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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/09/2026 has been entered.
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a National Stage entry of PCT/CN2021/074845 (international filing date: 02/02/2021) claiming no priority to any domestic or foreign applications.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-3, 5, 8, 13-14, 16-17, 22-23, 31, 33-38, 53, and 113-115 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 20210099972 A1, hereinafter LEE), in view of Ryu et al. (US 20200305118 A1, hereinafter Ryu) and SIVAVAKEESAR et al. (WO 2019/138060 A1, hereinafter SIVAVAKEESAR, NOTE: corresponding application US 2021/0068073 A1 used below for rejection citation purposes).
Regarding claim 1, LEE teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising (in general, see fig. 8 and corresponding paragraphs 119-148):
receiving, in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode or an RRC inactive mode, a paging message that includes an indication, the indication comprising a value of network slice and service type in a page record of the paging message (LEE, see at least para. 120 and 124 along with para. 151 and TABLE 1 of para. 88, “...in
operation 801, a node (e.g., the node 520 of FIG. 5) may transmit a paging message... in operation 803, the communication processor 520 may identify a service type using the indicator included in the paging message...”, note that para. 151 discloses “...the indicator may include a value included in a network slice and service type (slice/service type (SST))...”);
identifying an intended slice for a protocol data unit (PDU) session associated with downlink traffic for the UE based on a mapping between network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) associated with the intended slice and the value of network slice and service type (LEE, see at least para. 124 in view of para. 127-128, for one non-limiting example, “...in operation 803, the communication processor
520 may identify a service type using the indicator included in the paging message...”, note that para. 127-128 disclose “...the service type indicated by the indicator may, for example, include one of eMBB, mMTC, URLLC, or V2X as illustrated in Table 1... the indicator may include a protocol data unit session identification (PDU session ID). ... identify the PDU ID, may refer to a PDU ID-service type mapping table ..., and may identify a service type corresponding to the PDU ID...”;
selecting, for a RRC procedure, one or more parameters associated with a prioritization level configured for the intended slice (LEE, see at least para. 127 and 133, in view of para. 88 and TABLE 1, e.g. steps 805-811, note that “...the service type indicated by the indicator may, for example, include one of eMBB, mMTC, URLLC, or V2X as illustrated in Table 1...”, and take URLLC with SST being 2 in TABLE 1 for a nonlimiting example; also note that “...the operation of preparing the state that enables the ultra-low latency service (e.g., URLLC) may include an operation of scheduling the application processor 710 and adjusting a governor in order to perform an application associated with a ultra-low latency service (e.g., URLLC) or restricting at least one other application, excluding the application associated with the ultra-low latency service (e.g., URLLC), from being performed as a background...”);
and
transmitting, to a network entity, a request to initiate the RRC procedure based at least in part on the intended slice and the one or more parameters (LEE, see at least para. 134 and 142, e.g. steps 811-819 based on step 801, note that “...the electronic device may identify a service type using the paging message including the indicator indicating the service type, and may activate the application processor 710, and thus, may reduce latency...”).
LEE does not specifically teach (a) a cause value in a page record of the paging message, (b) an intended slice for a protocol data unit (PDU) session...based on a mapping between network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) associated with the intended slice and the cause value, and (c) initiate the RACH procedure based at least in part on the intended slice and the one or more RACH parameters.
Ryu teaches (a) a cause value in a page record of the paging message (Ryu, see at least para. 233, “...The paging message 2310 may further comprise a paging cause value. The paging cause value may indicate at least one of a NAS signaling for mobility management, a NAS signaling for policy update, a wireless device context update, a wireless device policy update, an indication requesting a registration, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) voice, an IMS video, an IMS SMS, an IMS MMS, an IMS signaling, other IMS, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), emergency, and/or the like...”, in other words, paging cause value indicates types of services, including but not limited to, URLLC service). Ryu also teaches (b) an intended slice for a protocol data unit (PDU) session... based on a mapping between network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) associated with the intended slice and the cause value (Ryu, see at least para. 234 along with para. 236 and para. 243 of fig. 25, for example, “...The wireless device 2100 may be available or unavailable based on at least ... the paging cause value indicated in the paging message 2310,...”, note that para. 236 discloses “...The wireless device 2100 may determine that the wireless device 2100 is available to communicate with the first base station 2102 ..., for example, based on a paging cause value in the paging message 2310. The paging cause value
may indicate a service type (e.g., IMS voice, a wireless device context update, URLLC, an emergency) that has a higher priority than the service type...”, also note that para. 243 discloses “...The available service type(s) for responding to a paging message
2310 may comprise a data network name (DNN), a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), packet data unit (PDU) session identities, and/or the like. The DNN may comprise at least one of an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a DNN requiring delay sensitive service, and/or the like...”).
