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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because (1) The 1st sentence repeats information in the title (2) The 1st sentence uses the phrase “Embodiments of this application provide…”, which can be implied. 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 § 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.
Claims 1 - 6, 8 - 15, 18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xiao et al. (US 20220279310 A1; CN110536234 version provided in the International Search Report).
Regarding claim 1, Xiao discloses a wireless communication method ([0005] & [0028] disclose wireless), comprising:
obtaining, by a terminal device, location information of M anchor devices (Fig. 1, S120, [0040] discloses “The first terminal may receive positioning assistance data from at least two second terminals to perform positioning based on the received positioning assistance data”; wherein the M anchor devices are the “at least two second terminals”; [0045] discloses “The positioning assistance data may include at least one of the following: …., terminal location information of the second terminal,… “; wherein the location information of M anchor devices is the location of the at least two terminals), wherein the location information of the M anchor devices is used to determine location information of the terminal device (Fig. 1, S140, [0046] discloses “In S140, …. or location information of the first terminal is calculated according to the positioning assistance parameter.”);
and M is a positive integer ([0040], M >= 2).
Regarding claim 2, Xiao discloses wherein the obtaining, by a terminal device, location information of M anchor devices comprises:
obtaining, by the terminal device from each of the M anchor devices, location information of a respective anchor device ([0040]; [0045]; as in claim 1).
Regarding claim 3, Xiao discloses wherein the obtaining, by the terminal device from each of the M anchor devices, location information of a respective anchor device comprises:
receiving, by the terminal device, first information, wherein the first information comprises the location information of the respective anchor device (Fig. 1, S120; [0040] discloses “The first terminal may receive positioning assistance data from at least two second terminals to perform positioning based on the received positioning assistance data”; [0045] discloses “The positioning assistance data may include at least one of the following: …., terminal location information of the second terminal,… “; wherein the first information is the positioning assistance data).
Regarding claim 4, Xiao discloses wherein before receiving the first information, the method further comprises:
transmitting, by the terminal device, second information, wherein the second information is used to request an anchor device to provide location information of the anchor device (Fig. 1, S110; [0037] – [0039]; wherein the second information is the “positioning request information”).
Regarding claim 5, Xiao discloses wherein the obtaining, by a terminal device, location information of M anchor devices comprises:
obtaining, by the terminal device, the location information of the M anchor devices from a network device (The network device could be any terminal that is determining the position of another terminal. Xiao discloses “In the wireless communication technology, when a terminal (including but not limited to a vehicle-mounted wireless communication system terminal, a vehicle, a pedestrian, a portable device, and a mobile phone) needs to obtain location information of another terminal,…” ([0005]). Hence, the network device could be any terminal, as above)
Regarding claim 6, Xiao discloses determining, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device based on the location information of the M anchor devices (Fig. 1, S140, [0046] discloses “In S140, …. or location information of the first terminal is calculated according to the positioning assistance parameter.”; [0045]).
Regarding claim 8, Xiao discloses determining, by the terminal device, the M anchor devices from a plurality of anchor devices based on location availability indication information of the plurality of anchor devices ([0027] discloses “Here, the terminals are divided into two terminals, that is, a first terminal and a second terminal. The first terminal is a terminal that needs to be positioned, such as a terminal outside the coverage areas of various network side devices, and the second terminal is within the coverage of various network side devices and participates in a process of positioning the first terminal.”; wherein “based on location availability” is interpreted as “the second terminal is within the coverage of various network side devices”), wherein the location availability indication information of an anchor device among the plurality of anchor device is used to indicate at least one of following:
whether the anchor device is aware of location information of the anchor device ([0045] discloses “The positioning assistance data may include at least one of the following: …., terminal location information of the second terminal,… “; wherein the anchor device [2nd terminal] will be inherently aware of its own location if it is transmitting it to the 1st terminal); whether the anchor device allows location information of the anchor device to be transferred; credibility of location information of the anchor device; or whether location information of the anchor device meets a positioning integrity requirement.
Claim 9 is similarly analyzed as claim 1, with claim 9 reciting equivalent apparatus limitations. Terminal comprising a processor is disclosed by Xiao ([0013]).
