Sing EngliuNotice 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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 7th, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract was not submitted on a separate page apart from any other text. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 11, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (Korean Publication No. KR 101495503 B1 using English machine translation, as cited by applicant) in view of Kai (Chinese Publication No. CN 111818532 A using English machine translation, as cited by applicant).
Regarding claim 1,
Park teaches A system (110) for estimating azimuth of an antenna serving at least one cell in a network based on density of the infrastructures present around at least one nominal point in said at least one cell, said system comprising: an interfacing unit configured to receive said at least one nominal point from an operator
("The terminal (110) may be any one of a smartphone, a personal computer (PC), a laptop, and a personal digital assistant (PDA), and refers to a terminal equipped with a memory for storing an application for using location-based services, a microprocessor for executing a program to perform calculations and control, etc." [Paragraph 20], i.e. The examples of terminals may be considered "interfacing units.")
and a processor
("The terminal (110) may be any one of a smartphone, a personal computer (PC), a laptop, and a personal digital assistant (PDA), and refers to a terminal equipped with a memory for storing an application for using location-based services, a microprocessor for executing a program to perform calculations and control, etc." [Paragraph 20])
configured to: create a plurality of cones within a radius of said at least one nominal point, wherein each of said plurality of cones has a pre- determined angular separation; receive a predefined set of values corresponding to a number of infrastructures present in each cone of said plurality of cones from a memory
(“The azimuth estimation device (150) calculates the central angle for each sector for a base station having a Ref PN based on the distribution of the Ref PN (Reference PN) included in the pCell data in the radio environment map to which the pCell data is applied, and recognizes the central angle for each sector as the sector azimuth,” [Paragraph 35], i.e. RefPN are infrastructures in a given area, and
"…a terminal equipped with a memory for storing an application for using location-based services, a microprocessor for executing a program to perform calculations and control, etc." [Paragraph 20])
("a cell-specific azimuth calculation unit that generates a grid cell-specific azimuth by calculating the angle between the center coordinate value of each grid cell and base station location information based on the true north direction for each grid cell included in the grid cell group" [Paragraph 12], i.e. Antenna azimuth can be calculated by taking the differences between each sector.)
Park does not directly teach create a plurality of cones within a radius of said at least one nominal point, wherein each of said plurality of cones has a pre- determined angular separation… select at least three cones from said plurality of cones based on said received values corresponding to said number of infrastructures present in each cone, wherein said at least three cones include a first cone, a second cone, and a third cone; determine a first center angle, a second center angle, and a third center angle corresponding to said first cone, said second cone, and said third cone..
In an analogous art, Kai teaches create a plurality of cones within a radius of said at least one nominal point, wherein each of said plurality of cones has a pre- determined angular separation
(Figure. 4, and "The angle γ between the normal of the main lobe of the base station antenna and the horizontal plane is obtained. γ is calculated by the following formula: γ = arctan(h/a). In the formula, h is the mounting height of the base station antenna, and a is the radius of the corresponding sector ring section…Obtain the downtilt angle of the base station antenna using the included angle γ. The angle is calculated using the following formula…" [Paragraphs 125 - 130], i.e. the calculations create a cone in a particular radius)
select at least three cones from said plurality of cones based on said received values corresponding to said number of infrastructures present in each cone, wherein said at least three cones include a first cone, a second cone, and a third cone
("Divide the sector's top-down angle β into N segments. The projection of the horizontal plane of the corresponding angle space will be divided into N sector annular intervals. The angle of each sector annular interval is ξi＝β-i*θ, i＝0,1,2,…,N-1, N is a positive integer; θ is a preset value, as shown in Figure 3…determine at least three sectors (a first sector, a second sector and a third sector) based on said determined first center angle, said second center angle, and said third center angle" [Paragraph 103], i.e. A certain number of cones may be selected, including three cones.)
determine a first center angle, a second center angle, and a third center angle corresponding to said first cone, said second cone, and said third cone
("Divide the sector's top-down angle β into N segments. The projection of the horizontal plane of the corresponding angle space will be divided into N sector annular intervals. The angle of each sector annular interval is ξi＝β-i*θ, i＝0,1,2,…,N-1, N is a positive integer; θ is a preset value, as shown in Figure 3…determine at least three sectors (a first sector, a second sector and a third sector) based on said determined first center angle, said second center angle, and said third center angle" [Paragraph 103], i.e. Center angles are determined for each section.)
