Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/875,130

METHODS FOR HANDLING SIDELINK COMMUNICATION WITH A GROUP OF WIRELESS DEVICES ASSOCIATED WITH A PREDETERMINED GEOGRAPHICAL AREA AND RELATED DEVICES

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Dec 14, 2024
Priority
Jun 22, 2022 — SE 2250766-9 +1 more
Examiner
CHOI, HAESHIL JESSICA
Art Unit
2479
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
75%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
19 granted / 25 resolved
+18.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
66
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
61.2%
+21.2% vs TC avg
§102
28.2%
-11.8% vs TC avg
§112
9.0%
-31.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 25 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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 Objections Claims 10 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 10 recites “a group of wireless devices WDs)”, missing an open parenthesis, and should read “a group of wireless devices (WDs)”. Claim 19 recites “a group of wireless devices (WDSs)”. This acronym appears to be a typographical error for “WDs”. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. An independent Claim 10 recites “in the list of WDs” which has not been previously recited, resulting in a lack of antecedent basis. For the purpose of this examination, “in the list of WDs” has been interpreted as “in a list of WDs”. 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)(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. Claims 1-2, 4-5, 8-10 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Vogedes et al. (US 2024/0422725 A1), hereinafter “VOGEDES”. Regarding claim 1, VOGEDES teaches, ‘A method performed by a first wireless device (WD) for handling sidelink communication with one or more second WDs comprised in a sidelink group associated with a predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0112]: At step 211, target UE 201 (e.g., UE to be located) and PA [Pos Assistant] UE(s) 202 may require positioning service authorization and provisioning. This may include some initial SL positioning pre-configuration and authorization for the UE(s); Paragraph [0116]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area [predetermined geographical area], which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage; Paragraph [0155]: The (pre) configuration IEs may be specific to UE or group of UEs based on e.g., zone ID, beam ID, application ID, or destination layer-2 group ID), wherein the method comprises: ‘- obtaining access information for connecting to the sidelink group associated with the predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0161]: The target UE 201 or PA UEs 202 may obtain positioning initial configuration information via broadcast system information, (pre) provisioning, or dedicated signaling. For some scenarios, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be accompanied by a validity time or validity timer. Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area, either geographic area or area associated with network coverage), ‘and - communicating, based on the access information, with the one or more second WDs in the sidelink group via sidelink.’ (Paragraph [0130]: At step 225, SL positioning request or SL direct communication request may be sent from the target UE 201 to the PA UE(s) 202. The target UE 201 identifying information (e.g., layer-2 group ID)). Regarding claim 2, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, ‘wherein obtaining access information comprises: - sending, via sidelink, a discovery signal,’ (Paragraph [0124]: At step 223b, there may be a Model B type direct discovery that may use two PA UE discovery protocol messages (e.g., solicitation and response). The PA UE 202 may send a solicitation message to the target UE 201, which in turn responds to PA UE 202. The target UE 201 or PA UEs 202 may use pre-configured information or provisioned configuration information), ‘and - receiving, via sidelink, a discovery response message comprising the access information.’ (Paragraph [0124]: Information used for discovery may include positioning mode (e.g., UE-based or UE-assisted) or positioning type (e.g., absolute or relative/ranging) supported or requested; Paragraph [0132]: At step 227, SL positioning response or SL direct communication response may be executed. The SL response message(s) may be sent from one or more the PA UE(s) 202. The response message may include specific aspects of the request and approve, deny, or partially approve). Regarding claim 4, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, ‘wherein obtaining access information comprises: - receiving, from a network node,’ (Paragraph [0116]: The target UE 201 or PA UE(s) 202 may obtain initial positioning configuration information via e.g., broadcast system information, (pre) provisioning, or dedicated signaling whilst the UE(s) are in network coverage), ‘the access information for connecting to the sidelink group.’ (Paragraph [0117]: the configuration information may include provisioning or registration of positioning service, positioning service type,… UE group identifiers (e.g., Layer-2 Group ID), initial SL-PRS parameters/resources (e.g., PRS type, PRS muting patterns, initial B/W, periodicities, or associated measurement configuration), discovery mechanism configurations, or the like). Regarding claims 5 and 16, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, ‘wherein the method comprises: - sending, to a network node, a capability message comprising an indication indicative of the WDs capability to support sidelink communication’ (Paragraph [0163]: With reference to step 271, for the target UE 201 (remote) or one or more PA UEs 202, the SL positioning discovery authorization and provisioning may be initiated by the network or the UE(s). This may include UE capabilities (e.g., type) exchange (e.g., only certain device types/class such as non-RedCap UEs are authorized) or other information necessary to facilitate positioning procedures for the target UEs 201 or PA UEs 202) ‘associated with a geographical area.’ (Paragraph [0161]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area, either geographic area or area associated with network coverage). Regarding claims 8 and 17, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises: ‘- receiving, from a network node, area information indicative of the predetermined geographical area.’ (Paragraph [0116]: The target UE 201 or PA UE(s) 202 may obtain initial positioning configuration information via e.g., broadcast system information, (pre) provisioning, or dedicated signaling whilst the UE(s) are in network coverage. This may allow for SL UE configuration or resource allocation to occur autonomously from the NG-RAN/network over the Uu interface. For some scenarios, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be accompanied by a validity time or validity timer. Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area, which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage). Regarding claims 9 and 18, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the access information comprises one or more of: ‘- an identifier identifying the sidelink group,’ (Paragraph [0117]: the configuration information may include provisioning or registration of positioning service, positioning service type (e.g., emergency, (a) periodic, relative, absolute position, etc.), positioning QOS (e.g., KPI) requirements, PA UE selection criteria or priority (separate PA UE/master entity e.g., (PRS) threshold for SL Positioning signal and threshold for SL Direct Communication for Relay UE/function), UE group identifiers (e.g., Layer-2 Group ID), initial SL-PRS parameters/resources (e.g., PRS type, PRS muting patterns, initial B/W, periodicities, or associated measurement configuration), discovery mechanism configurations, or the like), ‘- authentication information for authenticating the first WD for communication with the sidelink group,’ (Paragraph [0174]: At step 276, security establishment between target UE 201 and PA UE(s) Relay Function 205. The discovery procedures may enable the positioning authorization and SL direct communication security establishment between the target UE 201 and the PA UE(s) 202. The NG-RAN and the LMF/Location Server may also be involved with authorization and security establishment), - encryption information for encrypting the communication with the sidelink group, ‘and - a set of resources for communicating with the sidelink group.’ (Paragraph [0117]: (Paragraph [0117]: the configuration information may include provisioning or registration of positioning service,… initial SL-PRS parameters/resources (e.g., PRS type, PRS muting patterns, initial B/W, periodicities, or associated measurement configuration), discovery mechanism configurations, or the like). Regarding claim 10, VOGEDES teaches, ‘A method performed by a network node, for handling sidelink communication for a group of wireless devices WDs), associated with a predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0101]: the master (controlling) entity may be a network node (e.g., LMF), or designated by the network node; Paragraph [0116]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area [predetermined geographical area], which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage; Paragraph [0155]: The (pre) configuration IEs may be specific to UE or group of UEs based on e.g., zone ID, beam ID, application ID, or destination layer-2 group ID)), wherein the method comprises: ‘- obtaining an indication indicative of one or more WDs located in a predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0161]: Step 270 is associated with NR SL positioning service authorization or SL Direct Communication service authorization and (pre) configuration being performed by the target UE 201 (remote) or one or more PA UE 202 (master entity, relay UE functions; Paragraph [0164]: With reference to step 272, for in-coverage scenarios… the target UE 201 may request some location service (e.g., positioning or delivery of assistance data/configuration) to the serving AMF at the NAS level); Paragraph [0209]: The IE NR-SL-PRS-AssistanceData may be sent by the master (controlling) entity 203 (e.g., location server 206 or PA UE 202) to provide SL-PRS [Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal] assistance data, which may include the geographical coordinates of the PA UE 202, SL-PRS resource information, etc.)), ‘and- sending, to one or more of the WDs comprised in the list of WDs, access information for connecting to a sidelink group associated with the predetermined geographical area.’ (Paragraph [0084]: These SIBs are mapped to the BCCH [Broadcast Control Channel]and is either broadcast periodically on DL-SCH or broadcast on-demand on DL-SCH… or sent in a dedicated manner on DL-SCH to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED; Paragraph [0161]: The target UE 201 or PA UEs 202 may obtain positioning initial configuration information via broadcast system information, (pre) provisioning, or dedicated signaling; Paragraph [0209]: The IE NR-SL-PRS-AssistanceData may be sent by the master (controlling) entity 203 (e.g., location server 206 or PA UE 202) to provide SL-PRS assistance data, which may include the geographical coordinates of the PA UE 202, SL-PRS resource information [list of WDs], etc.)), 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. Claims 3, 6-7, 11 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VOGEDES in view of Ramachandran et al. (US 2025/0184689 A1), hereinafter “RAMACHANDRAN”. Regarding claim 3, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises: VOGEDES further teaches, ‘- upon leaving the predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0102]: subsequent update of initial configurations and associated triggers [Upon leaving]; Paragraph [0116]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area [predetermined geographical area], which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage; Paragraph [0155]: The (pre) configuration IEs may be specific to UE or group of UEs based on e.g., zone ID, beam ID, application ID, or destination layer-2 group ID) VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but RAMACHANDRAN teaches, ‘sending, to the one or more second WDs, a message indicating that the first WD is leaving the sidelink group.’ (RAMACHANDRAN – Paragraph [0234]: In a further embodiment that can be combined with any other embodiment or implemented independently, a UE of a ranging constellation (e.g. device UE 10 or anchor UE 14) may be configured with a policy (e.g. by the managing entity) that determines the conditions/ criteria/ thresholds when to leave a constellation, e.g. when a measured distance between the UE and one or more other UEs in a constellation has gone beyond a maximum distance… Once the UE determines that it meets one or more of the above mentioned criteria/thresholds as configured by a policy, the UE may notify a managing entity about leaving a constellation… or may inform other UEs in its current ranging constellation over sidelink that it is leaving the constellation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of RAMACHANDRAN with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of RAMACHANDRAN into VOGEDES is that RAMACHANDRAN provides when to leave a constellation, e.g. when a measured distance between the UE and one or more other UEs in a constellation has gone beyond a maximum distance or when a measured distance between the UE and one or more UEs in another constellation has gone below a minimum distance, or when the UE has discovered (over sidelink) a minimum number of UEs of another constellation, etc., the UE may inform other UEs in its current ranging constellation over sidelink that it is leaving the constellation (See paragraph [0234], RAMACHANDRAN). Regarding claims 6 and 14, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 4, wherein the method comprises: VOGEDES further teaches, ‘…associated with the predetermined geographical area.’ (Paragraph [0161]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area, either geographic area or area associated with network coverage). VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but RAMACHANDRAN teaches, ‘- sending, to a network node, a message comprising a request to set up the sidelink group…’ (RAMACHANDRAN – Paragraph [0177]: the mobile device UE 10… may trigger the formation of a particular ranging constellation 50. This may be achieved by configuring the device UE 10 to obtain a list … A preliminary configuration… may then be prepared by the device UE 10 and (securely) forwarded to the managing entity to assist in the formation; Paragraph [0179]: A particular ranging constellation 50 may be formed by the managing entity by identifying and selecting a list of ranging capable UEs based on device parameters such as location information, identity information, and device capabilities, either manually by an installer or automatically by a base station and/or a network controller. The ranging constellation 50 may be provided with a unique identity)… It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of RAMACHANDRAN with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of RAMACHANDRAN into VOGEDES is that RAMACHANDRAN provides a mobile device UE to trigger a list of ranging capable UEs via a sidelink channel and forwards to the managing entity to assist in the formation of the ranging constellation. A base station and/or a network controller identifies and selects a list of ranging capable UEs based on device parameters such as location information, identity information, and device capabilities, where the identity may be used for managing the ranging constellation, tracking a membership of particular UEs in the ranging constellation, and/or tracking a movement of the ranging constellation as an entity (See paragraph [0177], [0179], RAMACHANDRAN). Regarding claims 7 and 15, VOGEDES and RAMACHANDRAN teach, The method according to claim 6, wherein the method comprises: VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but RAMACHANDRAN teaches, ‘- receiving, from the network node, a confirmation message comprising an identifier identifying the sidelink group.’ (RAMACHANDRAN – Paragraph [0181]: In a still further example, a selected UE may (securely) receive a configuration message [a confirmation message] from the base station device (e.g., gNB) 20 to act as an anchor UE 14 for a particular ranging constellation 50, wherein the configuration message may contain the information about that ranging constellation 50 such as its unique identity (ID), size, maximum and minimum number of devices (e.g., anchor UEs 14) in the ranging constellation 50). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of RAMACHANDRAN with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of RAMACHANDRAN into VOGEDES is that RAMACHANDRAN provides a UE receiving a configuration message from a base station device (e.g., gNB) for a particular ranging constellation containing a unique identity (ID) in the ranging constellation (See paragraph [0181], RAMACHANDRAN). Regarding claim 11, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 10, VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but RAMACHANDRAN teaches, ‘wherein obtaining the indication comprises: - receiving, from a location network node, a list of WDs located in the predetermined geographical area.’ (RAMACHANDRAN – Paragraph [0253]: Moreover, the device UE 10 may receive a list of authorized anchor UEs 14 in its vicinity via the RMF [ranging management function] 36 or LMF 34 or managing entity and, upon approaching an authorized anchor UE 14 within its ranging distance, e.g. after it discovers such authorized anchor UE, connects to it and/or requests the use of a ranging/location service or service proxy offered by such anchor UE, the device UE 10 may obtain location coordinates). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of RAMACHANDRAN with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of RAMACHANDRAN into VOGEDES is that RAMACHANDRAN provides a UE receiving a list of anchor UEs in its vicinity from a location network node RMF or LMF within its ranging distance the calculated coordinates of device UE 10, location coordinates of the anchor UE and/or the location coordinates of one or more access devices or position reference units (See paragraph [0253], RAMACHANDRAN). Regarding claim 13, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 10, VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but RAMACHANDRAN teaches, ‘wherein the method comprises: - sending, to the location network node, a message comprising area information indicative of the predetermined geographical area.’ (RAMACHANDRAN – Paragraph [0169]: The device UE 10 may report its device capabilities and application requirements to the RMF 36 and/or the LMF 34 [sending, to the location network node] or other managing entity (e.g. via the wireless access device 20 or via another/head anchor UE which may be connected to the wireless access 20). The anchor UE 14 may report its current configuration and may report information about the current status/evolution of the members of the ranging constellation 50 [a message comprising area information indicative of the predetermined geographical area] (such as number of devices, their identities, their capabilities, their estimated positions, their estimated speed/mobility, information about their battery levels/capabilities, information about their resource capacity, or information about which devices are in coverage and which are out-of-coverage) to the RMF 36 and/or the LMF 34 or other managing entity). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of RAMACHANDRAN with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of RAMACHANDRAN into VOGEDES is that RAMACHANDRAN provides a UE reporting its device capabilities and application requirements to the location network node such as a RMF and/or a LMF or other managing entity. An anchor UE may report its current configuration and may report information about the current status/evolution of the members of the ranging constellation (See paragraph [0169], RAMACHANDRAN). Claims 12 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VOGEDES in view of QI et al. (US 2025/0286685 A1), hereinafter “QI”. Regarding claim 12, VOGEDES teaches, The method according to claim 10, VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but QI teaches, ‘wherein obtaining the indication comprises: - receiving, from a WD, an indication indicating that the WD is located in the predetermined geographical area.’ (QI – Paragraph [0196]: Alternatively, selection of appropriate anchor nodes for positioning may be realized without base station coordination (e.g. for out-of-coverage case). For absolute positioning, each UE 3 may be configured to indicate if its own location is available [indication indicating that the WD is located in the predetermined geographical area]and if it can be chosen as anchor node in unicast, group cast or broadcasting information so that nearby UEs know [receiving, from a WD] if that UE can be used as an anchor node. A UE 3 can send a positioning request to the UE(s) chosen as anchor node(s) based on certain criterion and the anchor UE(s) can send a response to confirm. Effectively, in this case, the requesting UE 3 may be configured to apply one or more of the criteria described above). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of QI with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of QI into VOGEDES is that QI provides a UE configured to indicate if its own location is available and if it can be chosen as anchor node in unicast, group cast or broadcasting information so that nearby UEs know if that UE can be used as an anchor node (See paragraph [0196], QI). Regarding claim 19, VOGEDES teaches, ‘A method performed by a location network node, for enabling sidelink communication for a group of wireless devices (WDSs), associated with a predetermined geographical area,’ (Paragraph [0037]: The primary protocol, LPP (LTE Positioning protocol), is terminated between the UE and LMF (Location Management Function); Paragraph [0237]: TABLE 30: LMF: Location Management Function (may be used interchangeably with Network or Location Server); Paragraph [0116]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area [predetermined geographical area], which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage; Paragraph [0155]: The (pre) configuration