DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-15 are presented for examination.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to dependent claims 2-7 and 9-14, Applicant has not made specific arguments pertaining to why the cited references do not teach the recited claims, other than their dependency to claim 1 or 8. Therefor for at least the reasons presented above for claims 1 and 8, the dependent claims are rejected.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 4, 6, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of Ryu (US 20230085130 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yang teaches a core network node (Fig. 7; core network device 600) comprising: at least one memory (Fig. 8; memory 720); and at least one processor (Fig. 8; processor 710) coupled to the at least one memory and configured to:
a first association between a plurality of Home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAIs) and one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI ([0007] However, in actual deployment, one VPLMN S-NSSAI may correspond to multiple HPLMN S-NSSAIs. Only some of the multiple HPLMN S-NSSAIs may require the NSSAA.).
wherein the first association includes a second association between the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and at least one Home PLMN S-NSSAI that is not subject to Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization (NSSAA) ([0093] the third S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of the HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI), and the third S-NSSAI is different from the second S-NSSAI. [0096] the third S-NSSAI is not subject to the NSSAA), and a third association between the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and at least one Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA ([0010] a second S-NSSAI is subject to the NSSAA, and the second S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI))
receive information indicating whether an NSSAA feature is supported from a User Equipment (UE) ([0003] The UE indicates to a network whether the UE supports or does not support the NSSAA through an indication in a 5G system mobility management (5GMM) capability parameter in a registration request. [0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA.), and
if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA. In other words, the terminal device may be a device that does not support the NSSAA.), and if a part of multiple Home PLMN S-NSSAIs presented by the UE is included in the second association and the rest is included in the third association, send information including part of the second association out of the first association to the UE (Fig. 4; [0080] At S310, registration request information, where the registration request information contains a first requested NSSAI, and the first requested NSSAI includes a first S-NSSAI and a second S-NSSAI (third association). [0081] At S320, determine whether the second S-NSSAI is subject to NSSAA, and if the second S-NSSAI is subject to the NSSAA, the first S-NSSAI is not regarded as an allowed NSSAI and a rejected NSSAI. [0092] In some implementations of the present disclosure, the method 200 may further include sending, by the terminal device, a third message to the AMF. [0093] The third message contains a second requested NSSAI, where the second requested NSSAI includes the first S-NSSAI and a third S-NSSAI (second association), the third S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of the HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI, and the third S-NSSAI is different from the second S-NSSAI. [0096] the third S-NSSAI is not subject to the NSSAA. [0094] For example, the terminal device sends the third message to the AMF when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: the first message does not contain an allowed NSSAI and a rejected NSSAI. [0095] In other words, if all S-NSSAIs of the HPLMN in the first requested NSSAI cannot be used by the terminal device, the terminal device can use the third S-NSSAI corresponding to the first S-NSSAI to re-initiate a registration request [0097] In other words, for the third S-NSSAI, it is not necessary to perform the NSSAA for the terminal device, which is equivalent to that a network slice identified by the third S-NSSAI and requested by the terminal device can be used by the terminal device, correspondingly, the AMF can regard the third S-NSSAI as an S-NSSAI in the allowed NSSAI and send the third S-NSSAI to the terminal device. (The third S-NSSAI is part of the second association out of the first association being sent to the UE).).
Yang does not teach store a first association and send information including the second association out of the first association to the UE.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor of network slicing for communication systems teaches store a first association ([0166] In an example, a UE 100 may be configured by the HPLMN with a configured NSSAI per PLMN (In other words, for the Serving PLMN and the Home PLMN and the mapping is as described in Yang above.). Upon successful completion of a UE's registration procedure, the UE 100 may obtain from the AMF 155 an Allowed NSSAI for this PLMN, which may include one or more S-NSSAIs. [0167] In an example, the Allowed NSSAI may take precedence over the configured NSSAI for a PLMN. The UE 100 may use the S-NSSAIs in the allowed NSSAI corresponding to a network slice for the subsequent network slice selection related procedures in the serving PLMN.) and send information including the second association out of the first association to the UE ([0198] In an example, the new AMF 155 may send to the UE 100 a registration accept 955 (comprising: 5G-GUTI, registration area, mobility restrictions, PDU session status, allowed NSSAI, [mapping of allowed NSSAI]. The mapping of allowed NSSAI may be the mapping of each S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI) of the allowed NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs (third S-NSSAI) of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN (this is the second association)).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Regarding claim 4, Yang teaches the core network node according to claim 1, and according to paragraphs [0103] and [0104] the various technical features taught in Yang can be “combined in any manner, as long as the idea of the present disclosure is not violated”. We can combine the two separate registration messages sent by the terminal of Yang, such that the registration request information contains a first requested NSSAI, which includes the first S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI) and both the second NSSAI (third association) and third S-NSSAI (second association).
