DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . In virtue of the Application filed on filed on 09/26/2024, wherein claims 1-20 are pending in the present application, claims 1, 7, and 13 written in independent form. The present Application is a CONTINUTATION of PCT/CN2022/090579 with a priority date of 04/29/2022. 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 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.
Claim Interpretation
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 10-16, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication US-20230104211 to Manolakos et al (hereinafter d1) in view of US Patent Application Publication US-20210232228 to Nguyen et al (hereinafter d2) in view of US Patent Application Publication US-20240295626 to Jiang (hereinafter d3) in view of US Patent Application Publication US-20220077990 to Bao et al (hereinafter d4).
Regarding claim 1, as to the limitation “A method for positioning an absolute location, applicable to a target terminal, the method comprising:” d1 discloses a terminal (see d1 element 105, para. 0044, also Fig. 2) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d1 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d1 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0031); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0043);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d1 discloses (see d1 para. 0049) wherein assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d1para. 0055) and wherein it is understood that SS are equivalent to PRS (see d1 para.0055);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d1 discloses DL-PDS configuration information, periodicity, resource set, etc. which is equivalent to a transmission mode (see d1 para. 0111);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d1 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d1 para. 0113) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d1 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0098).
D1 appears to disclose the limitations of the claims, in the event d1 is shown to not disclose a limitation or otherwise disqualified attention is directed to d2 which discloses
as to the limitation “A method for positioning an absolute location, applicable to a target terminal, the method comprising:” d2 discloses a system (see d2 Fig. 1) including a terminal with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d2 Fig. 2, para. 0036); as well TRP (i.e. network device) (see d2 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d2 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0013); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0039);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d2 reception of assistance in a message (see d2 para. 0035, 0042, 0045, 0047-0049, 0051, 0074, 0076, 0095-0096 among others);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d2 discloses a transmission mode (see d2 para. 0090, 0095);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d2 discloses receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message (see d2 para. 0109);
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d2 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0092, 0103). D2 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D1 in combination with d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d2 of absolute positioning with the disclosure of d1 regarding positioning techniques employed for wireless communication in order to achieve the desired, known result of avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability (see d2 para. 0076). The advantageous result is achieved by employing the techniques of d2 in the same manner as it is employed in d2 to achieve the same result, not requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d3 which discloses a positioning method (see d3 Fig. 3); as to the limitation “A method for positioning an absolute location, applicable to a target terminal, the method comprising:” d3 discloses a system (see d3 Fig. 1) including terminal (see d3 Fig. 10) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as a network device (see d3 Fig. 10) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d3 Fig. 10) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 para. 0269); regarding absolute location (see d3 para. 0032-0033);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d3 discloses receiving a positioning assistance message (see d3 para. 0029);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d3 discloses PRS (see d3 para. 0033) including transmission mode (see d3 para. 0115-0116)
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d3 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d3 para. 0049) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d3 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d3 para. 0078). D3 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D3 in combination with d1 and d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d3 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improved positioning (see d3 para. 0004-0014). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of improved positioning by employing the techniques of d3 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 without requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2, d3 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d4 which discloses techniques related to positioning (see d4 para. 0002); as to the limitation “A method for positioning an absolute location, applicable to a target terminal, the method comprising:” d4 discloses a system (see d4 Fig. 1) including a terminal (see d4 Fig. 3A) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 3A); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d4 Fig. 3B) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d4 Fig. 3B) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d4 para. 0018-0020); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0157);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d4 discloses assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d4 para. 0104, 0134, 0157);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d4 discloses the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS) (see d4 para. 0104);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d4 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d4 para. 0167, 0122) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d4 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0177). D4 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D4 in combination with d1, d2 and d3 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d4 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improving position estimation accuracy (see d4 para. 0167). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of increased position estimation accuracy by employing the techniques of d4 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 without requiring undue experimentation.
Regarding claim 2, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRS and the positioning assistance message are proactively transmitted by reference points, wherein the reference points comprise one absolute reference point and at least two other reference points” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses use of reference points, wherein at number of at least two is obvious (see d1 para. 0098 and d2 para. 0092).
