DETAILED ACTION
Applicant amended claims 1-4, and 15 in the amendment dated 11/24/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-5, 7-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senarath (US 2016/0105821 A1) in view of Szilagyi (WO 2017/175039 A1).
With regards to Claim 1, Senarath teaches a wireless communication method for use in a wireless network node, the method comprising: receiving, from a core network, a quality of service (QoS) configuration for a wireless terminal and a quality of experience (QoE) policy associated with the QoS configuration (i.e., … After obtaining user feedback, a QoE level is determined (Action 308). The determined QoE level is mapped to a set of QoS parameters (Action 310). In one embodiment, values or ranges of values for the tracked QoS parameters are recorded by device 100 over the period that the user feedback was obtained. These ranges can be stored in place of a single fixed value. The mapping of the determined QoE level to the QoS parameters may be stored in memory in the device 100 (Action 204)…, Paragraph 28; Paragraph 46), wherein at least one data transmission between the wireless network node and the wireless terminal is performed based on the QoS configuration and the QoE policy (i.e., … Thus, once a request is admitted and a connection is established, the network 110 can provide service to a user at the desired QoE level by satisfying the QoS parameters and requirements associated with the QoE level, Paragraph 48).
However, Senarath does not explicitly disclose wherein the QoE policy comprises a target guarantee indication, indicating whether the QoE policy must be followed. Szilagyi does teach wherein the QoE policy comprises a target guarantee indication, indicating whether the QoE policy must be followed (i.e., As shown in block 910 of Figure 9, an apparatus, such as apparatus 20 embodied by the enforcement point 31 OA, may be configured to identify a set of flows that are subject of a given policy and requiring the QoS and QoE management. The apparatus embodied by enforcement point 31 OA may therefore include means, such as the processor 22, the communication interface 26 or the like, for identifying a set of flows that are subject of a given policy and requiring the QoS and QoE management, Page 28, Lines 22-27; Figure 9) in order to provide adaptive and flexible QoS/QoE management (Page 3, Lines 32-36). Therefore, based on Senarath in view of Szilagyi, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Szilagyi with the system of Senarath in order to provide adaptive and flexible QoS/QoE management.
With regards to Claim 2, Senarath teaches transmitting, to a wireless network node, a quality of service (QoS) configuration for a wireless terminal and a quality of experience (QoE) policy associated with the QoS configuration (i.e., … After obtaining user feedback, a QoE level is determined (Action 308). The determined QoE level is mapped to a set of QoS parameters (Action 310). In one embodiment, values or ranges of values for the tracked QoS parameters are recorded by device 100 over the period that the user feedback was obtained. These ranges can be stored in place of a single fixed value. The mapping of the determined QoE level to the QoS parameters may be stored in memory in the device 100 (Action 204)…, Paragraph 28; Paragraph 46), wherein at least one data transmission between the wireless network node and the wireless terminal is performed based on the QoS configuration and the QoE policy (i.e., … Thus, once a request is admitted and a connection is established, the network 110 can provide service to a user at the desired QoE level by satisfying the QoS parameters and requirements associated with the QoE level, Paragraph 48).
However, Senarath does not explicitly disclose wherein the QoE policy comprises a target guarantee indication, indicating whether the QoE policy must be followed. Szilagyi does teach wherein the QoE policy comprises a target guarantee indication, indicating whether the QoE policy must be followed (i.e., As shown in block 910 of Figure 9, an apparatus, such as apparatus 20 embodied by the enforcement point 31 OA, may be configured to identify a set of flows that are subject of a given policy and requiring the QoS and QoE management. The apparatus embodied by enforcement point 31 OA may therefore include means, such as the processor 22, the communication interface 26 or the like, for identifying a set of flows that are subject of a given policy and requiring the QoS and QoE management, Page 28, Lines 22-27; Figure 9) in order to provide adaptive and flexible QoS/QoE management (Page 3, Lines 32-36). Therefore, based on Senarath in view of Szilagyi, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Szilagyi with the system of Senarath in order to provide adaptive and flexible QoS/QoE management.