Yang does not explicitly teach wherein the at least one processor is configured to send to the UE a NAS message containing an Allowed NSSAI and a Rejected NSSAI, wherein the Allowed NSSAI includes the partial second association and does not include the third association and wherein the Rejected NSSAI includes the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in both the second association and the third association.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor of network slicing for communication systems teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to send to the UE a NAS message containing an Allowed NSSAI and a Rejected NSSAI, wherein the Allowed NSSAI includes the partial second association and does not include the third association and wherein the Rejected NSSAI includes the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in both the second association and the third association ([0285] The AMF may consider any S-NSSAI subject to the NSSAA as a rejected NSSAI. The AMF may send a registration accept message to the wireless device via the base station in response to the registration request message. The registration accept message may comprise allowed NSSAI and/or rejected NSSAI (the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in both the second association and the third association). [0294] AMF may determine S-NSSAI 1 is a rejected S-NSSAI and the S-NSSAI 2 is an allowed S-NSSAI for the wireless device. [0198] The registration accept 955 (comprising: allowed NSSAI, [mapping of allowed NSSAI]) The mapping of allowed NSSAI may be the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the allowed NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN (second association)).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Regarding claim 6, Yang teaches the core network node according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating whether the NSSAA feature is supported is included in a Registration Request message ([0003] The UE indicates to a network whether the UE supports or does not support the NSSAA through an indication in a 5G system mobility management (5GMM) capability parameter in a registration request.).
Regarding claim 15, Yang teaches a method performed by a core network node, the method comprising:
a first association between a plurality of Home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAIs) and one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI ([0007] However, in actual deployment, one VPLMN S-NSSAI may correspond to multiple HPLMN S-NSSAIs. Only some of the multiple HPLMN S-NSSAIs may require the NSSAA.).
wherein the first association includes a second association between the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and at least one Home PLMN S-NSSAI that is not subject to Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization (NSSAA) ([0093] the third S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of the HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI, and the third S-NSSAI is different from the second S-NSSAI. [0096] the third S-NSSAI is not subject to the NSSAA), and a third association between the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and at least one Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA ([0010] a second S-NSSAI is subject to the NSSAA, and the second S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI));
receiving information indicating whether an NSSAA feature is supported from a User Equipment (UE) ([0003] The UE indicates to a network whether the UE supports or does not support the NSSAA through an indication in a 5G system mobility management (5GMM) capability parameter in a registration request. [0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA.); and
if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA. In other words, the terminal device may be a device that does not support the NSSAA.), and if a part of multiple Home PLMN S-NSSAls presented by the UE is included in the second association and the rest is included in the third association, sending information including part of the second association out of the first association to the UE (Fig. 4; [0080] At S310, registration request information, where the registration request information contains a first requested NSSAI, and the first requested NSSAI includes a first S-NSSAI and a second S-NSSAI (third association). [0081] At S320, determine whether the second S-NSSAI is subject to NSSAA, and if the second S-NSSAI is subject to the NSSAA, the first S-NSSAI is not regarded as an allowed NSSAI and a rejected NSSAI. [0092] In some implementations of the present disclosure, the method 200 may further include sending, by the terminal device, a third message to the AMF. [0093] The third message contains a second requested NSSAI, where the second requested NSSAI includes the first S-NSSAI and a third S-NSSAI (second association), the third S-NSSAI is an S-NSSAI of the HPLMN corresponding to the first S-NSSAI, and the third S-NSSAI is different from the second S-NSSAI. [0096] the third S-NSSAI is not subject to the NSSAA. [0094] For example, the terminal device sends the third message to the AMF when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: the first message does not contain an allowed NSSAI and a rejected NSSAI. [0095] In other words, if all S-NSSAIs of the HPLMN in the first requested NSSAI cannot be used by the terminal device, the terminal device can use the third S-NSSAI corresponding to the first S-NSSAI to re-initiate a registration request [0097] In other words, for the third S-NSSAI, it is not necessary to perform the NSSAA for the terminal device, which is equivalent to that a network slice identified by the third S-NSSAI and requested by the terminal device can be used by the terminal device, correspondingly, the AMF can regard the third S-NSSAI as an S-NSSAI in the allowed NSSAI and send the third S-NSSAI to the terminal device. (The third S-NSSAI is part of the second association out of the first association being sent to the UE).).
