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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on May 16, 2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Casati et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220345963 A1 (hereinafter Casati) in view of Jeong et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220225265 A1 (hereinafter Jeong, included in Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement).
Regarding Claim 1, Casati discloses a computer-implemented method comprising: receiving an uplink non-access stratum (NAS) transport message, wherein the uplink NAS transport message is received through a source base station, , and wherein the uplink NAS transport message is associated with a user equipment (UE) (e.g., ¶ [0011] one or more indications of topology information related to the one or more tracking areas comprise receiving an uplink non-access stratum transport message. In some embodiments, the one or more indications of topology information is related to the tracking area where a user equipment is located. In some embodiments, the uplink non-access stratum transport message comprises a tracking area identifier and radio access network cell global identifier of the cell where the user equipment is located; e.g., ¶ [0013] receiving [by AMF] a handover required message or a path switch request of an handover process for a user equipment, including at least one of an identity of a source cell or an identity of a source tracking area of the handover process… one or more indications of topology information related to the one or more tracking areas comprises receiving a handover required message or a path switch request of an handover process for a user equipment, including an indication of topology information related to a tracking area of a source cell of the handover process; e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d. If the UE moves outside of the TA, such as into cell 103b corresponding to TA 103, the source RAN node 601 may cause the transmission of a handover required message to MME/AMF 602 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6A… the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs); determining a prior Tracking Area Identity (TAI) associated with the UE, wherein the prior TAI is determined based on the uplink NAS transport message (e.g., ¶ [0124] In operation 1 of FIG. 5, the RAN node 501 may cause the transmission of the uplink NAS transport message to MME/AMF 502. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may comprise an eNB or a gNB. In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message is transmitted via the S1 or NG interface. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may be associated with one or more TAs, which may be identified by a corresponding TAI; e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d); receiving a new message associated with the UE, wherein the new message is received through a target base station, and wherein the new message is received as the UE is transferred from the source base station to the target base station; receiving a new message associated with the UE, wherein the new message is received through a target base station, and wherein the new message is received as the UE is transferred from the source base station to the target base station (e.g., ¶ [0044] In some example embodiments of such an apparatus, receiving the one or more indications of topology information related to the one or more tracking areas comprises receiving a handover notify message or a path switch request of an handover process for a user equipment, including an indication of topology information related to a tracking area of a target cell of the handover process; e.g., ¶ [0127] a path switch request as depicted in FIG. 6B, or as a message indicating a success of an handover such as a handover notify message (defined e.g. in 3GPP TS 36.413 or TS 38.413) as depicted in FIG. 6C; e.g., ¶ [0131] FIG. 6B depicts a target RAN node 603 within a TA to which the UE has moved. If the UE moves outside of the TA, such as from TA 101b into TA 102c, the target RAN node 603 corresponding to TA 102c may cause the transmission of a path switch request message to MME/AMF 604 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise the appropriate cause value for the handover. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise the TAI corresponding to the TA with which the target RAN node 603 is associated); determining a target TAI associated with the UE, wherein the target TAI is determined based on the new message (e.g., ¶ [0131] TAI corresponding to the TA with which the target RAN node 603 is associated; e.g., ¶ [0133] the MME/AMF 604 may use the information from the path switch request message [i.e., new message] to determine a RA comprising a list of one or more TAIs corresponding to one or more TAs. In some embodiments, the MIME/AMF 604 may determine the most frequent subsequent registrations for a particular UE. In some embodiments, MME/AMF 604 may begin to determine an RA with a single TA and allocating additional TAs. The MME/AMF 604 may add TAs based at least in part on the inference that some TAs are adjacent from the collected history of TA HO signals from a UE [i.e., setting up disclosure of TAI list with each of associated (“prior”) source TAI and target TAI]).
