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
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.
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.
(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, 2, 14, 15, 22, 23, and 40-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Small, US Patent Application Publication Number 2007/0040739 (hereinafter Small).
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 22, Small discloses a positioning method, performed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving configuration information of a positioning signal sent by a network device, wherein the positioning signal is configured to obtain a carrier phase difference based on carrier phases at different time points [paragraphs 0024, 0048, 0052].
Regarding claims 2, 15, and 23, Small discloses wherein the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points; or the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points, and a number of whole cycles and a decimal part of an incomplete cycle of the carrier phase difference [paragraphs 0048, 0052].
Regarding claim 40, Small discloses a terminal device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 1 [paragraph 0044].
Regarding claims 41 and 42, Small discloses a network device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 14 or claim 22 [paragraph 0044].
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 7, 10, 14-15, 17-18, 22-23, 25-26, 28, 31-32 and 40-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2)as being anticipated by Xie et al., US Patent Application Publication Number 2024/0389062 (hereinafter Xie).
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 22, Xie discloses a positioning method, performed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving configuration information of a positioning signal sent by a network device, wherein the positioning signal is configured to obtain a carrier phase difference based on carrier phases at different time points [paragraphs 0039-0040, 0058-0059].
Regarding claims 2, 15, and 23, Xie discloses wherein the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points; or the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points, and a number of whole cycles and a decimal part of an incomplete cycle of the carrier phase difference [paragraph 0059].
Regarding claims 4, 17, and 25, Xie discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: obtaining a first carrier phase by receiving, in a first time position, a positioning signal sent by a positioning node; and obtaining a second carrier phase by receiving, in a second time position, the positioning signal sent by the positioning node, wherein the carrier phase difference comprises a difference value between the first carrier phase and the second carrier phase [paragraph 0061].
Regarding claims 5 and 26, Xie discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal: the configuration information of the positioning signal comprises at least one of the following: a cycle, a slot offset, a number of repetitions in a single cycle, a time interval between two repetitions, a number of occupied symbols, a silent mode, a comb structure size (comb-size), a position of a start symbol, a sub-carrier space, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a number of measured samples, a carrier frequency, a bandwidth or a position of a starting physical resource block (PRB) [paragraph 0061]; and wherein the configuration information of the positioning signal further comprises: a positioning signal set or a positioning node corresponding to the positioning signal [paragraph 0062].
Regarding claims 7, 18, 28, and 31, Xie discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: sending a downlink positioning report to the network device, wherein the downlink positioning report comprises at least one of the following: the carrier phase difference, two timestamps corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a time interval between two time points corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a moving distance of the terminal device within a time interval between the two timestamps or between the two time points, a moving speed of the terminal device within the time interval between the two timestamps or between the two time points, phase error group information corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a positioning node corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a positioning signal identity corresponding to the carrier phase difference, an identity of a positioning signal set corresponding to the carrier phase difference or collineation path indication information corresponding to the carrier phase difference [paragraph 0061].
Regarding claims 10 and 31, Xie discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises an uplink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: sending the positioning signal based on the configuration information of the positioning signal, wherein the configuration information of the positioning signal comprises at least one of the following: a cycle, a slot offset, a number of occupied symbols, a comb-shaped structure (comb-size), a position of a start symbol, a sub-carrier space, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a carrier frequency, a bandwidth, a position of a starting physical resource block (PRB), power control parameters P0 and alpha, or a path loss reference [paragraphs 0061-0062].
Regarding claim 40, Xie discloses a terminal device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 1 [paragraph 0054].
Regarding claims 41 and 42, Xie discloses a network device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 14 or claim 22 [paragraphs 0039-0040].
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 7, 10, 14-15, 17-18, 22-23, 25-26, 28, 31-32 and 40-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2)as being anticipated by Li et al., CN 116667980 (hereinafter Li).
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 22, Li discloses a positioning method, performed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving configuration information of a positioning signal sent by a network device, wherein the positioning signal is configured to obtain a carrier phase difference based on carrier phases at different time points [reproduced from translation: “The method may include: obtaining the configuration information of the reference signal for positioning; performing a carrier phase-based positioning measurement based on the configuration information; and reporting and/or sending the result of the positioning measurement based on the carrier phase.”; “In some embodiments, in the above method performed by the receiving end, the step of keeping the clock synchronization with the transmitting end through the clock synchronization timestamp may comprise: receiving a clock synchronization time stamp configured by the transmitting end, wherein the clock synchronization time stamp may include: a transmission time associated with an identification ID of a particular reference signal for positioning, The receiving end can use the difference between the sending time in the received clock synchronization time stamp and the local receiving time of the reference signal related to the identification ID of the special reference signal for locating as the transmission time of the reference signal for locating to finish the synchronization with the transmitting end.” ].
