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.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 19 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by disclosed prior art (cited in IDS of 09/17/2025) MANOLAKOS et al., US 2021/0297206 (Manolakos hereinafter).
Here is how the reference teaches the claims.
Regarding claim 1, Manolakos discloses a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission method (Manolakos, abstract, Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), comprising:
transmitting, by a first terminal, resource information and/or configuration information of PRS to a second terminal (Manolakos, paragraph [0007], a method for wireless communication performed at an assisting user equipment (UE) includes receiving a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), where the second terminal is in communication with the first terminal via a direct communication interface (Manolakos, paragraph [0128], In this case, the target UE transmits the location request to the assisting UEs over sidelinks established with the respective assisting UEs, and the assisting UEs can select ranging signal ( e.g., SL-PRS) time/frequency resources without coordinating with the network); and
transmitting, by the first terminal, the PRS to the second terminal at the resource location indicated by the resource information and/or configuration information (Manolakos, paragraph [0116]: In the example of FIG. 10, the target UE 1004 receives a ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS) from the assisting UE 1002 and responds with its own ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS). The ranging signals may be transmitted on time/frequency resources allocated by the network (e.g., a base station or a location server) or one of the involved UEs, as described above with reference to FIG. 8; paragraph [0127]: Once the target UE has the allocated ranging signal configuration to use for the positioning procedure with each assisting UE, it can transmit and receive ranging signals on those resources as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11).
Regarding claim 9, Manolakos discloses a PRS transmission method (Manolakos, abstract, Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), comprising:
receiving, by a second terminal, resource information and/or configuration information of PRS transmitted by a first terminal (Manolakos, paragraph [0007], a method for wireless communication performed at an assisting user equipment (UE) includes receiving a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), wherein the first terminal is in communication with the second terminal via a direct communication interface (Manolakos, paragraph [0128], In this case, the target UE transmits the location request to the assisting UEs over sidelinks established with the respective assisting UEs, and the assisting UEs can select ranging signal ( e.g., SL-PRS) time/frequency resources without coordinating with the network); and
receiving, by the second terminal, the PRS transmitted by the first terminal at the resource location indicated by the resource information and/or configuration information (Manolakos, paragraph [0116]: In the example of FIG. 10, the target UE 1004 receives a ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS) from the assisting UE 1002 and responds with its own ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS). The ranging signals may be transmitted on time/frequency resources allocated by the network (e.g., a base station or a location server) or one of the involved UEs, as described above with reference to FIG. 8; paragraph [0127]: Once the target UE has the allocated ranging signal configuration to use for the positioning procedure with each assisting UE, it can transmit and receive ranging signals on those resources as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11).
Regarding claim 19, Manolakos discloses a terminal (Manolakos, abstract, Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), comprising:
a memory, a transceiver, and a processor (Manolakos, paragraph [0009], In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver);
the memory is used to store a computer program (Manolakos, paragraph [0013], In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a set of instructions);
the processor is used to read the computer program stored in the memory (Manolakos, paragraph [0013], In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a set of instructions. The set of instructions include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an assisting user equipment (UE));
the transceiver is used to transmit and receive data under control of the processor (Manolakos, paragraph [0140], In an aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by transceiver 404, processing system 410, memory 414, and/or sidelink manager 470, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation) and perform the following steps:
transmitting resource information and/or configuration information of PRS to a second terminal (Manolakos, paragraph [0007], a method for wireless communication performed at an assisting user equipment (UE) includes receiving a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), wherein the second terminal is in communication with the first terminal via a direct communication interface (Manolakos, paragraph [0128], In this case, the target UE transmits the location request to the assisting UEs over sidelinks established with the respective assisting UEs, and the assisting UEs can select ranging signal ( e.g., SL-PRS) time/frequency resources without coordinating with the network); and
transmitting the PRS to the second terminal at the resource location indicated by the resource information and/or configuration information (Manolakos, paragraph [0116]: In the example of FIG. 10, the target UE 1004 receives a ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS) from the assisting UE 1002 and responds with its own ranging signal (e.g., SL-PRS). The ranging signals may be transmitted on time/frequency resources allocated by the network (e.g., a base station or a location server) or one of the involved UEs, as described above with reference to FIG. 8; paragraph [0127]: Once the target UE has the allocated ranging signal configuration to use for the positioning procedure with each assisting UE, it can transmit and receive ranging signals on those resources as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11).