Yang does not teach storing the first association and sending information including the second association out of the first association to the UE.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor of network slicing for communication systems teaches storing the first association ([0166] In an example, a UE 100 may be configured by the HPLMN with a configured NSSAI per PLMN (In other words, for the Serving PLMN and the Home PLMN and the mapping is as described in Yang above.). Upon successful completion of a UE's registration procedure, the UE 100 may obtain from the AMF 155 an Allowed NSSAI for this PLMN, which may include one or more S-NSSAIs. [0167] In an example, the Allowed NSSAI may take precedence over the configured NSSAI for a PLMN. The UE 100 may use the S-NSSAIs in the allowed NSSAI corresponding to a network slice for the subsequent network slice selection related procedures in the serving PLMN.) and sending information including the second association out of the first association to the UE ([0198] In an example, the new AMF 155 may send to the UE 100 a registration accept 955 (comprising: 5G-GUTI, registration area, mobility restrictions, PDU session status, allowed NSSAI, [mapping of allowed NSSAI]. The mapping of allowed NSSAI may be the mapping of each S-NSSAI (Serving PLMN S-NSSAI) of the allowed NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs (third S-NSSAI) of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN (this is the second association)).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of Ryu (US 20230085130 A1), further in view of Ryu (US 20230109272 A1); hereinafter Ryu2.
Regarding claim 2, Yang and Ryu teaches the core network node according to claim 1 but does not teach wherein the at least one processor is configured to send to the UE a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message containing a Configured NSSAI that includes the second association and does not include the third association.
Ryu2, in the same field of endeavor of network slicing in communication networks, teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to send to the UE a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message containing a Configured NSSAI that includes the second association and does not include the third association. ([0304] In an example, the AMF may receive NSSAA capability of the wireless device from the wireless device. The AMF may use the NSSAA capability when the AMF build the configured NSSAA of the wireless device. In an example, the AMF may exclude S-NSSAIs that requires the NSSAA from the configured NSSAI if the wireless device does not support NSSAA (does not include third association). Fig. 21 shows the AMF sending Configured NSSAI in a Registration accept message and [0283] An AMF may update the configured NSSAI by sending a registration accept message… comprising a new set of configured NSSAI. [0200] The mapping of allowed NSSAI may be the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the allowed NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN. From claim 1, the second association contains the S-NSSAI that is not subject to NSSAA, and the third association contains the S-NSSAI that is subject to NSSAA, therefor, the Configured NSSAI of Ryu2 includes the second association but does not include the third association).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Registration accept message of Yang and Ryu to include the Configured NSSAI of Ryu2 that includes the second association and does not include the third association. The motivation to do so would have been to decrease NSSAA failure by exchanging the NSSAA information with a wireless device and decrease a service delay by avoiding unnecessary NSSAA procedure which expects NSSAA failure. (Ryu2; [0304]).
Regarding claim 3, Ryu teaches the core network node according to claim 2, wherein NAS message further includes an Allowed NSSAI that includes the second association and does not include the third association ([0294] AMF may determine S-NSSAI 1 is a rejected S-NSSAI and the S-NSSAI 2 is an allowed S-NSSAI for the wireless device. [0285] The AMF may send a registration accept message to the wireless device via the base station in response to the registration request message. The registration accept message may comprise allowed NSSAI. [0198] The registration accept 955 (comprising: allowed NSSAI, [mapping of allowed NSSAI]) The mapping of allowed NSSAI may be the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the allowed NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN (the second association). Since the AMF determines S-NSSAI 1 is a rejected S-NSSAI, it will not be included in the allowed NSSAI).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of Ryu (US 20230085130 A1), further in view of NINGLEKHU (US 20230052699 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Yang and Ryu teaches the core network node according to claim 4 but does not teach wherein the NAS message further includes a Configured NSSAI that includes both the second association and the third association.