Regarding claim 3, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission mode comprises at least one of: a resource pool of the PRS; a transmission period of the PRS; a time domain location of a resource for a first transmission of the PRS during each transmission period; a number of transmissions of the PRS during each transmission period; a time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the PRS; a comb interval of the PRS; a frequency domain location of the PRS; a bandwidth of the PRS; or a sequence identifier (ID) of the PRS” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses many parameters from which at least one of a resource pool of the PRS; a transmission period of the PRS; a time domain location of a resource for a first transmission of the PRS during each transmission period; a number of transmissions of the PRS during each transmission period; a time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the PRS; a comb interval of the PRS; a frequency domain location of the PRS; a bandwidth of the PRS; or a sequence identifier (ID) of the PRS are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (see d1 para. 0090-0093).
Regarding claim 4, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning assistance message is transmitted periodically” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses periodic transmission (d1 para. 0090-0093).
Regarding claim 5, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 4, wherein a transmission period of the positioning assistance message is equal to a transmission period of the PRS; wherein the positioning assistance message is transmitted no later than a transmission of the PRS indicated by the positioning assistance message” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses a transmission period of the positioning assistance message which is equal to a transmission period of the PRS and transmitted no later than a transmission of the PRS indicated by the positioning assistance message (see d1 para. 0091-0093).
Regarding claim 7, as to the limitation “A terminal, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to:” d1 discloses a terminal (see d1 element 105, para. 0044, also Fig. 2) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d1 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d1 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0031); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0043);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d1 discloses (see d1 para. 0049) wherein assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d1para. 0055) and wherein it is understood that SS are equivalent to PRS (see d1 para.0055);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d1 discloses DL-PDS configuration information, periodicity, resource set, etc. which is equivalent to a transmission mode (see d1 para. 0111);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d1 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d1 para. 0113) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d1 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0098).
D1 appears to disclose the limitations of the claims, in the event d1 is shown to not disclose a limitation or otherwise disqualified attention is directed to d2 which discloses
as to the limitation “A terminal, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to:” d2 discloses a system (see d2 Fig. 1) including a terminal with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d2 Fig. 2, para. 0036); as well TRP (i.e. network device) (see d2 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d2 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0013); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0039);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d2 reception of assistance in a message (see d2 para. 0035, 0042, 0045, 0047-0049, 0051, 0074, 0076, 0095-0096 among others);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d1 discloses a transmission mode (see d2 para. 0090, 0095);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d1 discloses receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message (see d2 para. 0109);
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d1 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0092, 0103). D2 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D1 in combination with d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d2 of absolute positioning with the disclosure of d1 regarding positioning techniques employed for wireless communication in order to achieve the desired, known result of avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability (see d2 para. 0076). The advantageous result is achieved by employing the techniques of d2 in the same manner as it is employed in d2 to achieve the same result, not requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d3 which discloses a positioning method (see d3 Fig. 3); as to the limitation “A terminal, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to:” d3 discloses a system (see d3 Fig. 1) including terminal (see d3 Fig. 10) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as a network device (see d3 Fig. 10) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d3 Fig. 10) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 para. 0269); regarding absolute location (see d3 para. 0032-0033);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d1 discloses receiving a positioning assistance message (see d3 para. 0029);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d1 discloses PRS (see d3 para. 0033) including transmission mode (see d3 para. 0115-0116)
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d1 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d3 para. 0049) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d1 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d3 para. 0078). D3 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D3 in combination with d1 and d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d3 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improved positioning (see d3 para. 0004-0014). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of improved positioning by employing the techniques of d3 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 without requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2, d3 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d4 which discloses techniques related to positioning (see d4 para. 0002); as to the limitation “A terminal, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to:” d4 discloses a system (see d4 Fig. 1) including a terminal (see d4 Fig. 3A) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 3A); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d4 Fig. 3B) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d4 Fig. 3B) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d4 para. 0018-0020); regarding absolute location (see d4 para. 0157);
as to the limitation “receiving a positioning assistance message” d4 discloses assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d4 para. 0104, 0134, 0157);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS);” d4 discloses the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS) (see d4 para. 0104);
as to the limitation “receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message” d4 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d4 para. 0167, 0122) wherein the UE receives PRSs;
as to the limitation “calculating an absolute positioned location of the target terminal based on the PRS” d4 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0177). D4 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D4 in combination with d1, d2 and d3 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d4 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improving position estimation accuracy (see d4 para. 0167). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of increased position estimation accuracy by employing the techniques of d4 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 without requiring undue experimentation.
