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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2025, 04/17/2025, and 10/07/2025 have been fully considered by examiner and made of record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a mathematical concept without significantly more. In particular, Claims 1, 5, 10, and 20 recite determining a first timing advance (TA) at a first moment, determining a second TA at a second moment, and positioning the first communication apparatus based on parameters corresponding to the first and second TAs OR simply passing the information along to another device. Thus, the claims recite the determination and possible use of numerical timing information, to either determine a position, which constitutes a mathematical concept, or to merely forward along and do nothing with. Both of these constitute abstract ideas. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the actual performance of the practical application, namely positioning of the device, is claimed in the alternative and not actually required by the claim. By invoking “or send the first parameter and second parameter to another network device” the claimed invention negates any requirement to use the collected data or perform any calculations entirely. The remaining limitations of the claims fail to claim significantly more than the judicial exception because the “first communication apparatus,” “access network device,” and “network device” are all directed to the environment in which the calculations and data manipulation happen. Determining the TAs and sending corresponding parameters doesn’t appear from this claim language alone to improve the operation of these devices. They are simply being used to obtain, communicate, and occasionally apply the information. Furthermore, the additional limitations in the dependent claims are not directly tied to the calculations being provided, but rather further clarify the environment in which the data manipulation happens. For these reasons, the claims are directed to ineligible subject matter.
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.
Claims 3-4, 7-9, and 16-18 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims recite limitations that rely upon previously established timing advances, parameters, and/or differences without properly establishing the corresponding limitations through the respective claim dependencies. Accordingly, the claims lack proper antecedent basis for the recited limitations and/or depend from claims that do not establish the subject matter upon which the limitations rely. As a result, the scope of the claims cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
Claims 3-4, 7-9, 12-13, and 16-18 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims recite a plurality of differences, including differences determined between previously recited differences. However, the claim language does not define with reasonable certainty the values represented by the resulting differences or the relationship between the underlying quantities from which the respective differences are determined. As the claims successively determine additional differences based upon previously determined differences, it is unclear what quantity each resulting difference represents, and consequently, what is required to satisfy the recited limitations. Accordingly, the metes and bounds of the claimed subject matter cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 10-11, 14-15, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) & 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wirola et al (US 2020/0249311).
Regarding Claim 1, Wirola teaches a method (Fig. 3a), comprising:
determining, by a first communication apparatus, a first timing advance (TA) between the first communication apparatus and an access network device at a first moment ([0144], step 301, a first timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The first timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1));
sending, by the first communication apparatus to a network device, a first parameter corresponding to the first TA ([0146], step 303, the first timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a);
determining, by the first communication apparatus, a second TA between the first communication apparatus and the access network device at a second moment ([0145], step 302, a second timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The second timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a (current) serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1)); and
sending, by the first communication apparatus to the network device, a second parameter corresponding to the second TA ([0147], step 304, the second timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a),
to cause the network device to: position the first communication apparatus based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or send the first parameter and the second parameter to another network device ([0148], step 305, a location estimate is received. Such a location estimate may for instance be received as a result of outputting the first and the second timing advance measurements in steps 303 and 304. Such a location estimate may for instance stem from a server and/or a base station to which the first and the second timing advance measurements were output, [0137], step 203, a location estimate is determined based at least partially on the first timing advance measurement and the second timing advance measurement).
Regarding Claim 2, Wirola teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein a difference between the second TA and the first TA is within a preset range ([0245], When the TA measurements are being obtained from multiple cells over an extended period, and when TA measurements from the same cell are obtained at different times, those two TA values can be compared. If same or similar, it can be deduced that there hasn't been significant motion. Moreover, the serving cell signal strength can be used for this purpose. (similar indicates preset range between similar/dissimilar)).
Regarding Claim 5, Wirola teaches a method (Fig. 3a), comprising:
receiving, by a second communication apparatus, a first parameter sent by a terminal device ([0146], step 303, the first timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a),
wherein the first parameter corresponds to a first timing advance (TA) between the terminal device and an access network device at a first moment ([0144], step 301, a first timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The first timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1));
receiving, by the second communication apparatus, a second parameter sent by the terminal device ([0147], step 304, the second timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a),
wherein the second parameter corresponds to a second TA between the terminal device and the access network device at a second moment ([0145], step 302, a second timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The second timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a (current) serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1)); and
positioning, by the second communication apparatus, the terminal device based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or sending the first parameter and the second parameter to another network device, to cause the another network device to: position the terminal device based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or send the first parameter and the second parameter to a network device configured to position the terminal device ([0148], step 305, a location estimate is received. Such a location estimate may for instance be received as a result of outputting the first and the second timing advance measurements in steps 303 and 304. Such a location estimate may for instance stem from a server and/or a base station to which the first and the second timing advance measurements were output, [0137], step 203, a location estimate is determined based at least partially on the first timing advance measurement and the second timing advance measurement).
Regarding Claim 6, Wirola teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein a difference between the second TA and the first TA is a preset threshold ([0245], When the TA measurements are being obtained from multiple cells over an extended period, and when TA measurements from the same cell are obtained at different times, those two TA values can be compared. If same or similar, it can be deduced that there hasn't been significant motion. Moreover, the serving cell signal strength can be used for this purpose. (similar indicates preset range between similar/dissimilar)).
