DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/14/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/31/2025 and 05/04/2026 were filed after the mailing date of the RCE on 04/14/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 04/01/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 7 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.
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.
Claims 1-2, 7-9, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong et al. (US 2021/0168661), hereinafter Wong in further view of Liao et al. (US 2021/0360742), hereinafter Liao, and Lin et al. (US 2022/0124838), hereinafter Lin.
Regarding Claim 1, Wong teaches: A user equipment, UE, configured for controlling connection continuity in a system comprising: a first gateway device having a first established packet data unit, PDU, session with a telecommunications network storing a first session management context for the first gateway device: “The user plane tunnel 632, designated as user plane tunnel #N1, is established between W-AGF 306 and UPF of SMF/UPF 309 for that FN-RG 302. W-AGF 302 reserves the DOCSIS resources 630 by creating (or mapping) a service flow, e.g., service flow SF1, based on the QoS information received from the N2” (Wong ¶ 0049) associated with the first established PDU session and providing a local network for a plurality of UEs including the UE to enable data exchange by the plurality of UEs with a data network over the telecommunications network using the first established PDU session of the first gateway device: “Customer premises 1 (CP1 301) includes FN-RG 302, e.g., a cable modem, and local area network (LAN) 330 including a plurality of user devices, e.g., user equipment (UE) devices, (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) coupled together. The user devices (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) of LAN 330 are coupled to the FN-RG 302 via links 340, e.g., Ethernet(s) interface connections or WiFi wireless connections” (Wong ¶ 0035); in other words the Fig. 3 of Wong below shows the established first gateway device (FN-RG 302) with an established PDU session with a first session management context providing a local network for a plurality of UEs enabling a data network over the telecommunications network: “Memory 1512 includes a control routine 1520, an assembly of components 1522, e.g., an assembly of software components, and data/information 1524. Data/information 1524 includes a device information mapping table 1526 corresponding to service flows and tunnels for user devices (type A and type B) being served via a LAN coupled to the SMF/UPF via a FN-RG and a W-AGF” (Wong ¶ 0101).
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Wong Fig. 3
Wong does not teach: and a further device having a second established PDU session with the telecommunications network storing a second session management context associated with the second established PDU session; wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices; wherein the UE is configured to control connection continuity by transmitting at least one of: a PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network not via the first gateway device comprising a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context stored in the telecommunications network for the UE to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context; an access request to the first gateway device comprising a reference to second PDU session information in the second session management context stored in the telecommunications network to include at least part of the second PDU session information in the first session management context.
Regarding Claim 1, Liao teaches: a further device having a second established PDU session with the telecommunications network storing a second session management context associated with the second established PDU session: “Example 8 is the residential gateway of Example 7, wherein the RAN or the wireline access network forwards uplink traffic of the remote UE to a corresponding user plane function in the CN based on AN resource mapping to a quality of service (QoS) flow marked with a QoS flow identifier (QFI) of the second PDU session of the residential gateway” (Liao ¶ 0172) wherein the further device is the remote UE using the second PDU session of the residential gateway.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Wong with Liao for the purpose of allowing capable UE to serve as a relay UE for remote UEs. According to Liao: “certain embodiments provide approaches to the abovementioned open issues by enabling the 5G-RG as a relay UE to relay traffic for remote UEs, which may be user devices with/without UICC” (Liao ¶ 0021).
Liao does not teach: wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices; wherein the UE is configured to control connection continuity by transmitting at least one of: a PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network not via the first gateway device comprising a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context stored in the telecommunications network for the UE to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context.
Regarding Claim 1, Lin teaches: wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices: See Lin Fig. 5 below showing a 3GPP gateway device (502) and a non-3GPP gateway device (503); wherein the UE is configured to control connection continuity by transmitting at least one of: a PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network not via the first gateway device comprising a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context stored in the telecommunications network for the UE to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context: “Note that UE 501 is registered over 3GPP access type to PLMN through a 3GPP base station gNB 502. UE 501 is also registered over non-3GPP access type to the same PLMN through a non-3GPP access point AP 503. UE 501 then initiates a UE-requested PDU session modification procedure by sending a PDU SESSION MODIFICATION REQUEST message over 3GPP access (selected access) to the network in order to convert the SA PDU session to an MA PDU session. In the UL NAS TRANSPORT message (UL NAS TRANSPORT message contains the PDU SESSION MODIFICATION REQUEST message), UE may set the Request type IE to either 1) “modification request” and include the MA PDU session information IE set to “MA PDU session network upgrade allowed”; or 2) “MA PDU request”” (Lin ¶ 0036).
