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 .
This is in response to the Information Disclosure Statement filed 12/1/2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 8/29/2025 has been considered.
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) 1-10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Gangakhedkar et al., WO-2018068817-A1.
Regarding claim 1, Gangakhedar et al., shows a method comprising: transmitting, by a User Equipment (UE) to at least one candidate UE, a request message for UE capability information related to selection of an anchor UE of positioning (Page 10, line 33-Page 12, line 16); and receiving, by the UE from the at least one candidate UE, the UE capability information, wherein the UE capability information includes information related to a location of the at least one candidate UE (Page 22, lines 15-20), and wherein the anchor UE is determined from among the at least one candidate UE based on the UE capability information (Page 10, line 21-Page 16, line 20; e.g. Page 12, lines 8-11; Fig. 3, 10, and 11; Criterion 1 and 2).
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b. Regarding claim 2, Gangakhedar et al., shows the method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the location of the at least one candidate UE includes at least one of location information of the at least one candidate UE, location error information, location source information, location time information, or integrity information (Page 12, lines 5-16).
c. Regarding claim 3, Gangakhedar et al., shows the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the anchor UE; and calculating a location of the UE based on the PRS (Page 26 line 5-Page 27, line 28).
d. Regarding claim 4, Gangakhedar et al., shows the method of claim 1, further comprising performing a discovery process for detecting the at least one candidate UE (Step S304; Page 15, lines 14-22).
e. Regarding claim 5, Gangakhedar et al., shows the method of claim 4, wherein the performing of the discovery process includes determining whether the at least one candidate UE has a positioning capability (Step S304; Page 15, lines 14-22).
f. Regarding claim 6, Gangakhedar et al., shows a 6. (Currently Amended) A User Equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor(Page 9, lines 18-37), cause the UB to perform operations comprising: transmitting, to at least one candidate UE, a request message for UE capability information related to selection of an anchor UE of positioning (Page 10, line 33-Page 12, line 16); and receiving, from the at least one candidate UE, the UE capability information, wherein the UE capability information includes information related to a location of the at least one candidate UE (Page 22, lines 15-20), and wherein the anchor UE is determined from among the at least one candidate UE based on the UE capability information (Page 10, line 21-Page 16, line 20; e.g. Page 12, lines 8-11; Fig. 3, 10, and 11; Criterion 1 and 2).
g. Regarding claim 7, Gangakhedar et al., shows the UE of claim 6, wherein the information related to the location of the at least one candidate UE includes at least one of location information of the at least one candidate UE, location error information, location source information, location time information, or integrity information (Page 12, lines 5-16).
h. Regarding claim 8, Gangakhedar et al., shows the UE of claim 6, wherein the operations include: receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the anchor UE; and calculating a location of the UE based on the PRS (Page 26 line 5-Page 27, line 28).
i. Regarding claim 9, Gangakhedar et al., shows the UE of claim 6, wherein the operations include performing a discovery process for detecting the at least one candidate UE (Step S304; Page 15, lines 14-22).
j. Regarding claim 10, Gangakhedar et al., shows the UE of claim 9, wherein the performing of the discovery process includes determining whether the at least one candidate UE has a positioning capability (Step S304; Page 15, lines 14-22).
k. Regarding claim 12, Gangakhedar et al., shows a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor (Page 9, lines 18-37), cause a User Equipment (UE) to perform operations comprising: transmitting, to at least one candidate UE, a request message for UE capability information related to selection of an anchor UE of positioning (Page 10, line 33-Page 12, line 16); and receiving, from the at least one candidate UE (Page 22, lines 15-20), the UE capability information, wherein the UE capability information includes information related to a location of the at least one candidate UE, and wherein the anchor UE is determined from among the at least one candidate UE based on the UE capability information (Page 10, line 21-Page 16, line 20; e.g. Page 12, lines 8-11; Fig. 3, 10, and 11; Criterion 1 and 2).
Conclusion
The International Search report has been reviewed and is found to be pertinent to the instant claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAHVOSH J NIKMANESH whose telephone number is (571)270-5549. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuwen Pan can be reached at (571)272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Seahvosh Nikmanesh/ Examiner, Art Unit 2649
/YUWEN PAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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