DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
This action is responsive to the Remark filed on 12/2/25.
Claim(s) 1-2, 11-12, 18-19 was/were amended.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 9, 11-12, 116 & 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ukil, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2018/0220294 A1.
As to claim 1, Ukil teaches a method, comprising:
establishing, for a user equipment (UE) device, a data session via a network (Ukil, page 6, paragraph 70; page 7, paragraph 79; i.e., [0070] The architecture may be defined that support fronthauling solutions across different deployment types. For example, the architecture may be based on transmit network capabilities ( e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter); [0079] The UL portion may refer to the communication resources utilized to communicate UL data from the subordinate entity (e.g., UE) to the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS));
determining whether the network is at least one of congested or overloaded (Ukil, page 8, paragraph 85; i.e., [0085] UE categories may use less power than activities performed according to higher UE categories. Idle mode activities may drain power, even for lower UE categories (e.g., CAT 1) mobile devices); and
instructing the UE device to re-register for a Category M1 (Cat-M1) data session, in response to determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded (Ukil, page 9, paragraph 97; i.e., [0097] if the network ( e.g., cell, BS 1104) supports the lower UE-category, such as Cat-M1 mode of operation, at 1114, the UE 1102 may switch UE category and, at 1116, re-register as the lower UE Category with the network. Based on the registration for the lower UE-category);
monitoring, at a first time and after determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded, whether the network remains at least one of congested or overloaded (Ukil, page 2, paragraph 31; page 6, paragraph 70; page 7, paragraph 79; page 9, paragraph 96; i.e., [0031] dynamic UE -Category switching for enhanced idle mode power savings. For example, if the cell supports a lower UE-category, such Cat-Ml, the UE may dynamically switch to the lower UE -category (equating to whether network is congested or overloaded) when the UE moves to the idle mode or after the VE is in the idle mode for a duration; [0070] The architecture may be defined that support fronthauling solutions across different deployment types. For example, the architecture may be based on transmit network capabilities ( e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter); [0096] the UE may enter an idle mode. At 1114, the idle mode UE 1102 may dynamically switch to a lower UE-CAT in order to enhance power savings during the idle mode (e.g., based on the determination that the BS 1104 supports CAT M1)).
As to claim 2, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1, further comprising:
instructing the UE device, in response to determining that the network does not remain at least one of congested or overloaded, to re-register for the data session using a reduced capability radio access type (RAT) (Ukil, page 9, paragraph 96; i.e., [0096] the UE may enter an idle mode. At 1114, the idle mode UE 1102 may dynamically switch to a lower UE-CAT in order to enhance power savings during the idle mode (e.g., based on the determination that the BS 1104 supports CAT M1)).
As to claim 9, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1, wherein dynamically switching between a reduced capability data session mode and a Cat-M1 data session mode for the UE device based on network load conditions (Ukil, page 8, paragraph 93; i.e., [0093] the UE 1102 may support a low UE-category, such as Cat-M1 mode of operation. The UE 1102 may operate according to a first UE Category, which may be a regular UE-CAT ( e.g., CAT 1 or beyond)).
Claim(s) 11 & 18 is/are directed to a system and computer readable medium claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 1. Therefore, claim(s) 11 & 18 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 1.
Claim(s) 12, 16 & 19, 20 is/are directed to a system and computer readable medium claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 2, 9. Therefore, claim(s) 12, 16 & 19, 20 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 2, 9.
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claim(s) 3-8, 10, 13-15 & 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Ukil, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2018/0220294 A1, and further in view of Sharma, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2024/0298252 A1.
As to claim 3, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1. But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein requesting information, by an access and mobility management function (AMF), from a network data analytics function (NWDAF).
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein requesting information, by an access and mobility management function (AMF), from a network data analytics function (NWDAF) (Sharma, page 6, paragraph 57; i.e., [0057] AMF and NWDAF).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 4, Ukil-Sharma teaches the method as recited claim 3. But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein receiving by the AMF, and from the NWDAF, information associated with network load conditions, and determining whether the network is at least one of congested or overloaded based on the information received from the NWDAF.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein receiving by the AMF, and from the NWDAF, information associated with network load conditions, and determining whether the network is at least one of congested or overloaded based on the information received from the NWDAF (Sharma, page 5, table 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 5, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1. But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the data session corresponds to a reduced capability data session.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein the data session corresponds to a reduced capability data session (Sharma, page 4, paragraph 43-44; i.e., [0043] first AMF/UPF 230 is allocated for RedCap devices).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 6, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1. But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein determining whether the UE device is located in an area that supports a reduced capability RAT, and wherein the establishing a data session comprises: establishing a reduced capability data session, in response to determining that the UE device is located in an area that supports the reduced capability RAT.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein determining whether the UE device is located in an area that supports a reduced capability RAT, and wherein the establishing a data session comprises: establishing a reduced capability data session, in response to determining that the UE device is located in an area that supports the reduced capability RAT (Sharma, page 4, paragraph 43-44; i.e., [0043] first AMF/UPF 230 is allocated for RedCap devices).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 7, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1, wherein determining, by the AMF and in response to determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded, whether the UE device is capable of reduced capability communications and Cat-M1 communications (Ukil, page 8, paragraph 91; i.e., [0091] the BS may receive registration information registering the UE as the second UE category when the UE moves to the idle mode)).