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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 disclosure of Wong and Liao with Lin for the purpose of enabling a UE to convert a MA PDU session for data transmission. According to Lin: “A solution is sought to enable the UE to activate or convert an MA PDU session for data transmission during a PDU session establishment procedure or a PDU session modification procedure” (Lin ¶ 0008).
Regarding Claim 2, Wong teaches: The UE according to claim 1.
Wong does not teach: the further device is a mobile UE having the second established PDU session or a stationary second gateway device providing a further local network for a plurality of UEs and having the second established PDU session.
Regarding Claim 2, Liao teaches: the further device is a mobile UE having the second established PDU session: “Example 8 is the residential gateway of Example 7, wherein the RAN or the wireline access network forwards uplink traffic of the remote UE to a corresponding user plane function in the CN based on AN resource mapping to a quality of service (QoS) flow marked with a QoS flow identifier (QFI) of the second PDU session of the residential gateway” (Liao ¶ 0172) wherein the further device is the remote UE using the second PDU session of the residential gateway.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Wong with Liao for the purpose of allowing capable UE to serve as a relay UE for remote UEs. According to Liao: “certain embodiments provide approaches to the abovementioned open issues by enabling the 5G-RG as a relay UE to relay traffic for remote UEs, which may be user devices with/without UICC” (Liao ¶ 0021).
Regarding Claim 7, Wong teaches: A session management system in a telecommunications network storing a first session management context: “The user plane tunnel 632, designated as user plane tunnel #N1, is established between W-AGF 306 and UPF of SMF/UPF 309 for that FN-RG 302. W-AGF 302 reserves the DOCSIS resources 630 by creating (or mapping) a service flow, e.g., service flow SF1, based on the QoS information received from the N2” (Wong ¶ 0049) associated with a first established PDU session for a first gateway device providing a local network for a plurality of UEs to enable data exchange by the plurality of UEs with a data network over the telecommunications network using the first established PDU session of the first gateway device: “Customer premises 1 (CP1 301) includes FN-RG 302, e.g., a cable modem, and local area network (LAN) 330 including a plurality of user devices, e.g., user equipment (UE) devices, (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) coupled together. The user devices (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) of LAN 330 are coupled to the FN-RG 302 via links 340, e.g., Ethernet(s) interface connections or WiFi wireless connections” (Wong ¶ 0035); in other words the Fig. 3 of Wong above shows the established first gateway device (FN-RG 302) with an established PDU session with a first session management context providing a local network for a plurality of UEs enabling a data network over the telecommunications network while connected with the session management function: “Memory 1512 includes a control routine 1520, an assembly of components 1522, e.g., an assembly of software components, and data/information 1524. Data/information 1524 includes a device information mapping table 1526 corresponding to service flows and tunnels for user devices (type A and type B) being served via a LAN coupled to the SMF/UPF via a FN-RG and a W-AGF” (Wong ¶ 0101).
Wong does not teach: and storing a second session management context associated with a second established PDU session for a further device; wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices; wherein the session management system is configured for at least one of the following: receiving a PDU session modification request from the further device not via the first gateway to modify the second established PDU session, wherein the PDU session modification request contains a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context, and wherein the session management system is further configured for tracing the first PDU session information based on the reference and to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context; receiving a PDU session modification request not via the first gateway device to modify the first established PDU session, wherein the PDU session modification request contains a reference to second PDU session information in the second session management context, and wherein the session management system is further configured for tracing the second PDU session information based on the reference and to include at least part of the second PDU session information in the first session management context.
Regarding Claim 7, Liao teaches: storing a second session management context associated with a second established PDU session for a further device: “Example 8 is the residential gateway of Example 7, wherein the RAN or the wireline access network forwards uplink traffic of the remote UE to a corresponding user plane function in the CN based on AN resource mapping to a quality of service (QoS) flow marked with a QoS flow identifier (QFI) of the second PDU session of the residential gateway” (Liao ¶ 0172) wherein the further device is the remote UE using the second PDU session of the residential gateway.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Wong with Liao for the purpose of allowing capable UE to serve as a relay UE for remote UEs. According to Liao: “certain embodiments provide approaches to the abovementioned open issues by enabling the 5G-RG as a relay UE to relay traffic for remote UEs, which may be user devices with/without UICC” (Liao ¶ 0021).
