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 .
Status of Claims
The following is a non-final, first action on the merits, in response to application filed January 22, 2025. The preliminary amended claims 1-18, are currently pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 01/22/2025, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper time wise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claim 1-18, are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-16, of the issued U.S. Patent No. 12,245,100. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, for instance, the limitations of claim 1, - A method, applied in a first terminal device or a chip of the first terminal device, the method comprising: receiving a first sidelink positioning configuration from a network device; sending a first sidelink positioning reference signal to a second terminal device based on the first sidelink positioning configuration, wherein the first sidelink positioning reference signal is used to determine a first measurement value, and the first measurement value comprises a measurement value of the second terminal device on the first sidelink positioning reference signal; receiving, based on the first sidelink positioning configuration, a second sidelink positioning reference signal from the second terminal device;measuring the second sidelink positioning reference signal, to obtain a second measurement value; receiving the first measurement value from the second terminal device or the network device; and determining a first position of the first terminal device based on the first measurement value, the second measurement value, and a second position of the second terminal device.- recited in the instant application is broader and similar enough to be encompassed/practiced by the limitations presented in claim 1, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100.
Similarly, the limitations of dependent claims 2-4, recited in the instant case is identically the same recited in claims 2-4, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100. Dependent claims 5 in the instant case is similar to claim 12 of the issued patent No. 12,245,100. Dependent claim 6 in the instant case is similar to claim 18 of the issued patent No. 12,245,100.
Similarly, the limitations recited in independent claim 7, - A method, applied in a second terminal device or a chip of the second terminal device, the method comprising:
receiving a second sidelink positioning configuration from a network device;
receiving, based on the second sidelink positioning configuration, a first sidelink positioning reference signal from a first terminal device;
obtaining a first measurement value based on the first sidelink positioning reference signal; and
sending the first measurement value to the network device, causing the network device to determine a first position of the first terminal device based on the first measurement value and a second position of the second terminal device; or sending the first measurement value to the first terminal device, causing the first terminal device to determine the first position of the first terminal device based on the first measurement value and the second position of the second terminal device. - recited in the instant application is broader and similar enough to be encompassed/practiced by the limitations presented in claim 5, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100. The limitations of dependent claims 8-11 in the instant case are identically the same as those recited in dependent claims 6-9 respectively, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100.
The limitation recited in independent claim 12, - A method, applied in a network device or a chip of the network device, the method comprising:
sending a first sidelink positioning configuration to a first terminal device;
sending a second sidelink positioning configuration to a second terminal device;
receiving a second measurement value from the first terminal device, wherein the second measurement value comprises a measurement value of the first terminal device on a second sidelink positioning reference signal sent by the second terminal device, and the second sidelink positioning reference signal is based on the second sidelink positioning configuration;
receiving a first measurement value from the second terminal device, wherein the first measurement value comprises a measurement value of the second terminal device on a first sidelink positioning reference signal sent by the first terminal device, and the first sidelink positioning reference signal is based on the first sidelink positioning configuration; and
determining a first position of the first terminal device based on the first measurement value, the second measurement value, and a second position of the second terminal device. - recited in the instant application is broader and similar enough to be encompassed/practiced by the limitations presented in claim 10, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100. The limitations of dependent claims 13-18 in the instant case are identically the same as those recited in dependent claims 13, 11, 12, 14-16, respectively, of the issued patent No. 12,245,100.
The claims 1, 7 and 12 analyzed above, show features as method steps applied to a terminal device whereas the corresponding features in claims 1, 5 and 10 of the issued patent No. 12,245,100 as apparatus. However, in regarding to claims 1, 7 and 12, these claims are analyzed and rejected for the same reason as claims 1, 5 and 10 of the issued Patent No. 12,245,100 because the corresponding apparatus in 1, 5 and 10 can be used to practice the method steps of claims 1, 7 and 12, as anticipation to all limitations considered is equivalent to obviousness and as such would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the claims similarly recited in the instant application using the claims of US Patent 12,245,100, in order to accomplish determine position of terminal devices.
Conclusion
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/QUTBUDDIN GHULAMALI/
Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2632.
Prosecution Insights