Further SIVAVAKEESAR teaches (c) initiate the RACH procedure based at least in part on the intended slice and the one or more RACH parameters. (SIVAVAKEESAR, in general, see paragraphs related to fig. 8-10, in particular, see at least para. 132-134 in view of para. 59-60, “...Particularly, the data transmission preparation message, used to transmit network slice identification information, can be the 3rd message of the RACH procedure, in FIG. 10 exemplarily the RRCConnectionRequest message...”, note that slice identification is in terms of SST).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 2, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the indication includes a slice/service type (SST) value associated with the intended slice. (LEE, see at least para. 122, “...The indicator may include, for example, any one of a network slice service type (SST), a network slice and service type (mapped HPLMN SST)...”)
Regarding claim 3, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the indication includes a slice group index associated with the intended slice, and further comprising: receiving, prior to receiving the paging message, a configuration of a respective slice group index, for each of one or more allowed slices for the UE. (LEE, see at least para. 121-123 in view of TABLE 1 of para. 88, “...the core network 530 may include an indicator indicating a communication service type in the paging message transmitted to the electronic device 510. The indicator may indicate information included in network slice selection assistance information (NASSI). The indicator may include, for example, any one of a network slice service type (SST), a network slice and service type (mapped HPLMN SST) of a HPLMN provided by the core network 530, a slice differentiator (mapped HPLMN SD) used for distinguishing services having the same SST of the home public land mobile network (HPLMN) provided by the core network 530, or the like...”, note that para. 88 discloses “...According to various embodiments, the NSSAI may include information needed for selecting one of the plurality of network slice instances. Referring to TS 23.501 of 3GPP Release 15, the NSSAI may include slice and service type information (slice/service type (SST)) which includes an indicator indicating a service type, a slice differentiator (SD) used for distinguishing services having the same service type, SST information of a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) (mapped HPLMN SST) that the core network 530 provides, and an SD (mapped HPLMN SD) used for distinguishing services which have the same SST of the HPLMN provided by the core network 530...”)
Regarding claim 5, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the indication is an urgent slice indication in a paging record of the paging message, and further comprising: selecting, for the RACH procedure, one or more RACH resources associated with an urgent slice or one or more RACH parameters associated with an urgent slice. (LEE, see at least para. 124-127 of steps 803-805, “...For example, the communication processor 720 may activate the application processor 710 in response to identifying that the identified service type is URLLC and the identified service type is identical to the predetermined service type (URLLC)...”; Ryu, see at least para. 233, “...The paging message 2310 may further comprise a paging cause value. The paging cause value may indicate at least one of a NAS signaling for mobility management, a NAS signaling for policy update, a wireless device context update, a wireless device policy update, an indication requesting a registration, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) voice, an IMS video, an IMS SMS, an IMS MMS, an IMS signaling, other IMS, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), emergency, and/or the like...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 8, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the indication includes a PDU session identifier associated with the PDU session, and further comprising: determining single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) for the intended slice based at least in part on the PDU session identifier. (LEE, see at least para. 110 along with para. 88-89 including TABLE 1, for a non-limiting example, “...the indicator may include a protocol data unit session identification (PDU session ID) ... and may identify a service type corresponding to the PDU ID...”)