But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein receiving, by an access and mobility management function (AMF), a registration request from a user equipment (UE) device.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein receiving, by an access and mobility management function (AMF), a registration request from a user equipment (UE) device (Sharma, page 6, paragraph 53; i.e., [0053] overload status received from AMF, and AMF capacity information received over N2 interface).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 8, Ukil-Sharma teaches the method as recited claim 7. But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein obtaining, from a unified data management (UDM) device or a unified data repository (UDR), subscriber-related information associated with the UE device, wherein the subscriber-related information indicates whether the UE device is capable of Cat-M1 communications.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein obtaining, from a unified data management (UDM) device or a unified data repository (UDR), subscriber-related information associated with the UE device, wherein the subscriber-related information indicates whether the UE device is capable of Cat-M1 communications (Sharma, page 4, paragraph 40; i.e., [0040] UDM and UDR).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
As to claim 10, Ukil teaches the method as recited claim 1, wherein determining whether to instruct the UE device to re-register for a Cat-M1 data session based on the data usage (Ukil, page 9, paragraph 97; i.e., [0097] if the network ( e.g., cell, BS 1104) supports the lower UE-category, such as Cat-M1 mode of operation, at 1114, the UE 1102 may switch UE category and, at 1116, re-register as the lower UE Category with the network. Based on the registration for the lower UE-category).
But Ukil failed to teach the claim limitation wherein determining data usage by the UE device.
However, Sharma teaches the limitation wherein determining data usage by the UE device (Sharma, page 6, paragraph 58; i.e., [0058] dynamically balance usage).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Ukil to substitute DPF from Sharma for C plane from Ukil enabled services isolation for greater flexibility, programmability, reliability, and quality of service (Sharma, page 1, paragraph 6).
Claim(s) 13, 14, 15, 17 is/are directed to a system claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 3-4, 6, 8, 10. Therefore, claim(s) 13, 14, 15, 17 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 3-4, 6, 8, 10.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument(s) filed 12/2/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues in substance that: A) with respect to claims 1, 11 & 18; Ukil cannot further disclose or suggest instructing the UE device to re-register for a Cat-MI data session, in response to determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded. Ukil at paragraph 97 describes that the UE may switch UE category and re-register as the lower UE category. Ukil, however, does not disclose or suggest that the re-registering is in response to determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded. In fact, Ukil does not determine anything associated with whether the network is congested or overloaded. Ukil, however, do not disclose or suggest monitoring, at a first time and after determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded, whether the network remains at least one of congested or overloaded, as recited in claim 1. In contrast, this portion of Ukil merely discloses switching to a lower UE category when the UE is in an idle mode. In addition, as discussed above, Ukil does not determine anything associated with whether the network is congested or overloaded, much less remains congested or overloaded. (page 9-10).
In response to A); Ukil discloses the claim limitation wherein monitoring, at a first time and after determining that the network is at least one of congested or overloaded, whether the network remains at least one of congested or overloaded (Ukil, page 2, paragraph 31; page 6, paragraph 70; page 7, paragraph 79; page 9, paragraph 96; i.e., [0031] dynamic UE -Category switching for enhanced idle mode power savings. For example, if the cell supports a lower UE-category, such Cat-Ml, the UE may dynamically switch to the lower UE -category (equating to whether network is congested or overloaded) when the UE moves to the idle mode or after the UE is in the idle mode for a duration; [0070] The architecture may be defined that support fronthauling solutions across different deployment types. For example, the architecture may be based on transmit network capabilities ( e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter); [0096] the UE may enter an idle mode. At 1114, the idle mode UE 1102 may dynamically switch to a lower UE-CAT in order to enhance power savings during the idle mode (e.g., based on the determination that the BS 1104 supports CAT M1)). Clearly, determine whether the UE is in the idle mode or jitter or latency is equating to congested or overloaded. Moreover, switching to the higher enhanced idle mode or lower UE-CAT is equating to “whether remains at least one of congested or overloaded”. Therefore, Ukil meets the claim limitation.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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.
Listing of Relevant Arts
Huang, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20210068005 A1 discloses congestion and registration the CAT-M1 mode.
Zhang, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 10841791 B1 discloses communication network and registration of the CAT-M1 mode.
Contact Information
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
THUONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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