The limitations of Claim 3 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 1 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
With regards to Claim 4, Senarath teaches wherein the QoE policy comprises at least one of: a QoE score target associated with at least one QoS flow or at least one service type,
a QoE metrics target associated with the at least one QoS flow or the at least one service type, wherein the QoE metrics target is associated with at least one of a round-trip time, a jitter duration, a corruption duration, a throughput, an initial playout delay for video, a video resolution, or a buffer occupancy level, a priority of the at least one QoS flow or the at least one service type , a release indication, which indicates whether to release network resources associated with the QoE policy when the QoE policy cannot be followed, or
a release type indication, which indicates the network resources being released when the QoE cannot be followed (i.e., In order to configure and support different qualities of service for network services, various QoS parameters may be used to measure, communicate and maintain a required or expected level of quality for a particular application. Such QoS parameters may include, but are not limited to, data rate, jitter, delay, packet loss, error rates, throughput, availability, data priority, echo, and signal-to-noise ratio. The QoS parameters may include vendor or application specific parameters used to measure or define services in a communications network. Different services or applications may have different QoS requirements such that certain parameters or aspects of the service must be maintained at a higher quality levels whereas other parameters are less important. For example, a service flow supporting a voice application may have stricter requirements in terms of jitter and delay. Other service flows, such as a service flow supporting a video application, may have stricter requirements in terms of throughput, Paragraph 21; Paragraph 37)
With regards to Claim 5, Senarath teaches transmitting, to the core network, QoE assistance information, wherein the QoE assistance information comprises at least one of:
a mapping list comprising at least one mapping list comprising at least one mapping pair of a QoE level and a QoS level, wherein the QoE level is associated with at least one of: a QoE level identifier, a service type, a codec rate, a QoE Score, a QoE metrics range, a maximum QoE metric, a minimum QoE metric, an average QoE metric, wherein the QoE metrics comprises at least one of round-trip time, a jitter duration, a corruption duration, a throughput, an initial playout delay for video, a video resolution, a buffer occupancy level, and wherein the QoS level includes at least one of a 5G QoS identifier, 5QI value, a minimum packet delay, an average packet delay, a packet error rate range, a maximum packet error rate, a minimum packet error rate, an average packet error rate, a packet loss rate range, a maximum packet loss rate, a minimum packet lost rate, an average packet loss rate, a guaranteed flow bit rate range, a maximum guaranteed flow bit rate, a minimum guaranteed flow bit rate, or an average guaranteed flow bit rate;at least one guaranteed QoE level, which indicates the at least one QoE level is guaranteed based on a radio quality, or at least one guaranteed QoS level, which indicates at least one QoS level is guaranteed based on the radio quality (i.e., After receiving sufficient feedback, the QoE levels may be mapped to a set of QoS parameters and values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE (shown as QoE-QoS map 120 in FIG. 1), Paragraph 31; mapping list; Figure 5)
With regards to Claim 7, Senarath teaches determining a mapping list comprising at least one mapping list comprising at least one mapping pair of a QoE level and a QoS level,
wherein the QoE level is associated with at least one of: a QoE level identifier, a service type, a codec rate, a QoE Score, a QoE metrics range, a maximum QoE metric, a minimum QoE metric, an average QoE metric, wherein the QoE metrics comprises at least one of round-trip time, a jitter duration, a corruption duration, a throughput, an initial playout delay for video, a video resolution, a buffer occupancy level, and wherein the QoS level includes at least one of a 5G QoS identifier, 5QI value, a minimum packet delay, an average packet delay, a packet error rate range, a maximum packet error rate, a minimum packet error rate, an average packet error rate, a packet loss rate range, a maximum packet loss rate, a minimum packet lost rate, an average packet loss rate, a guaranteed flow bit rate range, a maximum guaranteed flow bit rate, a minimum guaranteed flow bit rate, or an average guaranteed flow bit rate (i.e., After receiving sufficient feedback, the QoE levels may be mapped to a set of QoS parameters and values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE (shown as QoE-QoS map 120 in FIG. 1), Paragraph 31; mapping list; Figure 5)
With regards to Claim 8, Senarath teaches determining a QoS level based on the QoS policy and a mapping list comprising at least one mapping pair of a QoE level and a QoS level, and determining a recommended QoS configuration based on the determined QoS level, wherein the recommended QoS configuration is used from performing the at least one data transmission (i.e., After receiving sufficient feedback, the QoE levels may be mapped to a set of QoS parameters and values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE (shown as QoE-QoS map 120 in FIG. 1), Paragraph 31; mapping list; Figure 5; In one embodiment, each application may be associated with sets of suggested QoS parameters and ranges of values for these parameters which may be used for testing to determine the user's QoE. The suggested QoS parameters may be provided by the application developer…, Paragraph 32)