Casati discloses (e.g., ¶ [0121]) that the MME/AMF 404 may receive the RAN configuration update message. In some embodiments, the MME/AMF 404 may use the information from the configuration update message to determine a RA (registration area) comprising a list of one or more TAIs. While this citation does not explicitly disclose TAI list with updated TAI information, the disclosure in ¶ [0121] suggests that the received messages by MME/AMF are used to update the history of received TAs.
Jeong clearly discloses updated TAI list specified [i.e., maintained] by the AMF (e.g., ¶ [0284] [0289]), and as such, automatically updating a TAI list associated with the UE, wherein the TAI list is automatically updated to incorporate the prior TAI and the target TAI (e.g., ¶ [0248] [0277] UE stores the TAI List to decide when to carry out a mobility registration update; e.g., ¶ [0285] The UE does not carry out a TAU/registration update as long as at least one TAC/TAI in the TAI list (provided by the AMF) is in the list of TACs/TAIs being broadcast by a gNB in a cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of updated TAIs received by a network entity, which are associated with source and target entities as part of handover procedure, as disclosed by Casati, with the disclosure of the receiving network entity maintaining updated TAI list, as disclosed by Jeong. The motivation to combine would have been to support tracking area identify (TAI) updates (Jeong: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Regarding Claim 2, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati discloses wherein the new message is a path switch request message associated with an Xn handover process (e.g., ¶ [0131] the path switch request message may comprise the TAI corresponding to the TA with which the target RAN node 603 is associated).
Regarding Claim 4, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati discloses further comprising: determining a geographic adjacency between the source base station and the target base station, wherein the geographic adjacency is determined based on the uplink NAS transport message and the new message (e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d. If the UE moves outside of the TA, such as into cell 103b corresponding to TA 103, the source RAN node 601 may cause the transmission of a handover required message to MME/AMF 602 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6A… the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs; e.g., FIG. 6B, ¶ [0132] UE may be associated with a target RAN node 603 within a TA, such as TA 103 corresponding to a target cell 103b. This may have resulted from the UE moving from a source cell 101d associated with TA 101 into target cell 103b. The target RAN node 603 may cause the transmission of a path switch request message to MME/AMF 604 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise the appropriate cause value for the handover. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise topology information related to the TA of the source cell 101d of the handover process and/or topology information related to the TA of the target cell 103d of the handover process. For example, the handover request message may comprise the TAI corresponding to the TA 103 and an ECGI of the source cell 103d, to which the UE has been handed over as well as possibly the TAI corresponding to the TA 101 and an ECGI of the source cell 101d, from which the UE has been handed over. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the target cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs).
Casati discloses (e.g., ¶ [0121]) that the MME/AMF 404 may receive the RAN configuration update message. In some embodiments, the MME/AMF 404 may use the information from the configuration update message to determine a RA (registration area) comprising a list of one or more TAIs. While this citation does not explicitly disclose TAI list with updated TAI information, the disclosure in ¶ [0121] suggests that the received messages by MME/AMF are used to update the history of received TAs.
Jeong clearly discloses updated TAI list specified [i.e., maintained] by the AMF (e.g., ¶ [0284] [0289]), and as such, using the geographic adjacency to automatically update the TAI list (e.g., ¶ [0248] [0277] UE stores the TAI List to decide when to carry out a mobility registration update; e.g., ¶ [0285] The UE does not carry out a TAU/registration update as long as at least one TAC/TAI in the TAI list (provided by the AMF) is in the list of TACs/TAIs being broadcast by a gNB in a cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of updated TAIs received by a network entity, which are associated with source and target entities as part of handover procedure, as disclosed by Casati, with the disclosure of the receiving network entity maintaining updated TAI list, as disclosed by Jeong. The motivation to combine would have been to support tracking area identify (TAI) updates (Jeong: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Regarding Claim 6, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati discloses wherein the prior TAI and the target TAI are determined based on user location information included in the uplink NAS transport message and the new message (e.g., ¶ [0011] the one or more indications of topology information related to the one or more tracking areas comprise receiving an uplink non-access stratum transport message… the one or more indications of topology information is related to the tracking area where a user equipment is located. In some embodiments, the uplink non-access stratum transport message comprises a tracking area identifier and radio access network cell global identifier of the cell where the user equipment is located; e.g., ¶ [0014] indication of topology information related to a tracking area of a target cell of the handover process; e.g., ¶ [0125] In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message may comprise the geographic coordinates of a predefined portion, such as the center, of the one or more associated TAs and a measure of the size, such as the radius, of the one or more associated TAs. In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message may comprise one or more of the geographic coordinates providing the center of the one or more cells comprising the one or more associated TAs and a radius of the one or more cells associated with each of the one or more associated TAs. In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message may comprise topology information related to where the UE is located. In some embodiments, the uplink non-access stratum transport message comprises a TAI of the TA and the ECGI of the cell where the UE is located).