Therefore, as Park teaches a device which can estimate azimuth of an antenna based on the density of infrastructure in a given area, and as Kai teaches particular calculations and a method which estimates azimuth, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Park’s device and Kai’s method and calculations to obtain the device performing a method analogous to the claimed invention. The motivation to combine is to integrate Park’s device with Kai’s method to yield a predictable result of reducing coverage overlap, thus allowing for better antenna azimuth estimation and planning.
Regarding claim 2, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Park also teaches said first sector, said second sector, and said third sector include consecutive values corresponding to said number of infrastructures in a reducing manner
("The azimuth estimation device (150) calculates the central angle for each sector for a base station having a Ref PN based on the distribution of the Ref PN (Reference PN) included in the pCell data in the radio environment map to which the pCell data is applied, and recognizes the central angle for each sector as the sector azimuth,” [Paragraph 35], and
“selects a grid cell with an intermediate value having the middle value between the grid cell having the highest angle and the grid cell having the lowest angle among the cell-specific azimuths, and estimates the azimuth for the grid cell with the middle value as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 39],
i.e. device has ability to evaluate the first, second, and third sectors from highest to lowest order based on a value dependent on the distribution of infrastructure in each sector.)
Regarding claim 9, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Park also teaches the system (110) as claimed in claim 1, is configured to consider standard azimuth of 0 (alpha), 120 (beta) and 240 (gamma) degree for azimuth estimation if number of infrastructures within a scanned cone is zero.
("As shown in Fig. 5, a cell, which is a service area managed by a single base station providing mobile communication services, is divided into sector α, sector β, and sector γ based on radio waves transmitted by a directional antenna installed at the base station." [Paragraph 69])
Regarding claim 11, Park-Kai also teaches all the limitations of claim 11 in claim 1, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, Park-Kai also teaches all the limitations of claim 15 in claim 1, in device mode rather than with computer-readable media. Park also teaches (“One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for estimating an azimuth angle, a device for the same, and a computer-readable recording medium” [Paragraph 2]). Therefore, claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 1.
Claims 3-7, 8, 10, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park-Kai further in view of Tian (Chinese Publication No. CN 111263397 A using English machine translation.
Regarding claim 3, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Park also teaches said processor is configured to: consider said first center angle of said first cone as an azimuth angle of said first sector; calculate an azimuth difference between said azimuth angle of said first sector and said second center angle of said second cone
("a cell-specific azimuth calculation unit that generates a grid cell-specific azimuth by calculating the angle between the center coordinate value of each grid cell and base station location information based on the true north direction for each grid cell included in the grid cell group" [Paragraph 12], i.e. antenna azimuth can be calculated by taking the differences between each sector.)
select said second center angle of said second cone as an azimuth angle of said second sector if said calculated azimuth difference lies within a predefined range
("For example, if the maximum angle among the cell azimuths is 50° and the minimum angle is 10°, a grid cell with an intermediate value that is the midpoint between the grid cell with 50° and the grid cell with 10° is selected, and the cell azimuth of the grid cell with an intermediate value is estimated as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 46], i.e. an example a of a predefined range)
calculate an azimuth difference between said azimuth angle of the first sector and the third angle of said third cone, and said azimuth angle of the second sector and said third angle of said third cone respectively
("a cell-specific azimuth calculation unit that generates a grid cell-specific azimuth by calculating the angle between the center coordinate value of each grid cell and base station location information based on the true north direction for each grid cell included in the grid cell group" [Paragraph 12], i.e. antenna azimuth can be calculated by taking the differences between each sector.)
select the second center angle of said second cone as an azimuth angle of said third sector
("For example, if the maximum angle among the cell azimuths is 50° and the minimum angle is 10°, a grid cell with an intermediate value that is the midpoint between the grid cell with 50° and the grid cell with 10° is selected, and the cell azimuth of the grid cell with an intermediate value is estimated as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 46], i.e. an example of a predefined range)
and arrange the calculated azimuth angles of the said first sector, said second sector, and said third sector in a descending order, and reassign said first sector, said second sector, and said third sector based on said descending order of azimuth angles.