With regards to Claim 9, Senarath teaches further comprising: determining a recommended QoS configuration for a QoS flow or a service type based on a QoE score associated with the QoS flow or the service type and the QoE policy when the QoE score is smaller than a QoE score target of the QoE policy or at least one QoE measurement result received from the wireless terminal is smaller than a QoE metrics target of the QoE policy, wherein the QoE score associated with the QoS flow or the service type is determined based on the at least one QoE measurement result of the wireless terminal;
transmitting, to the core network, the recommended QoS configuration for the QoS flow or the service type; and receiving, from the core network, at least one accepted QoS flow for the recommended QoS configuration (i.e., After receiving sufficient feedback, the QoE levels may be mapped to a set of QoS parameters and values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE (shown as QoE-QoS map 120 in FIG. 1), Paragraph 31; mapping list; Figure 5; In one embodiment, each application may be associated with sets of suggested QoS parameters and ranges of values for these parameters which may be used for testing to determine the user's QoE. The suggested QoS parameters may be provided by the application developer…, Paragraph 32; Paragraphs 29-30, 39-40)
With regards to Claim 10, Senarath teaches wherein the QoE score is determined by a distributed unit of the wireless node and transmitted from the distributed unit to a central unit of the wireless network node, and wherein the recommended QoS configuration is determined by the central unit, or wherein the QoE score and the recommended QoS configuration are determined by a distributed unit of the wireless network node and transmitted from the distributed unit to a central unit of the wireless network node, and wherein the central unit transmits the recommended QoS configuration to the core network (i.e., …The user indications are processed as described above, to determine a QoE level and corresponding sets of QoS parameters and values or ranges of values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE…, Paragraph 46; Figure 6A; )
With regards to Claim 11, Senarath teaches determining a QoE score of a QoS flow or a service type based on QoE measurement results received from the wireless terminal, or
receiving, from the wireless terminal, a QoE server or the core network, the QoE score of the QoS flow or the service type, and wherein at least one data transmission between the wireless network node and the wireless terminal is reconfigured based on the QoE score and the QoE policy (i.e., The user indications are processed as described above, to determine a QoE level and corresponding sets of QoS parameters and values or ranges of values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE. The QoE-QoS mapping information may be stored in memory in the network node 600 for use during regular services and operation of the device 100A. In further embodiments, the QoE level may be determined and the QoE-QoS mapping information may be stored in association with other parameters such as the application content, or a path or end point associated with the application, as described above, Paragraph 46; Figure 6A)
With regards to Claim 12, Senarath teaches wherein a QoE score associated with a QoS flow or a service type is smaller than a QoE target of the QoE policy or at least one QoE measurement result of the wireless terminal is smaller than a QoE metrics target of the QoE policy, wherein the method further comprises: releasing at least one network resource associated with the QoE score or the at least one QoE measurement result, or transmitting, to the core network, information of the at least one network resource associated with the QoE score or the at least one QoE measurement result, wherein the at least one network resource comprises at least one of a QoS flow, a protocol data unit session, or a data resource block, wherein the information of the at least one network resource associated with the QoE score or the at least one QoE measurement result is transmitted from a distributed unit of the wireless network node to a central unit of the wireless network node, and wherein the central unit transmits the information of the at least one network resource associated with the QoE score or the at least one QoE measurement result to the core network (i.e., As described above, in one embodiment, these requirements and associations with QoE levels and sets of QoS parameters may be provided as default parameters for an application. In a further embodiment, for a device 100 which is transmitting data the set of QoS parameters may be determined based on the received QoE level, the QoE to QoS mapping information and a QoE requirement of a second device 100 which receives data from the transmitting device. Thus, if the second or receiving device 100 is in a noisy environment, the determined set of QoS parameters for the uplink data from the transmitting device 100 may be adjusted accordingly, Paragraph 39; Paragraphs 40-43)
