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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. EPO EP20382417.2, filed on 5-18-20.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11-16-22. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings (Figures 6-9 & 11) were received on 8-5-25. These drawings are acceptable. However, Figure 10 is not acceptable because all the numbers are not labeled with descriptive legends.
The drawings are objected to because All numbers in Figure 10 should be labeled with descriptive legends. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 8-9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 16,
“the data manage” should be changed to ---the data manager---
Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant is advised that should claim 1 {e.g. “a) the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information” or “b) the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager”} be found allowable, claims 8 {correspond to claim 1a)} and 9 {corresponding to claim 1b)} will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
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) 1-3, 7-9, 11-14, 16, 26, 28 & 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1-2) as being anticipated by Zaus (US 2022/0167244 A1) or over Zaus (US 2022/0167244 A1) in view of RYU (US 2022/0248370 A1).
Regarding claim 1. (Currently Amended)
102 Rejection
Zaus (US 2022/0167244 A1) discloses An Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) for indicating Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice support over packet switching (PS) for a user equipment (UE) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the AMF comprising processing circuitry {Zaus: processor of application circuitry 705-Fig.7 & ¶0188-¶0192}, the processing circuitry being configured to cause the AMF to perform a method comprising:
obtaining a trigger for the AMF to indicate IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN {Zaus: steps 1-3 in 0Fig.2 & ¶0075-¶0082 wherein “the local RAN 204 forwards the registration request to the AMF 206. With the information received from the UE in the 5GMM capability IE, the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE”};
after obtaining the trigger, obtaining IMS information of IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN {Zaus: ¶0082-¶0084 wherein With the information received from the UE in the 5GMM capability IE, the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE}; and
after obtaining the IMS information for the UE, providing to a radio access network serving the UE in the PLMN an indication based on the obtained IMS information, the indication specifying the IMS voice support over PS (VoPS) for the UE in the PLMN {Zaus: ¶0083 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “no”, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “not supported” (e.g., not supported over 3GPP access)”; and ¶0084 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “yes”, the AMF can take additional criteria into account (e.g., whether there is a roaming agreement for IMS services between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator). According to these additional criteria, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported””}, wherein
obtaining the IMS information for the UE comprises:
transmitting to a data manager {Zaus: AMF 621-Fig.6 transmitting a request for subscription information for the UE (e.g. including the roaming agreement for IMS services, ¶0084) to UDM 627-Fig.6 (the claimed data manager) via PCF 626-Fig.6, ¶0181 wherein “The PCF 626 may also implement an FE to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 627. The PCF 626 may communicate with the AMF 621 via an N15 reference point between the PCF 626 and the AMF 621, which may include a PCF 626 in a visited network and the AMF 621 in case of roaming scenarios” & ¶0182 wherein “The UDM 627 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 601. The UDM 627 may include two parts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG. 6). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 627 and the PCF 626”; In other words, the AMF 621-Fig.6 transmitting a request for subscription information for the UE (e.g. including the roaming agreement for IMS services, ¶0084) to UDM 627-Fig.6, emphasis added} a request for subscription information for the UE; and
receiving from the data manager (UDM 627-Fig.6) a response responsive to the request for subscription information for the UE, the response from the data manager includes the requested subscription information for the UE {Zaus: AMF 621-Fig.6 receiving a response from UDM 627-Fig.6 (the claimed data manager) via PCF 626-Fig.6, ¶0181 wherein “The PCF 626 may also implement an FE to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 627. The PCF 626 may communicate with the AMF 621 via an N15 reference point between the PCF 626 and the AMF 621, which may include a PCF 626 in a visited network and the AMF 621 in case of roaming scenarios & ¶0182 wherein “The UDM 627 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 601. The UDM 627 may include two parts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG. 6). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 627 and the PCF 626”; In other words, the AMF 621-Fig.6 receiving a response to the request (e.g. including the roaming agreement for IMS services) for subscription information for the UE from UDM 627-Fig.6 via PCF 626, emphasis added}, and