("selects a grid cell with an intermediate value having the middle value between the grid cell having the highest angle and the grid cell having the lowest angle among the cell-specific azimuths, and estimates the azimuth for the grid cell with the middle value as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 39], i.e. device has ability to evaluate the first, second, and third sectors from highest to lowest order)
Park-Kai does not directly teach if said azimuth difference between said first sector and said second sector is more than 120 degree.
In an analogous are, Tian teaches teach if said azimuth difference between said first sector and said second sector is more than 120 degree
("As shown in Figure 2a, the effective coverage of each indoor distributed cell is a sector area…The central angle of the sector area of each indoor distributed cell is 120°. Then the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell a is [-60°, 60°), the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell b is [60°, 180°), and the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell c is [180°, 300°]." [Paragraph 47], i.e. 120 degrees to 180 degrees is a possible predefined range.)
Therefore, as Park-Kai teaches a device and method which can calculate antenna azimuth estimations, and as Tian teaches possible angle ranges, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Park-Kai’s device, method, and calculations, with Tian’s angle ranges. The motivation to combine is to apply Tian’s angle ranges to Park-Kai’s device and method to improve the device and method such that coverage areas that do not overlap, thus allowing for better azimuth estimation and planning.
Regarding claim 4, Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 3.
Park also teaches the system (110) as claimed in claim 3, is configured to switch to a cone next to said second cone if the calculated azimuth difference between said azimuth angle of said first sector and the second angle of said second cone lies outside of said predefined range.
("For example, if the maximum angle among the cell azimuths is 50° and the minimum angle is 10°, a grid cell with an intermediate value that is the midpoint between the grid cell with 50° and the grid cell with 10° is selected, and the cell azimuth of the grid cell with an intermediate value is estimated as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 46], i.e. an example of a predefined range, and “is selected” may be considered analogous to “switch.”)
Regarding claim 5, Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 4.
Park also teaches the system (110) as claimed in claim 4, is configured to switch to a new cone next to a previously switched cone until said calculated azimuth difference between said azimuth angle of said first sector and a center angle of said new cone lies in said predefined range
("For example, if the maximum angle among the cell azimuths is 50° and the minimum angle is 10°, a grid cell with an intermediate value that is the midpoint between the grid cell with 50° and the grid cell with 10° is selected, and the cell azimuth of the grid cell with an intermediate value is estimated as the optimal azimuth." [Paragraph 46], i.e. an example of a predefined range, and “is selected” may be considered analogous to “switch.”)
Regarding claim 6, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Kai also teaches aid plurality of cones is calculated by
("Divide the sector's top-down angle β into N segments. The projection of the horizontal plane of the corresponding angle space will be divided into N sector annular intervals. The angle of each sector annular interval is ξi＝β-i*θ, i＝0,1,2,…,N-1, N is a positive integer; θ is a preset value, as shown in Figure 3." [Paragraph 103])
Kai does not directly teach dividing 360 degree.
In an analogous art, Tian teaches dividing 360 degree
(Figure 2a, and "Three cells with the same frequency are set up in the indoor distributed base station, each cell is called an indoor distributed cell, and the three indoor distributed cells achieve 360 degree all-round wireless signal coverage." [Paragraph 46], i.e. Three sections divided by 360 degrees)
Therefore, as Park-Kai teaches a device and method which can calculate antenna azimuth estimations, and as Tian teaches a 360-degree coverage, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Park-Kai’s device, method, and calculations, with Tian’s angle coverage. The motivation to combine is to apply Tian’s angle ranges to Park-Kai’s device and method to improve the device and method such that there is complete coverage and coverage areas do not overlap, thus allowing for better azimuth estimation and planning.