With regards to Claim 13, Senarath teaches wherein the at least one data transmission between the wireless network node and the wireless terminal is reconfigured by a distributed unit of the wireless network node, and wherein: the QoE score is determined by the distributed unit of the wireless network node, the QoE score is determined by a central unit of the wireless network node and is transmitted from the central unit to the distributed unit, the QoE score is received by the distributed unit of the wireless network node from the wireless terminal, a QoE server or the core network, or the QoE score is received by the central unit of the wireless network node from the wireless terminal, the QoE server of the core network (i.e., The user indications are processed as described above, to determine a QoE level and corresponding sets of QoS parameters and values or ranges of values for those parameters required to meet the associated QoE. The QoE-QoS mapping information may be stored in memory in the network node 600 for use during regular services and operation of the device 100A. In further embodiments, the QoE level may be determined and the QoE-QoS mapping information may be stored in association with other parameters such as the application content, or a path or end point associated with the application, as described above, Paragraph 46; Figure 6A)
With regards to Claim 14, Senarath teaches determining a QoE score of a service type based on QoE measurement results received from the wireless terminal; determining at least one configuration associated with the service type based on the QoE score and the QoE policy and transmitting, to the wireless terminal or a server of the service type, the at least one configuration, wherein the at least one configuration comprises at least one of an encode rate or an allocated bandwidth (i.e., . In some embodiments, if a change in the set of QoS parameters is initiated by the network node 118, it also may change the encoding of data sent by the network node 118, and the specified or scheduled encoding for data sent by the device 100, to match the new set of QoS parameters. In one embodiment, the data content of the application is processed or reprocessed to match the set of QoS parameters, Paragraph 42; Paragraph 21; Figure 4).
The limitations of Claim 15 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 4 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 16 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 5 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 18 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 9 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 19 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 11 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 20 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 12 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
Claims 6 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senarath (US 2016/0105821 A1) in view of Szilagyi (WO 2017/175039 A1) and further in view of Fan (WO 2020/049181 A1).
With regards to Claim 6, Senarath and Szilagyi teach the above disclosed subject matter. However, Senarath and Szilagyi do not explicitly disclose wherein the at least guaranteed QoE level is associated with at least one network slice, wherein the at least one guaranteed QoS level is associated with at least one network slice, and the method further comprising transmitting, from a central unit of the wireless network node to a distributed unit of the wireless network node, the QoS configuration and the QoE policy. Fan does teach wherein the at least guaranteed QoE level is associated with at least one network slice, wherein the at least one guaranteed QoS level is associated with at least one network slice, and the method further comprising transmitting, from a central unit of the wireless network node to a distributed unit of the wireless network node, the QoS configuration and the QoE policy (i.e., In one aspect, the present invention provides a network function for facilitating allocation of network resources to at least one slice in a communication network, the network function comprising: means for obtaining information identifying a mapping between network resource allocations and a respective quality of experience (QoE) associated with a user; means for obtaining information relating to a quality of service (QoS) tolerance for a particular QoE; means for providing to a controller for allocating at least a portion of said network resources to said at least one slice: i) said information identifying a mapping between network resource allocations and a QoE; ii) said information relating to said QoS tolerance; and iii) information identifying a current QoE and a target QoE associated with at least one user, Page 3, Third Paragraph) in order to facilitate allocation of network resources to at least one slice in a communication network (Page 2, Paragraph 3). Therefore, based on Senarath in view of Szilagyi and further in view of Fan, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Fan with the system of Senarath and Szilagyi in order to facilitate allocation of network resources to at least one slice in a communication network.
The limitations of Claim 17 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 6 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SURAJ M JOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7209. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8-6 ET.
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/SURAJ M JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 March 18, 2026