DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 12/22/2023. Claims 1 and through 52 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
3. 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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 1-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2018/0262979 A1) in view of Zhu et al. (US 2022/0400373 A1).
For claim 1 Wang teaches a user equipment (UE) (see Fig. 12 “UE”), comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and
one or more processors (see Fig. 12 “UE: processor 1201” and pargraph 208 “processor may be a central processor unit CPU”) coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause (see paragraph 213 “memories and program code”) the UE to:
identify service capability information associated with a plurality of services and a plurality of associated functions supported by a service that is configured to communicate with the UE and a network entity of a radio access network (RAN) (see paragraph 73 “The network architecture shown in FIG. 1 includes UE, a RAN, and a service network”, Fig. 4 “UE determines (identifies) a service requirement list, where the service requirement list includes at least one service required by the UE”, and Fig, 3 “S301: a RAN node (a network entity) sends a first RRC message to UE, where the first RRC message carries a service capability list set (service capability information) including a service capability list of at least one service network (a service), where each service capability list includes an identifier”) ;
receive, from the network entity and in accordance with the service capability information, a preferred service message indicating a subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or a subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (see paragraph 73 “The network architecture shown in FIG. 1 includes UE, a RAN, and a service network”, Fig, 3 “S301: a RAN node (a network entity) sends a first RRC message (preferred service message) to UE, where the first RRC message carries a service capability list set (service capability information) including a service capability list of at least one service network (a service), where each service capability list includes an identifier”, paragraph 77 “service availability”, paragraph 102 “If the service network cannot support all services of the UE, that is, can support only some services required by the UE, the service network sends a notification message to the UE, to notify the UE of a service that can be currently provided by the service network for the UE”); and
transmit a request to activate or use at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity for communications between the UE and the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message (see paragraph 102 “for example, the UE is
notified by using a NAS acceptance message, so that the UE determines, with reference to the NAS acceptance message, a service that can be requested in a subsequent service request” and paragraph 152 “The RRC message sent by the UE to the RAN node carries a NAS message defined in a standard, and further includes
the identifier of the network slice selected by the UE and the service requirement list” and paragraph 113 “when comparing the service requirement list of the UE with the service capability list of the service network, the RAN node needs to preferably select,
for the UE”).
Wang does not explicitly teach service capability information associated with a plurality of services and a plurality of associated functions.
However, Zhu teaches UE capability information the method generally includes receiving, from a user equipment (UE), UE capability information indicating at least one radio capability (function) of the UE and at least one machine learning (ML) capability (function) of the UE and transmitting, to the UE based on the UE capability information, ML configuration information indicating at least one neural network function (NNF) and at least one ML model corresponding to the at least one NNF (see Zhu: paragraph 4).
In addition, Zhu teaches base stations 102 may provide an access point to
the EPC 160 and/or 5GC 190 for a user equipment 104, and may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages, among other functions (see Zhu: paragraph 36). In addition, Zhu teaches the UE 504 may also select a set of parameters to use with the model structure (e.g., weights, biases, and/or activation functions), as described above… services specified by the UE 504 (see Zhu: paragraph 81). In addition, Zhu teaches the BS 502 transmits a signal to the UE 504, activating use of the at least one ML model to perform the at least the portion of the ML-based wireless communications management procedure (see Zhu: paragraph 78).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use the teachings Zhu in the service selection of Wang in order incorporate various function such as neural network function (NNF), RAN sharing, etc. (see Zhu: at least paragraphs 4, 36 and 81).
For claim 2 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the preferred service message indicating the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (see Wang: paragraph 131 “when a service network dynamically changes, a status of the service network may be updated to the RAN node in time, so that the RAN node may add, update, or delete a service capability list of a network slice, and finally, a process of selecting a service network when the network dynamically changes can be simplified, and signaling can be saved” and Zhu: paragraph 211 “RAN state is PLMN” and as discussed in claim 1).
For claim 3 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein, to identify the service capability information, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to (as discussed in claim 1) cause the UE to:
receive the service capability information associated with the plurality of associated functions supported by the service that is configured to communicate with the UE and the network entity of the RAN (see Wang: Fig. 1 “services/function of service network 1 is configured for UE1 through RAN” and paragraph 79 “a service capability list of one or more service networks is deployed on the management device (service), and the management device may be configured to manage the one or more service networks”).