NINGLEKHU in the same field of endeavor of network slicing teaches wherein the NAS message further includes a Configured NSSAI that includes both the second association and third association ([0369] In Step 4-b, the AMF sends Registration Accept message to the UE. In the Registration Accept message the AMF includes Allowed NSSAI, Mapping of Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI and Mapping of Configured NSSAI, and the Slice Availability Area Restrictions that are associated with each S-NSSAI in the Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI, and Mapping of Allowed NSSAI's are delivered to the UE. [0103] The Mapping of Configured NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the configured NSSAI for the Serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs. This Mapping of Configured NSSAI would include both the first and second associations since the UE’s subscription has not changed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Registration accept message of Yang and Ryu to include the Configured NSSAI of NINGLEKHU that includes both the second association and the third association. The motivation to do so would have been to provide enhancements to registration procedure to include information about what geographical regions a slice may be accessed from (Ninglekhu; [0015]).
Regarding claim 7, Yang and Ryu teaches the core network node according to claim 1, wherein Ryu teaches the at least one processor is configured to, if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported and one or more Home PLMN S-NSSAls presented by the UE are all included in the third association, send a NAS message to the UE, the NAS message containing a Rejected NSSAI that includes the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association ([0285] If all S-NSSAI for the wireless device are subject to the NSSAA and the wireless device does not support the NSSAA, the AMF may deregister the wireless device by sending a deregistration request message comprising the rejected NSSAI (includes the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association) to the wireless device).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Ryu does not teach the NAS message includes a Configured NSSAI containing the third association.
NINGLEKHU in the same field of endeavor of network slicing teaches the NAS message includes a Configured NSSAI containing the third association ([0369] In Step 4-b, the AMF sends Registration Accept message to the UE. In the Registration Accept message the AMF includes Allowed NSSAI, Mapping of Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI and Mapping of Configured NSSAI, and the Slice Availability Area Restrictions that are associated with each S-NSSAI in the Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI, and Mapping of Allowed NSSAI's are delivered to the UE. [0103] The Mapping of Configured NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the configured NSSAI for the Serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs. This Mapping of Configured NSSAI would include both the first and second associations since the UE’s subscription has not changed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Registration accept message of Yang and Ryu to include the Configured NSSAI of NINGLEKHU that includes both the second association and the third association. The motivation to do so would have been to provide enhancements to registration procedure to include information about what geographical regions a slice may be accessed from (Ninglekhu; [0015]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 8, 10, 11, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of NINGLEKHU (US 20230052699 A1), further in view of Ishii (US 20230262591 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Yang teaches a User Equipment (UE) (Fig. 6; terminal device 510) comprising: at least one memory (Fig. 8; memory 720); and at least one processor (Fig. 8; processor 710) coupled to the at least one memory and configured to:
send information to a core network node indicating whether a Network Slice- Specific Authentication and Authorization (NSSAA) feature is supported ([0003] The UE indicates to a network whether the UE supports or does not support the NSSAA through an indication in a 5G system mobility management (5GMM) capability parameter in a registration request.);
receive a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message from the core network node (Fig. 5; [0087] At S430, a registration accept message or a registration reject message, is sent from the core network device to the terminal device),
wherein if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA.)
the NAS message contains a third association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA ([0068] For yet another example, the first message contains the rejected NSSAI and the rejected mapped NSSAI, the rejected NSSAI includes the second S-NSSAI, and the rejected mapped NSSAI includes the second S-NSSAI. [0069] Optionally, the rejected NSSAI may further carry or include the first S-NSSAI (this is the third association).
Yang does not teach the NAS message contains a second association of one Serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S- NSSAI) with at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA and contains a third association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA, and
based on the second association and the third associations, update a stored NSSAI storage to make the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association available and to make the at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association unavailable.