a) the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information {Zaus: the response (e.g. including the roaming agreement for the IMS services) to the request for the subscription information for the UE (e.g. including the roaming agreement for the IMS services) received from UDM 627-Fig.6 (the claimed data manager) via PCF 626-Fig.6 (e.g. to obtain the supported IMS services included in the roaming agreement, emphasis added), ¶0181 wherein “The PCF 626 may also implement an FE to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 627 (e.g. to support the IMS services included in the roaming agreement, emphasis added). The PCF 626 may communicate with the AMF 621 via an N15 reference point between the PCF 626 and the AMF 621, which may include a PCF 626 in a visited network and the AMF 621 in case of roaming scenarios & ¶0182 wherein “The UDM 627 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 601. The UDM 627 may include two parts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG. 6). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 627 and the PCF 626”; In other words, the AMF 621-Fig.6 receiving a response (e.g. to support the roaming agreement for IMS services) to the request (e.g. including the roaming agreement for IMS services) for subscription information for the UE from UDM 627-Fig.6 via PCF 626, emphasis added; see also ¶0177-¶0178 wherein the AMF transmitting a request for subscription information for the UE (including the roaming agreement for IMS services to a specific/external DNN 602, emphasis added, ¶0084) to the UDM 627 via SMF 624 (a PDU session between UE 601 and the specific/external Data Network DNN 602)} or
b) the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager {Zaus: the AMF 621 receiving the response (e.g. including the roaming agreement for the IMS services) to the request for the subscription information for the UE (e.g. including the roaming agreement for the IMS services) from UDM 627-Fig.6 (the claimed data manager) via PCF 626-Fig.6 (e.g. to obtain the supported IMS services included in the roaming agreement, emphasis added), ¶0181 wherein “The PCF 626 may also implement an FE to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 627 (e.g. to support the IMS services included in the roaming agreement, emphasis added). The PCF 626 may communicate with the AMF 621 via an N15 reference point between the PCF 626 and the AMF 621, which may include a PCF 626 in a visited network and the AMF 621 in case of roaming scenarios & ¶0182 wherein “The UDM 627 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 601. The UDM 627 may include two parts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG. 6). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 627 and the PCF 626”; In other words, the AMF 621-Fig.6 derives from the response (e.g. supporting the roaming agreement for IMS services) to the request (e.g. including the roaming agreement for IMS services) for subscription information for the UE from UDM 627-Fig.6 via PCF 626, emphasis added; See also ¶0177-¶0178 wherein the AMF 621 deriving from the receiving response (including the roaming agreement for IMS services to the external DNN 602, ¶0084) to the request for subscription information for the UE (including the roaming agreement for IMS services to the external DNN 602 via SMF 624 (the PDU session between UE 601 and the specific/external Data Network DNN 602), ¶0084)}.
103 Rejection
Zaus does not explicitly disclose “a) the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information or b) the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager.”
However, in the same field of endeavor, RYU (US 2022/0248370 A1) disclose “a) the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information or b) the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager”{RYU: “Nudm SDM Get 915-Fig.9 (the claimed response message) including access and mobility subscription data (the requested subscription information as claimed) in arrow direction from UDM to AMF. After a successful response is received, the AMF 155 may subscribe to be notified using Nudm_SDM_Subscribe 920 when the data requested may be modified; In other words, the AMF using the subscription information received in the Nudm SDM Get 915 response from UDM to subscribe, emphasis added)}.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to RYU’s teaching to Zaus’s system with the motivation being to allow “the AMF subscribing to be notified using Nudm-SDM-Subscribe 920 when the data requested being modified” so that the AMF “providing the access type it serves for the UE 100 to the UDM 140 and the access type may be set to 3GPP access.”{RYU: ¶0192}
Regarding claim 2. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1, wherein, according to the information, at least one of Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback and voice over New Radio (VoNR) is supported for the UE in the PLMN {Zaus: ¶0082 wherein “the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE”}.
Regarding claim 3. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the indication specifies i) whether Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback is supported or not for the UE in the PLMN and/or ii) whether voice over New Radio (VoNR) is supported or not for the UE in the PLMN, or the indication specifies that neither EPS fallback nor VoNR is supported for the UE in the PLMN {Zaus: ¶0082 wherein “With the information received from the UE in the 5GMM capability IE, the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE”; ¶0083 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “no”, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “not supported” (e.g., not supported over 3GPP access)”; and ¶0084 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “yes”, the AMF can take additional criteria into account (e.g., whether there is a roaming agreement for IMS services between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator). According to these additional criteria, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported”}.
Regarding claim 7. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the trigger is a registration request message obtained from the radio access network during network registration of the UE {Zaus: ¶0009 wherein “transmitting, by the UE, the registration request message to a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node in the 5G wireless network”, see also step 1-Fig.2 wherein “[0075]In step 1, the UE 202 includes the 5GMM capability IE in the Registration Request message that is sent to its local RAN 204. This 5GMM capability IE includes the new support indications for the following features: [0076] VoNR, [0077] VoLTE-5GC, [0078] inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, and [0079] EPS fallback via handover”; and step 3-Fig.2 wherein “[0082] In step 3, the local RAN 204 forwards the registration request to the AMF 206”}, or the trigger is a NamfCommunication_N1N2Message_Transfer message obtained from a session management function (SMF) during a session modification procedure for the UE.
