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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed March 20, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-17 and 19-21 are pending in the application. Applicant has submitted amendments to the claims along with other remarks. Claims 1-17 and 19-21 are still rejected by prior art references, refer to the following rejection for details.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and amendments, see pp. 7-10 of the response, filed March 20, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-17 and 19-21 under § 103 have been fully considered but are not persuasive, please see the rejection for details.
With regard to amended claim 1, Applicant asserts that there is an architectural difference between Wong and the amended claim. Remarks at 8 (“In Wong, the determination is made by the MME”). Applicant then focuses on the architectural differences between the claim and Wong because the claims recite “querying, by the UE, a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE.” The claim, however, is rejected on a combination of Wong and TS 24.301 with TS 36.508. TS 24.301 teaches that the forbidden PLMN list is on the UE. (TS 24.301, p. 141/676 “In S1 mode, the UE shall store the PLMN identity in the "forbidden PLMN list" and enter state EMMDEREGISTERED.”). The document requires the UE to store and erase the “forbidden PLMN list.” The “forbidden PLMN list” is stored on the UE1.
Further, TS 24.301 describes a specific list for packet-based services on p. 557/616. (“NOTE 2: Since only one list of forbidden PLMNs for packet services is maintained in the UE, then the "forbidden PLMNs for GPRS service" is the maintained list and the forbidden PLMNs for EPS service is equivalent to it.”).
TS 24.301 additionally discusses an emergency attach procedure in 5.5.1.2.1 (p. 126/616 When the UE initiates the attach procedure for emergency bearer services, the UE shall indicate "EPS emergency attach" in the EPS attach type IE. The attach procedure for emergency bearer services is not applicable for NB-S1 mode (see 3GPP TS 23.401 [10]).) TS 23.401 defines this attachment procedure as only pertaining to the emergency IMS service without an internet service (p. 18/412 Emergency attached UE: A UE which only has bearer(s) related to emergency bearer service. NOTE 1: The above term is equivalent to the term "attached for emergency bearer services" as specified in TS 24.301 [46].) that is based on the “forbidden PLMN list” discussed in section 5.5.1.1 general of TS 24.301 (p. 125/616).
Applicant is correct that TS 36.508 does not specify the specific procedure used for testing purposes. However, TS 36.523-1 is referenced and provided to indicate how the testing parameters listed in TS 36.508 are used to perform the procedure in TS 36.523 to ensure that the system conforms with the standard.
Further, Applicant attacks the references individually, as opposed to in combination, which cannot be used to show nonobviousness. MPEP § 2145(IV). Applicant has not argued that the combination would render prior art unsatisfactory for its intended purpose or change the principle of operation of the reference.
For these reasons, the rejection is maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 1, 3-4, 10-12, 19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. US 2015/0055459 (hereinafter “Wong”) in view of Non-patent literature, “3GPP TS 24.301 version 17.9.0 Release 17” (hereinafter “TS 24.301”) and further in view of Non-patent literature, “3GPP TS 36.508 version 17.4.0 Release 17” (hereinafter “TS 36.508”).
Regarding claim 1, Wong teaches: A method for packet data network (PDN) device handling in a network (FIG. 1), the method comprising: determining a public land mobile network (PLMN) associated with a base station to which a user equipment (UE) is attempting to connect ([0026] This selected APN, which can be referred to as the "congested mode APN," . . . ).
Wong does not explicitly teach: querying, by the UE, a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE and indexed by a PLMN identifier; and based on a determination that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table, communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without establishing an internet bearer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 24.301 teaches: querying, by the UE, a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE and indexed by a PLMN identifier (p. 71/616 shall initiate an attach or combined attach procedure when the tracking area of the serving cell has changed, if timer T3346 is not running, the PLMN identity of the new cell is not in one of the forbidden PLMN lists and the tracking area of the new cell is not in one of the lists of forbidden tracking areas; p. 158/616 If the attach request can neither be accepted by the network for EPS nor for non-EPS services, the MME shall send an ATTACH REJECT message to the UE including an appropriate EMM cause value . . . If the attach request is rejected due to NAS level mobility management congestion control, the network shall set the EMM cause value to #22 "congestion" and assign a back-off timer T3346; p. 125/616 Whenever an ATTACH REJECT message with the EMM cause #11 "PLMN not allowed" is received by the UE, the chosen PLMN identity shall be stored in the "forbidden PLMN list").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wong to include the feature of table querying and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing table querying).
