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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Figure 5B of the application illustrates the claimed invention.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06 April 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remark, filed 06 April 2026, with respect to the
rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 9 and 17 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by 2023/0284092 A1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7, 9, 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0284092 A1) in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 9 and 17 ZHANG et al. discloses a method comprising:
receiving, by the end device, a request from the end device application (“The method generally includes receiving a request for a wireless connection from an application associated with one or more user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rules”, see abstract);
selecting, by the end device based on the setting information, the SIM to use for the request (attempted to establish the wireless connection for the application via a first subscriber identity module (SIM) according to one or more of the URSP rules associated with the application that are supported by the first SIM, and taking one or more actions to establish the wireless connection for the application via a second SIM if the attempt to establish the wireless connection for the application via the firs SIM fails.” see abstract); and
establishing, by the end device with use of the SIM, an end device application session with a network device ([0007]: “The UE generally includes means for receiving a request for a wireless connection from an application associated with one or more other user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rules, means for attempting to establish the wireless connection for the application via a first subscriber identity module (SIM) according to one or more of the URSP rules associated with the application that are supported by the first SIM”). See figures 3 and 5.
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ZHANG et al. fails to disclose storing, by an end device including subscriber identification module (SIMs), setting information configured by a suer of the end device that maps a SIM of the SIMs to an end device application or a suer equipment route selection policy (URSP).
(WO 2013/017733 A1) in the same field of invention, teaches this feature. (“The primary UE 109 has control over one or more SIM cards 113a-113n (collectively referred to as SIM card 113). The SIM management platform 103 is responsible for selecting the correct SIM card 113 based on a default setting, user preferences or user specific requests.”, page 5), (“Alternatively, or in addition to the above security measures, a determination may be made to pair the proxy SIM card 111 with the conventional SIM card 113 by way of a user input. For example, a user interface may be generated that enable a user to select a pairing of the proxy SIM card 111 with the conventional SIM card 113, and/or set any other preferences that may differ from default setting regarding the relationship between the proxy SIM card 111 and the conventional SIM card 113. Such setting may include, but not limited to a predetermined time that the pairing may occur or last, a location as discussed above, or a limitation that restricts a particular user from initiating the pairing, for example. In another embodiment, the paring may be restricted or enabled by a communication service.”), page 7, lines 30-40 and page 8, lines 1-15.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to store user setting information in the user device.
Regarding claims 7 and 15, ZHANG et al. teaches selecting, by the end device based on the request, the setting information ([0009]: “The apparatus generally includes an interface configured to obtain a request for a wireless connection from an application associated with one or more user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rules.”); ([0054]: “As illustrated, the application APP_1 may request a connection, specifying a particular data network name (DNN) or an application ID (or both) that may be listed in one or more UE route specific protocol (URSP) rules. In this context, URSP generally refers to a set of rules that enable a UE to determine how a certain application should be handled in the context of an existing or new PDU session for example, specifying a route selection descriptor (RSD).”
Claim(s) 2, 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0284092 A1) in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1) further in view of Gopal et al. (US 2023/0117026 A1).
Regarding claims 2, 10 and 18, ZHANG et al. fails to explicitly teach receiving, via a user interface of the end device, an input from the user equipment indicating the SIM to map to the end device application.
Gopal et al. in the same field of invention, teaches this feature.
Gopal et al. teaches ([0157]: “In some examples, the first service level priority and the second service level priority are further determined based on a mapping between an application associated with communications of each SIM and an associated priority of the application in the service level priority order.”).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to receive input from the user equipment so to map between the SIM and the end device application.
Claim(s) 3, 11 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0284092 A1) in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1) further inv view of Shukair et al. (US 20230180170 A1).
Regarding claims 3, 11 and 19, ZHANG et al. fails to explicitly teach receiving, via a user interface of the end device, an input from the user indicating the SIM to map to a traffic descriptor.
Shukair et al. in the same field of invention, teaches this feature.
Shukair et al. teaches ([0030]: “For example, providing control for the selection of RF resource partitions based on dynamic conditions at the UE may allow for a UE to adjust an amount of RF resources available for each SIM based on current traffic and conditions at each SIM. Such techniques may thus enhance UE efficiency, increase data rates, and provide for enhanced user experience.”), see figure 3.
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Shukair et al. with ZHANG et al. so for enhanced user experience.
Claim(s) 4-5, 8, 12-13, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0284092 A1) in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1) and further in view of (WO 2022/086177 A1), hereinafter referred as D1.
Regarding claims 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 16 and 20, ZHANG et al. fails to teach receiving, via a user interface of the end device, an input from the user indicating the SIM to map to a traffic and a route selection descriptor.
D1 in the same field of invention, teaches this feature.
D1 teaches (“FIGs. 1b, and 1c depict URSP rules of a SIM and a UE Route Selection Descriptor (URSD). The URSP rules may be used to determine if data detected from an application may be associated to an established PDU session or a need to trigger an establishment of a new PDU session for the respective application. The URSP rules include a prioritized list of URSP rules (hereinafter referred as prioritized URSP rules) and a default list of URSP rules (hereinafter referred as default URSP rules). Each URSP rule includes a traffic descriptor (comprising one or more components), which determines when the URSP is applicable. The URSP rule is determined to be applicable for the application when every component in the traffic descriptor of the URSP rule matches information/data of the corresponding application. Each URSP rule includes a list of route selection descriptors comprising one or more multiple URSDs, each having a different route selection descriptor precedence value.”).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teaching in D1 with ZHANG et al. so to map the applications to the SIMs based on the URSP rules of the SIMs.
Claim(s) 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0284092 A1) in view of (WO 2013/017733 A1) and further in view of CHEN et al. (US 2021/0392491 A1).
Regarding claims 5 and 14, ZHANG et al. fails to teach wherein the request includes an identifier of the end device application and information pertaining to the end device application.
CHEN et al. in the same field of invention, teaches this feature.
CHEN et al. teaches ([0018]: “The network may determine whether to grant the first request to attach to the network based on an identifier associated with the user device 105, based on information identified in the SIM profile of the SIM of the user device 105, and/or the like.”). See figure 1A.
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It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine CHEN et al. with ZHANG et al. so to identifier the end device application.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant disclosure.
(WO 2021/248358 A1) discloses a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes receiving a request for a wireless connection from an application associated with one or more user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rules, attempting to establish the wireless connection for the application via a first subscriber identity module (SIM) according to one or more of the URSP rules associated with the application that are supported by the first SIM.”).
BHOWMIK et al. (US 2022/0132299 A1) discloses method for SIM management on a DSDA/DSDS device. See figures 1A and 9.
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Jagannatha et al. (US 2022/0141713 A1) discloses method of application mapping for network slicing using group segmentation. See figure 3.
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA H PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3135. The examiner can normally be reached 571-272-3135.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang can be reached at 571-270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BRENDA H. PHAM
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2412
/BRENDA H PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Prosecution Insights