Liao does not teach: wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices; wherein the UE is configured to control connection continuity by transmitting at least one of: a PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network not via the first gateway device comprising a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context stored in the telecommunications network for the UE to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context.
Regarding Claim 7, Lin teaches: wherein the first gateway device and the further device are distinct devices: See Lin Fig. 5 above showing a 3GPP gateway device (502) and a non-3GPP gateway device (503); wherein the UE is configured to control connection continuity by transmitting at least one of: a PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network not via the first gateway device comprising a reference to first PDU session information in the first session management context stored in the telecommunications network for the UE to include at least part of the first PDU session information in the second session management context: “Note that UE 501 is registered over 3GPP access type to PLMN through a 3GPP base station gNB 502. UE 501 is also registered over non-3GPP access type to the same PLMN through a non-3GPP access point AP 503. UE 501 then initiates a UE-requested PDU session modification procedure by sending a PDU SESSION MODIFICATION REQUEST message over 3GPP access (selected access) to the network in order to convert the SA PDU session to an MA PDU session. In the UL NAS TRANSPORT message (UL NAS TRANSPORT message contains the PDU SESSION MODIFICATION REQUEST message), UE may set the Request type IE to either 1) “modification request” and include the MA PDU session information IE set to “MA PDU session network upgrade allowed”; or 2) “MA PDU request”” (Lin ¶ 0036).
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 disclosure of Wong and Liao with Lin for the purpose of enabling a UE to convert a MA PDU session for data transmission. According to Lin: “A solution is sought to enable the UE to activate or convert an MA PDU session for data transmission during a PDU session establishment procedure or a PDU session modification procedure” (Lin ¶ 0008).
Regarding Claim 8, Wong teaches: The session management system according to claim 7, wherein the session management system in the telecommunications network is configured to receive an address for a UE from the first gateway device and to assign the address to the UE for the second established PDU session: “establishing (6918) a second protocol data unit session between the wireline access gateway (306) and the user plane function device (309) in the 5G network (303), said second protocol data unit session including a second user plane tunnel (6934); and using (6945) the second user plane tunnel to communicate the second DHCP request message (6946) to the user plan function device (309) and to communicate a second DHCP response message (6952) providing an IP address allocated to the first device (534) of the first type to the wireline access gateway device (306)” (Wong ¶ 0132).
Regarding Claim 9, Wong teaches: The session management system according to claim 7, wherein the session management system is configured to execute at least one of: update the access network of the telecommunications network: “After one or more or all of steps 6918, 6920, 6922, 6926, 6928, 6938, 6942, 6944, 6948, 6950, 6954, 6956 and 6960 are performed for Type-A device 1 534, the correlation tables (702, 704, 706) are updated, resulting in updated correlation tables (802, 804 and 806), respectively, e.g., based on table updates after step 6960. Stored completed tables (802, 804 and 806) are available after step 6960” (Wong ¶ 0068).
Regarding Claim 12, Wong teaches: The session management system according to claim 7, wherein the session management system is configured for at least one of: receiving and storing an indication from the first gateway device in a PDU session establishment request for establishing the first established PDU session of the first gateway device, the indication indicating that the first gateway device is available for assigning addresses to UEs: “said first processor (1402) is configured to: control the wireline access gateway (306) to establish (616) a first protocol data unit (PDU) session between the wireline access gateway (306) and a user plane function device (309) in a 5G network (303), said first protocol data unit session including a first user plane tunnel (632); and control the wireline access gateway (306) to use (645) the first user plane tunnel to communicate the first DHCP request message (646) to the user plan function device (309) and to communicate a first DHCP response message (652) providing an IP address allocated to the first device (532) of the second type to the wireline access gateway device (306)” (Wong ¶ 0149).
Regarding Claim 13, Wong teaches: A gateway device configured to provide a local network for a plurality of UEs and to provide a first established PDU session: “The user plane tunnel 632, designated as user plane tunnel #N1, is established between W-AGF 306 and UPF of SMF/UPF 309 for that FN-RG 302. W-AGF 302 reserves the DOCSIS resources 630 by creating (or mapping) a service flow, e.g., service flow SF1, based on the QoS information received from the N2” (Wong ¶ 0049) with a telecommunications network for data communication with a data network over the telecommunications network for the plurality of UEs: “Customer premises 1 (CP1 301) includes FN-RG 302, e.g., a cable modem, and local area network (LAN) 330 including a plurality of user devices, e.g., user equipment (UE) devices, (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) coupled together. The user devices (user device 332, user device 334, user device 336, . . . , user device 338) of LAN 330 are coupled to the FN-RG 302 via links 340, e.g., Ethernet(s) interface connections or WiFi wireless connections” (Wong ¶ 0035); in other words the Fig. 3 of Wong above shows the established first gateway device (FN-RG 302) with an established PDU session with a first session management context providing a local network for a plurality of UEs enabling a data network over the telecommunications network: “Memory 1512 includes a control routine 1520, an assembly of components 1522, e.g., an assembly of software components, and data/information 1524. Data/information 1524 includes a device information mapping table 1526 corresponding to service flows and tunnels for user devices (type A and type B) being served via a LAN coupled to the SMF/UPF via a FN-RG and a W-AGF” (Wong ¶ 0101).