Further, the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 teaches that based on a determination that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table (p. 69/616 he substate EMM-DEREGISTERED.LIMITED-SERVICE is chosen in the UE, when it is known that a selected cell is unable to provide normal service (e.g. the selected cell is in a forbidden PLMN, is in a forbidden tracking area or the selected cell is a CSG cell whose CSG ID and associated PLMN identity are not included in the UE's Allowed CSG list or in the UE's Operator CSG List)), communicating a PDN connectivity request (e.g., an attach request can be made for only emergency (e.g., IMS services in TS 24.301 p. 126/616 When the UE initiates the attach procedure for emergency bearer services, the UE shall indicate "EPS emergency attach" in the EPS attach type IE; see also TS 23.401 4.3.12 defining the “emergency attach request for UEs in limited service state”), which can be an ecall (e.g., IMS) only bearer without an internet bearer but does not explicitly teach: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 36.508 teaches: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer (unlabeled table on p. 221/1005 as replicated in Figure 1 below).
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Figure 1 - connectivity request with an IMS bearer and without a PDN data bearer
The cited table and surrounding information provides “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer” because it provides four possible configurations: IMS_Only, Internet_Only, IMS_Internet, Internet_IMS. These configurations are described in the table. For example, “IMS_Internet” is defined as having conditions “pc_IMS AND pc_Provide_Internet_as_second_APN,” which are explained as “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity first and then to request for an internet PDN connectivity.” Also, “IMS_Only,” which is described as the “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity only.” In other words, without a data bearer. These configurations are provided for in the table on p. 222/1005. On the preceding page (p. 221/1005), the reference provides “During initial UE registration the UE requests for one or two PDN connectivities.” That is, TS 36.508 provides for “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer without a data bearer (e.g., IMS_Only).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 to include the feature of registering a UE with an IMS bearer and without a data bearer and with an explicit rejection of the connection request, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing an IMS bearer without a PDN data bearer and an explicit rejection of a connection with a PDN data bearer).
Regarding claim 3, Wong teaches: wherein the PDN connectivity request uses an IMS access point name ([0026] In the alternative, the MME might indicate a "congestion mode" along with the requested APN).
Regarding claim 4, Wong further teaches: wherein the IMS access point name is associated with a PDN connection ([0026] the P-GW during PDN (packet data network) activation procedures.).
Regarding claim 10, Wong teaches: wherein the base station is resource constrained and is not associated with an extraterrestrial RAN ([0026] In the alternative, the MME might indicate a "congestion mode" along with the requested APN to the P-GW during PDN (packet data network) activation procedures).
Regarding claim 11, Wong teaches: A method for packet data network (PDN) device handling in a network (FIG. 1), the method comprising: determining that a base station to which a user equipment (UE) is attempting to connect is resource constrained ([0026] This selected APN, which can be referred to as the "congested mode APN," . . . )
Wong does not explicitly teach: querying, by the UE, a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE and indexed by a PLMN identifier associated with the base station; and based on a determination that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table, communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without establishing an internet bearer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 24.301 teaches: querying, by the UE, a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE and indexed by a PLMN identifier (p. 71/616 shall initiate an attach or combined attach procedure when the tracking area of the serving cell has changed, if timer T3346 is not running, the PLMN identity of the new cell is not in one of the forbidden PLMN lists and the tracking area of the new cell is not in one of the lists of forbidden tracking areas; p. 158/616 If the attach request can neither be accepted by the network for EPS nor for non-EPS services, the MME shall send an ATTACH REJECT message to the UE including an appropriate EMM cause value . . . If the attach request is rejected due to NAS level mobility management congestion control, the network shall set the EMM cause value to #22 "congestion" and assign a back-off timer T3346; p. 125/616 Whenever an ATTACH REJECT message with the EMM cause #11 "PLMN not allowed" is received by the UE, the chosen PLMN identity shall be stored in the "forbidden PLMN list").
Further, the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 teaches that based on a determination that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table (p. 69/616 he substate EMM-DEREGISTERED.LIMITED-SERVICE is chosen in the UE, when it is known that a selected cell is unable to provide normal service (e.g. the selected cell is in a forbidden PLMN, is in a forbidden tracking area or the selected cell is a CSG cell whose CSG ID and associated PLMN identity are not included in the UE's Allowed CSG list or in the UE's Operator CSG List)), communicating a PDN connectivity request (e.g., an attach request can be made for only emergency (e.g., IMS services in TS 24.301 p. 126/616 When the UE initiates the attach procedure for emergency bearer services, the UE shall indicate "EPS emergency attach" in the EPS attach type IE; see also TS 23.401 4.3.12 defining the “emergency attach request for UEs in limited service state”), which can be an ecall (e.g., IMS) only bearer without an internet bearer but the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 does not explicitly teach: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 36.508 teaches: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer (unlabeled table on p. 221/1005 as replicated in Figure 1 below).
