DETAILED ACTION
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 claim(s) is/are pending in this office action: 22-37, 39-43
The following claim(s) is/are amended: 22-35, 37, 39-42
The following claim(s) is/are cancelled: 1-21, 38
The following claim(s) is/are new: 43
Claim(s) 22, 36-37, 39-43 is/are rejected. Claims 23-35 are objected to. This rejection is FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed in the amendment filed 9/1/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. The reasons set forth below.
Applicant’s Invention as Claimed
Claim Objections
Claims 23-35 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.
Claim Rejections
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 of this title, 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 22, 36-37, and 39-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 3GPP (“3gpp ts 23.288 v17.6.0, 3GPP; TSG SA; Architecture enhances for 5GS to support network data analytics services (Release 17), 22 September 2022) in view of Shabtay (US Pub. 2021/0116531).
With respect to Claim 22, 3GPP teaches a method of operating a service producer, the method comprising: receiving, from a service consumer, a first message including an analytics identifier (ID) that corresponds to a sensing service (Sections 4.1, 5.1; NWDAF provides analytics to consumers, which makes it a service producer. When multiple serving areas exist an Analytics ID is used to differentiate them. Sections 6.1.1.1-6.1.1.2; NWDAF receives a subscription subscribe from a service consumer. Section 6.1.2.1; NWDAF receives an analytics info request.)
and a set of input parameters related to the sensing service; (Sections 6.1.1.1.2, 6.1.2.1; request has parameters or parameter values. Section 6.1.3; parameters such as objects, time interval, accuracy, etc.)
obtaining analytics information based on the analytics ID and the set of input parameters; (Section 6.2.1; NWDAF retrieves data from various sources to fulfill the request or may skip data collection if it already has enough information to provide the requested analytics.)
and sending, to the service consumer, a second message including the analytics information. (Section 6.1.2.1, 6.1.2.2; NWDAF responds with information)
But 3GPP does not explicitly teach range doppler analytics.
Shabtay, however, does teach wherein at least one of: (a) the analytics ID identifies sensing channel frequency response analytics, and the analytics information includes a channel frequency response for each of individual transmit (Tx) beam directions over resource elements used for sensing signal transmission;
(b) the analytics ID identifies range-Doppler image analytics, and the analytics information includes a range-Doppler image for each of the individual Tx beam directions, a range fast Fourier transform (FFT) size, and a Doppler FFT size; (An analytics ID was previously taught. paras. 175-180; system generates a 4D image based on range and velocity values from Doppler information. The radar has N Tx antennas and M Rx antennas. Para. 139, 144; system determines direction of object based on angle of arrival of a signal. Para. 122-126; System performs a first fast fourier transform on received signals (a range FFT) to get determine range and a second fast fourier transform (a Doppler FFT) to determine velocity. Para. 134-135; a size of data for the FFTs is based on how many signals are received from the antennas.)
(c) the analytics ID identifies range-Doppler image analytics after beam integration, and the analytics information includes a range-Doppler image generated after beam integration for each of the individual Tx beam directions, the range FFT size, and the Doppler FFT size;
(d) the analytics ID identifies delay-Doppler-bin analytics after constant false alarm rate (CFAR) processing, and the analytics information includes, for each of the individual Tx beam directions, one or more delay-Doppler bins that pass a predetermined threshold determined by the CFAR processing, the range FFT size, and the Doppler FFT size; or
(e) the analytics ID identifies detected-target analytics, and the analytics information includes a set of target objects detected in a field of view (FoV) and, for each target object of the set of target objects, range information, velocity information, and angle information.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill prior to the effective filing date to combine the method of 3GPP with the range Doppler image analytics in order to transmit data to image for autonomous driving. (Shabtay, paras. 2-3, 44-45)
With respect to Claim 36, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 22, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the analytics information is generated based on collected data related to the sensing service. (Section 6.2.1; data collection from devices)
With respect to Claim 37, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 36, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the collected data related to the sensing service includes one or more of raw received signal measurements, received signal power measurements, received signal quality measurements, noisy time-variant frequency-selective channel frequency response for individual Tx beam directions, periodograms, results of the CFAR processing, a set of delay-Doppler bins for individual Tx beams, and results of angular resolution processing of delay-Doppler bins. (Sections 6.2.4, 6.4.2; data reported can include reference signal received power or reference signal received quality)
With respect to Claim 39, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 22, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the first message is an analytics subscription message based on invocation of an Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe service operation, and the second message is a notification message based on invocation of an Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify service operation. (Section 6.1.1.1; See Figure 6.1.1.1-1)
With respect to Claim 40, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 22, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the first message is a analytics request message based on invocation of an Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request service operation, and the second message is a response message based on the invocation of the Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request service operation. (Section 6.1.2.1; See Figure 6.1.2.1-1)
With respect to Claim 41, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 22, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the service consumer is a sensing service management function (SSMF), a data collection coordination function (DCCF), a Messaging Framework Adaptor Function (MFAF), an Application Function (AF), or a Network Exposure Function (NEF). (Section 6.1.1.1, 6.1.1.2; NEF or AF as service consumer subscribing to analytics)
With respect to Claim 42, modified 3GPP teaches the method of claim 22, and 3GPP also teaches wherein the service producer is a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), an NWDAF containing an analytics logical function (AnLF), a data collection coordination function (DCCF), a Messaging Framework Adaptor Function (MFAF), an Application Function (AF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), or a sensing service management function (SSMF). (Section 6.1.1.1, 6.1.1.2; NWDAF as producer. Section 4.2.0; NWDAF contains AnLF)
With respect to Claim 43, it is substantially similar to Claim 22 and is rejected in the same manner, the same art and reasoning applying. Further, Shabtay also teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, configure one or more processors of a service producer to: (para. 393; non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions.)
The same motivation to combine as Claim 22 applies here.
Remarks
Applicant argues that they have incorporated “substantially each of the allowed limitations as alternatives in 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 into claim [22].” But Examiner found that the non-obvious feature was the particular names of the functions for the Analytics IDs. (Non-Final, pg. 6) Applicant amends only to include the transfer of conventional information using a known 3GPP standard in general without limitation to particular ID names.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS P CELANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1205. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9-5.
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/NICHOLAS P CELANI/Examiner, Art Unit 2449
