DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to applicant's communication filed on 10/30/2024, wherein:
Claim 1-20 are pending.
Claim 1, 3-4, 7, 11-13, 15, and 17-19 are amended.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1, 9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Baek et al. (US 20220365163 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Baek discloses a positioning method, comprising:
sending (Fig. 17 step S301), by a first device, sidelink control information (SCI) to a second device, wherein the SCI comprises time-frequency resource information of a reference signal, and the reference signal is used for positioning (¶0179-0184 – “[0182] … the relative positioning slot structure (the first slot structure) of FIG. 11(a) may mainly include … 2) a subchannel and a subchannel pool duration for transmitting SCI (or control information) such as a heading angle and request PRS scheduling of the positioning UE, … 4) a request PRS pool duration for transmitting the request PRS by the positioning UE, … 6) a response PRS pool duration for transmitting the response PRS by the positioning UE … [0184] In relation to the first slot structure and/or the second slot structure, the positioning UE may attempt to reserve an available request PRS ID by sensing SCI transmitted through a PSCCH (or a PSCCH and a PSSCH) and may transmit the request PRS using the finally and successfully reserved request PRS ID. In this case, the PRS ID may include a PRS pattern and/or transmission location information, which are to be defined in the frequency/time domain in a PRS pool. The response PRS ID transmitted by the neighbor UE (or the response UE) may be reserved through a request PRS ID reservation process based on a pre-configured mapping relationship between the aforementioned request PRS ID and the response PRS ID group in response thereto”; ¶0231-0234 - "[0233] In detail, the first UE may transmit the first PRS for the relative positioning based on a relative positioning slot for the relative positioning. As shown in FIG. 11, the relative positioning slot may include a subchannel resource pool for transmitting and receiving allocation information or control information for the second PRS, a request PRS resource pool for transmitting and receiving the second PRS as the request PRS, and a response PRS resource pool for transmitting and receiving the first PRS in response to the request”);
sending, by the first device, the reference signal to the second device (¶0209-0213, Fig. 17 and ¶0244 discloses transmitting second PRS for requesting first PRS); and
receiving, by the first device, a response message sent by the second device, wherein the response message comprises location information determined by the second device based on the reference signal (¶0239-0242 – “[0239] …In detail, as described with reference to FIG. 14, the first UE may calculate an angle between the heading direction acquired from the second UE (acquired from control information for allocating the second PRS) and a coordinate system of the first UE (the heading direction of the first UE) and may calculate the AoA offset value. The first UE may apply the calculated AoA offset value to the AoA value at which the second PRS is received to calculate an AoA value corrected based on the proceeding direction of the second UE. The first UE may determine a corresponding first PRS pattern based on an AoA value based on the proceeding direction of the second UE. [0240] Then, the first UE may transmit the first PRS in response to the second PRS in the determined time resource region based on the determined first PRS pattern (S205)”).
Regarding claim 9, Baek discloses a positioning method, comprising:
receiving, by a second device, sidelink control information (SCI) sent by a first device, wherein the SCI comprises time-frequency resource information of a reference signal, and the reference signal is used for positioning (Fig. 16 step S201-203; ¶0179-0184; and ¶0231-0234 disclose receiving SCI information for reference signal);
receiving, by the second device, the reference signal sent by the first device (Fig. 16 step 201 and ¶0231-0234 disclose receiving a second PRS – i.e. reference signal); and
sending, by the second device, a response message to the first device, wherein the response message comprises location information determined by the second device based on the reference signal (Fig. 16 step 205 and ¶0239-0242).
Regarding claim 15, the scope and content of the claim recites a positioning apparatus for performing the method of claim 1, therefore, being addressed as in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 2, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek et al. (US 20220365163 A1) in view of Farag (US 12549302 B2).
Regarding claim 2, Baek discloses the method according to claim 1, however, silent on further details of claim 2.
Farag discloses wherein the reference signal and the SCI are in a same slot (Fig. 7 discloses SCI and SL reference signal being in a same slot).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Baek to incorporate sidelink control information and reference signal in same slot from Farag because doing so would apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (MPEP §2141 -III) to use resource efficiently.
Regarding claim 10, Baek discloses the method according to claim 9, however, silent on further details of claim 10.
Farag discloses wherein the reference signal and the SCI are in a same slot (Fig. 7 discloses SCI and SL reference signal being in a same slot).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Baek to incorporate sidelink control information and reference signal in same slot from Farag because doing so would apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (MPEP §2141 -III) to use resource efficiently.
Regarding claim 16, the scope and content of the claim recites a positioning apparatus for performing the method of claim 2, therefore, being addressed as in claim 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-7, 11-14, and 17-20 are 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG HONG whose telephone number is (571)270-7928. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, JINSONG HU, can be reached on (571) 272-3965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DUNG HONG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
Prosecution Insights