DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to applicant's communication filed on 02/17/2023, wherein:
Claim 1-12 are pending.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 1-3, 7, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 20200047108 A) in view of Prakash (US 20210144619 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a network device (Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 – SMF) comprising:
an information providing unit configured to provide the information of the specific terminal to a network node of a user plane associated with a session of the specific terminal (Fig. 2 and Fig. 4: UPF) , so that the network node is capable of using the information when processing traffic of the session (Fig. 2 and ¶0074-0075 disclose SMF sending session control message including information such as UE ID, Slice ID, PDU session ID to create data session – i.e. processing traffic).
However the reference is silent on details about the information including location information and a confirmation unit configured to confirm location information of a specific terminal.
Prakash discloses a confirmation unit configured to confirm location information of a specific terminal and network slide information including location information (Fig. 6-7, ¶0066-0067, ¶0080-0085, and claim 17 disclose network slice mapping – i.e. confirming - based on Tracking Area Identity TAI information – i.e. location information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Lee to incorporate tracking area information for identifying network slice from Prakash because doing so would make use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way (MPEP §2141 -III) to utilize known method to identifying network slice effectively.
Regarding claim 2, the combined teaching of Lee and Prakash discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the location information comprises at least one of tracking area identity (TAI), NR cell global identifier (NCGI), E-UTRAN CGI (ECGI), GPS-based location, and access time information as area information about an access location of the specific terminal (Prakash – ¶0066-0067 and ¶0080-0085 disclose location information including tracking area identity). The combined teaching would be obvious for the same reason indicated in claim 1.
Regarding claim 3, the combined teaching of Lee and Prakash discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the location information comprises at least one of UE radio capability (UE RC), frequency information, band information, and network slice (NW slice) information (Prakash - Fig. 6-7, ¶0066-0067, and ¶0080-0085 disclose network slice information as location information) as radio information about an access frequency of the specific terminal. The combined teaching of Lee and Prakash would be obvious for the same reason indicated in claim 1.
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses a network device comprising:
a controller configured to perform traffic control using a information when processing traffic of a session of the specific terminal (Fig. 2 and ¶0074-0075 disclose SMF sending session control message including information such as UE ID, Slice ID, PDU session ID to create data session – i.e. processing traffic).
However the reference is silent on details about the information including location information and a confirmation unit configured to confirm location information of a specific terminal.
Prakash discloses a confirmation unit configured to confirm location information of a specific terminal and network slide information including location information (Fig. 6-7, ¶0066-0067, ¶0080-0085, and claim 17 disclose network slice mapping – i.e. confirming - based on Tracking Area Identity TAI information – i.e. location information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Lee to incorporate tracking area information for identifying network slice from Prakash because doing so would make use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way (MPEP §2141 -III) to utilize known method to identifying network slice effectively.
Regarding claim 9, the scope and content of the claim recites a terminal location information transmission method performed by a network device of claim 1, therefore, being addressed as in claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, the scope and content of the claim recites a terminal location information use method performed by a network device of claim 7, therefore, being addressed as in claim 7.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4-6, 8, 10, and 12 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG HONG whose telephone number is (571)270-7928. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, JINSONG HU, can be reached on (571) 272-3965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DUNG HONG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643