Wong does not teach: the gateway device is configured for at least one of the following: transmit a reference to first PDU session information in a first session management context stored in the telecommunications network associated with the first established PDU session to at least one of the plurality of UEs over the local network; receive a reference to second PDU session information in a second session management context associated with a second established PDU session of a further device from a UE and transmit a PDU session modification request including the reference over the telecommunications network to include at least part of the second PDU session information in the first session management context of the first gateway device.
Regarding Claim 13, Liao teaches: the gateway device is configured for at least one of the following: transmit a reference to first PDU session information in a first session management context stored in the telecommunications network associated with the first established PDU session to at least one of the plurality of UEs over the local network: “Example 12 is the residential gateway of Example 10, wherein if there is no existing PDU session associated with the S-NSSAI and the DNN that is requested by the remote UE, the relay UE is configured to: generate a first PDU session identifier (ID) that is unique within the residential gateway; and send the NAS message to the AMF associated with the remote UE, wherein the NAS message replaces a second PDU session ID generated by the remote UE with the first PDU session ID generated by the relay UE, and wherein a request type of the NAS message is set to indicate relay traffic” (Liao ¶ 0176). Example 12 of Liao is comparable to Step S10 in the applicant’s specification describing the PDU Session Modification Request being contained within a NAS message and comprising the PDU session ID indicating the PDU session to be modified (the second PDU session) and the session management context includes the part of the first PDU session (the session ID that is generated by the relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Wong with Liao for the purpose of allowing capable UE to serve as a relay UE for remote UEs. According to Liao: “certain embodiments provide approaches to the abovementioned open issues by enabling the 5G-RG as a relay UE to relay traffic for remote UEs, which may be user devices with/without UICC” (Liao ¶ 0021).
Regarding Claim 14, Wong teaches: The gateway device according to claim 13, wherein the gateway device is configured for at least one of the following: transmitting an indication to a session management system, the indication indicating that the gateway device is available for assigning addresses to UEs: “said first processor (1402) is configured to: control the wireline access gateway (306) to establish (616) a first protocol data unit (PDU) session between the wireline access gateway (306) and a user plane function device (309) in a 5G network (303), said first protocol data unit session including a first user plane tunnel (632); and control the wireline access gateway (306) to use (645) the first user plane tunnel to communicate the first DHCP request message (646) to the user plan function device (309) and to communicate a first DHCP response message (652) providing an IP address allocated to the first device (532) of the second type to the wireline access gateway device (306)” (Wong ¶ 0149).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong and Liao as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lai et al. (US 2021/0092664), hereinafter Lai.
Regarding Claim 3, Wong and Liao teach: The UE according to claim 1.
Wong and Liao do not teach: the UE is configured to determine availability of the local network and to transmit at least one of the PDU session modification request when the local network of the first gateway device is unavailable; and the access request when the local network of the first gateway device is available.
Regarding Claim 3, Lai teaches: the UE is configured to determine availability of the local network and to transmit at least one of the PDU session modification request when the local network of the first gateway device is unavailable: “In step 1411, UE 1401 establishes an MA PDU session in PLMN-1 over both 3GPP access and non-3GPP access. PLMN-1 contains AMF-1 (ATSSS-supported) and SMF-1. In step 1412, UE 1401 moves from source PLMN-1/AMF-1 to target PLMN-2/AMF-2, which contains AMF-2 (ATSSS-not-supported) and SMF-2. UE 1401 triggers Registration request to PLMN-2/AMF-2 (1421), and AMF-2 responds with an ATSSS support indicator and PDU Session status within the Registration accept message (1422). UE 1401 determines whether the established MA PDU session will be handover to the target PLMN-2 over 3GPP access, and thus determines whether to maintain the MA PDU session” (Lai ¶ 0060). In other words, when the local network becomes unavailable to the UE, the UE transmits a PDU session modification request and establishes a connection over the non-3GPP access outside of the local network.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Lai for the purpose of balancing data traffic between mobile networks and non-3gPP access. According to Lai: “Operators are seeking ways to balance data traffic between mobile networks and non-3GPP access in a way that is transparent to users and reduces mobile network congestion. In 5GS, UEs that can be simultaneously connected to both 3GPP access and non-3GPP access (using 3GPP NAS signalling), thus the 5GS is able to take advantage of these multiple accesses to improves the user experience, optimizes the traffic distribution across various accesses” (Lai ¶ 0034).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong and Liao as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xu et al. (US 2021/0409328), hereinafter Xu.