Regarding claim 8. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information.
-Claim 8 is rejected with the same reasons a set forth in claim 1 part a).
Regarding claim 9. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1,wherein the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager.
-Claim 9 is rejected with the same reasons a set forth in claim 1 part b).
Regarding claim 31. (New) The AMF of claim 9, wherein deriving the IMS information comprises determining whether the subscription information includes an IMS data network name (DNN) {Zaus: ¶0177 wherein “the SMF 624 may retrieve and/or request to receive update notifications on SMF 624 level subscription data from the UDM 627” and ¶0178 wherein the AMF 621 deriving (the roaming agreement for IMS services to the external DNN 602, ¶0084) from the receiving response to the request for subscription information for the UE (including the roaming agreement for IMS services to the external DNN 602 via SMF 624 (the PDU session between UE 601 and the specific/external Data Network DNN 602), ¶0084)}.
Regarding claim 11. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the AMF is further configured to obtain second IMS information from a memory of the AMF, and the second IMS information is defined by roaming agreement information or subscriber information {Zaus: ¶0082 wherein “With the information received from the UE in the 5GMM capability IE, the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF (this is the claimed configuration stored locally in a memory (not shown) in the AMF, emphasis added)—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover (e.g. the claimed roaming agreement information, ¶0084), EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE”; In other words, any of the alternative indicated as supported by the UE is the claimed second IMS information, emphasis added}.
Regarding claim 12. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 11, wherein the second IMS information (e.g. roaming agreement, ¶0084) is provided as a list of PLMNs subject to apply Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback {Zaus: ¶0084 wherein the AMF including in step 21-Fig.2 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported) EPS fallback via handover in the Registration Request in step 1-Fig.2 & ¶0082, thus upon receiving the Registration Accept message in step 21-Fig.2, the UE then applying the EPS fallback via handover between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator as indicated in the roaming agreement, emphasis added} and/or a list of PLMNs subject to apply voice over New Radio (VoNR).
Regarding claim 13. (Currently Amended) The AMF of claim 11, wherein the second IMS information is provided as a list of IMSI series of PLMNs {Zaus: the PLMNs, e.g. the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator, in the roaming agreement is the list of IMSI series of PLMNs as claimed, ¶0084} subject to apply Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback {Zaus: ¶0084 wherein the AMF including in step 21-Fig.2 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported) EPS fallback via handover in the Registration Request in step 1-Fig.2 & ¶0082, thus upon receiving the Registration Accept message in step 21-Fig.2, the UE then applying the EPS fallback via handover between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator as indicated in the roaming agreement, emphasis added} and/or a list of IMSI series of PLMNs subject to apply voice over New Radio (VoNR).
Regarding claim 14. (Previously Presented) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the trigger {Zaus: ¶0075-¶0088 & Registration Request message in steps 1 & 3 in Fig.2} causes the AMF to obtain the information {Zaus: ¶0082 wherein “with the information received from the UE in the 5GMM capability IE, the AMF 206, determines—based on information configured locally in the AMF—whether IMS voice services can be provided via any of the alternatives indicated as supported by the UE (VoNR, VoLTE-5GC, inter-RAT fallback to VoLTE-5GC via handover, EPS fallback via handover), or whether IMS voice services can be provided via release with redirection to VoLTE-5GC or via release with redirection to EPS/VoLTE; ¶0083 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “no”, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “not supported” (e.g., not supported over 3GPP access)”; and ¶0084 wherein “If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “yes”, the AMF can take additional criteria into account (e.g., whether there is a roaming agreement for IMS services between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator). According to these additional criteria, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported”. In other words, the AMF obtained the information of whether to support IMS VoPS based on the received Registration Request from UE via RAN, or the Registration Request from UE via RAN triggered the AMF to obtain the information of whether to support IMS VoPS, emphasis added, ¶0082-¶0084}, or the AMF obtains the information before obtaining the trigger.