Regarding claim 27, Manolakos discloses a terminal (Manolakos, abstract, Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE over a sidelink between the assisting UE and the target UE), comprising:
a memory, a transceiver, and a processor (Manolakos, paragraph [0009], In an aspect, an assisting user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver);
the memory is used to store a computer program (Manolakos, paragraph [0013], In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a set of instructions);
the processor is used to read the computer program stored in the memory (Manolakos, paragraph [0013], In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a set of instructions. The set of instructions include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an assisting user equipment (UE));
the transceiver is used to transmit and receive data under control of the processor (Manolakos, paragraph [0140], In an aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by transceiver 404, processing system 410, memory 414, and/or sidelink manager 470, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation) and perform the steps of the PRS transmission method according to claims 9.
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.
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.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 2 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art (cited in IDS of 09/17/2025) MANOLAKOS et al., US 2021/0297206 (Manolakos hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Wu et al., US 2023/0030759 A1 (Wu hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 2 and 10, Manolakos discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Manolakos does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding 2, wherein the transmitting resource information and/or configuration information of PRS to the second terminal comprises:
transmitting a first target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the first target signaling comprises the resource information and/or configuration information;
the first target signaling comprises one of the following:
Sidelink Location Protocol (SLPP) signaling;
PC5-S signaling;
PC5 Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling;
Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE); or,
Sidelink Control Information (SCI).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the receiving resource information and/or configuration information of PRS transmitted by the first terminal comprises:
receiving a first target signaling transmitted by the first terminal, wherein the first target signaling comprises the resource information and/or configuration information;
the first target signaling comprises one of the following:
SLPP signaling; PC5-S signaling;
RRC signaling;
MAC CE of the direct communication interface; or,
SCI.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Wu discloses a method related to wireless communication that comprises the following features.
Regarding 2, wherein the transmitting resource information and/or configuration information of PRS to the second terminal (Wu, paragraph [0087], In yet another aspect, the supplemental PRS configuration 205 may be implied or implicit based on a PRS configuration for the PRSs 210. In this aspect, the UE 115-a may identify resources on which to transmit the supplemental PRSs 215, and the UE 115-b may identify resources on which to receive the supplemental PRSs 215, based on the PRS configuration for the PRSs 210) comprises:
transmitting a first target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the first target signaling comprises the resource information and/or configuration information (Wu, Fig. 4 and paragraph [0103], the UE 115-c may receive the PRS configuration from the base station 105-b at 405, and, at 415, the UE 115-c may transmit, and the UE 115-d may receive, the PRS configuration message ( e.g., a sidelink control information (SCI) message) enabling the UE 115-d to receive supplemental PRSs from the UE 115-c in the shared spectrum);
the first target signaling comprises one of the following:
Sidelink Location Protocol (SLPP) signaling;
PC5-S signaling;
PC5 Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling;
Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE); or,
Sidelink Control Information (SCI) (Wu, paragraph [0004], first UE may be configured to transmit PRSs to a second UE in an unshared radio frequency spectrum and transmit supplemental PRSs to the second UE in a shared spectrum. The second UE may then use the supplemental PRSs in the shared spectrum in addition to the PRSs in the unshared spectrum to perform positioning measurements associated with the first UE. In some cases, the first UE may signal a configuration for the supplemental PRSs to the second UE. Also see paragraph [0011], In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the configuration message includes a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE)).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the receiving resource information and/or configuration information of PRS transmitted by the first terminal (Wu, paragraph [0087], In yet another aspect, the supplemental PRS configuration 205 may be implied or implicit based on a PRS configuration for the PRSs 210. In this aspect, the UE 115-a may identify resources on which to transmit the supplemental PRSs 215, and the UE 115-b may identify resources on which to receive the supplemental PRSs 215, based on the PRS configuration for the PRSs 210) comprises:
receiving a first target signaling transmitted by the first terminal, wherein the first target signaling comprises the resource information and/or configuration information (Wu, Fig. 4 and paragraph [0103], the UE 115-c may receive the PRS configuration from the base station 105-b at 405, and, at 415, the UE 115-c may transmit, and the UE 115-d may receive, the PRS configuration message ( e.g., a sidelink control information (SCI) message) enabling the UE 115-d to receive supplemental PRSs from the UE 115-c in the shared spectrum);
the first target signaling comprises one of the following:
SLPP signaling; PC5-S signaling;
RRC signaling;
MAC CE of the direct communication interface; or,
SCI (Wu, paragraph [0004], first UE may be configured to transmit PRSs to a second UE in an unshared radio frequency spectrum and transmit supplemental PRSs to the second UE in a shared spectrum. The second UE may then use the supplemental PRSs in the shared spectrum in addition to the PRSs in the unshared spectrum to perform positioning measurements associated with the first UE. In some cases, the first UE may signal a configuration for the supplemental PRSs to the second UE. Also see paragraph [0011], In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the configuration message includes a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE)).
Thus, 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 system of Manolakos by using the features, as taught by Wu, in order to provide an improved method for supporting supplemental positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission (see Wu, abstract and paragraph [0004]).
Claim(s) 3 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art (cited in IDS of 09/17/2025) MANOLAKOS et al., US 2021/0297206 (Manolakos hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of MASAL et al., US 2023/0292278 A1 (using foreign application filing date of March 10, 2022 related to application IN 202241013147; referred to as Masal hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Manolakos discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Manolakos does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 3, wherein before transmitting the PRS to the second terminal, the method further comprises:
receiving feedback information transmitted by the second terminal, wherein the feedback information is transmitted by the second terminal upon receiving the resource information and/or configuration information.
Regarding claim 11, wherein after receiving the resource information and/or configuration information of the PRS transmitted by the first terminal, the method further comprises:
transmitting feedback information to the first terminal.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Masal discloses a method related to wireless communication that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 3, wherein before transmitting the PRS to the second terminal (Masal, Fig. 6 discloses the steps of receiving a feedback from the second node (step 606) before transmitting the PRS to the target UE and the assisting UE (steps 606, 608 and 610). Also see paragraph [0083], The communication link may be established for positioning of the target UE 204-5. The anchor UE 204-1 may transmit a capability request message to the target node 204-5 and the assisting UE 204-3, at step 604), the method further comprises:
receiving feedback information transmitted by the second terminal (Masal, paragraph [0083], The anchor UE 204-1 may receive a feedback message from the target UE 204-5 and the assisting UE 204-3, at step 606), wherein the feedback information is transmitted by the second terminal upon receiving the resource information and/or configuration information (Masal, paragraph [0083], The feedback message may comprise a capability reply message and an acceptance message. The anchor UE 204-1 may configure the assisting UE 204-3 based on the feedback message, at step 608. The assisting UE 204-3 may be configured for transmitting a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) to the target UE 204-5 and for receiving the PRS from the target UE 204-5).
Regarding claim 11, wherein after receiving the resource information and/or configuration information of the PRS transmitted by the first terminal (Masal, Fig. 6 discloses the steps of receiving a feedback from the second node (step 606) before transmitting the PRS to the target UE and the assisting UE (steps 606, 608 and 610). Also see paragraph [0083], The communication link may be established for positioning of the target UE 204-5. The anchor UE 204-1 may transmit a capability request message to the target node 204-5 and the assisting UE 204-3, at step 604), the method further comprises:
transmitting feedback information to the first terminal (Masal, paragraph [0083], The anchor UE 204-1 may receive a feedback message from the target UE 204-5 and the assisting UE 204-3, at step 606).