Regarding Claim 8, Casati in view of Jeong discloses a system, comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing thereon instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors (Casati: e.g., FIG. 3, ¶ [0109] apparatus 300 that may be configured to function as a network entity, such as AMF or MME, is depicted in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 300 includes, is associated with or is in communication with processing circuitry 302, a memory 306 and a communication interface 304. The processing circuitry 302 may be in communication with the memory device via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus 300. The memory device 306 may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), cause the system to perform operations that are functionally similar to the method of claim 1. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 1 shall be applied to claim 8.
Regarding Claim 9, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 9 are similar to claim 2. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 2 shall be applied to claim 9.
Regarding Claim 11, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 11 are similar to claim 4. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 4 shall be applied to claim 11.
Regarding Claim 13, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 13 are similar to claim 6. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 6 shall be applied to claim 13.
Regarding Claim 15, Casati in view of Jeong discloses a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computer system (Casati: e.g., FIG. 3, ¶ [0109] apparatus 300 that may be configured to function as a network entity, such as AMF or MME, is depicted in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 300 includes, is associated with or is in communication with processing circuitry 302, a memory 306 and a communication interface 304. The processing circuitry 302 may be in communication with the memory device via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus 300. The memory device 306 may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), cause the computer system to perform operations that are functionally similar to the method of claim 1. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 1 shall be applied to claim 15.
Regarding Claim 16, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15.
The functional limitations of Claim 16 are similar to claim 2. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 2 shall be applied to claim 16.
Regarding Claim 18, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15.
The functional limitations of Claim 18 are similar to claim 4. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 4 shall be applied to claim 18.
Regarding Claim 20, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15.
The functional limitations of Claim 20 are similar to claim 6. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 6 shall be applied to claim 20.
Claims 3, 10 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Casati in view of Jeong, in further view of Youn et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20200120570 A1 (hereinafter Youn).
Regarding Claim 3, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati does not expressly disclose wherein the new message is a handover acknowledgment associated with an N2 handover process.
Youn discloses wherein the new message is a handover acknowledgment associated with an N2 handover process (e.g., ¶ [0284] Thereafter, the target gNB sends to the AMF both information on which QoS is supported or which QoS is not supported through the handover ack message… also sends to the AMF the target gNB address and/or ID information for delivery to be used for making an indirect tunnel for each PDU session; e.g., ¶ [0524], N2 handover procedure; e.g., ¶ [0581] The T-AMF determines T-RAN based on the Target ID. The T-AMF may allocate a 5G-Globally Unique Temporary Identifier (5G-GUTI) for the AMF and the UE in target Tracking Area Identity (TAI)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of TAI information received from a target network entity, as disclosed by Casati in view of Jeong, with the disclosure of determining target TAI information from a handover acknowledgement message received from target network entity, as disclosed by Jeong. The motivation to combine would have been to support a plurality of sessions and a service continuity mode (Youn: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Regarding Claim 10, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 10 are similar to claim 3. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 3 shall be applied to claim 10.
Regarding Claim 17, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15.
The functional limitations of Claim 17 are similar to claim 3. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 3 shall be applied to claim 17.