Regarding claim 7, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Kai also teaches said pre-determined angular separation is
("Divide the sector's top-down angle β into N segments. The projection of the horizontal plane of the corresponding angle space will be divided into N sector annular intervals. The angle of each sector annular interval is ξi＝β-i*θ, i＝0,1,2,…,N-1, N is a positive integer; θ is a preset value, as shown in Figure 3." [Paragraph 103])
Kai does not directly teach the pre-determined angular separation is 10 degree and said predefined angle is 65 degree
In an analogous art, Tian teaches the pre-determined angular separation is 10 degree and said predefined angle is 65 degree
("As shown in Figure 2a, the effective coverage of each indoor distributed cell is a sector area. The azimuth angle of indoor distributed cell a is set to 0°, The central angle of the sector area of each indoor distributed cell is 120°. Then the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell a is [-60°, 60°), the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell b is [60°, 180°), and the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell c is [180°, 300°]." [Paragraph 47], i.e. an approximate range of 10 degree to 60 degree is a possible predefined range.)
Therefore, as Park-Kai teaches a device and method which can calculate antenna azimuth estimations, and as Tian teaches possible angle ranges, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Park-Kai’s device, method, and calculations, with Tian’s angle ranges. The motivation to combine is to apply Tian’s angle ranges to Park-Kai’s device and method to improve the device and method such that coverage areas that do not overlap, thus allowing for better azimuth estimation and planning.
Regarding claim 8, Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 3.
Tian also teaches said predefined range is between 120 degree and 180 degree
("As shown in Figure 2a, the effective coverage of each indoor distributed cell is a sector area. The azimuth angle of indoor distributed cell a is set to 0°, The central angle of the sector area of each indoor distributed cell is 120°. Then the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell a is [-60°, 60°), the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell b is [60°, 180°), and the angle range of the sector area of indoor distributed cell c is [180°, 300°]." [Paragraph 47], i.e. 120 degrees to 180 degrees is a possible predefined range.)
Regarding claim 10, Park-Kai teach all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Kai also teaches each of said first sector, said second sector, and said third sector is separated by a sector separation angle constant calculated by
("Divide the sector's top-down angle β into N segments. The projection of the horizontal plane of the corresponding angle space will be divided into N sector annular intervals. The angle of each sector annular interval is ξi＝β-i*θ, i＝0,1,2,…,N-1, N is a positive integer; θ is a preset value, as shown in Figure 3…determine at least three sectors (a first sector, a second sector and a third sector) based on said determined first center angle, said second center angle, and said third center angle" [Paragraph 103], i.e. Center angles are determined for each section.)
Kai does not directly teach dividing 360 degree.
Tian teaches dividing 360 degree
(Figure 2a, and "Three cells with the same frequency are set up in the indoor distributed base station, each cell is called an indoor distributed cell, and the three indoor distributed cells achieve 360 degree all-round wireless signal coverage." [Paragraph 46], i.e. Three sections divided by 360 degrees)
Therefore, as Park-Kai teaches a device and method which can calculate antenna azimuth estimations, and as Tian teaches a 360-degree coverage, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Park-Kai’s device, method, and calculations, with Tian’s angle coverage. The motivation to combine is to apply Tian’s angle ranges to Park-Kai’s device and method to improve the device and method such that there is complete coverage and coverage areas do not overlap, thus allowing for better azimuth estimation and planning.
Regarding claim 12, Park-Kai teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 11. Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations of claim 12 in claim 3, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 12 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 3 and 11.
Regarding claim 13, Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 12. Park-Kai-Tian also teaches all the limitations of claim 13 in claim 4, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 4 and 12.
Regarding claim 14, Park-Kai-Tian teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 12. Park-Kai-Tian also teaches all the limitations of claim 14 in claim 5, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 5 and 12.
Conclusion
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/FATIHA KAMAL/Examiner, Art Unit 2647
/Alison Slater/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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