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 the initial Office action based on amendment filing on 02/17/2026. Claims 1, 10, 17 and 19 have been amended.
Claims 1-17 and 19 are pending and have been examined.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Jinyin does not teach the newly added feature “wherein the obtained list of identification information of SGW-U nodes is obtained based at least in part on serving area information associated with respective SGW-U nodes.” Remarks, page 8, second paragraph.
Examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that Jinyin discloses wherein the mobility management node determines whether the SGW-U node serves a User Equipment (UE) according to location information of the UE by checking if the stored identification information of the SGW- U node is in the obtained list of identification information of SGW-U nodes, see ([0086], [0091], [0093]), and the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function, as shown in figure 1, [0091]. Thus, par. [0091] in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2 show list of identification information of SGW-U nodes is obtained based at least in part on serving area information associated with respective SGW-U nodes. The Examiner further submits that the language “serving area information associated with respective SGW-U nodes” can be understood in many ways, including but not limited to, “the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function .” Thus, [0091] reads on the argued limitation.
In the remarks, page 8, third paragraph, Applicant presents similar arguments as to claim 1 with respect to claim 16. Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes same response as above with respect to claim 1.
Further, Applicant argues that Jinyin does not disclose the newly added limitation, “in response to a request from the mobility management node to change the SGW-U node serving the UE” in claim 10. Remarks, page 9, second paragraph.
Examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that Jinyin discloses in Figures 4 and 5 and par. [0093] that “In step S51, a mobility procedure with change to a new SGW-C 503 is initiated.
The mobility procedure may be either an IDLE mobility or a handover procedure. In step S52, when MME (or SGSN) has changed, the old MME 505 includes the SGW-U serving area (SA of SWG-U) information in the context response or forward relocation request message sent to new MME 502. In step S53, new MME 502 sends create session request to new SGW-C 503. In step S54, SGW-C 503 selects the SGW-U 504, based on UE’s location and initiates the PFCP session establishment procedure towards the SGW-U 504. In step S55, for idle mobility procedure or handover procedure wherein core network is not involved in preparation phase (e.g. X2-based handover, X2 is interface between eNodeBs) , SGW-C 503 sends modify bearer request to PGW 506.” Thus, [0093] and Figures 4 and 5 disclose the argued limitation.
In the remarks, page 9, third paragraph, Applicant presents similar arguments as to claim 10 with respect to claim 17. Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes same response as above with respect to claim 10.
Claims 2-9 and 11-16 depend either directly or indirectly upon independent claims 1 and 10; therefore, they are also rejected at least for the same reasons discussed above and/or by virtue of their dependencies.
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.
Claims 1, 3-10, 12-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jinyin et al (WO 2019/205991).
Regarding claim 1, Jinyin discloses a method at a mobility management node, comprising:
receiving, from a network node, identification information of a Serving Gateway- User plane (SGW-U) node ([0086], “and step S302, receiving serving area information of a first serving gateway user plane function from the serving gateway control plane function;” Fig. 3; [0091], “… the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function, as shown in figure 1.”); and storing the received identification information of the SGW-U node ([0091], “the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function” [0009], “… storing serving area information of the plurality of serving gateway user plane functions…” The “serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function including a list of tracking areas” are interpreted as the “the received identification information of the SGW-U node” ), wherein the mobility management node determines whether the SGW-U node serves a User Equipment (UE) according to location information of the UE by checking if the stored identification information of the SGW- U node is in the obtained list of identification information of SGW-U nodes (see, [0086], [0091], [0093]), nodes, and wherein the obtained list of identification information of SGW-U nodes is obtained based at least in part on serving area information associated with respective SGW-U nodes (the
mobility management node determines whether the SGW-U node serves a User Equipment (UE) according to location information of the UE by checking if the stored identification information of the SGW- U node is in the obtained list of identification information of SGW-U nodes, [0086], [0091], [0093]; and serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function, as shown in Figure 1, [0091] the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function, as shown in Figure 1, [0091]).
Regarding claim 3, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the network node is a Serving Gateway-Control plane (SGW-C) node, the SGW-U node is selected by the SGW-C node, and the identification information of the SGW-U node from the SGW-U node is carried by one of: a Create Session Response message, or a Modify Bearer Response message (In step 58, Figure 5, [0093], “ MME 502 sends modify bearer request to SGW-C and then to PGW and the procedure is further handled.”).
Regarding claim 4, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the network node is another mobility management node, the SGW-U node [[was]]is selected by an SGW-C node, and the identification information of the SGW-U node from the other mobility management node is carried by one of: a Context Response message, or a Forward Relocation Request message (page 50, claim 10, “.a mobility management entity (107) to communicate with a serving gateway control plane function (101) managing a plurality of serving gateway user plane functions”).
Regarding claim 5, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 4, wherein one of the mobility management node or the other mobility management node comprises at least one of: a Mobility Management Entity (MME) ([0018], “for a mobility management entity to communicate with a serving gateway control plane function managing a plurality of serving gateway user plane
functions.”), or an S4-Serving GPRS Support Node (S4-SGSN).
Regarding claim 6, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 3, further comprising: selecting the SGW-C node at least partially based on location information of a User Equipment (UE) (Abstract, “a first serving gateway user plane function (404, 504) among the plurality of serving gateway user plane functions (103) for a user equipment (106), according to location of the user equipment”).