Thus, 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 system of Manolakos by using the features, as taught by Masal, in order to provide signalling to support positioning of a target node in a side-link communication system (see Masal, abstract and paragraph [0001]).
Claim(s) 4-6, 8, 12-13 and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art (cited in IDS of 09/17/2025) MANOLAKOS et al., US 2021/0297206 (Manolakos hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of FAKOORIAN et al., US 2023/0066384 A1 (Fakoorian hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 4-6, 8, 12-13 and 16-18, Manolakos discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Manolakos does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 4, wherein the resource information and/or configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
identifier of the PRS;
frequency domain resource information of the PRS; time domain resource information of the PRS;
transmission period of the PRS; offset of the PRS;
type of PRS resource; identifier of the bandwidth part (BWP) where the PRS resource is located; activation time of the PRS;
valid duration of the PRS;
Quasi co-location (QCL) information of the PRS.
Regarding claim 5, further comprising:
activating or deactivating a target PRS within the PRSs.
Regarding claim 6, wherein the activating or deactivating a target PRS within the PRSs comprises:
indicating activation of the target PRS through the resource information and/or configuration information;
transmitting a second target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the second target signaling indicates the activation of the target PRS; or,
indicating deactivation of the target PRS through the resource information and/or configuration information;
transmitting a second target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the second target signaling indicates the deactivation of the target PRS.
Regarding claim 8, further comprising:
receiving measurement results and/or location information of the PRS transmitted by the second terminal.
Regarding claim 12, wherein the resource information and/or configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
identifier of the PRS;
frequency domain resource information of the PRS;
time domain resource information of the PRS;
transmission period of the PRS;
offset of the PRS; type of PRS resource;
identifier of BWP where the PRS resource is located;
activation time of the PRS;
valid duration of the PRS; or,
QCL information of the PRS.
Regarding claim 13, further comprising:
determining to activate a target PRS corresponding to the resource information and/or configuration information; or,
determining to deactivate a target PRS corresponding to the resource information and/or configuration information.
Regarding claim 16, further comprising:
measuring, by the second terminal, the PRS and obtaining the measurement results of the PRS.
Regarding claim 17, further comprising:
transmitting measurement results and/or location information of the PRS to the first terminal, wherein the location information is obtained by the second terminal based on the measurement results.
Regarding claim 18, further comprising: establishing an association relationship between the measurement results and the first terminal.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Fakoorian discloses a method related to a user equipment receiving sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS) resource configuration that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 4, wherein the resource information and/or configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
identifier of the PRS;
frequency domain resource information of the PRS; time domain resource information of the PRS;
transmission period of the PRS; offset of the PRS;
type of PRS resource; identifier of the bandwidth part (BWP) where the PRS resource is located; activation time of the PRS;
valid duration of the PRS;
Quasi co-location (QCL) information of the PRS (Fakoorian, paragraph [0038], In some embodiments, the SL-PRS may be configured to be quasi co-located (spatially related) with the SL-SSB, the SL Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the SL-channel state information (CSI)-RS, or the SL-Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) of the assisting UE 404a . .. n.. Also see paragraph [0039], The MAC-CE/DCI may also indicate a duration for which the assisting UE 404a . . . n should transmit the activated SL-PRS. In some embodiments, the MAC-CE/DCI may be specific to one of the assisting UEs 404a ... n).
