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 03/16/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-3, 11-12, 18 and 20 have been amended. Claims 13-17 have been canceled. Claims 21-26 have been added. Claims 1-9, 11-12 and 18-26 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have overcome the 112(b) rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 12/18/2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claims 1-9, 11-12 and 18-26 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
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 6-7, 11-12 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 20230180309 A1) in view of Hampali et al. (US 20200322846 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a subscriber identity module (SIM) card selection method, which is applied to a terminal device comprising at least two SIM cards (UE 115-a may include more than one SIM. For example, first subscription 205 may be associated with a first SIM of UE 115-a and second subscription 210 may be associated with a second SIM of UE, [0065]), the method comprising:
receiving a slice connection request sent by an application ( the applications may request to establish a data connection with base station, [0067]), the slice connection request comprising a current slice parameter (the application may indicate one or more traffic descriptors … single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), [0067]); and
making a query to identify a SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter from the at least two SIM cards (To establish the data connection for the application in response to the request, UE 115-a may evaluate a URSP associated with a current default subscription e.g., first subscription 205 or second subscription 210, [0068] and first subscription 205 may be associated with a first SIM of UE 115-a and second subscription 210 may be associated with a second SIM of UE, [0065]),
in response to a plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, determining the plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter as candidate SIM cards (After determining that the URSP of second subscription 210 includes a policy that matches the access preference rule (e.g., of the application requesting to establish a data connection), UE 115-a may prompt a user of UE 115-a to select a default subscription for communications with base station 105-a. That is, UE 115-a may prompt the user to select first subscription 205 or second subscription, [0071]).
However, Zhang does not clearly teach acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards; and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter; wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter.
In an analogous art, Hampali teaches acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards (the method includes monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, content, and context of the applications/services. The usage pattern can be determined by monitoring the features of each of the applications and services that are being used, time and location at which different features of the applications and services are used, amount of data consumed per session by the applications and services, and so on, [0090]); and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter (determining the current QoS requirements of the applications and services in the device 300 based on at least one of the monitored usage pattern, content, context, and so on. The embodiments include determining an optimal eSIM profile that can be mapped with the applications and services based on the current QoS requirements of the applications and services, [0091]); wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter (monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, [0090]; wherein different applications and services having specific QoS requirements can utilize appropriate network slices for transfer of data such that the QoS requirements are satisfied, [0067]], differentiated network connectivity to applications and services using eSIM profiles and network slicing of Fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Hampali to provide methods and systems for providing differentiated network connectivity to applications/services in a device based on quality of service (QoS) requirements of the applications/services are provided as suggested, Hampali [0017].
Regarding claim 6, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 1, wherein determining the SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection comprises: in response to one SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, determining the one SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter as the target SIM card (Here, UE 115-a may select a default policy from the URSP of first subscription 205 for the application and establish the data connection via first subscription link 215 according to the default policy, Zhang [0070]).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to the target SIM card having been determined, updating the slice connection frequency parameter of the target SIM card (UE 115 may update the default subscription to the second subscription and may establish a connection with the network via the second subscription. For example, the UE 115 may prompt a user to determine whether to update the default subscription to the second subscription, [0063] and he default policy of the URSP may provide a relatively basic level of service (e.g., relatively low bandwidth, relatively high latency) when compared to other policies of the URSP, [0032]).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang teaches a terminal device (UE 115/805 of Fig. 8), comprising:
a memory (memory 830), a processor (processor 840), at least two SIM cards, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor (UE 115-a may include more than one SIM. For example, first subscription 205 may be associated with a first SIM of UE 115-a and second subscription 210 may be associated with a second SIM of UE, [0065]) causes the processor to perform a subscriber identity module (SIM) card selection method comprising:
receiving a slice connection request sent by an application ( the applications may request to establish a data connection with base station, [0067]), the slice connection request comprising a current slice parameter (the application may indicate one or more traffic descriptors e.g., IP descriptors, Non-IP descriptors, application identifiers, domain descriptors, a data network name (DNN), connection capabilities with associated precedence values or one or more route selection descriptors e.g., session and service continuity mode, PDU session type, DNN, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), [0067]) and
making a query to identify a SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter from the at least two SIM cards (To establish the data connection for the application in response to the request, UE 115-a may evaluate a URSP associated with a current default subscription e.g., first subscription 205 or second subscription 210, [0068] and For example, first subscription 205 may be associated with a first SIM of UE 115-a and second subscription 210 may be associated with a second SIM of UE, [0065]),
in response to a plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, determining the plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter as candidate SIM cards (After determining that the URSP of second subscription 210 includes a policy that matches the access preference rule (e.g., of the application requesting to establish a data connection), UE 115-a may prompt a user of UE 115-a to select a default subscription for communications with base station 105-a. That is, UE 115-a may prompt the user to select first subscription 205 or second subscription, [0071]).