For claim 4 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE of claim 3, wherein, to receive the service capability information, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
receive the service capability information that indicates one or more set of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) functions, AI or ML models and non AI or ML functions supported by the service on a per-function bases, a per-feature basis, or a per-feature group basis (see Zhu: paragraph 4 “ML function, ML model” and claim 1 “UE capability information, ML configuration information indicating at least one neural network function (NNF) and at least one ML model corresponding to the at least one NNF”).
For claim 5 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE of claim 3, wherein, to receive the service capability information, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
receive a UE-specific or (see Wang: paragraph 76 “For a specific type of scenario or a specific user requirement, the service network may provide a customized service for UE of a particular type”).
For claim 6 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity are preferred for all RAN states of the network entity (see Wang: paragraph 131 “when a service network dynamically changes, a status of the service network may be updated to the RAN node in time, so that the RAN node may add, update, or delete a service capability list of a network slice, and finally, a process of selecting a service network when the network dynamically changes can be simplified, and signaling can be saved”, Zhu: paragraph 86 “reporting channel state information (CSI) feedback” and paragraph 211 “PLMN”) .
For claim 7 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the request is transmitted via a control plane or user plane (see Zhu: paragraph 65 “control plane” and paragraph 212 “User Plane Function (UPF)”).
For claim 8 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
receive dedicated signaling or or (see Zhu: Fig. 5 “step 575 dedicated signaling instruct UE to activate ML model”).
For claim 9 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (see Zhu: paragraph 38 “MIMO” and paragraph 86 “CSI feedback reporting”).
For claim 10 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE claim 9, wherein the current RAN state of the network entity comprises or a combination thereof (see Zhu: paragraph 38 “MIMO” and paragraph 86 “CSI feedback reporting”).
For claim 11 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code (as discussed in claim 1) to cause the UE to:
receive, from the network entity, a request or instruction for the UE to activate or use the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message indicating that the at least one preferred service or the at least one preferred associated function of the service is preferred by the network entity (see Zhu: Fig. 5 “step 575 dedicated signaling instruct UE to activate ML model” and paragraph 78 “the BS 502 transmits a signal (instruct) to the UE 504, activating use of the at least one ML model to perform the at least the portion of the ML-based wireless communications management procedure.”).
For claim 12 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE wherein, to receive the preferred service message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
receive the preferred service message in accordance with a mapping between the plurality of services or the plurality of associated functions supported by the service and one or more RAN states of the network entity, an area configuration for the service, or any combination thereof (see Wang: Fig. 1 “mapping services of service networks between service networks and UEs via RAN” and paragraph 79 “A service capability
list of one or more service networks is deployed on the management device, and the management device may be configured to manage the one or more service networks”).
For claim 13 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE of claim 12, wherein the area configuration corresponds to a public land mobile network (PLMN), a tracking area, or a RAN notification area associated with the network entity (see Wang: paragraph 7 “UE initiates a tracking area update (TAU)”, paragraph 17 “RAN notification message”, and Zhu: paragraph 211 “PLMN”).
For claim 14 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
perform a RAN-triggered service establishment procedure with the service in accordance with the preferred service message from the network entity (see Wang: “after a radio channel is established between the UE and the RAN node, the UE accesses a service network by using the RAN node, to obtain a service provided by the service network”, paragraph 103 “when the radio link may be established between the RAN node and the UE, the RAN node may transfer, in the RRC message, service capability lists of a plurality of service networks to the UE, such as the service capability list set that includes a plurality of service capability lists and that is shown in Table 3”, and Zhu: paragraph 211 “triggering event occurs”).