Claim 10 is similarly analyzed as claim 2.
Claim 11 is similarly analyzed as claim 6.
Claim 12 is similarly analyzed as claim 8.
Claim 13 is similarly analyzed as claim 1. The network device could be any terminal that is determining the position of another terminal. Xiao discloses “In the wireless communication technology, when a terminal (including but not limited to a vehicle-mounted wireless communication system terminal, a vehicle, a pedestrian, a portable device, and a mobile phone) needs to obtain location information of another terminal,…” ([0005]). Hence, the network device could be any terminal, as above, that is determining the position of another terminal.
Claim 14 is similarly analyzed as claim 2.
Claim 15 is similarly analyzed as claims 2 and 3.
Claim 18 is similarly analyzed as claims 6 or 11.
Claim 20 is similarly analyzed as claim 8.
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 (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 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.
Claims 7, 16 - 17, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiao et al. (US 20220279310 A1; CN110536234 version provided in the International Search Report) in view of Shin et al. (US 20230042138 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Xiao does not disclose wherein the determining, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device based on the location information of the M anchor devices comprises: determining, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device based on the location information of the M anchor devices and sidelink positioning reference signal (S-PRS) measurement results of the M anchor devices.
In the same field of endeavor, however, Shin discloses wherein the determining, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device based on the location information of the M anchor devices comprises:
determining, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device based on the location information of the M anchor devices and sidelink positioning reference signal (S-PRS) measurement results of the M anchor devices ([0115] discloses “In this scenario, the corresponding information may also include a request signal for an S-PRS. In other words, the target terminal may indicate, to a neighboring terminal through the SL, the request signal for the S-PRS, together with relevant positioning configuration information. In addition, when UE-based positioning is considered, a scheme in which the target terminal directly measures the absolute position of the terminal may be considered. In order for the target terminal to directly measure the absolute position of the terminal, it is necessary for an anchor terminal to indicate its known location to the target terminal through an SL “;
claim 7 discloses “…. further comprising identifying a measurement value based on the received S-PRS or a position of the terminal based on the received S-PRS and known location information,….”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the method, as disclosed by Shin, in the system of Xiao because using SL would be useful when “ …. the terminal is out of the network coverage area are always considered in an SL environment, …”, as disclosed by Shin ([0115], 1st sentence).
Claim 16 is similarly analyzed as in claim 7 ([0115] discloses “In this scenario, the corresponding information may also include a request signal for an S-PRS. In other words, the target terminal may indicate, to a neighboring terminal through the SL, the request signal for the S-PRS, together with relevant positioning configuration information”).
Regarding claim 17, Xiao does not disclose the S-PRS measurement results of the M anchor devices are respectively obtained from the M anchor devices; or the S-PRS measurement results of the M anchor devices are obtained by the terminal device via measurement.
In the same field of endeavor, however, Shin discloses the S-PRS measurement results of the M anchor devices are respectively obtained from the M anchor devices;
or the S-PRS measurement results of the M anchor devices are obtained by the terminal device via measurement ([0082] discloses “….the positioning calculation may be performed by the terminal receiving an S-PRS and performing measurement from the received S-PRS, and the positioning measurement and calculation method may vary depending on which positioning method is applied. Measurement of location information in an SL may be absolute positioning to provide two-dimensional (x,y) and three-dimensional (x,y,z) coordinate position values of a terminal, or relative positioning to provide relative two-dimensional or three-dimensional position information from another terminal….”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to use the method, as disclosed by Shin, in the system of Xiao because this would eliminate the need for another network entity to do the positioning and then transfer the results to the terminal. Hence, overhead could be reduced.
Claim 19 is similarly analyzed as in claim 7.
Other Prior Art Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure.
The following patents/publications are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to terminal location determination:
Jovicic et al. (US 20120058733 A1) discloses Method for Operating Mobile Wireless Terminal as Access Point …. Temporary Location Anchor Point.
Edge et al. (US 9435874 B2) discloses Method and Apparatus for Supporting Positioning for Terminals in a Wireless Network.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADOLF DSOUZA whose telephone number is (571)272-1043. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9 AM - 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chieh M Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADOLF DSOUZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632
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