Regarding claim 5, further comprising:
activating or deactivating a target PRS within the PRSs (Fakoorian, paragraph [0046], in some embodiments, an assisting UE 404a ... n may activate one (or some) of the preconfigured SL-PRS resources randomly to avoid possibly selecting the same SL-PRS resource. In some embodiments, an assisting UE 404a . . . n may alternatively activate one ( or some) of the preconfigured SL PRS resources (i.e., target PRS within the PRSs) based on an SL-Service Set Identifier (SL-SSID) of the assisting UE 404a ... n or based on some trigger or request received from the UE 110).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the activating or deactivating a target PRS within the PRSs comprises:
indicating activation of the target PRS through the resource information and/or configuration information (Fakoorian, paragraph [0039], The MAC-CE/DCI may also indicate a duration for which the assisting UE 404a . . . n should transmit the activated SL-PRS. In some embodiments, the MAC-CE/DCI may be specific to one of the assisting UEs 404a ... n. In some embodiments, a group message ( e.g., group common DCI) may be used. In such an embodiment, the group message may indicate which one( s) of the assisting UEs 404a ... n should transmit the SL-PRS and which SL-PRS resource(s) should be transmitted);
transmitting a second target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the second target signaling indicates the activation of the target PRS (Fakoorian, paragraph [0101], wherein the operations further comprise transmitting a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) or a downlink control information (DCI) to the one or more assisting UEs to indicate which one of the multiple SL-PRS resources should be activated, wherein the MAC-CE or DCI further indicates a duration during which the one of the multiple SL-PRS resources should be activated); or,
indicating deactivation of the target PRS through the resource information and/or configuration information;
transmitting a second target signaling to the second terminal, wherein the second target signaling indicates the deactivation of the target PRS.
Regarding claim 8, further comprising:
receiving measurement results and/or location information of the PRS transmitted by the second terminal (Fakoorian, paragraph [0016], In this location assisted procedure, the UE is configured with sidelink (SL) PRS resources that will be transmitted to the UE from one or more neighboring assisting UEs. The UE will then measure the SL PRS resources. The exemplary embodiments may be applied to UE-based location where the UE then uses the measurements to determine its location or network-based location where the UE sends the measurement data to a network function (e.g., location management function) for determining the location of the UE).
Regarding claim 12, wherein the resource information and/or configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
identifier of the PRS;
frequency domain resource information of the PRS;
time domain resource information of the PRS;
transmission period of the PRS;
offset of the PRS; type of PRS resource;
identifier of BWP where the PRS resource is located;
activation time of the PRS;
valid duration of the PRS; or,
QCL information of the PRS (Fakoorian, paragraph [0038], In some embodiments, the SL-PRS may be configured to be quasi co-located (spatially related) with the SL-SSB, the SL Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the SL-channel state information (CSI)-RS, or the SL-Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) of the assisting UE 404a . .. n.. Also see paragraph [0039], The MAC-CE/DCI may also indicate a duration for which the assisting UE 404a . . . n should transmit the activated SL-PRS. In some embodiments, the MAC-CE/DCI may be specific to one of the assisting UEs 404a ... n).
Regarding claim 13, further comprising:
determining to activate a target PRS corresponding to the resource information and/or configuration information; or,
determining to deactivate a target PRS corresponding to the resource information and/or configuration information (Fakoorian, paragraph [0046], in some embodiments, an assisting UE 404a ... n may activate one (or some) of the preconfigured SL-PRS resources randomly to avoid possibly selecting the same SL-PRS resource. In some embodiments, an assisting UE 404a . . . n may alternatively activate one ( or some) of the preconfigured SL PRS resources (i.e., target PRS within the PRSs) based on an SL-Service Set Identifier (SL-SSID) of the assisting UE 404a ... n or based on some trigger or request received from the UE 110).
Regarding claim 16, further comprising:
measuring, by the second terminal, the PRS and obtaining the measurement results of the PRS (Fakoorian, paragraph [0016], In this location assisted procedure, the UE is configured with sidelink (SL) PRS resources that will be transmitted to the UE from one or more neighboring assisting UEs. The UE will then measure the SL PRS resources. The exemplary embodiments may be applied to UE-based location where the UE then uses the measurements to determine its location or network-based location where the UE sends the measurement data to a network function (e.g., location management function) for determining the location of the UE).