Regarding claim 7, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 6, further comprising: obtaining a list of identification information of SGW-U nodes at least partially based on location information of the UE; determining that the SGW-U node needs change if the stored identification information of the SGW-U node is not in the obtained list ([0019], “that the user equipment moves out of a serving area of the first serving gateway user plane function; …” [0037], “the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function includes a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function”); and transmitting an indication of reselecting an SGW-U node to the selected SGW-C node (Fig. 2 and [0083], ll. 7-8, “step S204, sending serving area information of the first serving gateway user plane function to a mobility management entity.…”).
Regarding claim 8, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the indication of reselecting the SGW-U node is carried by a Modify Bearer Request message, and comprises at least the location information of the UE ([00110], “SGSN/MME 1002 firstly sends modify bearer request to SGW-C 1003 so that SGW-C 1003 can reselect the SGW-U 1005 to serve the UE 1001. In the message, if ULI is not included, ULI for SGW is included to help SGW-C to reselect the SGW-U. An indication of “no PGW notification” is also included so that SGW-C 1003 will not forward the modify bearer request to PGW 1007.”); and the identification information of the SGW-U node from the selected SGW-C node is carried by the Modify Bearer Response message ([00111], “The indication (no PGW notification) is included in the modify bearer request as in S1003, and any kind of flag or identifier may be used. After SGW-U is
successfully changed, SGW-C 1003 sends modify bearer request to PGW 1007, to notify PGW 1007.”).
Regarding claim 9, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising: allocating, to the UE, a Tracking Area Identity list containing one or more TAs which can all be served by both the currently selected SGW-C node and SGW-U node (Figure 4 and [0091], “the serving area information of a serving gateway user plane function may include a list of tracking areas served by the serving gateway user plane function, as shown in figure 1.”).
Regarding claim 10, Jinyin discloses a method at a Serving Gateway-Control plane (SGW-C) node, comprising: selecting a Serving Gateway-User plane (SGW-U) node for serving a User Equipment (UE) ([0083], “step S203, selecting a first serving gateway user plane function among the plurality of serving gateway user plane functions for a user equipment, …”); and transmitting, to a mobility management node, identification information of the SGW-U node (Fig. 2 and [0083], ll. 7-8, “step S204, sending serving area information of the first serving gateway user plane function to a mobility management entity.…”), wherein the SGW-C node triggers an Sx Session Termination procedure towards the SGW- U node during signaling procedure(claim 2, reselecting (S602) a second serving gateway user plane function (805, 905, 1005) from the plurality of serving gateway user plane functions (103); sending (S603) serving area information of the second serving gateway user plane function (805, 905, 1005) to the mobility management entity), in response to a request from the mobility management node to change the SGW-U node serving the UE (Figures 4 and 5 and par. [0093] that “In step S51, a mobility procedure with change to a new SGW-C 503 is initiated. The mobility procedure may be either an IDLE mobility or a handover procedure. In step S52, when MME (or SGSN) has changed, the old MME 505 includes the SGW-U serving area (SA of SWG-U) information in the context response or forward relocation request message sent to new MME 502. In step S53, new MME 502 sends create session request to new SGW-C 503. In step S54, SGW-C 503 selects the
SGW-U 504, based on UE’s location and initiates the PFCP session establishment procedure towards the SGW-U 504. In step S55, for idle mobility procedure or handover procedure wherein core network is not involved in preparation phase (e.g. X2-based handover, X2 is interface between eNodeBs) , SGW-C 503 sends modify bearer request to PGW 506.”).
Claim 12 contains subject matter similar to claim 3, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 13 contains subject matter similar to claim 6, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 14, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, from the mobility management node, an indication of reselecting an SGW-U node; and reselecting an SGW-U node ([0096], “… receiving, from the mobility management entity, a request for changing the first serving gateway user plane function; step S602, reselecting a second serving gateway user plane function from the plurality of serving gateway user plane functions; …”).
Claim 15 contains subject matter similar to claim 8, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 16 contains subject matter similar to claim 5, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 17 contains subject matter similar to claim 1, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
18. (Canceled)
Claim 19 contains subject matter similar to claim 10, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
20-22. (Canceled)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jinyin et al (WO 2019/205991) in view of HUAWEI ET AL: SGW.PGW selection for NR,” 3GPP DRAFT.
Regarding claim 2, in the obvious combination, Jinyin discloses the method of claim 1 above, but wherein the identification information of the SGW-U node comprises at least one of: node name information of the SGW-U node, or node IP information of the SGW-U node.
However, in similar endeavor of mobility management, Huawei discloses node IP information of the SGW-U node (See page 4, section 5.10, par. 7, “a list of host names each coupled with a service, a protocol, a port, and a list of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method mechanisms of Jinyin with the mechanisms of Huawei to include node IP information of the SGW-U node as taught by Huawei in order to manage the UE parameters such as IP bearer services network and routing data packets associated with different bearer so that its IP address help in efficiently routing those packets to their respective destinations, guaranteeing appropriate transfer of user data.
Claim 11 contains subject matter similar to claim 2, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20170311150 to Zhang al: a method and device for processing terminal unloading and processing terminal registration, and the method for processing terminal unloading includes that: a source Mobility Management Entity (MME) configures a mobility management entity identity for a terminal to be unloaded.
US 20190116483 to Ryu et al: User equipment (UE) to perform a tracking area update (TAU) procedure in a wireless communication system comprises: a step of transmitting a TAU request message to a mobility management entity (MME).
US 20180302857 to Shan: An apparatus for use in a serving gateway user plane (SGW-U) of an evolved packet core (EPC) of a wireless communication network is disclosed. The apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to process a downlink (DL) data signal comprising a DL data packet for a user equipment (UE) in the network.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIO R PEREZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7846. The examiner can normally be reached 10Am - 6PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 5712705371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JULIO R PEREZ/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644