Regarding claim 13, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches receiving the mapping in a non-access stratum (NAS) message. (LEE, see at least para. 106 along with para. 67, “...The paging message is a message including a communication service connection request that is transmitted to the electronic device 510 via a non-access stratum (NAS) layer implemented in a control plane, and may include an indicator indicating a communication service type...”, note that “...The NAS may process, for example, a control message related to authentication, registration, or mobility management...”; Ryu, see at least para. 233, “...The paging cause value may indicate at least one of a NAS signaling for mobility management...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 14, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the mapping is updated during at least one of a tracking area update (TAU) procedure or a radio access network (RAN) area update (RNAU) procedure. (Ryu, see at least para. 233 in view of para. 182, “...The paging cause value may indicate at least one of a NAS signaling for mobility management, a NAS signaling for policy update, a wireless device context update, a wireless device policy update...”, note that para. 182 discloses “...For example, for a wireless device in an RRC-IDLE state, a core network (e.g., AMF) may manage the mobility of the wireless device, such as using CN paging, a registration procedure, and/or releasing RRC security. For a wireless device in an RRC-Inactive stage, a RAN device (e.g., a base station, gNB, etc.) may manage the mobility of the wireless device, such as using RAN paging, RAN area updates,...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 16, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the mapping is configured in the UE via subscription information associated network slicing. (LEE, see at least para. 88 and TABLE 1, “...the NSSAI may include slice and service type information (slice/service type (SST)) which includes an indicator indicating a service type, a slice differentiator (SD) used for distinguishing services having the same service type, SST information of a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) (mapped HPLMN SST) that the core network 530 provides, and an SD (mapped HPLMN SD) used for distinguishing services which have the same SST of the HPLMN provided by the core network 530...”; SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 233 along with para. 102, note that para. 102 discloses “...The wireless device 100, 200 may include the mapping of requested NSSAI for initial registration or mobility registration updates. The mapping of requested NSSAI, for example, may comprise the mapping of each S-NSSAI of the requested NSSAI to the S-NSSAIs of the configured NSSAI for the HPLMN. The wireless device 100, 200 may include the mapping of requested NSSAI, for example, to ensure that the network is able to verify whether the S-NSSAI(s) in the requested NSSAI are permitted (e.g., based on the subscribed S-NSSAIs)...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 17, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches selecting, for the RACH procedure, at least one of a RACH resource associated with the intended slice or a RACH parameter associated with the intended slice. (LEE, see at least fig. 8, e.g. paragraphs related to steps 805-811; SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 132-134, “...the data transmission preparation message, used to transmit network slice identification information, can be the 3rd message of the RACH procedure, in FIG. 10 exemplarily the RRCConnectionRequest message...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 22, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1. To be more specific, although reciting subject matters slightly different, one skilled in the art would have known claim 22 performs reverse (or corresponding) procedures of claim 1. For example, it would be a base station of claim 22 that performs the reverse (or corresponding) receiving from and transmitting to the UE of claim 1. Hence, the examiner applies the same rejection reasoning as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding claim 23, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches
the indication includes a slice/service type (SST) value associated with the intended slice, the indication includes a slice group index associated with the intended slice, the indication is an urgent slice indication in a paging record of the paging message, or the indication includes a PDU session identifier associated with the PDU session. (LEE, see at least para. 128, “...the indicator may include a protocol data unit session identification (PDU session ID). The communication processor 720 may identify the PDU ID, may refer to a PDU ID-service type mapping table stored in a memory (not illustrated) implemented in the communication processor 720, and may identify a service type corresponding to the PDU ID...”)
Regarding claim 31, in view of claim 22 above, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 17.
Regarding claim 33, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches receiving, from a core network device, slice information associated with the intended slice. (LEE, see at least para. 121-122, “...According to various embodiments, a core network (e.g., the core network 530 of FIG. 5) connected to the node 520 may generate a paging message for requesting communication service connection from the electronic device 510, and may transmit the same to the electronic device 510 via the node 520...”)