Claims 5, 7, 12, 14 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Casati in view of Jeong, in further view of Kamalaraj et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 20110096731 A1 (hereinafter Kamalaraj).
Regarding Claim 5, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati discloses defining adjacencies amongst different TAIs within a 5G mobile network, generated based on the uplink NAS transport message, the new message, and previously identified TAI adjacencies (e.g., ¶ [0124] In operation 1 of FIG. 5, the RAN node 501 may cause the transmission of the uplink NAS transport message to MME/AMF 502. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may comprise an eNB or a gNB. In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message is transmitted via the S1 or NG interface. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may be associated with one or more TAs, which may be identified by a corresponding TAI; e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d; e.g., ¶ [0131] TAI corresponding to the TA with which the target RAN node 603 is associated; e.g., ¶ [0133] the MME/AMF 604 may use the information from the path switch request message [i.e., new message] to determine a RA comprising a list of one or more TAIs corresponding to one or more TAs. In some embodiments, the MIME/AMF 604 may determine the most frequent subsequent registrations for a particular UE. In some embodiments, MME/AMF 604 may begin to determine an RA with a single TA and allocating additional TAs. The MME/AMF 604 may add TAs based at least in part on the inference that some TAs are adjacent from the collected history of TA HO signals from a UE; e.g., e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d. If the UE moves outside of the TA, such as into cell 103b corresponding to TA 103, the source RAN node 601 may cause the transmission of a handover required message to MME/AMF 602 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6A… the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs; e.g., FIG. 6B, ¶ [0132] UE may be associated with a target RAN node 603 within a TA, such as TA 103 corresponding to a target cell 103b. This may have resulted from the UE moving from a source cell 101d associated with TA 101 into target cell 103b. The target RAN node 603 may cause the transmission of a path switch request message to MME/AMF 604 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise the appropriate cause value for the handover. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise topology information related to the TA of the source cell 101d of the handover process and/or topology information related to the TA of the target cell 103d of the handover process. For example, the handover request message may comprise the TAI corresponding to the TA 103 and an ECGI of the source cell 103d, to which the UE has been handed over as well as possibly the TAI corresponding to the TA 101 and an ECGI of the source cell 101d, from which the UE has been handed over. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the target cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs).
Casati discloses (e.g., ¶ [0121]) that the MME/AMF 404 may receive the RAN configuration update message. In some embodiments, the MME/AMF 404 may use the information from the configuration update message to determine a RA (registration area) comprising a list of one or more TAIs. While this citation does not explicitly disclose TAI list with updated TAI information, the disclosure in ¶ [0121] suggests that the received messages by MME/AMF are used to update the history of received TAs.
Jeong clearly discloses updated TAI list specified [i.e., maintained] by the AMF (e.g., ¶ [0284] [0289]), and as such, updating a TAI list based on history of received TAIs (e.g., ¶ [0248] [0277] UE stores the TAI List to decide when to carry out a mobility registration update; e.g., ¶ [0285] The UE does not carry out a TAU/registration update as long as at least one TAC/TAI in the TAI list (provided by the AMF) is in the list of TACs/TAIs being broadcast by a gNB in a cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of updated TAIs received by a network entity, which are associated with source and target entities as part of handover procedure, as disclosed by Casati, with the disclosure of the receiving network entity maintaining updated TAI list, as disclosed by Jeong. The motivation to combine would have been to support tracking area identify (TAI) updates (Jeong: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Casati in view of Jeong disclose identifying TAI adjacencies, and generating a TAI list, but not generating a TAI adjacency graph.