Regarding claims 2, 15, and 23, Li discloses wherein the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points; or the carrier phase difference comprises: a difference value between carrier phases of the positioning signal at two time points, and a number of whole cycles and a decimal part of an incomplete cycle of the carrier phase difference [reproduced from translation: “Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD). when the positioning measurement method based on carrier phase is independently used for positioning measurement, the receiving end calculates the RSTD between the receiving end and the transmitting end according to the measured carrier phase difference and directly reports the RSTD measurement result. When positioning measurement is performed in combination with a positioning measurement method based on carrier phase and other positioning measurement methods, for example, when positioning measurement is performed using a positioning measurement method based on carrier phase and a TDOA measurement method at the same time, The RSTD obtained using the result of the TDOA measurement method can be corrected using the positioning measurement result based on the carrier phase, and then the corrected RSTD measurement result is reported.”].
Regarding claims 4, 17, and 25, Li discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: obtaining a first carrier phase by receiving, in a first time position, a positioning signal sent by a positioning node; and obtaining a second carrier phase by receiving, in a second time position, the positioning signal sent by the positioning node, wherein the carrier phase difference comprises a difference value between the first carrier phase and the second carrier phase [reproduced from translation: “In some embodiments, in the above method performed by the receiving end, the step of keeping the clock synchronization with the transmitting end through the clock synchronization timestamp may comprise: receiving a clock synchronization time stamp configured by the transmitting end, wherein the clock synchronization time stamp may include: a transmission time associated with an identification ID of a particular reference signal for positioning, The receiving end can use the difference between the sending time in the received clock synchronization time stamp and the local receiving time of the reference signal related to the identification ID of the special reference signal for locating as the transmission time of the reference signal for locating to finish the synchronization with the transmitting end.”].
Regarding claims 5 and 26, Li discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal: the configuration information of the positioning signal comprises at least one of the following: a cycle, a slot offset, a number of repetitions in a single cycle, a time interval between two repetitions, a number of occupied symbols, a silent mode, a comb structure size (comb-size), a position of a start symbol, a sub-carrier space, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a number of measured samples, a carrier frequency, a bandwidth or a position of a starting physical resource block (PRB); and wherein the configuration information of the positioning signal further comprises: a positioning signal set or a positioning node corresponding to the positioning signal [reproduced from translation: “The base station is configured with a reference signal for location, for example, the base station is configured with a reference signal for location for the UE. For example, the UE receives configuration information of a reference signal for positioning from the base station. In some embodiments, in the case that the reference signal for positioning is a PRS, the configuration information for the PRS may include at least one of: a sub-carrier interval of PRS, a time frequency resource position of PRS, a port and bandwidth of PRS, a transmission period of PRS, a duration of PRS, a starting point of PRS, a repetition period of PRS and a mute mechanism; Similarly, in some embodiments, in the case where the reference signal for location is the SRS-POS, the configuration information for the SRS-POS may include at least one of the following: SRS-POS sub-carrier interval, SRS-POS time-frequency resource position, SRS-POS port and bandwidth, SRS-POS transmission period, SRS-POS duration, SRS-POS starting point, SRS-POS repetition period and mute mechanism and so on; In one embodiment, the configuration information of the reference signal for positioning may be specific configuration information of the reference signal for carrier phase positioning.
The receiving end sends the first auxiliary information to the transmitting end for the configuration of the reference signal for positioning, for example, the first auxiliary information provides an optional configuration parameter (and/or configuration information) of the reference signal for positioning, The transmitting end can determine the configuration information for PRS according to the first auxiliary information provided by the receiving end, and send the determined configuration information for PRS to the receiving end. For example, the receiving end may send the configuration information of the proposed PRS or SRS-POS transmission period to the transmitting end for location measurement. Of course, when the transmitting end determines and/or configures the reference signal for positioning (and/or configuration information of the reference signal for positioning), the transmitting end may determine and/or configure the reference signal for positioning according to part or all of the information in the first auxiliary information, or may not determine according to the first auxiliary information.”].