Regarding claim 10, as to the limitation “The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the PRS is transmitted in response to a trigger of a third PRS transmitted by the target terminal, and the positioning assistance message and the PRS are transmitted simultaneously” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses a trigger of a third PRS transmitted by the target terminal, and the positioning assistance message and the PRS are transmitted simultaneously (see d1 paras. 0079-0081 and d3 paras. 0143-149).
Regarding claim 11, as to the limitation “The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the positioning assistance message is radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) signaling, or physical layer signaling” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses positioning assistance message is radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) signaling, or physical layer signaling rendering the limitation obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (see d1 paras. 0079-0081 and d3 paras. 0143-149).
Regarding claim 12, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning assistance message is transmitted periodically” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses transmission wherein the transmission must be at least one of unicast, multicast, or broadcast mode as those comprise all the transmissions known in the art (d1 para. 0090 d4 para. 0111).
Regarding claim 13, as to the limitation “A network device, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to:” d1 discloses a terminal (see d1 element 105, para. 0044, also Fig. 2) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d1 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d1 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0031); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0043);
as to the limitation “transmit a positioning assistance message and a positioning reference signal (PRS) to a target terminal; wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of the PRS, and the PRS is configured to position an absolute location of the target terminal” d1 discloses (see d1 para. 0049) wherein assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d1para. 0055) and wherein it is understood that SS are equivalent to PRS (see d1 para.0055); d1 discloses DL-PDS configuration information, periodicity, resource set, etc. which is equivalent to a transmission mode (see d1 para. 0111); d1 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d1 para. 0113) wherein the UE receives PRSs; d1 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0098).
D1 appears to disclose the limitations of the claims, in the event d1 is shown to not disclose a limitation or otherwise disqualified attention is directed to d2 which discloses
as to the limitation “A network device, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to:” d2 discloses a system (see d2 Fig. 1) including a terminal with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d2 Fig. 2, para. 0036); as well TRP (i.e. network device) (see d2 Fig. 3) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d2 Fig. 3) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 para. 0013); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0039);
as to the limitation “transmit a positioning assistance message and a positioning reference signal (PRS) to a target terminal” d2 reception of assistance in a message (see d2 para. 0035, 0042, 0045, 0047-0049, 0051, 0074, 0076, 0095-0096 among others);
as to the limitation “wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of the PRS, and the PRS is configured to position an absolute location of the target terminal” d2 discloses a transmission mode (see d2 para. 0090, 0095); d2 discloses receiving the PRS based on the positioning assistance message (see d2 para. 0109); d2 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0092, 0103). D2 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D1 in combination with d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d2 of absolute positioning with the disclosure of d1 regarding positioning techniques employed for wireless communication in order to achieve the desired, known result of avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability (see d2 para. 0076). The advantageous result is achieved by employing the techniques of d2 in the same manner as it is employed in d2 to achieve the same result, not requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d3 which discloses a positioning method (see d3 Fig. 3); as to the limitation “A network device, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to:” d3 discloses a system (see d3 Fig. 1) including terminal (see d3 Fig. 10) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 Fig. 2, para. 0013); as well as a network device (see d3 Fig. 10) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d3 Fig. 10) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d3 para. 0269); regarding absolute location (see d3 para. 0032-0033);
as to the limitation “transmit a positioning assistance message and a positioning reference signal (PRS) to a target terminal; wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of the PRS, and the PRS is configured to position an absolute location of the target terminal” d3 discloses receiving a positioning assistance message (see d3 para. 0029); d3 discloses PRS (see d3 para. 0033) including transmission mode (see d3 para. 0115-0116); d3 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d3 para. 0049) wherein the UE receives PRSs; d3 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d3 para. 0078). D3 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D3 in combination with d1 and d2 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d3 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improved positioning (see d3 para. 0004-0014). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of improved positioning by employing the techniques of d3 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 without requiring undue experimentation.
