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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/04/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Upon further review of the Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments, the Examiner respectfully disagree that the applied prior art Berggren (U.S. Pub. No. 20220201646) fails to show certain features of applicant’s invention (i.e. “in response to determining that a target cell does not belong to the first cell, establishing, by the terminal device, a connection with the target cell for receiving second information that indicates a correspondence relationship between a downlink signal index of the target cell and the transmission beams of the terminal device”). (Emphasis Added).
Furthermore, the Applicant specifically argued and/or stated that: “Berggren has not been shown to disclose specifically that a determination that the target cell does not belong to the first cell triggers an establishment of a connection for sending the beam correspondence”.
In response the Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant’s arguments because of the following reasons:
First, the at least claimed limitation, at least in part i.e. “in response to determining that a target cell does not belong to the first cell” is broad, vague, and/or unclear. As it is readily understood by anyone of ordinary skill in the art and/or as shown in Berggren e.g. fig. 1, and fig. 8, when a UE is communicating/connected with different cells or base stations (i.e. serving cell/gNB and/or neighbor cell/gNB), the UE determines or knows that its communicating/connected with different cells or base stations. Therefore, given the at least claimed limitation its broadest reasonable interpretation, the Examiner has fairly characterized and/or interpreted the at least claimed limitation “in response to determining that a target cell does not belong to the first cell” as determining that the target cell is different from the first cell as discussed above wherein UE connects and/or receives information from different cells or base stations.
Thus, as shown above and as it is well known in the art, determining that target cell does not belong to first cell is broad and/or vague, therefore the Examiner has fairly interpreted the limitation as target cell is different from first cell, which is known or determined by the UE based on its movement and/or connection to the different cells to receive downlink information (Also see, pp0113).
Secondly, in the wireless communication technology, it’s unclear how it’s determined that a cell does not belong to another cell and/or a base station not belonging to another base station. Without any further details in the at least claimed limitations question, the Examiner has given the claim its broadest reasonable interpretation i.e. “does not belong” as “different”.
Therefore, contrary to the Applicant’s arguments and/or amendments, the claim does not uniquely and particularly define the at least limitations in question so as to distinguish from the applied prior art. During patent examination, the claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation. See also MPEP §2111. The broadly claimed limitations has been fairly characterized as “in response to determining that a target cell does not belong to the first cell (UE has moved to a different serving cell [e.g. from serving cell/base station to neighboring cell/base station], see fig. 8 and pp0113), establishing, by the terminal device, a connection with the target cell for receiving second information that indicates a correspondence relationship between a downlink signal index of the target cell and the transmission beams of the terminal device (UE connects and receives downlink information, which includes beam correspondence information, from the different serving cell/base station e.g. neighboring cell/gNB, see fig. 8, pp0113, and pp0103)”.
Therefore, it is believed that Berggren teaches the claim limitations.
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(s) 1, 3-5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15-18, 20, 21, 23, and 24, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Berggren et al. (US Publication No. 20220201646).
As to claims 1, 13, and 24, Berggren teaches a method and an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor, wherein the programming instructions, when executed, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising (fig. 2, fig. 3, and pp0085): determining a first beam for transmitting uplink reference signals based on a signal measurement result of a first signal, wherein the uplink reference signals are configured to position a terminal device (fig. 8, pp0007, pp0099, the UE may utilize uplink resources to transmit uplink reference signals to a set of network nodes participating in positioning (e.g. a serving base station and/or one or more neighboring base stations) while in idle mode, uplink-based measurements, downlink-based measurements, or both may be utilized to compute a position of the UE), wherein the first signal comprises a downlink signal from a first cell, wherein the first cell comprises at least one of a serving cell or a neighboring cell (fig. 8, #186), and wherein the determining the first beam for transmitting the uplink reference signals comprises: determining the first beam for transmitting the uplink reference signals to the first cell based on first information (fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1) and a signal measurement result of the downlink signal from the first cell (fig. 8, fig. 12, pp0132, transmits uplink reference signals to the one or more network nodes participating in positioning. The wireless communications device transmit the uplink reference signals using transmit beams determined via the downlink measurements and/or using uplink resources indicated in the positioning configuration information), wherein the first information indicates a correspondence relationship between a downlink signal index of the first cell and transmission beams of the terminal device (fig. 8, fig. 5, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1); in response to determining that a target cell does not belong to the first cell (fig. 5, fig. 8, neighbor base stations, and pp0113, UE 100 has moved to a different serving cell or moved to a different group of cells having a different configuration for idle mode positioning), establishing, by the terminal device, a connection with the target cell (fig. 8, connection to neighbor base stations) for receiving second information that indicates a correspondence relationship between a downlink signal index of the target cell and the transmission beams of the terminal device (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, pp0113, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on a receive beam for reference signals from the serving base station 132 and/or neighbor base stations 134); and receiving by the terminal device and by using the established connection with the target cell, the second information from the target cell, wherein the second information indicates the correspondence relationship between the downlink signal index of the target cell and the transmission beams of the terminal device (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on a receive beam for reference signals from the serving base station 132 and/or neighbor base stations 134).
