereinafter Karjalainen)(US 2023/0147613) and Manolakos et al. (hereinafter Manolakos)(US 2021/0048500).
Regarding claim 21, Gresset teaches the UE of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: generate the position measurement report to include the AoA measurements in the GCS(abstract; also item S54, determine the direction target node relative to common reference).
The combination of Gresset and Karjalainen did not teach specifically translation, using the LCS-to-GCS translation information, the one or more AoA measurements from the LCS to the GCS. However, Manolakos teaches in an analogous art translation, using the LCS-to-GCS translation information, the one or more AoA measurements from the LCS to the GCS(P[0112, 0115], forwarded the transformation of LCS to a GCS). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to translate, using the LCS-to-GCS translation information, the one or more AoA measurements from the LCS to the GCS in order to have further expansion of applicability to other devices.
Regarding claim 22, Gesset in view of Karjalainen and Manolakos teaches the UE of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to generate the position measurement report to include the AoA measurements in the LCS(Manolakos: P[0130], he report may include an indication of whether the angle measurements are in the LCS; also item 1040 in Fig. 10; also Karjalainen in P[0078]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUTHUSWAMY GANAPATHY MANOHARAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5515. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30am-3:00pm.
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/MUTHUSWAMY G MANOHARAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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