Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 103
2. 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.
A) Claims 1-3, 5-10, 14-15, 21-22, and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS (US 20240168122 A1) in view of Zhu (US 20220095254 A1).
As per claim 1, MANOLAKOS teaches a method, comprising: obtaining, by a first device, configuration information related to a positioning reference signal (PRS) for Uu link-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining by signaling device configuration information related to PRS for Uu positioning); obtaining configuration information related to a sidelink (SL) PRS for SL-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining configuration information related to SL PRS for SL positioning); and performing joint positioning based on the PRS and the SL PRS (¶0129-130, combined and joint positioning estimate (thus performing) based on PRS and SL PRS).
However, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP).
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP) (¶0007 and ¶0171, indicate whether the differential RSRP reporting for the mixed SSBRI/CRI reporting shall be applied jointly to both the SS-RSRP(s) and CSI-RSRP(s) and position information associated with the RSRP values included in the joint reporting which is provided or received from a base station (BS)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 2 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein the signal includes the PRS (¶0098, PRS signals therefore signal includes PRS).
As per claim 3 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein the signal includes a reference signal (¶0098, reference signal).
As per claim 5 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined by the first device.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined by the first device (¶0171-172, whether to perform the joint positioning determined by the UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 6 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS teaches reporting capability information related to the joint positioning to the base station or a location management function (LMF) (¶0120 and ¶0122, capability reporting related to the joint position to the network device (i.e. LMF)).
As per claim 7 as applied to claim 6 above, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is configured to the first device by the base station or the LMF based on the capability information related to the joint positioning (¶0120-122 and ¶0126, whether to perform joint positioning configured to signaling device by the network device or LMF based on information related to capability report of joint positioning).
As per claim 8 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach, wherein it is determined to be included in a positioning group as a device performing the joint positioning, based on that a second RSRP value related to the SL PRS received from a second device or a road side unit (RSU) is greater than or equal to the first RSRP value related to the signal received from the base station or the TRP by a threshold value.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein it is determined to be included in a positioning group as a device performing the joint positioning, based on that a second RSRP value related to the SL PRS received from a second device or a road side unit (RSU) is greater than or equal to the first RSRP value related to the signal received from the base station or the TRP by a threshold value (¶0005-06 and ¶0125, group based positioning device(s) performing joint positioning based on RSRP values (first, second, or more) received from other device relative to the largest RSRP value by threshold value).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 9 as applied to claim 8 above, Zhu further teaches transmitting, to the base station or an LMF, information related to a difference between the first RSRP value and the second RSRP value (¶0005-06 and ¶0126, transmitting to the base station information related to differential RSRP values).
As per claim 10 as applied to claim 9 above, Zhu further teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is configured to the first device by the base station or the LMF based on the information related to the difference and the threshold value (¶0006-07 and ¶0125-126, whether to perform the joint positioning is configured to the UE or device by the base station based on the information related to differential RSRP values).
As per claim 14, MANOLAKOS teaches a first device (¶0127, signaling device), the first device comprising: at least one transceiver (¶0066, transceiver); at least one processor (¶0066, processor); and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor (¶0066, memory connected to the processor) and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform operations comprising: obtaining, by a first device, configuration information related to a positioning reference signal (PRS) for Uu link-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining by signaling device configuration information related to PRS for Uu positioning); obtaining configuration information related to a sidelink (SL) PRS for SL-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining configuration information related to SL PRS for SL positioning); and performing joint positioning based on the PRS and the SL PRS (¶0129-130, combined and joint positioning estimate (thus performing) based on PRS and SL PRS).
However, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP).
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP) (¶0007 and ¶0171, indicate whether the differential RSRP reporting for the mixed SSBRI/CRI reporting shall be applied jointly to both the SS-RSRP(s) and CSI-RSRP(s) and position information associated with the RSRP values included in the joint reporting which is provided or received from a base station (BS)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 15, MANOLAKOS teaches a processing device adapted to control a first device (¶0066, processing device controlling a signaling device), the first device comprising: at least one transceiver (¶0066, transceiver); at least one processor (¶0066, processor); and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor (¶0066, memory connected to the processor) and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform operations comprising: obtaining, by a first device, configuration information related to a positioning reference signal (PRS) for Uu link-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining by signaling device configuration information related to PRS for Uu positioning); obtaining configuration information related to a sidelink (SL) PRS for SL-based positioning (¶0127 and ¶0129, receiving or obtaining configuration information related to SL PRS for SL positioning); and performing joint positioning based on the PRS and the SL PRS (¶0129-130, combined and joint positioning estimate (thus performing) based on PRS and SL PRS).
However, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP).
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) value related to a signal received from a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP) (¶0007 and ¶0171, indicate whether the differential RSRP reporting for the mixed SSBRI/CRI reporting shall be applied jointly to both the SS-RSRP(s) and CSI-RSRP(s) and position information associated with the RSRP values included in the joint reporting which is provided or received from a base station (BS)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 21 as applied to claim 14 above, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein the signal includes the PRS (¶0098, PRS signals therefore signal includes PRS).