Regarding claims 7, 18, 28, and 31, Li discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises a downlink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: sending a downlink positioning report to the network device, wherein the downlink positioning report comprises at least one of the following: the carrier phase difference, two timestamps corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a time interval between two time points corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a moving distance of the terminal device within a time interval between the two timestamps or between the two time points, a moving speed of the terminal device within the time interval between the two timestamps or between the two time points, phase error group information corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a positioning node corresponding to the carrier phase difference, a positioning signal identity corresponding to the carrier phase difference, an identity of a positioning signal set corresponding to the carrier phase difference or collineation path indication information corresponding to the carrier phase difference [reproduced from translation: “The base station is configured with a reference signal for location, for example, the base station is configured with a reference signal for location for the UE. For example, the UE receives configuration information of a reference signal for positioning from the base station. In some embodiments, in the case that the reference signal for positioning is a PRS, the configuration information for the PRS may include at least one of: a sub-carrier interval of PRS, a time frequency resource position of PRS, a port and bandwidth of PRS, a transmission period of PRS, a duration of PRS, a starting point of PRS, a repetition period of PRS and a mute mechanism; Similarly, in some embodiments, in the case where the reference signal for location is the SRS-POS, the configuration information for the SRS-POS may include at least one of the following: SRS-POS sub-carrier interval, SRS-POS time-frequency resource position, SRS-POS port and bandwidth, SRS-POS transmission period, SRS-POS duration, SRS-POS starting point, SRS-POS repetition period and mute mechanism and so on; In one embodiment, the configuration information of the reference signal for positioning may be specific configuration information of the reference signal for carrier phase positioning.
The receiving end sends the first auxiliary information to the transmitting end for the configuration of the reference signal for positioning, for example, the first auxiliary information provides an optional configuration parameter (and/or configuration information) of the reference signal for positioning, The transmitting end can determine the configuration information for PRS according to the first auxiliary information provided by the receiving end, and send the determined configuration information for PRS to the receiving end. For example, the receiving end may send the configuration information of the proposed PRS or SRS-POS transmission period to the transmitting end for location measurement. Of course, when the transmitting end determines and/or configures the reference signal for positioning (and/or configuration information of the reference signal for positioning), the transmitting end may determine and/or configure the reference signal for positioning according to part or all of the information in the first auxiliary information, or may not determine according to the first auxiliary information.”].
Regarding claims 10 and 31, Li discloses wherein the positioning signal comprises an uplink positioning signal, and the positioning method further comprises: sending the positioning signal based on the configuration information of the positioning signal, wherein the configuration information of the positioning signal comprises at least one of the following: a cycle, a slot offset, a number of occupied symbols, a comb-shaped structure (comb-size), a position of a start symbol, a sub-carrier space, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a carrier frequency, a bandwidth, a position of a starting physical resource block (PRB), power control parameters P0 and alpha, or a path loss reference [reproduced from translation: “The base station is configured with a reference signal for location, for example, the base station is configured with a reference signal for location for the UE. For example, the UE receives configuration information of a reference signal for positioning from the base station. In some embodiments, in the case that the reference signal for positioning is a PRS, the configuration information for the PRS may include at least one of: a sub-carrier interval of PRS, a time frequency resource position of PRS, a port and bandwidth of PRS, a transmission period of PRS, a duration of PRS, a starting point of PRS, a repetition period of PRS and a mute mechanism; Similarly, in some embodiments, in the case where the reference signal for location is the SRS-POS, the configuration information for the SRS-POS may include at least one of the following: SRS-POS sub-carrier interval, SRS-POS time-frequency resource position, SRS-POS port and bandwidth, SRS-POS transmission period, SRS-POS duration, SRS-POS starting point, SRS-POS repetition period and mute mechanism and so on; In one embodiment, the configuration information of the reference signal for positioning may be specific configuration information of the reference signal for carrier phase positioning.
The receiving end sends the first auxiliary information to the transmitting end for the configuration of the reference signal for positioning, for example, the first auxiliary information provides an optional configuration parameter (and/or configuration information) of the reference signal for positioning, The transmitting end can determine the configuration information for PRS according to the first auxiliary information provided by the receiving end, and send the determined configuration information for PRS to the receiving end. For example, the receiving end may send the configuration information of the proposed PRS or SRS-POS transmission period to the transmitting end for location measurement. Of course, when the transmitting end determines and/or configures the reference signal for positioning (and/or configuration information of the reference signal for positioning), the transmitting end may determine and/or configure the reference signal for positioning according to part or all of the information in the first auxiliary information, or may not determine according to the first auxiliary information.”].
Regarding claim 40, Li discloses a terminal device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 1 [reproduced from translation: “In some embodiments, in the above method performed by the transmitting end, the receiving end may be a user equipment (UE), a base station, a location management function (LMF), or a side device; and/or the transmitting end may be a user equipment (UE), a base station, a location management function (LMF), or an edge device.”].
Regarding claims 41 and 42, Li discloses a network device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver connected with the processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to implement the positioning method according to claim 14 or claim 22 [reproduced from translation: “In some embodiments, in the above method performed by the transmitting end, the receiving end may be a user equipment (UE), a base station, a location management function (LMF), or a side device; and/or the transmitting end may be a user equipment (UE), a base station, a location management function (LMF), or an edge device.”].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Bao et al., US Patent Number 11,812,404, disclose reference carrier phase for positioning reference signals.
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/EAW/
June 25, 2026
/ERIKA A WASHINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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