However, Zhang does not clearly teach acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards; and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter; wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter.
In an analogous art, Hampali teaches acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards (the method includes monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, content, and context of the applications/services. The usage pattern can be determined by monitoring the features of each of the applications and services that are being used, time and location at which different features of the applications and services are used, amount of data consumed per session by the applications and services, and so on, [0090]); and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter (determining the current QoS requirements of the applications and services in the device 300 based on at least one of the monitored usage pattern, content, context, and so on. The embodiments include determining an optimal eSIM profile that can be mapped with the applications and services based on the current QoS requirements of the applications and services, [0091]); wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter (monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, [0090], wherein different applications and services having specific QoS requirements can utilize appropriate network slices for transfer of data such that the QoS requirements are satisfied, [0067]], differentiated network connectivity to applications and services using eSIM profiles and network slicing of Fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Hampali to provide methods and systems for providing differentiated network connectivity to applications/services in a device based on quality of service (QoS) requirements of the applications/services are provided as suggested, Hampali [0017].
Regarding claim 12, Zhang teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (UE 805 of Fig. 8), storing computer-executable instructions configured to cause a computer to perform a subscriber identity module (SIM) card selection method (code 835) comprising:
a slice connection request sent by an application ( the applications may request to establish a data connection with base station, [0067]), the slice connection request comprising a current slice parameter (the application may indicate one or more traffic descriptors e.g., IP descriptors, Non-IP descriptors, application identifiers, domain descriptors, a data network name (DNN), connection capabilities with associated precedence values or one or more route selection descriptors e.g., session and service continuity mode, PDU session type, DNN, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), [0067]) and
making a query to identify a SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter from at least two SIM cards of a terminal device precedence of the URSP among all the existing URSPs, one or more traffic descriptors, and one or more route selection descriptors, [0068] and For example, first subscription 205 may be associated with a first SIM of UE 115-a and second subscription 210 may be associated with a second SIM of UE, [0065]),
in response to a plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, determining the plurality of SIM cards corresponding to the current slice parameter as candidate SIM cards (After determining that the URSP of second subscription 210 includes a policy that matches the access preference rule (e.g., of the application requesting to establish a data connection), UE 115-a may prompt a user of UE 115-a to select a default subscription for communications with base station 105-a. That is, UE 115-a may prompt the user to select first subscription 205 or second subscription, [0071]).
However, Zhang does not clearly teach acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards; and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter; wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter.
In an analogous art, Hampali teaches acquiring a network status parameter of each of the candidate SIM cards (the method includes monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, content, and context of the applications/services. The usage pattern can be determined by monitoring the features of each of the applications and services that are being used, time and location at which different features of the applications and services are used, amount of data consumed per session by the applications and services, and so on, [0090]); and selecting a SIM card from the candidate SIM cards as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection according to the network status parameter (determining the current QoS requirements of the applications and services in the device 300 based on at least one of the monitored usage pattern, content, context, and so on. The embodiments include determining an optimal eSIM profile that can be mapped with the applications and services based on the current QoS requirements of the applications and services, [0091]); wherein the network status parameter includes a slice connection frequency parameter (monitoring the applications/services in the device 300 for determining the usage pattern, [0090]; wherein different applications and services having specific QoS requirements can utilize appropriate network slices for transfer of data such that the QoS requirements are satisfied, [0067]], differentiated network connectivity to applications and services using eSIM profiles and network slicing of Fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Hampali to provide methods and systems for providing differentiated network connectivity to applications/services in a device based on quality of service (QoS) requirements of the applications/services are provided as suggested, Hampali [0017].