Kamalaraj discloses further comprising: generating a TAI adjacency graph, wherein the TAI adjacency graph defines adjacencies amongst different TAIs within a 5G mobile network, and wherein the TAI adjacency graph (e.g., ¶ [0026] When eNB 203, for example, connects to an MME 118, it sends MME 118 tracking area identities for each of tracking areas 221, 222, and 223. A tracking area identity (TAI) is used to identify a tracking area; e.g., ¶ [0038] A sample graph and corresponding weighed adjacency matrix are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in the graph and adjacency matrix, for example, the edge between the node for TAI-A and TAI-B has a weight; e.g., ¶ [0039] A TAI list can be computed using the method illustrated in FIG. 6. Starting from the adjacency matrix of FIG. 5, the TAI with maximum priority is selected (TAI-B). Then, the weights between all the nodes to which TAI-B is connected are updated. Using W(A,D) as an example, W(A,B), which is 0.5, is multiplied by W(B,D), which is 0.2, to obtain 0.1. Then, 0.1 is added to the current W(A,D), which as shown by node A not being directly connected to node D (or by the adjacency matrix of FIG. 5), is 0; 0+0.1 equals 0.1, hence: {W(A,D)+=0.1 (0.5.times.0.2), new weight=0.1}}. The updated weights for node A's remaining neighbors are calculated as: {W(A,F)+=0.15 (0.5.times.0.3), new weight=0.35}} and {W(D,F)+=0.06 (0.2.times.0.3), new weight=0.06}. After removing node TAI-B and updating the weights of the various nodes, the adjacency matrix of FIG. 7 is produced).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of generating a TAI list to include source and target TAIs, as disclosed by Casati in view of Jeong, with the disclosure of determining TAI adjacency graph based on TAI list, as disclosed by Kamalaraj. The motivation to combine would have been to support selecting serving gateways and tracking areas to serve user equipment. (Kamalaraj: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Regarding Claim 7, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the computer-implemented method of claim 1.
Casati discloses defining existing TAI adjacencies within a 5G mobile network and adjacency between the prior TAI and the target TAI (e.g., ¶ [0124] In operation 1 of FIG. 5, the RAN node 501 may cause the transmission of the uplink NAS transport message to MME/AMF 502. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may comprise an eNB or a gNB. In some embodiments, the uplink NAS transport message is transmitted via the S1 or NG interface. In some embodiments, the RAN node 501 may be associated with one or more TAs, which may be identified by a corresponding TAI; e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d; e.g., ¶ [0131] TAI corresponding to the TA with which the target RAN node 603 is associated; e.g., ¶ [0133] the MME/AMF 604 may use the information from the path switch request message [i.e., new message] to determine a RA comprising a list of one or more TAIs corresponding to one or more TAs. In some embodiments, the MIME/AMF 604 may determine the most frequent subsequent registrations for a particular UE. In some embodiments, MME/AMF 604 may begin to determine an RA with a single TA and allocating additional TAs. The MME/AMF 604 may add TAs based at least in part on the inference that some TAs are adjacent from the collected history of TA HO signals from a UE; e.g., e.g., FIG. 6A, ¶ [0128] A UE may be associated with a source RAN node 601 within a TA, such as TA 101 corresponding to a source cell 101d. If the UE moves outside of the TA, such as into cell 103b corresponding to TA 103, the source RAN node 601 may cause the transmission of a handover required message to MME/AMF 602 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6A… the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs; e.g., FIG. 6B, ¶ [0132] UE may be associated with a target RAN node 603 within a TA, such as TA 103 corresponding to a target cell 103b. This may have resulted from the UE moving from a source cell 101d associated with TA 101 into target cell 103b. The target RAN node 603 may cause the transmission of a path switch request message to MME/AMF 604 as shown in operation 1 of FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise the appropriate cause value for the handover. In some embodiments, the path switch request message may comprise topology information related to the TA of the source cell 101d of the handover process and/or topology information related to the TA of the target cell 103d of the handover process. For example, the handover request message may comprise the TAI corresponding to the TA 103 and an ECGI of the source cell 103d, to which the UE has been handed over as well as possibly the TAI corresponding to the TA 101 and an ECGI of the source cell 101d, from which the UE has been handed over. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the source cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs. In some embodiments, the handover request message may identify one or more TAs adjacent to the tracking area of the target cell, such as by their corresponding TAIs).