Regarding Claim 4, Wong and Lai teach: The UE according to claim 1.
Wong and Lai do not teach: the UE is configured for at least one of the following: receive the at least one reference to the first PDU session information in a message from the first gateway device during connection establishment with the first gateway device or during address allocation by the first gateway device, wherein the message is, for example, a DHCP Ack message and; receive the at least one reference to the second session management context in a message from the further device during connection establishment or during address allocation, for example, an Association Response message, an ICMPv6 Router Advertisement message, a DCHP Offer message or a DHCP Ack message.
Regarding Claim 4, Xu teaches: the UE is configured for at least one of the following: receive the at least one reference to the first PDU session information in a message from the first gateway device during connection establishment with the first gateway device or during address allocation by the first gateway device, wherein the message is, for example, a DHCP Ack message: “first, a session management function (SMF) provides an interface identity during a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment procedure (which is defined in TS 23. 501). Then the UE initiates the internet control message protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) procedure, and the SMF provides the IPv6 prefix to the UE . . . Moreover, the IPv6 related messages (e.g., Router Solicitation, RA, Neighbor Solicitation, Neighbor Advertisement) are transferred between the SMF and UE via the user plane functions (UPFs)” (Xu ¶ 0053) and; receive the at least one reference to the second session management context in a message from the further device during connection establishment or during address allocation, for example, an Association Response message, an ICMPv6 Router Advertisement message, a DCHP Offer message or a DHCP Ack message: “first, a session management function (SMF) provides an interface identity during a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment procedure (which is defined in TS 23. 501). Then the UE initiates the internet control message protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) procedure, and the SMF provides the IPv6 prefix to the UE . . . Moreover, the IPv6 related messages (e.g., Router Solicitation, RA, Neighbor Solicitation, Neighbor Advertisement) are transferred between the SMF and UE via the user plane functions (UPFs)” (Xu ¶ 0053).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Xu for the purpose of enabling multi-hop wireless backhauling. According to Xu: “Multi-hop wireless backhauling provides greater range extension than single hop backhauling. This is especially beneficial for backhaul at frequencies above-6 GHz due to limited range. Multi-hop backhauling further enables backhauling around obstacles, for example, buildings and other clutter in urban environments where line-of-sight between nodes is obstructed” (Xu ¶ 0003).
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong and Liao as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of Starsinic et al. (US 2021/0235266), hereinafter Starsinic.
Regarding Claim 5, Wong and Liao teach: The UE according to claim 1.
Wong and Liao do not teach: the UE is configured for at least one of the following: to receive an authentication token from the first gateway device or further device and to transmit the authentication token with the PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network resp. with the access request to the further device; to receive an authentication token from the first gateway device and the telecommunications network and determine authentication for each of the received tokens separately.
Regarding Claim 5, Starsinic teaches: the UE is configured for at least one of the following: to receive an authentication token from the first gateway device or further device and to transmit the authentication token with the PDU session modification request to the telecommunications network resp. with the access request to the further device: “a UE may receive a user identity, and in response to a triggering event, send a request message to the network. The request message may include user identity and session information that is to be associated with the user identity. The request message may further include a General Registration Request, a Service Request, a PDU Session Establishment Request, a PDU Modification Request, or a PDU Session Release Request. The request message may also include a list of users that are permitted to access the network via the UE. The UE may receive a response from the network, and the response may include an indication of whether the session information is allowed to be associated with the user identity” (Starsinic ¶ 0118).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Starsinic for the purpose of allowing a core network to identify authorized users. According to Starsinic: “It is further recognized herein that addressing the technical problem of identifying users may be valuable in the Internet of Things (IoT)” (Starsinic ¶ 0034).