As to claims 3 and 15, Berggren teaches wherein the downlink signal index of the first cell comprises a portion of indexes of downlink signals that the first cell supports; or the downlink signal index of the first cell comprises the indexes of the downlink signals that the first cell supports (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113).
As to claims 4 and 16, Berggren teaches wherein the portion of the indexes of the downlink signals is determined based on a cell where the terminal device is located (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113).
As to claims 5 and 17, Berggren teaches wherein the first information is transmitted to the terminal device by at least one of a positioning server or a base station (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113).
As to claim 7, Berggren teaches wherein establishing, by the terminal device, the connection with the target cell (fig. 5, fig. 8, neighbor base stations), comprises: in response to the target cell not belonging to the first cell (fig. 5, fig. 8, neighbor base stations), receiving, by the terminal device, a paging message sent by a network device, wherein the network device comprises at least one of a network element of core network or a base station corresponding to the target cell (fig. 5, fig. 6, #154 activation signal to trigger transmission of uplink reference signal, and pp0115); and establishing, by the terminal device, the connection with the target cell based on the paging message (fig. 5, fig. 6, #154 activation signal to trigger transmission of uplink reference signal, and pp0115).
As to claims 8, 20, and 21, Berggren teaches wherein the target cell is determined based on a location of the terminal device (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0096, each network node may have a specific configuration for UEs served by the network node or located within a cell of the network node), and the location of the terminal device is determined based on a signal measurement result of the uplink reference signals measured by a plurality of cells (fig. 8, fig. 12, pp0132, transmits uplink reference signals to the one or more network nodes participating in positioning. The wireless communications device transmit the uplink reference signals using transmit beams determined via the downlink measurements and/or using uplink resources indicated in the positioning configuration information).
As to claims 11 and 23, Berggren teaches wherein the downlink signal comprises SSB, or the uplink reference signals comprise sounding reference signal (SRS) (fig. 5, fig. 8, and pp0098, the uplink reference signal may be an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), and pp0104).
As to claim 18, the operations further comprising: in response to a target cell to which the terminal device belongs not belonging to the first cell, establishing a connection with the target cell (fig. 5, fig. 8, neighbor base stations, and pp0102, it is possible that the UE 100 has moved to a different serving cell or moved to a different group of cells having a different configuration for idle mode positioning); and receiving second information from the target cell (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0113, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on a receive beam for reference signals from the serving base station 132 and/or neighbor base stations 134 and pp0103), wherein the second information indicates a correspondence relationship between a downlink signal index of the target cell and the transmission beams of the terminal device (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berggren et al. (US Publication No. 20220201646) in view of Keating et al. (US Publication No. 20210356581).
As to claims 10 and 22, Berggren teaches the limitations of the independent claims as discussed above. Berggren further teaches wherein the first beam comprises beams respectively corresponding to a plurality of cells comprising a second cell and a third cell (fig. 5, 101a-c to 111a-c, corresponding beam between multiple base stations, and fig. 8), and determining, by the terminal device, the first beam for transmitting the uplink reference signals based on the signal measurement result of the first signal, comprises: determining, by the terminal device, a second beam corresponding to the second cell based on a signal measurement result of a downlink signal from the second cell; determining, by the terminal device, a third beam corresponding to the third cell based on a signal measurement result of a downlink signal from the third cell; and determining, by the terminal device, the first beam based on the second beam and the third beam (fig. 5, fig. 8, pp0103, a corresponding transmit beam may be selected based on the identified receive beam. Beam correspondence refers to a situation where UE 100 may derive an uplink (e.g. transmit) beam based on a downlink beam (and vice versa). For example, if UE 100 receives a downlink signal on beam index 1 (e.g. best received beam is beam index 1), the uplink beam (e.g. transmit beam) may also use beam index 1, and pp0113). However, fails to explicitly teach wherein the first beam comprises beams shared by the second beam and the third beam.
In an analogous field of endeavor, Keating teaches the concept wherein the first beam comprises beams shared by the second beam and the third beam (fig. 2, fig. 3, pp0145, UE 110-1 may also scan the different UE antenna panels to identify if a shared TX beam is possible to be used for multiple target cells. This can be done using UE DL AoA calculations from the visible gNBs). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Berggren with the teachings of Keating to achieve the goal of efficiently providing positioning which promises high accuracy due to lack of synchronization errors suffered and the wide bandwidth available (better timing measurement accuracy) in a communication system (Keating, pp0131 and pp0132).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMONIYI OBAYANJU whose telephone number is (571)270-5885. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thur 10:30-7pm.
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/OMONIYI OBAYANJU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
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