Regarding claim 34, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches receiving the slice information associated with the intended slice comprises: receiving, from the core network device, an N2 paging request that includes the slice information associated with the intended slice. (LEE, see at least para. 121-122, “...According to various embodiments, a core network (e.g., the core network 530 of FIG. 5) connected to the node 520 may generate a paging message for requesting communication service connection from the electronic device 510, and may transmit the same to the electronic device 510 via the node 520...”; SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 125, “...Core Network-based paging has been explained in detail before and can be initiated by the AMF (Access and Mobility management Function) which transmits a UE-specific paging request message on the N2 interface to the gNB...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 35, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches transmitting, to one or more other base stations in a radio access network (RAN) based notification area associated with the UE, a RAN paging message that includes the slice information associated with the intended slice. (SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 122-124, “...Thus for instance, if downlink data is forwarded from the core network to the gNB responsible for the UE, the UE needs to be paged according to RAN-based paging in the paging area. Consequently, all the gNBs within a UE-specific RAN Notification area (in which an INACTIVE state UE can roam without having to trigger an update) (or at least those gNBs in the paging area actually supporting the network slice) shall transmit a suitable paging message in order to reach the UE...”, note that “...The gNB determines corresponding identification information for the one or more network slices and forwards same to the other gNBs in the RAN notification area, such that the other gNBs in turn can provide this identification information to the UE during paging...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 36, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches receiving, from another base station in a radio access network (RAN) based notification area associated with the UE, a RAN paging message that includes slice information associated with the intended slice. (SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 122-124, “...Thus for instance, if downlink data is forwarded from the core network to the gNB responsible for the UE, the UE needs to be paged according to RAN-based paging in the paging area. Consequently, all the gNBs within a UE-specific RAN Notification area (in which an INACTIVE state UE can roam without having to trigger an update) (or at least those gNBs in the paging area actually supporting the network slice) shall transmit a suitable paging message in order to reach the UE...”, note that “...The gNB determines corresponding identification information for the one or more network slices and forwards same to the other gNBs in the RAN notification area, such that the other gNBs in turn can provide this identification information to the UE during paging...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR into LEE for transitioning a wireless device into (e.g., resuming operation) and/or out of (e.g., releasing operation) the RRC-Inactive state via communications that provide efficiencies over paging procedures (Ryu, para. 182), as well as for providing an improved paging procedure and AS connection and NAS service request procedure in which different entities (UE, gNBs) are participating (SIVAVAKEESAR, para. 10).
Regarding claim 37, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR also teaches a same or similar apparatus with at least one processor and a memory (LEE, see at least fig. 1), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 38, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as at least claim 2 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
Regarding claim 53, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 22 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR also teaches a same or similar apparatus with at least one processor and a memory (LEE, see at least fig. 1), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 113, in view of claim 22 above, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 14.
Regarding claim 114, in view of claim 37 above, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 14.
Regarding claim 115, in view of claim 53 above, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 14.
Claims 9 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR, as applied to claims 1 and 22 above, and further in view of Ying et al. (US 20200037205 A1, hereinafter Ying)
Regarding claim 9, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches the indication includes PDU session information associated with the intended slice. (LEE, see at least para. 123, e.g. the paging message may indicate one or more of NASSI, SST, PDU session ID, etc.)
LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR does not specifically teach a radio bearer identifier for a logical channel associated with the intended slice.
Ying teaches a radio bearer identifier for a logical channel associated with the intended slice (in general, see paragraphs related to fig. 3, in particular, see at least para. 103-104 along with para. 42, “...establish the PDU session includes establishing an air-interface data radio bearer (DRB) of the PDU session and a tunnel connection on an N3 interface...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ying into the method of LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for efficiently routing the downlink session management message, or send, to the terminal device, the indication information indicating the access technology type.
Regarding claim 27, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR and Ying teaches the indication includes a radio bearer identifier for a logical channel associated with the intended slice, and further comprising: determining the radio bearer identifier for the logical channel associated with the intended slice based at least in part on N3 tunnel information for the downlink traffic. (LEE, see at least para. 123, e.g. the paging message may indicate one or more of NASSI, SST, PDU session ID, etc.; Ying, see at least para. 103-104 along with para. 42, “...establish the PDU session includes establishing an air-interface data radio bearer (DRB) of the PDU session and a tunnel connection on an N3 interface...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Ying into the method of LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for efficiently routing the downlink session management message, or send, to the terminal device, the indication information indicating the access technology type.