Regarding claim 23, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the terminal device of claim 11, wherein determining the SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter as a target SIM card for establishing a slice data connection comprises: in response to one SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, determining the one SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter as the target SIM card (Here, UE 115-a may select a default policy from the URSP of first subscription 205 for the application and establish the data connection via first subscription link 215 according to the default policy, Zhang [0070]).
Claims 3-5, 8-9, 18-20, 21-22 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 20230180309 A1) in view of Hampali and further in view of Palaniappan et al. (US 20190373443 A1)
Regarding claim 2, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 1.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter
In an analogous art, Palaniappan teaches wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 3, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 1.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state, and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises: in response to a presence of a SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state in the candidate SIM cards, determining the SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state as the target SIM card.
In an analogous art, Palaniappan teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090]), and
determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to a presence of a SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state in the candidate SIM cards, determining the SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines that the network rating calculated for the app B may be higher than that of the app A. The network rating of the app B may be higher because of the availability of the edge server and the network slice for the app B, Palaniappan [0129]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 4, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 3. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state and the signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090])), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the slice connection state of each of the candidate SIM cards being a disconnected state and a difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being greater than a first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 5, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 4. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection frequency parameter (The recommendations can be at least one of information about availability of an edge server, an application, a SIM, a network slice of the SIM, a RAT/subscription and so on for the requested service. The network slice referred herein may indicate bandwidth, network resources or the like, Palaniappan 0051]), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being less than or equal to the first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest slice connection frequency parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 8, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 1.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein after making a query to identify the SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter, the method further comprises: in response to no SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, sending a slice matching request carrying the current slice parameter to a carrier network to which each of the at least two SIM cards belongs; receiving a slice matching request result returned by the carrier network according to the slice matching request; and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection according to the slice matching request result.
In an analogous art Palaniappan teaches wherein after making a query to identify the SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter, the method further comprises: in response to no SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter being identified, sending a slice matching request carrying the current slice parameter to a carrier network to which each of the at least two SIM cards belongs (receiving, by the cloud server 116 (service deployed on the cloud server 116), the parameters from the enablement module 110 of the UE 102 on the cell for the one or more applications supporting the services. The parameters can be, but not limited to, an operator network, availability of an edge server, network slice characteristics, a RTT, signal strength, a geo-location and so on, Palaniappan [0098]); receiving a slice matching request result returned by the carrier network according to the slice matching request (he method includes analyzing, by the cloud server 116, the parameters received from the enablement module 110 using the machine learning model to determine the application from the one or more applications for the service(s). At step 410, the method includes recommend, by the cloud server 116, the determined application that can be used for completing the service on the UE 102 on receiving the request from the enablement module 110, [0099]; and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection according to the slice matching request result (he method includes analyzing, by the cloud server 116, the parameters received from the enablement module 110 using the machine learning model to determine the application from the one or more applications for the service(s). At step 410, the method includes recommend, by the cloud server 116, the determined application that can be used for completing the service on the UE 102 on receiving the request from the enablement module, Palaniappan [0099]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 9, Zhang as modified by Hamoali and Palaniappan teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 8. Palaniappan further teaches wherein after receiving a slice matching request result returned by the carrier network according to the slice matching request, the method further comprises: in response to all the slice matching request results returned by the carrier networks being matching failure, sending a slice application message carrying the current slice parameter to an application slice server (Upon successful completion of the registration procedure, the UE may obtain information about a set of allowed network slices for a registration area from the AMF instance that is serving the UE 102, Palaniappan [0143]), re-making a query to identify a SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter, and determining the SIM card corresponding to the current slice parameter as the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection (Once the information about the set of allowed network slices is obtained, the enablement module 110 keeps track of the allowed network slices and recommends the network slice of the SIM for completing the requested service. The enablement module 110 can also provide an interface to the user for selecting the network slice for the requested service. In addition, the enablement module 110 can suggest the user to buy the new network slice for completing the requested service, Palaniappan [0143]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 18, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the terminal device of claim 11.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter.
