Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/850,961

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING MULTI-CARRIER-FREQUENCY CARRIER PHASE POSITIONING CAPABILITY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 25, 2024
Priority
Mar 31, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022084698
Examiner
CATTUNGAL, AJAY P
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
818 granted / 919 resolved
+29.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
922
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
48.3%
+8.3% vs TC avg
§102
30.0%
-10.0% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 919 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Specification The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. 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) 1-8, 10-18, 20, 23 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Manolakos et al. (US 2022/0109466 A1). Regarding claims 1, 11, Manolakos et al. discloses a method for determining a multi-carrier-frequency carrier phase positioning capability, performed by a terminal device, comprising: sending positioning capability information to a network device, wherein the positioning capability information is configured to indicate capability information about transmitting multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals (See Fig 16 and Para 273 teaches “At 1610, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 334, frequency hopping module 342, etc.) determines a capability of the UE perform receive frequency hopping to to measure a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) across a plurality of frequency hops, the DL-PRS transmitted over a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols on a same transmission bandwidth, and each of the plurality of frequency hops associated with a sub-band of the transmission bandwidth of the DL-PRS. At 1620, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 312 or 322, etc.) transmits an indication of the capability to a network component (e.g., BS 304, LMF 306, etc.). “). Regarding claims 2, 12, Manolakos et al. discloses a method wherein the positioning capability information comprises at least one of: capability information about receiving the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals by the terminal device; or capability information about sending the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals by the terminal (See Fig 16 and Para 273 teaches “At 1610, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 334, frequency hopping module 342, etc.) determines a capability of the UE perform receive frequency hopping to to measure a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) across a plurality of frequency hops, the DL-PRS transmitted over a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols on a same transmission bandwidth, and each of the plurality of frequency hops associated with a sub-band of the transmission bandwidth of the DL-PRS. At 1620, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 312 or 322, etc.) transmits an indication of the capability to a network component (e.g., BS 304, LMF 306, etc.). “). Regarding claims 3, 13, Manolakos et al. discloses a method wherein the capability information about receiving the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals by the terminal comprises at least one of: a number of receivers of the terminal; at least one of a carrier frequency or a bandwidth of a receiving filter of the terminal; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal for receiving the positioning signals in a simultaneous manner; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal for receiving the positioning signals in a non-simultaneous manner; a first carrier frequency set supported by the terminal for receiving the positioning signals in a simultaneous manner; a second carrier frequency set supported by the terminal for receiving the positioning signals in a non-simultaneous manner; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal to be configured for receiving the positioning signals; or a third carrier frequency set supported by the terminal to be configured for receiving the positioning signals; or the capability information about sending the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals by the terminal comprises at least one of: a number of senders of the terminal; at least one of a carrier frequency or a bandwidth of a sending filter of the terminal; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal for sending the positioning signals in a simultaneous manner; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal for sending the positioning signals in a non-simultaneous manner; a first carrier frequency set supported by the terminal for sending the positioning signals in a simultaneous manner; a second carrier frequency set supported by the terminal for sending the positioning signals in a non-simultaneous manner; a number of carrier frequencies supported by the terminal to be configured for sending the positioning signals; or a third carrier frequency set supported by the terminal to be configured for sending the positioning signals. (Para 58, Para 85, Para 114, Para 282 and Para 284 teahces “wherein the capability comprises a number of the plurality of frequency hops that can be performed within a single DL-PRS instance of the DL-PRS, or a combination thereof.”). Regarding claims 4, 14, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the first carrier frequency set or the third carrier frequency set comprises: a maximum set of at least one carrier frequency combination supportable by the terminal; or at least one carrier frequency combination supportable by the terminal (Para 58, Para 85, Para 114, Para 282 and Para 284 teahces “wherein the capability comprises a number of the plurality of frequency hops that can be performed within a single DL-PRS instance of the DL-PRS, or a combination thereof.”). Regarding claims 5, 15, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the second carrier frequency set comprises: a maximum set of at least one carrier frequency combination not supportable by the terminal; or at least one carrier frequency combination not supportable by the terminal (Para 58, Para 85, Para 114, Para 282 and Para 284 teahces “wherein the capability comprises a number of the plurality of frequency hops that can be performed within a single DL-PRS instance of the DL-PRS, or a combination thereof.”). Regarding claims 6, 16, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the simultaneous manner is that there is at least one overlapping symbol or slot between positioning signals on a plurality of carrier frequencies for the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals in a time domain, or that a time domain interval between positioning signals on a plurality of carrier frequencies for the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals is smaller than a first specific number of symbols or slots (Para 346 , Para 395-397 teaches “assuming a threshold amount of overlap between sub-bands of consecutive frequency hops for a particular time-domain window.”). Regarding claims 7, 17, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the positioning capability information comprises the first specific number (Para 355-356 teaches of the indication as a number). Regarding claims 8, 18, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the non-simultaneous manner is that a time domain interval between positioning signals on a plurality of carrier frequencies for the multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals is greater than a second specific number of symbols or slots (Para 67, Para 95 and Para 280 teaches of a minimum time gap between consecutive frequency hops). Regarding claims 10, 20, Manolakos et al. discloses a method, wherein the positioning signals comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), or other signals for positioning (See Fig 16 and Para 273 teaches “At 1610, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 334, frequency hopping module 342, etc.) determines a capability of the UE perform receive frequency hopping to to measure a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) across a plurality of frequency hops, the DL-PRS transmitted over a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols on a same transmission bandwidth, and each of the plurality of frequency hops associated with a sub-band of the transmission bandwidth of the DL-PRS. At 1620, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 312 or 322, etc.) transmits an indication of the capability to a network component (e.g., BS 304, LMF 306, etc.). “). Regarding claims 23, 24, Manolakos et al. discloses a method A terminal, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing a computer program (See Fig 3A items 332 and 340) executable by the processor; wherein the processor is configured to send positioning capability information to a network device, wherein the positioning capability information is configured to indicate capability information about transmitting multi-carrier-frequency positioning signals (See Fig 16 and Para 273 teaches “At 1610, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 334, frequency hopping module 342, etc.) determines a capability of the UE perform receive frequency hopping to to measure a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) across a plurality of frequency hops, the DL-PRS transmitted over a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols on a same transmission bandwidth, and each of the plurality of frequency hops associated with a sub-band of the transmission bandwidth of the DL-PRS. At 1620, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 312 or 322, etc.) transmits an indication of the capability to a network component (e.g., BS 304, LMF 306, etc.). “). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY P CATTUNGAL whose telephone number is (571)270-7525. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 5712723940. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /AJAY CATTUNGAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 25, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+6.7%)
2y 4m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 919 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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