Regarding Claim 10, Wong and Liao teach: The session management system according to claim 7.
Wong and Liao do not teach: the session management system is configured for at least one of the following: to receive an authentication token from the UE in a modification request for the second PDU session and to transmit the authentication token to the first gateway device or authentication system in the telecommunications network for authentication of the UE; to receive an authentication token from the UE in a modification request for the second PDU session and to receive the authentication token from the first gateway device to authenticate the UE.
Regarding Claim 10, Starsinic teaches: the session management system is configured for at least one of the following: to receive an authentication token from the UE in a modification request for the second PDU session and to transmit the authentication token to the first gateway device or authentication system in the telecommunications network for authentication of the UE: “If the message from the UE was triggered in response to a page, and the user for which the UE was paged is not in the List Of Allowed Users provided by the UE and/or the PDU session for which the UE was paged is not in the List Of Allowed PDU Sessions, the AMF notifies the SMF that the User Plane for the PDU Session cannot be re-activated. The notification to the SMF may include an indication that the user is no longer associated with the UE. If the AMF is aware of what UE the user is associated with, the AMF may provide this information to the SMF so that the SMF may attempt to page the user at the other UE” (Starsinic ¶ 0102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Starsinic for the purpose of allowing a core network to identify authorized users. According to Starsinic: “It is further recognized herein that addressing the technical problem of identifying users may be valuable in the Internet of Things (IoT)” (Starsinic ¶ 0034).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong and Liao as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kawasaki et al. (US 2020/0170067), hereinafter Kawasaki.
Regarding Claim 6, Wong and Liao teach: The UE according to claim 1.
Wong and Liao do not teach: the UE is configured to include the reference identifying the second PDU session information in an Association Request, an ICMPv6 Router Solicitation, a DHCP Discover request or a DHCP Request request to the first gateway device.
Regarding Claim 6, Kawasaki teaches the UE is configured to include the reference identifying the second PDU session information in an Association Request to the first gateway device: “A User Equipment (UE) comprising: transmission and reception circuitry; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to perform Service Request procedure in a case that the UE is in connected state or in idle state, the transmission and reception circuitry is configured to receive a Inter Key Exchange (IKE) Create Child Security Association (SA) request message including a identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, from a core network device in the Service Request procedure, and the controller is configured to re-establish User Plane (UP) resources of the PDU session based on the Service Request procedure” (Kawasaki Claim 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Kawasaki for the purpose of releasing or reestablishing UP resources associated with a specific PDU session. According to Kawasaki: “an object to provide a system and a communication control method for releasing or re-establishing UP resources associated with a specific PDU session while maintaining establishment of the specific PDU session, and to provide a system and a communication control method for allowing a terminal apparatus to recognize a release of UP resources associated with a specific PDU session” (Kawasaki ¶ 0034).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong and Liao as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Mihály et al. (US 2023/0345311), hereinafter Mihály.
Wong and Liao do not teach: the session management system contains a first session management entity having access to the first session management context and a second session management entity having access to the second session management context, wherein the first respective second session management entity is configured for request information from a repository to identify the second respective first session management entity storing the second respective first session management context based on the reference.
Regarding Claim 11, Mihály teaches: the session management system contains a first session management entity having access to the first session management context and a second session management entity having access to the second session management context, wherein the first respective second session management entity is configured for request information from a repository to identify the second respective first session management entity storing the second respective first session management context based on the reference: “The second session management entity itself, in turn, may be informed about the old IP address by the first session management entity. In the method performed by the second session management entity, the old IP address may thus be received from the first session management entity, optionally in a context of the data session received from the first session management entity (e.g., in a SM context included in an Nsmf_PDUSession_ContextRequest response sent from the old SMF to the new SMF)” (Mihály ¶ 0065).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed application to combine the disclosure of Wong and Liao with Mihály to achieve the predictable result of solving problems associated with preforming context transfers. According to Mihály: “To avoid such undesirable behavior, it may be considered to avoid the UE IP address change in general, which could be achieved by permanently assigning the UE IP address to the new UPF by using O&M reconfigurations (of SMF/UPF and routing devices), for example. However, this may not always be a feasible solution, because IP addresses may be bound to DCs, or a fast change may be needed to move the UE, etc. Accordingly, there is a need for a technique for performing context transfer involving a gateway change which avoids one or more of these problems, or other problems” (Mihály ¶ 0006-0007).
Conclusion
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/B.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/BRADLEY D LYTLE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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