In the event d1, d2, d3 are shown to not disclose a limitation or are otherwise disqualified, attention is directed to d4 which discloses techniques related to positioning (see d4 para. 0002); as to the limitation “A network device, comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to:” d4 discloses a system (see d4 Fig. 1) including a terminal (see d4 Fig. 3A) with a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d1 Fig. 3A); as well as TRP (i.e. network device) (see d4 Fig. 3B) including a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; and a memory (see d4 Fig. 3B) storing one or more instructions, executed by the processor (see d4 para. 0018-0020); regarding absolute location (see d1 para. 0157);
as to the limitation “transmit a positioning assistance message and a positioning reference signal (PRS) to a target terminal; wherein the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of the PRS, and the PRS is configured to position an absolute location of the target terminal” d4 discloses assistance data are provided to the UE 105; wherein assistance data are configuration information of PRS transmission (see d4 para. 0104, 0134, 0157); d4 discloses the positioning assistance message indicates a transmission mode of a positioning reference signal (PRS) (see d4 para. 0104); d4 discloses reception which implies use of the noted assistance message (see d4 para. 0167, 0122) wherein the UE receives PRSs; d4 discloses position estimation which carries the implied calculation thereof (see d1 para. 0177). D4 also appears to teach every limitation of the claim in question. D4 in combination with d1, d2 and d3 in combination certainly teach all the limitations of the claims.
One of ordinary skill in the art of wireless communication would be motivated to combine the teaching of d4 of positioning techniques within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 regarding positioning in order to achieve the desired, known result of improving position estimation accuracy (see d4 para. 0167). The Examiner notes the motivation to combine the references includes to achieve the advantageous of increased position estimation accuracy by employing the techniques of d4 in the same manner as it is employed in d3 to achieve the same result within the context of d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 without requiring undue experimentation.
Regarding claim 14, as to the limitation “The network device according to claim 13, wherein the transmission mode comprises at least one of: a resource pool of the PRS; a transmission period of the PRS; a time domain location of a resource configured for a first transmission of the PRS during each transmission period; a number of transmissions of the PRS during each transmission period; a time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the PRS; a comb interval of the PRS; a frequency domain location of the PRS; a bandwidth of the PRS; or a sequence identifier (ID) of the PRS” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses many parameters from which at least one of a resource pool of the PRS; a transmission period of the PRS; a time domain location of a resource for a first transmission of the PRS during each transmission period; a number of transmissions of the PRS during each transmission period; a time interval between two adjacent transmissions of the PRS; a comb interval of the PRS; a frequency domain location of the PRS; a bandwidth of the PRS; or a sequence identifier (ID) of the PRS are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (see d1 para. 0090-0093).
Regarding claim 15, as to the limitation “The network device according to claim 13, wherein the positioning assistance message is transmitted periodically” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses periodic transmission (d1 para. 0090-0093).
Regarding claim 16, as to the limitation “The network device according to claim 15, wherein a transmission period of the positioning assistance message is equal to a transmission period of the PRS; wherein the positioning assistance message is transmitted no later than a transmission of the PRS indicated by the positioning assistance message” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses a transmission period of the positioning assistance message which is equal to a transmission period of the PRS and transmitted no later than a transmission of the PRS indicated by the positioning assistance message (see d1 para. 0091-0093).
Regarding claim 19, as to the limitation “The network device according to claim 13, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the network device to: transmit the positioning assistance message and the PRS to the target terminal simultaneously in response to receiving a third PRS from the target terminal” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses a trigger of a third PRS transmitted by the target terminal, and the positioning assistance message and the PRS are transmitted simultaneously (see d1 paras. 0079-0081 and d3 paras. 0143-149).
Regarding claim 20, as to the limitation “The network device according to claim 13, wherein the positioning assistance message is radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) signaling, or physical layer signaling” d1 in view of d2 in view of d3 in view of d4 discloses positioning assistance message is radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) signaling, or physical layer signaling rendering the limitation obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (see d1 paras. 0079-0081 and d3 paras. 0143-149).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 8, 9, 17, 18 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20210219104 to Chen et al which discloses a positioning method and an apparatus, to reduce a quantity of transmission points, thereby reducing positioning calculation complexity. The method in the embodiments of this application includes: receiving, by a terminal, positioning assistance information sent by a positioning entity, where the positioning assistance information includes a cell identity of a cell in which a to-be-measured transmission point is located, an identity of the to-be-measured transmission point, and positioning reference signal configuration information of the to-be-measured transmission point; measuring, by the terminal, the to-be-measured transmission point based on the positioning assistance information, to obtain a measurement result, where the measurement result includes positioning reference signal information of the to-be-measured transmission point; and sending, by the terminal, the measurement result.
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/NATHAN S TAYLOR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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