Regarding Claim 10, Wirola teaches a positioning apparatus, comprising at least one processor and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor ([0156-0158], Fig. 4), wherein the one or more memories store programming instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 3a), cause the positioning apparatus to:
determine a first timing advance (TA) between the positioning apparatus and an access network device at a first moment ([0144], step 301, a first timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The first timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1));
send, to a network device, a first parameter corresponding to the first TA ([0146], step 303, the first timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a);
determine a second TA between the positioning apparatus and the access network device at a second moment ([0147], step 304, the second timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a); and
send, to the network device, a second parameter corresponding to the second TA ([0145], step 302, a second timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The second timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a (current) serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1)),
to cause the network device to: position the positioning apparatus based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or send the first parameter and the second parameter to another network device ([0148], step 305, a location estimate is received. Such a location estimate may for instance be received as a result of outputting the first and the second timing advance measurements in steps 303 and 304. Such a location estimate may for instance stem from a server and/or a base station to which the first and the second timing advance measurements were output, [0137], step 203, a location estimate is determined based at least partially on the first timing advance measurement and the second timing advance measurement).
Regarding Claim 11, Wirola teaches the positioning apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a difference between the second TA and the first TA is within a preset range ([0245], When the TA measurements are being obtained from multiple cells over an extended period, and when TA measurements from the same cell are obtained at different times, those two TA values can be compared. If same or similar, it can be deduced that there hasn't been significant motion. Moreover, the serving cell signal strength can be used for this purpose. (similar indicates preset range between similar/dissimilar)).
Regarding Claim 14, Wirola teaches a positioning apparatus, comprising at least one processor and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor ([0156-0158], Fig. 4), wherein the one or more memories store programming instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 3a), cause the positioning apparatus to:
receive a first parameter sent by a terminal device ([0146], step 303, the first timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a),
wherein the first parameter corresponds to a first timing advance (TA) between the terminal device and an access network device at a first moment ([0144], step 301, a first timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The first timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a serving cell (one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1));
receive a second parameter sent by the terminal device ([0147], step 304, the second timing advance measurement is output, e.g. to a server (e.g. server 110 of FIG. 1), and/or to a base station (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1) which are configured to perform and/or control flowchart 200a of FIG. 2a),
wherein the second parameter corresponds to a second TA between the terminal device and the access network device at a second moment ([0145], step 302, a second timing advance measurement is gathered (e.g. measured). The second timing advance measurement is gathered e.g. by one or more sensors (e.g. sensors 570 and/or by the communication interface(s) 550 of apparatus 500 in case apparatus 500 represents the electronic device) of the electronic device enabling e.g. measuring a round-trip time between the electronic device and a base station employing a (current) serving cell (e.g. one of the base stations 140-1, 140-2 of FIG. 1)); and
position the terminal device based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or sending the first parameter and the second parameter to another network device, to cause the another network device to: position the terminal device based on the first parameter and the second parameter, or send the first parameter and the second parameter to a network device configured to position the terminal device ([0148], step 305, a location estimate is received. Such a location estimate may for instance be received as a result of outputting the first and the second timing advance measurements in steps 303 and 304. Such a location estimate may for instance stem from a server and/or a base station to which the first and the second timing advance measurements were output, [0137], step 203, a location estimate is determined based at least partially on the first timing advance measurement and the second timing advance measurement).
Regarding Claim 15, Wirola teaches the positioning apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a difference between the second TA and the first TA is a preset threshold ([0245], When the TA measurements are being obtained from multiple cells over an extended period, and when TA measurements from the same cell are obtained at different times, those two TA values can be compared. If same or similar, it can be deduced that there hasn't been significant motion. Moreover, the serving cell signal strength can be used for this purpose. (similar indicates preset range between similar/dissimilar)).
Regarding Claim 19, Wirola teaches at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer- readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are run on at least one processor ([0156-0158], Fig. 4, [0162], computer readable storage medium comprising program code), the at least one processor is enabled to perform the method according to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 20, Wirola teaches a chip apparatus, comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to at least one memory by using an interface, and the at least one processor is configured to invoke a computer program or computer instructions in the at least one memory ([0156-0158], Fig. 4, [0163], special-purpose computer chip), that cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Ma et al (US 2023/0104479) teaches method and apparatus are provided for obtaining and using multiple timing advance measurements for positioning purposes. A first timing advance measurement is obtained. The first timing advance measurement is indicative of a measurement based on one or more signals of a first serving cell. A second timing advance measurement is also obtained. The second timing advance measurement is indicative of a measurement based on one or more signals of a second serving cell. A location estimate is determined based at least partially on the first timing advance measurement and the second timing advance measurement (Abstract);
Kumar et al (US 2018/0324552) teaches obtaining an estimated location of a mobile device. According to an embodiment, a mobile device may obtain a plurality of timing advance parameters based, at least in part, on signals transmitted from the mobile device to a plurality of base stations on uplink channels to the plurality of base stations. An estimated location of the mobile device may be determined based, at least in part, on timing advance parameters (Abstract);
Grettenberger et al (US 2010/0323723) teaches determining a position estimate for a base station transceiver node in a wireless communication system are disclosed. Angle-of-arrival and/or timing advance measurements corresponding to transmissions received from mobile stations for which geographic locations are already known are combined with known locations for the mobile stations to estimate the position of the base station receiving the transmissions. This estimated base station position may be used, for example, in subsequent positioning of mobile stations for which locations are not already known, such as mobile stations not equipped with GPS technology. The estimated base station position may also be used to update a database of base station coordinates for the wireless network (Abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARGARET G WEBB whose telephone number is (571)270-7803. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at (571) 272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARGARET G WEBB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641
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