Claims 11-12 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR, as applied to claims 1 and 22 above, and further in view of SHIH et al. (US 20180352491 A1, hereinafter SHIH)
Regarding claim 11, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches claim 1.
LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR does not teach receiving the mapping in a system information block (SIB).
SHIH teaches receiving the mapping in a system information block (SIB) (SHIH, see at least para. 150-154 along with para. 79, “...in action 2382, eLTE eNB/cell 2304, as a master node or a secondary node, may broadcast Slice IDs and/or NS Indication and/or Slice Bitmap. When slice IDs are broadcast, eLTE eNB/cell 2304 may directly inform UE 2302 what network slices/services are supported...”, note that “...The cause value in an RRC message may be ‘network slice’ corresponding to a NAS (Non-Access Stratum) procedure. Moreover, the RRC message may carry the network slice indication (NS Indication), to indicate the network slice requirement instead of explicitly revealing the slice service type...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate SHIH into LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for improvement for UE to effectively camp to an appropriate RAT that can support its service during cell selection/reselection.
Regarding claim 12, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches claim 11.
LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR does not teach based at least in part on the UE performing cell reselection in which the UE switches to a new cell: discarding the mapping; and receiving a new mapping in an SIB of the new cell.
SHIH teaches based at least in part on the UE performing cell reselection in which the UE switches to a new cell: discarding the mapping; and receiving a new mapping in an SIB of the new cell. (SHIH, see at least para. 150-154 along with para. 145-146, note that “Secondary Node Addition—Add a New Secondary Node that Supports UE's Required Network Slice/Service. A UE may add a new secondary node that supports the required/requested network slice/service...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate SHIH into LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for improvement for UE to effectively camp to an appropriate RAT that can support its service during cell selection/reselection.
Regarding claim 29, in view of claim 22 above, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 11.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Qiao et al. (US 2022/ 0248318 A1, hereinafter Qiao).
Regarding claim 15, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches claim 1.
LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR does not teach receiving the mapping in an RRC release message.
Qiao teaches receiving the mapping in an RRC release message (Qiao, see at least para. 349 and 339, note that “...In an example, a base station may transmit an RRC message comprising a cause value of overload notification per network slice to a UE, for example, when the network quota for the network slice is reached. The RRC message may comprise information of a second network slice. The RRC message for example may be an RRC release message releasing the RCC connection. Example embodiments of the present disclosure may provide enhanced mechanisms for providing a release cause of quota reached notification per network slice to a UE. As a result, the UE's access to an overloaded network slice is reduced. The UE may then access a network slice which is not overloaded, which may result in a better user experience, reduced signaling overhead, and reduced power consumption. In an example embodiment, the base station may transmit an RRC message comprising the cause value before a UE sends messages (e.g. NAS messages) to the core network functions. This may reduce delay in UEs connection to the network as the access to the network is declined before UE starts NAS signaling with the core network...”
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Qiao into LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for at least reducing overloaded network slice.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of AWADA et al. (US 2022/0279408 A1, hereinafter AWADA).
Regarding claim 18, LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR teaches selecting, for the RACH procedure, one or more RACH resources configured for the intended slice, or a slice group associated with the intended slice. (SIVAVAKEESAR, see at least para. 132-134 in view of para. 59-60, “...Particularly, the data transmission preparation message, used to transmit network slice identification information, can be the 3rd message of the RACH procedure, in FIG. 10 exemplarily the RRCConnectionRequest message...”, note that slice identification is in terms of SST).
LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR does not specifically teach RACH resources from a RACH resource pool.
AWADA teaches RACH resources from a RACH resource pool (see at least fig. 14 and para. 146, “...in FIG. 14, the pool of RACH resources X may correspond to A or B and the pool of RACH resources Y may correspond to network slice C or D, for instance...”, note that fig. 15 could also be applied).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate AWADA into the method of LEE in view of Ryu and SIVAVAKEESAR for enabling an efficient assistance in selection of a pool of RACH resources when the UE falls back to CBRA.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/09/2026 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 1, 22, 37, and 53, since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YEE F LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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