NINGLEKHU in the same field of endeavor of network slicing teaches the NAS message contains a second association of one Serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S- NSSAI) with at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA and contains a third association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA ([0368] In Step 4-a, the AMF sends a Registration Accept message to the UE. In the Registration Accept message the AMF includes Allowed NSSAI, Mapping of Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI and Mapping of Configured NSSAI, and Rejected NSSAI. [0102] The Mapping of Allowed NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the Allowed NSSAI for the serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs (second association). [0103] The Mapping of Configured NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the configured NSSAI for the Serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs. This Mapping of Configured NSSAI would include the third association since the UE’s subscription has not changed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the registration accept message of Yang to include the Configured NSSAI and Allowed NSSAI of Ninglekhu. The motivation to do so would have been to provide enhancements to registration procedure to include information about what geographical regions a slice may be accessed from (Ninglekhu; [0015]).
Ninglekhu does not teach and based on the second association and the third associations, update a stored NSSAI storage to make the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association available and to make the at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association unavailable.
Ishii, in the same field of endeavor of cell selection/reselection for network slicing teaches and based on the second association and the third association, update a stored NSSAI storage to make the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association available (Table 2, 4.6.2.2, When a new allowed NSSAI for a PLMN is received, the UE shall: 1) replace any stored allowed NSSAI for this PLMN with the new allowed NSSAI for this PLMN; 2) delete any stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the allowed NSSAI and, if available, store the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new allowed NSSAI.) and to make the at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association unavailable (Table 2, 4.6.2.2, The UE stores NSSAIs as follows: a) The configured NSSAI shall be stored until a new configured NSSAI is received for a given PLMN. The network may provide to the UE the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSAI which shall also be stored in the UE. When the UE is provisioned with a new configured NSSAI for a PLMN, the UE shall: 1) replace any stored configured NSSAI for this PLMN with the new configured NSSAI for this PLMN; 2) delete any stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the configured NSSAI and, if available, store the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSA. Since the Allowed S-NSSAI does not include the third association and the stored Allowed NSSAI was updated in the UE, the second Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the third association is unavailable to the UE for subsequent requests in the PLMN.).
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 methods of Ishii with the teachings of Yang and NINGLEKHU to update the configuration information of the UE with the Allowed and Configured NSSAIs. The motivation to do so would have been to improve resource selection and resource utilization in a communications system. (Ishii; [0194]).
Regarding claim 10, Yang teaches the UE according to claim 8 wherein if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA.).
Yang does not teach, the NAS message contains an Allowed NSSAI containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA, and also contains a Rejected NSSAI containing the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI.
NINGLEKHU in the same field of endeavor of network slicing teaches the NAS message contains an Allowed NSSAI containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA, and also contains a Rejected NSSAI containing the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI ([0368] In Step 4-a, the AMF sends a Registration Accept message to the UE. In the Registration Accept message the AMF includes Allowed NSSAI, Mapping of Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI and Mapping of Configured NSSAI, and Rejected NSSAI. [0102] The Mapping of Allowed NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the Allowed NSSAI for the serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs (second association). The Rejected NSSAI includes the S-NSSAI(s) that are rejected in that location (the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI) and the Slice Availability Area Restrictions that are associated with each S-NSSAI, so that the UE is aware that the slice was rejected for the current location and the UE can use this information to consider when to attempt to register to the slice again.).
NINGLEKHU does not teach and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: update, with the second association contained in the Allowed NSSAI, an Allowed NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage; and update, with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the Rejected NSSAI, a Rejected NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage.
Ishii, in the same field of endeavor of managing communication in a communication system teaches and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: update, with the second association contained in the Allowed NSSAI, an Allowed NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage (Table 2, 4.6.2.2, When a new allowed NSSAI for a PLMN is received, the UE shall: 1) replace any stored allowed NSSAI for this PLMN with the new allowed NSSAI for this PLMN; 2) delete any stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the allowed NSSAI and, if available, store the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new allowed NSSAI.); and update, with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the Rejected NSSAI, a Rejected NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage (Table 2; 4.6.2.2, When the UE receives the S-NSSAI(s) included in rejected NSSAI in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message or in the CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message, the UE shall: 1) store the S-NSSAI(s) into the rejected NSSAI based on the associated rejection cause(s).)
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 methods of Ishii with the teachings of Yang and NINGLEKHU to update the configuration information of the UE with the Allowed and Configured NSSAIs. The motivation to do so would have been to improve resource selection and resource utilization in a communications system. (Ishii; [0194]).