Casati discloses (e.g., ¶ [0121]) that the MME/AMF 404 may receive the RAN configuration update message. In some embodiments, the MME/AMF 404 may use the information from the configuration update message to determine a RA (registration area) comprising a list of one or more TAIs. While this citation does not explicitly disclose TAI list with updated TAI information, the disclosure in ¶ [0121] suggests that the received messages by MME/AMF are used to update the history of received TAs.
Jeong clearly discloses updated TAI list specified [i.e., maintained] by the AMF (e.g., ¶ [0284] [0289]), and as such, automatically update the TAI list (e.g., ¶ [0248] [0277] UE stores the TAI List to decide when to carry out a mobility registration update; e.g., ¶ [0285] The UE does not carry out a TAU/registration update as long as at least one TAC/TAI in the TAI list (provided by the AMF) is in the list of TACs/TAIs being broadcast by a gNB in a cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of updated TAIs received by a network entity, which are associated with source and target entities as part of handover procedure, as disclosed by Casati, with the disclosure of the receiving network entity maintaining updated TAI list, as disclosed by Jeong. The motivation to combine would have been to support tracking area identify (TAI) updates (Jeong: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Casati in view of Jeong disclose identifying TAI adjacencies, and generating a TAI list, but not generating a TAI adjacency graph.
Kamalaraj discloses identifying a TAI adjacency graph defining existing TAI adjacencies within a 5G mobile network; updating the TAI adjacency graph according to an adjacency between the TAIs; and using the TAI adjacency graph to automatically update the TAI list (e.g., ¶ [0026] When eNB 203, for example, connects to an MME 118, it sends MME 118 tracking area identities for each of tracking areas 221, 222, and 223. A tracking area identity (TAI) is used to identify a tracking area; e.g., ¶ [0038] A sample graph and corresponding weighed adjacency matrix are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in the graph and adjacency matrix, for example, the edge between the node for TAI-A and TAI-B has a weight; e.g., ¶ [0039] A TAI list can be computed using the method illustrated in FIG. 6. Starting from the adjacency matrix of FIG. 5, the TAI with maximum priority is selected (TAI-B). Then, the weights between all the nodes to which TAI-B is connected are updated. Using W(A,D) as an example, W(A,B), which is 0.5, is multiplied by W(B,D), which is 0.2, to obtain 0.1. Then, 0.1 is added to the current W(A,D), which as shown by node A not being directly connected to node D (or by the adjacency matrix of FIG. 5), is 0; 0+0.1 equals 0.1, hence: {W(A,D)+=0.1 (0.5.times.0.2), new weight=0.1}}. The updated weights for node A's remaining neighbors are calculated as: {W(A,F)+=0.15 (0.5.times.0.3), new weight=0.35}} and {W(D,F)+=0.06 (0.2.times.0.3), new weight=0.06}. After removing node TAI-B and updating the weights of the various nodes, the adjacency matrix of FIG. 7 is produced).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date to combine the disclosure of generating a TAI list to include source and target TAIs, as disclosed by Casati in view of Jeong, with the disclosure of determining TAI adjacency graph based on TAI list, as disclosed by Kamalaraj. The motivation to combine would have been to support selecting serving gateways and tracking areas to serve user equipment. (Kamalaraj: e.g., ¶ [0002]).
Regarding Claim 12, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 12 are similar to claim 5. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 5 shall be applied to claim 12.
Regarding Claim 14, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the system of claim 8.
The functional limitations of Claim 14 are similar to claim 7. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 7 shall be applied to claim 14.
Regarding Claim 19, Casati in view of Jeong discloses all the limitations of the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15.
The functional limitations of Claim 19 are similar to claim 5. Therefore, the reasoning used in the examination of claim 5 shall be applied to claim 19.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References considered relevant to this application are listed in the attached "Notice of References Cited” (PTO-892).
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/VLADISLAV Y AGUREYEV/Examiner, Art Unit 2471