In an analogous art Palaniappan teaches wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 19, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the terminal device of claim 11.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state, and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises: in response to a presence of a SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state in the candidate SIM cards, determining the SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state as the target SIM card.
In an analogous art, Jia teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state (The enablement module 110 determines that the network rating calculated for the app B may be higher than that of the app A. The network rating of the app B may be higher because of the availability of the edge server and the network slice for the app B, [0129]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 20, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter.
In an analogous art Palaniappan teaches wherein the network status parameter further comprises at least one of a slice connection state and a signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 21, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches the terminal device of claim 19. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state and the signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090]), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the slice connection state of each of the candidate SIM cards being a disconnected state and a difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being greater than a first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 22, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches terminal device of claim 21. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection frequency parameter (The recommendations can be at least one of information about availability of an edge server, an application, a SIM, a network slice of the SIM, a RAT/subscription and so on for the requested service. The network slice referred herein may indicate bandwidth, network resources or the like, Palaniappan 0051]), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being less than or equal to the first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest slice connection frequency parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 24, Zhang as modified by Hampali teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12.
However, Zhang and Hampali do not teach wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state, and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises: in response to a presence of a SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state in the candidate SIM cards, determining the SIM card of which the slice connection state is a connected state as the target SIM card.
In an analogous art, Jia teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state (The enablement module 110 determines that the network rating calculated for the app B may be higher than that of the app A. The network rating of the app B may be higher because of the availability of the edge server and the network slice for the app B, [0129]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang and Hampali with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 25, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection state and the signal strength parameter (The network parameters can be, but not limited to, at least one of the availability of the edge server, the RTT and the E2E delay the availability of the network slices, the characteristics of the available network slices, the network load, the charging details, the signal strength and so on, Palaniappan [0090])), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the slice connection state of each of the candidate SIM cards being a disconnected state and a difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being greater than a first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Regarding claim 26, Zhang as modified by Hampali and Palaniappan teaches the SIM card selection method of claim 25. Palaniappan further teaches wherein the network status parameter comprises the slice connection frequency parameter (The recommendations can be at least one of information about availability of an edge server, an application, a SIM, a network slice of the SIM, a RAT/subscription and so on for the requested service. The network slice referred herein may indicate bandwidth, network resources or the like, Palaniappan 0051]), and determining the target SIM card for establishing the slice data connection from among the candidate SIM cards according to the network status parameter comprises:
in response to the difference between the signal strength parameters of the candidate SIM card with the highest signal strength parameter and the candidate SIM card with the second highest signal strength parameter being less than or equal to the first threshold value, determining the candidate SIM card with the highest slice connection frequency parameter as the target SIM card (The enablement module 110 determines the network rating for the SIM1 and the SIM2 based on the parameters such as, but not limited to, the signal strength, the network load information, the RTT, availability of the edge server and the network slice, the charging details and so on. Example values of the parameters with respect to the SIM1 and the SIM2 are illustrated in the table as illustrated in FIG. 14A, Palaniappan [0130] and The network rating can be calculated as: NWR=W1*SS+W2*C+W3*NL+W4*E+W5*S. Wherein, W1-W5 represent the weightage considered based on at least one of the signal strength thresholds, the charging thresholds, the RTT thresholds, the network load, the availability of the edge server and the network slice and so on. Typical values for range of the network parameters are illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11H, Palaniappan [0123-0124]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the slice request of Zhang with the network parameter of Palaniappan to provide a method to determine availability of network resources for providing recommendations to improve resource utilization by a User Equipment (UE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) network as suggested, Palaniappan [0002].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xu et al. (US 20180376325 A1): The system has a switching logic module (109) that is configured to receive data usage information associated with a mobile device (150) assigned a first IMSI associated with a first mobile network. The data usage information includes an identity of a data service that is an identity of an application utilized by the mobile device, an internet website requested by the mobile device, and an internet protocol address requested by the mobile device. The switching logic module that is configured to select a second IMSI associated with a second mobile network to assign to the mobile device, to select of the second IMSI partially based on the identity of the data service, and to assign the second IMSI to the mobile device.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/NICOLE M LOUIS-FILS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2641
/CHARLES N APPIAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641