Regarding claim 11, Yang teaches the UE according to claim 8 wherein the NAS message is a registration accept message ([0076] the first message is a registration accept message or a registration reject message.).
Regarding claim 12, Yang teaches the UE according to claim 8, wherein if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA).
Yang does not teach the NAS message contains a Configured NSSAI containing the third association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA, and also contains a Rejected NSSAI containing the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: update, with the third association contained in the Configured NSSAI, a Configured NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage; and update, with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the Rejected NSSAI, a Rejected NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage.
NINGLEKHU in the same field of endeavor of network slicing teaches the NAS message contains a Configured NSSAI containing the third association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one second Home PLMN S-NSSAI subject to NSSAA, and also contains a Rejected NSSAI containing the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI ([0368] In Step 4-a, the AMF sends a Registration Accept message to the UE. In the Registration Accept message the AMF includes Allowed NSSAI, Mapping of Allowed NSSAI, Configured NSSAI and Mapping of Configured NSSAI, and Rejected NSSAI. The Rejected NSSAI includes the S-NSSAI(s) that are rejected in that location and the Slice Availability Area Restrictions that are associated with each S-NSSAI, so that the UE is aware that the slice was rejected for the current location and the UE can use this information to consider when to attempt to register to the slice again. [0103] The Mapping of Configured NSSAI is the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the configured NSSAI for the Serving PLMN to the HPLMN S-NSSAIs. This Mapping of Configured NSSAI would include the third association since the UE’s subscription has not changed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the registration accept message of Ryu to include the Configured NSSAI and Rejected NSSAI of Ninglekhu. The motivation to do so would have been to provide enhancements to registration procedure to include information about what geographical regions a slice may be accessed from (Ninglekhu; [0015]).
NINGLEKHU does not teach and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: update, with the third association contained in the Configured NSSAI, a Configured NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage; and update, with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the Rejected NSSAI, a Rejected NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage.
Ishi, in the same field of endeavor of cell selection and reselection for network slicing teaches and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: update, with the third association contained in the Configured NSSAI, a Configured NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage ((Pg. 8, Table 2, 4.6.2.2 NSSAI storage a) The configured NSSAI shall be stored until a new configured NSSAI is received for a given PLMN. The network may provide to the UE the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSAI which shall also be stored in the UE. When the UE is provisioned with a new configured NSSAI for a PLMN, the UE shall: 1) replace any stored configured NSSAI for this PLMN with the new configured NSSAI for this PLMN; 2) delete any stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the configured NSSAI and, if available, store the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSAI;); and update, with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the Rejected NSSAI, a Rejected NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage (Pg. 8, Table 2, 4.6.2.2 NSSAI storage c.) When the UE receives the S-NSSAI(s) included in rejected NSSAI in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message or in the CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message, the UE shall: 1) store the S-NSSAI(s) into the rejected NSSAI based on the associated rejection cause(s)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ninglekhu to include the NSSAI storage of Ishi. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance resource selection in a sliced network (Ishi; [0015]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of NINGLEKHU (US 20230052699 A1), further in view of Ishii (US 20230262591 A1), further in view of Ryu2 (US 20230109272 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Yang teaches the UE according to claim 8, wherein if the information indicates that the NSSAA feature is not supported ([0048] Optionally, the method 200 may be applied to a terminal device that does not support NSSAA).
Yang does not teach the NAS message contains a Configured NSSAI containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to update, with the second association contained in the Configured NSSAI, a Configured NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage.
Ishii, in the same field of endeavor of cell selection/reselection for network slicing teaches and wherein the at least one processor is configured to update, with the second association contained in the Configured NSSAI, a Configured NSSAI contained in the stored NSSAI storage (Table 2, 4.6.2.2, The UE stores NSSAIs as follows: a) The configured NSSAI shall be stored until a new configured NSSAI is received for a given PLMN. The network may provide to the UE the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSAI which shall also be stored in the UE. When the UE is provisioned with a new configured NSSAI for a PLMN, the UE shall: 1) replace any stored configured NSSAI for this PLMN with the new configured NSSAI for this PLMN; 2) delete any stored mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the configured NSSAI and, if available, store the mapped S-NSSAI(s) for the new configured NSSA.).
