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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-9, and 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tietz et al., US Patent Application Publication Number 2015/0156708 (hereinafter Tietz).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 20, Tietz discloses a method, performed at a location management function network element that serves a terminal device [paragraph 0027], wherein the method comprises: receiving measurement data of a first positioning procedure, wherein the measurement data of the first positioning procedure comprise information about a first cell, the first cell is a cell of a first mobile relay, and the first mobile relay has mobility [paragraphs 0015, 0019]; obtaining first information associated with the first mobile relay [paragraphs 0020-0022]; sending based on the first information, a first request message to trigger a second positioning procedure for the first mobile relay [paragraphs 0028-0033]; receiving location information of the first mobile relay, wherein the location information of the first mobile relay is determined based on the second positioning procedure [paragraphs 0028-0033]; and determining a location of the terminal device based on the location information of the first mobile relay and the measurement data of the first positioning procedure[paragraphs 0028-0033].
Regarding claims 2 and 16, Tietz discloses wherein the information about the first cell comprises a cell identifier of the first cell, and the method further comprises: determining, based on the cell identifier of the first cell, that the first cell is a cell of a mobile relay [paragraph 0029].
Regarding claims 3 and 17, Tietz discloses wherein the determining, based on the cell identifier of the first cell, that the first cell is a cell of a mobile relay, comprises: determining, based on a cell identifier of a cell of at least one mobile relay and the cell identifier of the first cell, that the first cell is a cell of a mobile relay [paragraph 0022].
Regarding claim 4, Tietz discloses wherein the information about the first cell-further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell of a mobile relay [paragraph 0020].
Regarding claims 5 and 18, Tietz discloses wherein the obtaining the first information comprises: in response to determining that the first cell is a cell of a mobile relay, obtaining the first information [paragraphs 0020-0023].
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Tietz discloses wherein the information about the first cell comprises a cell identifier of the first cell, and the obtaining the first information comprises: obtaining the first information based on the cell identifier of the first cell [paragraphs 0020-0023].
Regarding claim 8, Tietz discloses wherein the first information comprises an identifier of the first mobile relay [paragraph 0036].
Regarding claim 9, Tietz discloses wherein the sending the first request message based on the first information comprises: sending the first request message to a gateway mobile location center network element, wherein the first request message comprises the identifier of the first mobile relay [paragraph 0036].
Regarding claim 11, Tietz discloses wherein the obtaining the first information comprises: obtaining the first information from an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element serving the terminal device, or an access network device [paragraph 0026].
Regarding claim 12, Tietz discloses wherein the first positioning procedure is a positioning procedure for the terminal device [paragraph 0105].
Regarding claim 13, Tietz discloses wherein the second positioning procedure comprises at least one of: a terminal device assisted positioning procedure, or a network assisted positioning procedure [paragraph 0033].
Regarding claim 14, Tietz discloses wherein the measurement data of the first positioning procedure are obtained by the first mobile relay to perform positioning measurement on the terminal device [paragraph 0019].
Claim(s) 1, 15, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hou et al., CN 115843098 (hereinafter Hou).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 20, Hou discloses a method, performed at a location management function network element that serves a terminal device [reproduced from translation “The Location Management Function (LMF) involved in the embodiment of the present application is a management target device. is located physical or logical entity of the wireless device is located in the called evolution service mobile position centre (E-SMLC) of the control plane architecture, responsible for selecting positioning method and triggering the corresponding positioning measurement, and can calculate the final positioning result and precision.”], wherein the method comprises:
receiving measurement data of a first positioning procedure, wherein the measurement data of the first positioning procedure comprise information about a first cell, the first cell is a cell of a first mobile relay [reproduced from translation “Specifically, in the embodiment, the obtained measurement information comprises measurement information of the UE and/or measurement information of the first relay. specifically obtaining the measurement information of the UE can be realized by existing related technology, obtaining the measurement information of the first relay, can be through the LMF to anchor RAN node” and “Specifically, in the embodiment, the event report can carry relay registration, identification of the relay, cell information of the relay (e.g., information such as cell identifier).”], and the first mobile relay has mobility [reproduced from translation “The vehicle-mounted mobile base station relay in the embodiment, application base station, vehicle relay, mobile base station relay is the base station relay installed on the vehicle.”];
obtaining first information associated with the first mobile relay; sending based on the first information, a first request message to trigger a second positioning procedure for the first mobile relay; receiving location information of the first mobile relay, wherein the location information of the first mobile relay is determined based on the second positioning procedure [reproduced from translation “In some embodiments, determining that the relay provides service for user equipment UE, comprising: S10, receiving the location request message sent by the access and mobile management function AMF, the location request message carries the service cell information of the UE, for requesting LMF to locate the UE, S11, according to the local configuration of the relay cell information and the service cell information of the UE, determining that the first relay is currently the UE providing service to the relay. Specifically, in the embodiment, the LMF can according to the service cell information of the UE carried in the location request message from the AMF, and the local configuration of the relay cell information, to determine whether to provide service for the UE by the relay. For example: can be searched according to the service cell identifier of the UE in the local configuration of the relay cell identifier, if it can find the corresponding cell, it can determine the first relay providing service for the UE currently.”];
and determining a location of the terminal device based on the location information of the first mobile relay and the measurement data of the first positioning procedure[reproduced from translation “S14, receiving the second location request message sent by the AMF, the second location request message is used for requesting LMF to locate the relay registered in the AMF; S15, triggering the locating process of the registered relay, obtaining the position information of the registered relay and feeding back to the AMF. In S15, the process of triggering the positioning process of the registered relay may include any one of the following: locating the registered relay in one time; periodically locating the registered relay; and performing the event reporting location to the registered relay. wherein the event reporting location can be when the UE is connected with the relay for position reporting, or reporting the position after the distance of the last position exceeds N after reporting the position. That is, in the embodiment, can be registered in the AMF relay to locate, and the positioning result (the position information of the relay) stored in the LMF or stored in the AMF, so as to subsequently locate the UE.”].
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.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tietz.
Regarding claim 10, Tietz does not specifically disclose wherein the identifier of the first mobile relay is an identifier of integrated access and backhaul-user equipment (IAB-UE). However, Tietz discloses an example of the identifier as a mobile relay node user equipment ID (MRN UE ID) [paragraph 0036]. The Examiner takes Official Notice that is well known in the art to use an identifier of integrated access and backhaul-user equipment (IAB-UE). Before the effective filing of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Tietz to include this identifier. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim7 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.
Chen et al., US Patent Application Publication Number 2015/0148062, disclose a method and apparatus for configuring mobile relay node tracking area and location update.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIKA WASHINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-7841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday.
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, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EAW/
September 9, 2026
/ERIKA A WASHINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
Prosecution Insights