For claim 15 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the UE wherein the preferred service message further indicates routing information to use for service establishment between the UE and the service (see Wang: paragraph 2 “UE selects a service network” and paragraph 11 “user equipment for selecting a service network, so that a process of selecting a service network when a service network (service route) dynamically changes”)
For claim 16 Wang in view of Zhu teaches a network entity, comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code (see Fig. 10 “processor 1001”) and as discussed in claim 1); and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause (as discussed in claim 1) the network entity to:
receive, from a service that is configured to communicate with the network entity and a user equipment (UE), service capability information associated with a mapping between a plurality of services or a plurality of associated functions supported by the service and one or more radio access network (RAN) states of the network entity (see Wang: Fig. 1 “mapping services of service networks between service networks and UEs via RAN”, paragraph 79 “a service capability list of one or more service networks is deployed on the management device (a service), and the management device may be configured to manage the one or more service networks”, and as discussed in claim 1);
transmit, to the UE, a preferred service message indicating a subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or a subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the mapping (see Wang: Fig. 1 “mapping services of service networks between service networks and UEs via RAN” and as discussed in claim 1); and
communicate one or more messages with the UE using at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message (as discussed in claim 1).
For claim 17 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein the preferred service message indicating the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 2).
For claim 18 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
transmit dedicated signaling or system information that instructs the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (as discussed in claim 8).
For claim 19 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity of claim 18, wherein the dedicated signaling or the system information that instructs the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 9).
For claim 20 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein, to receive the service capability information, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
receive the service capability information that indicates a set of non-artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) functions, AI or ML functions, or AI or ML models supported by the service on a per-function basis, a per-feature basis, or a per-feature group basis (as discussed in claim 4).
For claim 21 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
determine that the at least one preferred service or function of the service is preferred based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity that comprises or (as discussed in claim 10).
For claim 22 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein, to transmit the preferred service message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
transmit the preferred service message that includes a request or instruction for the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service or associated function available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (see Zhu: paragraph 78 “the BS 502 transmits a signal to the UE 504, activating use of the at least one ML model to perform the at least the portion of the ML-based wireless communications management procedure”).
For claim 23 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein, to receive the service capability information, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
receive the service capability information that indicates the plurality of services and the plurality of associated functions supported by the service, the mapping between the plurality of associated functions supported by the service and the one or more RAN states of the network entity, an area configuration for the service, or any combination thereof (as discussed in claim 12).
For claim 24 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity of claim 23, wherein the area configuration corresponds to a public land mobile network (PLMN), a tracking area, or a RAN notification area associated with the network entity (as discussed in claim 13).
For claim 25 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity wherein, to transmit the preferred service message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:
transmit the preferred service message in accordance with the mapping and a current RAN state of the network entity that corresponds to or (see Wang: Fig. 1 mapping of service between service networks and UEs via RAN” and Zhu: paragraph 38 “MIMO” and paragraph 86 “CSI feedback reporting”).
For claim 26 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the network entity, wherein the preferred service message further indicates routing information to use for service establishment between the UE and the service (as discussed in claim 15).
For claim 27 Wang in view of Zhu teaches a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) (as discussed in claim 1), comprising:
identifying service capability information associated with a plurality of services and a plurality of associated functions supported by a service that is configured to communicate with the UE and a network entity of a radio access network (RAN) (as discussed in claim 1);
receiving, from the network entity, a preferred service message indicating a subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or a subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (as discussed in claim 1); and
transmitting a request to activate or use at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity for communications between the UE and the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message (as discussed in claim 1).
For claim 28 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the preferred service message indicating the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 2).
For claim 29 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein identifying the service capability information comprises: receiving service capability information associated with a plurality of functions supported by a service that is configured to communicate with the UE and a network entity of a radio access network (RAN) (as discussed in claim 3).
For claim 30 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 29, wherein receiving the service capability information comprises:
receiving the service capability information that indicates one or more set of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) functions, AI or ML models and non AI or ML functions supported by the service on a per-function bases, a per-feature basis, or a per-feature group basis (as discussed in claim 4).
For claim 31 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 29, wherein receiving the service capability information comprises: receiving a UE-specific or non-UE-specific message indicating the service capability information (as discussed in claim 5).
For claim 32 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity are preferred for all RAN states of the network entity(as discussed in claim 6).
For claim 33 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method wherein the request is transmitted via a control plane or user plane (as discussed in claim 7).
For claim 34 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, further comprising:
receiving dedicated signaling or system information instructing the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (as discussed in claim 8).
For claim 35 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 9).