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Figure 2 - connectivity request with an IMS bearer and without a PDN data bearer
The cited table and surrounding information provides “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer” because it provides four possible configurations: IMS_Only, Internet_Only, IMS_Internet, Internet_IMS. These configurations are described in the table. For example, “IMS_Internet” is defined as having conditions “pc_IMS AND pc_Provide_Internet_as_second_APN,” which are explained as “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity first and then to request for an internet PDN connectivity.” Also, “IMS_Only,” which is described as the “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity only.” In other words, without a data bearer. These configurations are provided for in the table on p. 222/1005. On the preceding page (p. 221/1005), the reference provides “During initial UE registration the UE requests for one or two PDN connectivities.” That is, TS 36.508 provides for “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer without a data bearer (e.g., IMS_Only).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 to include the feature of registering a UE with an IMS bearer and without a data bearer and with an explicit rejection of the connection request, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing an IMS bearer without a PDN data bearer and an explicit rejection of a connection with a PDN data bearer).
Regarding claim 12, Wong teaches: wherein the base station is associated with a public land mobile network (PLMN) (FIG. 1 – BS, eNB).
Regarding claim 18, Wong teaches: wherein the base station is resource constrained and is not associated with an extraterrestrial RAN ([0026] In the alternative, the MME might indicate a "congestion mode" along with the requested APN to the P-GW during PDN (packet data network) activation procedures).
Regarding claim 19, Wong teaches: A non-transitory computer storage media storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by one or more processors, cause the processors to ([0033]): determine a public land mobile network (PLMN) associated with a base station to which a user equipment (UE) is attempting to connect ([0026] This selected APN, which can be referred to as the "congested mode APN," . . . ); and communicate a packet data network (PDN) connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer. ([0026] The user equipment can then perform IMS registration.).
Wong does not explicitly teach: query a data disallowed PLMN table stored on the UE and indexed by a PLMN identifier; determine that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 24.301 teaches: query a data disallowed PLMN table indexed by a PLMN identifier (p. 76/616 When the lower layers indicate to prepare for an S101 mode to S1 mode handover and the PLMN identity of the target cell provided with this indication is not in one of forbidden PLMN lists, the UE shall enter substate NORMAL-SERVICE.); determine that the PLMN is included in the data disallowed PLMN table (p. 141/616 #35 (Requested service option not authorized in this PLMN) . . . In S1 mode, the UE shall store the PLMN identity in the "forbidden PLMN list")
Further Wong does not explicitly teach: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without establishing an internet bearer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 36.508 teaches: communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer (unlabeled table on p. 221/1005 as replicated in Figure 1 above).
The cited table and surrounding information provides “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer and without a data bearer” because it provides four possible configurations: IMS_Only, Internet_Only, IMS_Internet, Internet_IMS. These configurations are described in the table. For example, “IMS_Internet” is defined as having conditions “pc_IMS AND pc_Provide_Internet_as_second_APN,” which are explained as “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity first and then to request for an internet PDN connectivity.” Also, “IMS_Only,” which is described as the “UE is configured to request for IMS PDN connectivity only.” In other words, without a data bearer. These configurations are provided for in the table on p. 222/1005. On the preceding page (p. 221/1005), the reference provides “During initial UE registration the UE requests for one or two PDN connectivities.” That is, TS 36.508 provides for “communicating a PDN connectivity request with an internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) bearer without a data bearer (e.g., IMS_Only).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wong to include the feature of registering a UE with an IMS bearer and without a data bearer and with an explicit rejection of the connection request, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing an IMS bearer without a PDN data bearer and querying a list of forbidden PLMNs).
Regarding claim 21, Wong does not explicitly teach: wherein the data disallowed PLN table indicates that a default PDN connection for a data bearer should not be established for the PLMN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, TS 24.301 teaches: wherein the data disallowed PLN table indicates that a default PDN connection for a data bearer should not be established for the PLMN (p. 69/616 he substate EMM-DEREGISTERED.LIMITED-SERVICE is chosen in the UE, when it is known that a selected cell is unable to provide normal service (e.g. the selected cell is in a forbidden PLMN, is in a forbidden tracking area or the selected cell is a CSG cell whose CSG ID and associated PLMN identity are not included in the UE's Allowed CSG list or in the UE's Operator CSG List)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wong to include the feature of a forbidden PLMN list and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing forbidden PLMN lists).
Claims 2, 13, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong in view of TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0159511 (hereinafter “Vivanco”)
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not teach: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Vivanco teaches: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN) ([0043] In some embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a random PCI value to the aerial-eNB equipment. In other embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a PCI value that has been specifically or intentionally reserved for the aerial-eNB equipment during instances of overwhelming traffic and/or data congestion within hotspot areas.).