Regarding claim 16. (Previously Presented) The AMF of claim 1, wherein the indication is provided to the radio access network in a registration accept message during network registration of the UE {Zaus: ¶0084 wherein ‘If the answer to the question of whether IMS voice services can be provided is “yes”, the AMF can take additional criteria into account (e.g., whether there is a roaming agreement for IMS services between the visited PLMN and the HPLMN operator). According to these additional criteria, the AMF includes in step 21 in the Registration Accept message an IMS voice over PS session (IMS VoPS) indicator indicating “supported” or “not supported”’ in response to the Registration Request in step 1-Fig.2, emphasis added}, or the indication is provided to the radio access network in an N2 message during a PDU session modification procedure for the UE.
Regarding claim 26. (Currently Amended)
-Claim 26 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 1.
A method for indicating Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice support over packet switching (PS) for a user equipment (UE) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the method being performed by an access and mobility management function (AMF) of the PLMN, the method comprising:
obtaining a trigger for the AMF to indicate IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN;
after obtaining the trigger, obtaining IMS information of IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN; and
after obtaining the IMS information for the UE, providing to a radio access network serving the UE in the PLMN an indication based on the obtained IMS information, the indication specifying the IMS voice support over PS (VoPS) for the UE in the PLMN, wherein
obtaining the IMS information for the UE comprises:
transmitting to a data manager a request for subscription information for the UE; and
receiving from the data manage a response responsive to the request for subscription information for the UE,
the response from the data manager includes the requested subscription information for the UE, and
a) the subscription information received in the response from the data manager includes the IMS information or
b) the AMF derives the IMS information based on the subscription information for the UE included in the response from the data manager.
Regarding claim 28. (Previously Presented)
-Claim 28 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claims 1 & 26 and further as following:
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for indicating IMS voice support over PS for a UE in a PLMN, the computer program comprising computer code which, when run on processing circuitry of an AMF, causes the AMF to perform the method of claim 26 {Zaus: ¶0003 wherein “Some embodiments of this disclosure include systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media for managing the provisioning of voice services to a user equipment (UE) in a fifth generation (5G) network”; see also ¶0009-¶0012, ¶0029, ¶0284-¶0288 & Fig.13; RYU: Figs.3-4 and ¶0111 wherein “A network function may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, and/or a network node (e.g. the claimed AMF) as depicted in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, or as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware and/or shared hardware” & ¶0347}.
Claims 4-6, 10, 15, 17-19. (Cancelled)
Claim(s) 20-21, 23, 27 & 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1-2) as being anticipated by RYU (US 2022/0248370 A1).
Regarding claim 20. (Currently Amended)
A unified data manager (UDM) for enabling indicating Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice support over packet switching (PS)(VoPS) for a user equipment (UE) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the UDM comprising:
a receiver for receiving from an access and mobility management function (AMF) a request message for subscription information for the UE {RYU: Step 915 in Fig.9 & ¶0192 wherein “the AMF 155 may retrieve the access and mobility subscription data and SMF 160 selection subscription data using Nudm_SDM_Get 915, see an arrow direction from AMF to UDM; in other words, UDM 140 inherently comprises a receiver for receiving the request message Nudm SDM Get 915 from AMF 155, emphasis added};
processing circuitry {RYU: Figs.1-4 & 9 and ¶0110-¶0111 wherein “a network function may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, and/or a network node as depicted in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, or as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware and/or shared hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform”}, the processing circuitry being configured to cause the UDM to:
transmit to the AMF a response message responsive to the request message for subscription information for the UE {RYU: Step 915 in Fig.9 & ¶0192 wherein “the AMF 155 may retrieve the access and mobility subscription data and SMF 160 selection subscription data using Nudm_SDM_Get 915, see an arrow direction from UDM to AMF”; In other words, UDM 140 transmitting a response to the request message Nudm SDM Get 915 from AMF 155, emphasis added}, wherein
the response message includes the requested subscription information for the UE {RYU: Nudm SDM Get 915-Fig.9 (the claimed response message) including access and mobility subscription data (the requested subscription information as claimed) in arrow direction from UDM to AMF}, and
a) the subscription information included in the response includes IMS information of IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN or
b) the subscription information enables the AMF to derive the IMS information {RYU: “Nudm SDM Get 915-Fig.9 (the claimed response message) including access and mobility subscription data (the requested subscription information as claimed) in arrow direction from UDM to AMF. After a successful response is received, the AMF 155 may subscribe to be notified using Nudm_SDM_Subscribe 920 when the data requested may be modified; In other words, the AMF using the subscription information received in the Nudm SDM Get 915 response from UDM to subscribe, emphasis added)}.