For claim 36 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the current RAN state of the network entity comprises a codebook index of the network entity, a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) scheme of the network entity, a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration of the UE, a location of the UE, or a combination thereof (as discussed in claim 10).
For claim 37 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, further comprising:
receiving, from the network entity, a request or instruction for the UE to activate or use the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message indicating that the at least one preferred service or the at least one preferred associated function of the service is preferred by the network entity (as discussed in claim 11).
For claim 38 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein receiving the preferred service message comprises:
receiving the preferred service message in accordance with a mapping between the plurality of services or the plurality of associated functions supported by the service and one or more RAN states of the network entity, an area configuration for the service, or any combination thereof (as discussed in claim 12).
For claim 39 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 38, wherein the area configuration corresponds to a public land mobile network (PLMN), a tracking area, or a RAN notification area associated with the network entity (as discussed in claim 13).
For claim 40 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 27, further comprising: performing a RAN-triggered service establishment procedure with the service in accordance with the preferred service message from the network entity (as discussed in claim 14).
For claim 41 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 27, wherein the preferred service message further indicates routing information to use for service establishment between the UE and the service (as discussed in claim 15).
For claim 42 Wang in view of Zhu teaches a method for wireless communication by a network entity (as discussed in claim 1), comprising:
receiving, from a service that is configured to communicate with the network entity and a user equipment (UE), service capability information associated with a mapping between a plurality of services or a plurality of associated functions supported by the service and one or more radio access network (RAN) states of the network entity (as discussed in claim 1 and claim 16);
transmitting, to the UE, a preferred service message indicating a subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or a subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the mapping (as discussed in claim 1 and claim 6); and
communicating one or more messages with the UE using at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity in accordance with the preferred service message (as discussed in claim 1).
For claim 43 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the preferred service message indicating the subset of the plurality of services available to the UE and preferred by the network entity or the subset of the plurality of associated functions that are available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 2).
For claim 44 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, further comprising:
transmitting dedicated signaling or system information that instructs the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (as discussed in claim 8).
For claim 45 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 44, wherein the dedicated signaling or the system information that instructs the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service of the subset of the plurality of services or the at least one preferred associated function of the subset of the plurality of associated functions available to the UE and preferred by the network entity is based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity (as discussed in claim 9).
For claim 46 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein receiving the service capability information comprises:
receiving the service capability information that indicates a set of non-artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) functions, AI or ML functions, or AI or ML models supported by the service on a per-function basis, a per-feature basis, or a per-feature group basis (as discussed in claim 4).
For claim 47 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, further comprising:
determining that the at least one preferred service or function of the service is preferred based at least in part on a current RAN state of the network entity that comprises a codebook index of the network entity, a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) scheme of the network entity, a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration of the UE, a location of the UE, or a combination thereof (as discussed in claim 10).
For claim 48 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein transmitting the preferred service message comprises:
transmitting the preferred service message that includes a request or instruction for the UE to activate or prioritize the at least one preferred service or associated function available to the UE and preferred by the network entity (see Zhu: paragraph 78 “the BS 502 transmits a signal to the UE 504, activating use of the at least one ML model to perform the at least the portion of the ML-based wireless communications management procedure”).
For claim 49 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein receiving the service capability information comprises:
receiving the service capability information that indicates the plurality of services and the plurality of associated functions supported by the service, the mapping between the plurality of associated functions supported by the service and the one or more RAN states of the network entity, an area configuration for the service, or any combination thereof (as discussed in claim 12).
For claim 50 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method of claim 49, wherein the area configuration corresponds to a public land mobile network (PLMN), a tracking area, or a RAN notification area associated with the network entity (as discussed in claim 13).
For claim 51 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein transmitting the preferred service message comprises:
transmitting the preferred service message in accordance with the mapping and a current RAN state of the network entity that corresponds to (see Wang: Fig. 1 mapping of service between service networks and UEs via RAN” and Zhu: paragraph 38 “MIMO” and paragraph 86 “CSI feedback reporting” and as discussed in claim 25).
For claim 52 Wang in view of Zhu teaches the method, wherein the preferred service message further indicates routing information to use for service establishment between the UE and the service (as discussed in claim 15).
Conclusion
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/MANSOUR OVEISSI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415