Regarding claim 17, further comprising:
transmitting measurement results and/or location information of the PRS to the first terminal (Fakoorian, paragraph [0016], In this location assisted procedure, the UE is configured with sidelink (SL) PRS resources that will be transmitted to the UE from one or more neighboring assisting UEs. The UE will then measure the SL PRS resources. The exemplary embodiments may be applied to UE-based location where the UE then uses the measurements to determine its location or network-based location where the UE sends the measurement data to a network function (e.g., location management function) for determining the location of the UE), wherein the location information is obtained by the second terminal based on the measurement results (Fakoorian, paragraph [0015], Those skilled in the art will understand that there are various manners of determining UE position based on the measurement of the PRS from one or more TRPs).
Regarding claim 18, further comprising: establishing an association relationship between the measurement results and the first terminal (Fakoorian, paragraph [0027], The PRS management engine 235 may perform various operations related to receiving one or more PRS signals (e.g., a downlink
(DL) PRS from the gNB 120A and a SL PRS from a neighboring assisting UE), performing measurements on those signals, and determining a location of the UE 110 based on those measurements (i.e., PRS measurement engine establishes an association relationship between the measurement results and the first terminal)).
Thus, 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 system of Manolakos by using the features, as taught by Fakoorian, in order to support providing configuration of sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) to assist a user equipment (UE) in determining its location (see Fakoorian, abstract and paragraph [0012]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art (cited in IDS of 09/17/2025) MANOLAKOS et al., US 2021/0297206 (Manolakos hereinafter), in view of FAKOORIAN et al., US 2023/0066384 A1 (Fakoorian hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of LIOU et al., US 2022/0029764 A1 (Liou hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claim 7, Manolakos and Fakoorian disclose the method according to claim 6. Manolakos and Fakoorain do not explicitly disclose wherein the second target signaling comprises at least one of the following:
resource set identifier of the target PRS;
identifier of the target PRS;
identifier of the BWP where the resource of the target PRS is located;
spatial mapping relationship of the target PRS;
valid duration of the target PRS; or,
number of transmissions of the target PRS.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Liou discloses a method related to a user equipment operating in a wireless communication system that comprises wherein the second target signaling (Liou, paragraph [0316]-[0317], When the SRS is configured with the higher layer parameter associated with SRS at least for positioning, each ID in the list of reference signal IDs may also refer to a reference SS/PBCH block of a non-serving cell or DL PRS of a serving or non-serving cell indicated by a higher layer parameter … if an SRS resource in the activated resource set is configured with the higher layer parameter spatial-Relationinfo, the UE shall assume that the ID of the reference signal in the activation command overrides the one configured in spatial-Relationinfo) comprises at least one of the following:
resource set identifier of the target PRS;
identifier of the target PRS;
identifier of the BWP where the resource of the target PRS is located;
spatial mapping relationship of the target PRS;
valid duration of the target PRS; or,
number of transmissions of the target PRS (Liou, paragraph [0319], the UE shall transmit the target SRS resource with the same spatial domain transmission filter used for the transmission of the reference periodic SRS or of the reference SP SRS. When the SRS is configured by the higher layer parameter associated with SRS at least for positioning and if the higher layer parameter spatial-Relationinfo contains the ID of a reference 'DL-PRS-Resourceid' (i.e., resource set identifier of the target PRS), the UE shall transmit the target SRS resource with the same spatial domain transmission filter used for the reception of the reference DL PRS).
Thus, 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 system of Manolakos and Fakoorian by using the features, as taught by Liou, in order to improve Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources to support increasing demand for network access (see Liou, abstract and paragraph [0005]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/OBAIDUL HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Dated: 08/22/2026
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