IEs may be specific to UE or group of UEs based on e.g., zone ID, beam ID, application ID, or destination layer-2 group ID) wherein the method comprises: ‘- obtaining information indicative of one or more WDs located in a predetermined geographical area, (Paragraph [0164]: With reference to step 272, for in-coverage scenarios. For a first in-coverage scenario, an entity in the 5GC (e.g., LMF, Location Server) may request some location service (e.g., positioning) for a target UE 201… In a third in-coverage scenario, the target UE 201 may request some location service (e.g., positioning or delivery of assistance data/configuration) to the serving AMF at the NAS level), VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but QI teaches, ‘and -upon obtaining information indicative of a change of WDs located in the predetermined geographical area,’ (QI – Paragraphs [0141]-[0142]: Option 1: signaling of moving anchor node's location with a time stamp. In the case of network-based positioning, each (moving) anchor node, e.g. UE/vehicle 3A, reports its own location to the network with a time stamp indicating the time of transmitting a positioning reference signal… Using the location and the related assistance information, the network is able to infer the exact location of the anchor node), ‘sending, to a network node, a list of the WDs located in the predetermined geographical area.’ (QI – Paragraphs [0194]-[0195]: The base station 5 may use at least one criterion for anchor UE selection. Such criteria include, although not limited to, one or more of the following: location availability for a given anchor node (mandatory for absolute positioning) [predetermined geographical area], velocity of a given anchor node (via Doppler measurement), received signal power and/or quality for a given anchor node (e.g. RSRP/RSRQ for sidelink), security requirement for a given anchor node (e.g., whether or not its location can be shared with other network nodes)… In this case, the UE 3 reports a measurement to the network and the network selects an appropriate anchor UE based on the applicable criterion and notifies the UE 3 about the selected anchor UE(s)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of QI with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of QI into VOGEDES is that QI provides a network-based positioning, where each moving anchor node reports its own location to the network indicating the time of transmitting a positioning reference signal associated with that location or the time when the location of the anchor node is obtained. If network-based positioning is used, the UE may be communicating with a positioning function entity in the core network, e.g. a location management function (LMF). The positioning function entity may assist the UE in determining its location (See paragraph [0141], [0145], QI). Regarding claim 20, VOGEDES and QI teach, The method according to claim 19, wherein the method comprises: VOGEDES further teaches, ‘- receiving, from the network node, a message comprising area information indicative of the predetermined geographical area’ (Paragraph [0046]: At step 2. The AMF transfers the location service request to an LMF; Paragraph [0164]: In a second in-coverage scenario, the serving AMF for a target UE 201 may determine the need for a location service, e.g., to locate the UE for an emergency call; Paragraph [0116]: Additionally, the SL positioning (pre) configuration may be associated with a validity area [predetermined geographical area], which may be a geographic area or area associated with network coverage; Paragraph [0155]: The (pre) configuration IEs may be specific to UE or group of UEs based on e.g., zone ID, beam ID, application ID, or destination layer-2 group ID) VOGEDES does not explicitly teach but QI teaches, ‘to be monitored by the location network node.’ (QI – Paragraph [0141]: Option 1: signaling of moving anchor node's location with a time stamp. In the case of network-based positioning, each (moving) anchor node, e.g. UE/vehicle 3A, reports its own location to the network [monitored by the location network node] with a time stamp indicating the time of transmitting a positioning reference signal; Paragraph [0145]: If network-based positioning is used, the UE 3 may be communicating with a positioning function entity in the core network 7, e.g. a location management function (LMF)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of QI with VOGEDES because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of QI into VOGEDES is that QI provides a network-based positioning, where each moving anchor node reports its own location to the network indicating the time of transmitting a positioning reference signal associated with that location or the time when the location of the anchor node is obtained. If network-based positioning is used, the UE may be communicating with a positioning function entity in the core network, e.g. a location management function (LMF). The positioning function entity may assist the UE in determining its location (See paragraph [0141], [0145], QI). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAESHIL J CHOI whose telephone number is (703)756-5409. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday ET. 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, Jae Y Lee can be reached on 571-270-3936. 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. /HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
75%
With Interview (-1.2%)
3y 3m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 25 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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