As per claim 22 as applied to claim 14 above, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein the signal includes a reference signal (¶0098, reference signal).
As per claim 24 as applied to claim 14 above, MANOLAKOS does not explicitly teach wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined by the first device.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhu teaches wherein whether or not to perform the joint positioning is determined by the first device (¶0171-172, whether to perform the joint positioning determined by the UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS’s invention in order to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services and/or applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.
As per claim 25 as applied to claim 14 above, MANOLAKOS teaches reporting capability information related to the joint positioning to the base station or a location management function (LMF) (¶0120 and ¶0122, capability reporting related to the joint position to the network device (i.e. LMF)).
B) Claims 4 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS (US 20240168122 A1) in view of Zhu (US 20220095254 A1) and further in view of Rao (US 2024/0192304 A1).
As per claim 4 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS in view of Zhu does not explicitly teach wherein it is determined to perform the joint positioning based on that a number of base stations or TRPs whose first RSRP value related to the signal is greater than or equal to an RSRP threshold value is less than or equal to a threshold number.
In the same field of endeavor, Rao teaches wherein it is determined to perform the joint positioning based on that a number of base stations or TRPs whose first RSRP value related to the signal is greater than or equal to an RSRP threshold value is less than or equal to a threshold number (¶0149 and ¶0224, perform joint positioning based on number of TRPs/gNBs whose RSRP value based on signal greater or equal to RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS and Zhu’s invention in order for preservation of positioning integrity associated with wireless systems to provide content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users.
As per claim 23 as applied to claim 14 above, MANOLAKOS in view of Zhu does not explicitly teach wherein it is determined to perform the joint positioning based on that a number of base stations or TRPs whose first RSRP value related to the signal is greater than or equal to an RSRP threshold value is less than or equal to a threshold number.
In the same field of endeavor, Rao teaches wherein it is determined to perform the joint positioning based on that a number of base stations or TRPs whose first RSRP value related to the signal is greater than or equal to an RSRP threshold value is less than or equal to a threshold number (¶0149 and ¶0224, perform joint positioning based on number of TRPs/gNBs whose RSRP value based on signal greater or equal to RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS and Zhu’s invention in order for preservation of positioning integrity associated with wireless systems to provide content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users.
C) Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS (US 20240168122 A1) in view of Zhu (US 20220095254 A1) and further in view of THOMAS (WO 2022/0344832 A2).
As per claim 11 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS in view of Zhu does not explicitly teach transmitting, to the base station or an LMF, at least one of source IDs or destination IDs of surrounding devices of the first device or devices participating in the joint positioning.
In the same field of endeavor, THOMAS teaches transmitting, to the base station or an LMF, at least one of source IDs or destination IDs of surrounding devices of the first device or devices participating in the joint positioning (¶0125, transmitting to the LMF source L2 ID and the destination L2 ID of the UEs participating in positioning).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS and Zhu’s invention in order to support physical layer and Layer-2/Layer-3 signaling procedures to enable RAT dependent positioning methods for the Uu interface in LTE and NR.
As per claim 12 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS in view of Zhu does not explicitly teach, wherein at least one of a source ID or a destination ID of a device participating in the joint positioning is transmitted from the device participating in the joint positioning to the base station or an LMF.
In the same field of endeavor, THOMAS teaches wherein at least one of a source ID or a destination ID of a device participating in the joint positioning is transmitted from the device participating in the joint positioning to the base station or an LMF (¶0124-25, source L2 ID and the destination L2 ID of the UEs participating in positioning is transmitted from the UE performing positioning to the LMF).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS and Zhu’s invention in order to support physical layer and Layer-2/Layer-3 signaling procedures to enable RAT dependent positioning methods for the Uu interface in LTE and NR.
D) Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MANOLAKOS (US 20240168122 A1) in view of Zhu (US 20220095254 A1) and further in view of ZHU (WO 2022/016335 A1).
As per claim 13 as applied to claim 1 above, MANOLAKOS in view of Zhu does not explicitly teach receiving, from the base station or an LMF, a broadcast ID or a groupcast ID of a device participating in the joint positioning.
In the same field of endeavor, ZHU teaches receiving, from the base station or an LMF, a broadcast ID or a groupcast ID of a device participating in the joint positioning (¶0093 and ¶0101, receiving from base station broadcast/multicast identifier of the proximate UE(s) performing positioning).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MANOLAKOS and Zhu’s invention in order to support large wireless sensor deployments consequently to enhance signaling efficiencies and reduce latency.
Conclusion
3. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARIDEH MADANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1249. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday; 9 AM to 5 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JINSONG HU can be reached at 5712723965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FARIDEH MADANI/Examiner, Art Unit 2643
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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