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 methods of Ishii with the teachings of Yang and NINGLEKHU to update the configuration information of the UE with the Allowed and Configured NSSAIs. The motivation to do so would have been to improve resource selection and resource utilization in a communications system. (Ishii; [0194]).
Ishii does not teach the NAS message contains a Configured NSSAI containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA.
Ryu2 in the same field of endeavor of network slicing in communication networks, teaches the NAS message contains a Configured NSSAI containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA (([0304] In an example, the AMF may receive NSSAA capability of the wireless device from the wireless device. The AMF may use the NSSAA capability when the AMF build the configured NSSAA of the wireless device. In an example, the AMF may exclude S-NSSAIs that requires the NSSAA from the configured NSSAA if the wireless device does not support NSSAA. Fig. 21 shows the AMF sending Configured NSSAI in a Registration accept message and [0283] An AMF may update the configured NSSAI by sending a registration accept message. From claim 1, the second association contains the S-NSSAI that is not subject to NSSAA, and the third association contains the S-NSSAI that is subject to NSSAA, therefor, the Configured NSSAA of Ryu2 does not include the third association because it was excluded by the AMF. The new Configured NSSAI only includes the second association)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Registration accept message of Yang, NINGLEKHU and Ishii to include the Configured NSSAI of Ryu2 containing the second association of the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI with the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI not subject to NSSAA. The motivation to do so would have been to decrease NSSAA failure by exchanging the NSSAA information with a wireless device and decrease a service delay by avoiding unnecessary NSSAA procedure which expects NSSAA failure. (Ryu2; [0304]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Yang (US 20220248319 A1) in view of NINGLEKHU (US 20230052699 A1), further in view of Ishii (US 20230262591 A1), further in view of Ryu (US 20230085130 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Yang, NINGLEKHU and Ishii teaches the UE according to claim 8 but does not teach wherein the at least one processor is configured to send a message to the core network node to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session associated with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor of network slicing for communications systems teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to send a message to the core network node to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session associated with the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association ([310] The wireless device may send a PDU session establishment request message to the SMF via the AMF in response to receiving the allowed NSSAI. [0243] when the PDU session establishment procedure may be employed, the UE 100 may send to the AMF 155 a NAS Message 1205 (or a SM NAS message) comprising NSSAI, S-NSSAI (e.g., requested S-NSSAI, allowed S-NSSAI, subscribed S-NSSAI, and/or the like). Since the mapping of the allowed NSSAI of claim 8 contains the Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and the mapping to the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the second association, the UE will send the PDU session request using the Serving PLMN S-NSSAI mapped to the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI contained in the second association).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang, NINGLEKHU and Ishii. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Regarding claim 14, Yang, NINGLEKHU and Ishii teaches the UE according to claim 8 but do not teach wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in a procedure for registering the UE to a Serving PLMN, send to a registration request message the core network node, the registration request message including the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI, included in the second association, in at least a Requested NSSAI.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor of network slicing for communications systems teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in a procedure for registering the UE to a Serving PLMN, send to a registration request message the core network node, the registration request message including the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI and the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI, included in the second association, in at least a Requested NSSAI ([0294] In an example, the AMF may receive the registration request message from the wireless device via the base station during the registration procedure. The registration request message may indicate one or more network slices to get one or more services associated to the one or more network slices. The one or more network slices may be requested NSSAI comprising at least one requested S-NSSAI. In an example, requested NSSAI comprise S-NSSAI 1, S-NSSAI 2 and the S-NSSAI-1 is subject to the NSSAA based on the subscription information. AMF may determine S-NSSAI 1 is a pending S-NSSAI and the S-NSSAI 2 is an allowed S-NSSAI for the wireless device. In an example, the wireless device does not support the NSSAA capability. In this example S-NSSAI 2 is the at least one first Home PLMN S-NSSAI mapped to the one Serving PLMN S-NSSAI included in the second association).
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 Ryu with the teachings of Yang, NINGLEKHU and Ishii. The motivation to do so would have been to include scenarios for terminals that do support NSSAA feature (Ryu; [0286]-[0288]).
Conclusion
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/NANCY SIXTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/GARY MUI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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