Regarding claim 21. (Currently Amended) The UDM of claim 20, wherein the request message is a Nudm_SDM_Get request message, and the response message is a Nudm_SDM_Get response message {RYU: Step 915 in Fig.9 & ¶0192 wherein “the new AMF 155 may register with the UDM 140 using Nudm_UECM_Registration 910. the AMF 155 may retrieve the access and mobility subscription data and SMF 160 selection subscription data using Nudm_SDM_Get 915”; In other words, the UDM provides the access and mobility subscription data or SMS selection subscription data to the AMF (e.g. arrow from UDM to AMF as the Nudm_SDM_Get response message 915, emphasis added) in response to the Nudm_SDM_Get 915 (e.g. arrow from AMF to UDM as the Nudm_SDM_Get 915 request message, emphasis added)}.
Regarding claim 23. (Currently Amended) The UDM of claim 20, wherein the subscription information does not include an IMS DNN in a list of subscribed DNNs {RYU: 915-Fig.9 & ¶0192 wherein the AMF 155 receiving the access and mobility subscription data and SMF 160 selection subscription data (the claimed subscription information) using Nudm_SDM_Get 915 (e.g. arrow from UDM to AMF as the Nudm_SDM_Get 915 response message, emphasis added); In other words, in response to the Nudm SDM Get 915 (e.g. arrow from AMF to UDM as the Nudm_SDM_Get 915 request message, emphasis added), the UDM provides information including “the access and mobility subscription data” to AMF (e.g. arrow from AMF to UDM as the Nudm_SDM_Get 915 request message, emphasis added) “not including an IMS DNN in a list of subscribed DNNs”, emphasis added)}.
Regarding claim 27. (Currently Amended)
-Claim 27 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 20.
A method for enabling indicating Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice support over packet switching (PS) for a user equipment (UE) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the method being performed by a unified data manager (UDM) of the PLMN, the method comprising:
receiving from an access and mobility management function (AMF) a request for subscription information for the UE; and
transmitting to the AMF a response responsive to the request for subscription information for the UE, wherein
the response includes the requested subscription information for the UE, and
a) the subscription information included in the response includes IMS information of IMS voice support over PS for the UE in the PLMN or
b) the subscription information includes information enabling the AMF to derive the IMS information.
Regarding claim 29. (Previously Presented)
-Claim 29 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 27.
non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for enabling indicating IMS voice support over PS for a UE in a PLMN, the computer program comprising computer code which, when run on processing circuitry of a UDM, causes the UDM to perform the method of claim 27 {RYU: Figs.1-4 & 9 and ¶0110-¶0111 wherein “a network function may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, and/or a network node as depicted in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, or as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware and/or shared hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform”}.
Claims 22, 24-25, 30. (Cancelled)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8-5-25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
a/. With respect to Drawings Objection, the applicant has submitted new drawings 6-11.
-In reply, all drawings except Fig.10 were accepted, because Fig.10 does not labeled all numbers with descriptive legends.
b/. With respect to 112 rejections, applicant had amended claims to overcome previous 112 rejections.
-In reply, the previous 112 rejections are withdrawn.
c/. With respect to 102-103 rejections, Applicant had amended claims to attempt overcome previous 102-103 rejections.
-In reply, the amended claims have overcome the previous 102-103 rejections. However, the amended claims still meet the teaching in Zaus and Ryu as rejected in newly 102-103 rejections as above.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Qiao (US 20190297121 A1) discloses an application server sending a request message to a subscriber server indicating a first query for terminating access domain selection (T-ADS) information for an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) session of a wireless device. The application server receives from the subscriber server, the T-ADS information comprising: a first wireless device IP address and a first network name of a first RAT for the IMS session, and a second wireless device IP address and a second network name of a second RAT. The application server determines an access network for the IMS session based on the first network name, the first wireless device IP address, the second network name and the second wireless device IP address. The access network is one of the first RAT or the second RAT. The application server sends an IMS message to the wireless device to setup the IMS session over the access network {Figs. 9,12}.
Bharatia (US 2020/0267784 A1) discloses a session management function (SMF) receiving from a wireless device, a packet data unit (PDU) session establishment request message. The SMF sends to a network node, a request message for subscription information of the wireless device. The SMF receives from the network node, a response message comprising subscription information indicating an identifier of a first local proxy application server for an application location, wherein the application location identifies a user plane access to a data network. The SMF sends to the wireless device, a PDU session establishment accept message comprising the identifier of the first local proxy application server {Figs. 9, 12}.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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/PHUONGCHAU BA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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