Thus, the Wong combination and Vivanco each disclose congestion related to a base station. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the arial or non-terrestrial base stations of Vivanco could have been substituted for the terrestrial base stations of Wong because both perform the function of an access point for a network. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of providing an access point using the methods known in Vivanco.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the techniques in Vivanco for the base station in the combination of Wong according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing an access point to the network.
Regarding claim 13 the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not teach: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Vivanco teaches: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN) ([0043] In some embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a random PCI value to the aerial-eNB equipment. In other embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a PCI value that has been specifically or intentionally reserved for the aerial-eNB equipment during instances of overwhelming traffic and/or data congestion within hotspot areas.).
Thus, the Wong combination and Vivanco each disclose congestion related to a base station. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the arial or non-terrestrial base stations of Vivanco could have been substituted for the terrestrial base stations of Wong because both perform the function of an access point for a network. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of providing an access point using the methods known in Vivanco.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the techniques in Vivanco for the base station in the combination of Wong according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing an access point to the network.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not teach: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Vivanco teaches: wherein the base station is resource constrained due to association with an extraterrestrial radio access network (RAN) ([0043] In some embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a random PCI value to the aerial-eNB equipment. In other embodiments, convergence engine 102 can assign a PCI value that has been specifically or intentionally reserved for the aerial-eNB equipment during instances of overwhelming traffic and/or data congestion within hotspot areas.).
Thus, the Wong combination and Vivanco each disclose congestion related to a base station. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the arial or non-terrestrial base stations of Vivanco could have been substituted for the terrestrial base stations of Wong because both perform the function of an access point for a network. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of providing an access point using the methods known in Vivanco.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the techniques in Vivanco for the base station in the combination of Wong according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing an access point to the network.
Claim 5-9 and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong in view of TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2008/0253399 (hereinafter “Wang”).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not explicitly teach: wherein the PDN connection is based on a table indexed by a PLMN identifier.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches: wherein the PDN connection is based on a table indexed by a PLMN identifier (e.g., Table 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Wong combination to include the feature of a table indexed by a PLMN identifier, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., indexing a table by a PLMN identifier).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not explicitly teach: wherein the PLMN identifier uses a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches: wherein the PLMN identifier uses a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC) (e.g., Table 1 and [0004], [0016]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Wong combination to include the feature of a table indexed by a PLMN identifier, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., indexing a table by a PLMN identifier).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 teaches: wherein the MCC and the MNC identify a type of PDN connection allowed (Figure 1 above (IMS_ONLY)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Wong combination to include the feature of a PDN type, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., including a PDN type value).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 teaches: wherein the MCC and the MNC identify a type of PDN connection allowed (TS 36.508, Figure 1 above (IMS_ONLY)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong and TS 24 to include the feature of a PDN type, and the combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., including a PDN type value).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 teaches: wherein the type of PDN connection allowed for the MCC and the MNS allows both a data PDN connection and an IMS PDN connection (TS 36.508, Figure 1 above (Internet_IMS)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong with TS 24.301 to include the feature of a PDN type, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., including a PDN type value).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not explicitly teach: wherein the IMS bearer accesses a table indexed by a PLMN identifier that includes an IMS access point name associated with a PDN connection.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches: wherein the PDN connection is based on a table indexed by a PLMN identifier (e.g., Table 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 to include the feature of a table indexed by a PLMN identifier, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., indexing a table by a PLMN identifier).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 does not explicitly teach: wherein the PLMN identifier further comprises a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches: wherein the PLMN identifier further comprises a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC) (e.g., Table 1 and [0004], [0016]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Wong combination to include the feature of a table indexed by a PLMN identifier, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., indexing a table by a PLMN identifier).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 teaches: wherein the MCC and the MNC identify a type of PDN connection allowed (Figure 1 above (IMS_ONLY)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 to include the feature of a PDN type, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., including a PDN type value).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Wong, TS 24.301, and TS 36.508 teaches: wherein the type of PDN connection allowed for the MCC and the MNS allows both a data PDN connection and an IMS PDN connection. (Figure 1 above (IMS_ONLY)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Wong and TS 24.301 to include the feature of a PDN type, and a combination of Wong with TS 24.301 and TS 36.508 renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., including a PDN type value).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
3GPP TS 23.401 version 15.4.0 Release 15
3GPP TS 24.008 version 17.8.0 Release 17
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN BARRY whose telephone number is (571)272-0201. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am EST to 5:00pm EST.
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/JAB/ Examiner, Art Unit 2643
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
1 https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/forbidden_plmns
“A list of Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) maintained on the SIM that the mobile phone cannot automatically contact, usually because service was declined by a foreign provider.”Sources:https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-101r1https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7250https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7387
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