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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission filed on 04/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-13 and 15-20 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant' s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 and 15-20 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
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.
Claims 1-13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pan (US 2022/0132605 A1), hereinafter “PAN” in view of Liu (US 2022/0240122 A1), hereinafter “LIU”.
Regarding claim 1, PAN teaches, ‘A PDU session establishment method, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0396]: A ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay capable UE may register to the network (if not already registered) and establish a PDU session enabling the necessary relay traffic):
‘receiving, by a first core network device, first information from relay UE, wherein the first information indicates that a PDU session establishment request sent by the relay UE is used to request establishment of a relay PDU session, and the relay PDU session is used to relay service data of remote UE;’ (Paragraph [0401]: the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay initiates a new PDU session establishment
or modification procedure for relaying; Paragraph [0405]: Editor's note: How the ProSe UE-to-NW relay
determine the requirement of PC5 Connection, e.g. S-NSSAI, DNN, QoS will be specified in other solutions; Paragraph [0444]: A 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay capable of access to N3IWF[Non-3GPP InterWorking Function] may register to the network (if not already registered) and establish a PDU session enabling the necessary relay traffic to the N3IWF);
‘wherein the first information is carried in the PDU session establishment request,’ (Paragraphs [0401]-[0402]: If there is no PDU session satisfying the requirements of the PC5 connection with the remote UE… the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay initiates a new PDU session establishment or modification procedure for relaying),
‘the first information comprises a dedicated parameter of the relay PDU session, and the dedicated parameter comprises at least one of the following items: a dedicated data network name (DNN), or dedicated single network slice selection assistance information (SNSSAI).’ (Paragraph [0396]: PDU session(s) supporting UE-to-Network Relay shall only be used for Remote ProSe UE(s) relay traffic; Paragraph [0398]: The ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay may establish a PDU session for relaying with default PDU session parameters… e.g. S-NSSAI, DNN, SSC mode or PDU Session Type).
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘and sending, by the first core network device,
second information, wherein the second information is determined based on the first information, and the second information is any one of the following items: a QoS rule and a policy and charging control PCC rule’, (LIU – Paragraph [0030]: the SMF obtains a policy and charging control (PCC) rule from
the PCF, and determines, according to the PCC rule, a quality of service (QoS) rule for the UE to perform data transmission. The SMF provides the determined QoS rule to the UE via the AMF),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claims 2 and 18, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 1, PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein in a case that the second information is the QoS rule, after the receiving, by a first core network device, first information, and before the sending, by the first core network device, second information, the method further comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0156]: In some cases, if a PCF is deployed by an operator, S5031 and S5032 can be performed after S502 [receiving the PDU-session establishment request]; Paragraph [0164]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule):
‘sending, by the first core network device, the first information to a second core network device;’ (LIU -Paragraph [0157]: S5031, the SMF provides a session management (SM) policy association establishment or modification request to the PCF. The SM policy association establishment or modification request includes the end-to-end QoS requirement),
‘receiving, by the first core network device, a PCC rule sent by the second core network device,
wherein the PCC rule is generated by the second core network device based on the first information;’ (LIU – Paragraphs [0159]-[0160]: S5032, the PCF provides an SM policy association establishment or modification response to the SMF. The SM policy association establishment or modification response
includes a PCC rule… Specifically, the PCF may generate the PCC rule and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and a pre-configured QoS control policy);
‘and generating, by the first core network device, the QoS rule based on the PCC rule.’ (LIU – Paragraph [0160]: the PCF may generate the PCC rule and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and a pre-configured QoS control policy… The PCC rule can be used for determining the QoS rule, where the QoS rule is a QoS rule of a PDU session executed by the relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 3, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 2, PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein the sending, by the first core network device, the first information to a second core network device comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0157]: S5031, the SMF provides a session management (SM) policy association establishment or modification request to the PCF. The SM policy association establishment or modification request includes the end-to-end QoS requirement):
‘sending, by the first core network device, a session management policy association create message to the second core network device, wherein the session management policy association create message carries the first information;’ (LIU – Paragraph [0157]: S5031, the SMF provides a session management (SM) policy association establishment or modification request to the PCF. The SM policy association establishment or modification request includes the end-to-end QoS requirement; Paragraph [0062]: The first terminal device provides the first QoS requirement and the second QoS requirement to a network device and requests authorization from the network device. The first terminal device obtains the first QoS information and the second QoS information according to authorization information of the network device);
‘and the receiving, by the first core network device, a PCC rule sent by the second core network device comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraphs [0159]-[0160]: S5032, the PCF provides an SM policy association
establishment or modification response to the SMF. The SM policy association establishment or modification response includes a PCC rule… Specifically, the PCF may generate the PCC rule
and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and a pre-configured QoS control policy):
‘receiving, by the first core network device, a session management policy association response message sent by the second core network device, wherein the session management policy association response message comprises the PCC rule.’ (LIU – Paragraph [0159]: S5032, the PCF provides an SM policy association establishment or modification response to the SMF. The SM policy association establishment or modification response includes a PCC rule).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claims 4, 12-13 and 16, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 1, PAN further teaches, ‘wherein the first information further comprises at least one of the following items:’ (Paragraph [0401]: If there is no PDU session satisfying the requirements of the PC5 connection with the remote UE, e.g. S-NSSAI, DNN, QoS, the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay initiates a new PDU session establishment or modification procedure for relaying):
‘a QoS requirement between the relay UE and the remote UE;’ (Paragraph [0464]: As the UE-to-Network relay path comprises of two legs (PC5 and Uu) as shown in FIG. 6.24.1-1 below, the end-to-end QoS can be met only when the QoS requirements are properly split and satisfied over the two legs respectively; Paragraph [0467]: As explained above, the UE-to-Network Relay needs to translate the Uu QoS information into the corresponding PC5 QoS parameters in order to achieve the proper end-to-end QoS… The mapping of 5QIs and PQIs are configured at UE-to-Network Relay for a specific service or for a group of services);
‘or relay communication indication information, wherein the relay communication indication information is used to indicate that a PDU session that is established based on a request of the relay UE is the relay PDU session,’ (Paragraph [0396]: PDU session(s) supporting UE-to-Network Relay shall only be used for Remote ProSe UE(s) relay traffic; Paragraph [0403]: When the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay uses Unstructured PDU session type for Unstructured traffic over PC5 reference point, it creates a mapping between the PC5 Link Identifier and the PDU Session ID);
‘wherein the QoS requirement comprises at least one of the following items: a PDB, a PER, and a PQI.’ (Paragraph [0465]: The QoS requirements on the PC5 link are controlled with PC5 QoS rules and PC5 QoS parameters (PQI, GFBR, MFBR, PC5 LINK-AMBR, Range, etc.) as specified in clause 5.4 of TS 23.287 [5]; Paragraph [0467]: The only parameter that requires assistance in the translation is the mapping of 5QIs and PQIs).
Regarding claims 5 and 19, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 1, PAN further
teaches, ‘splitting, by the first core network device, a first QoS requirement based on
the first information to obtain a first QoS sub-requirement,’ (Paragraph [0464]: As the UE-to-Network relay path comprises of two legs (PC5 and Uu) as shown in FIG. 6.24.1-1 below, the end-to-end QoS can be met only when the QoS requirements are properly split and satisfied over the two legs respectively);
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein after the receiving, by a first core network device, first information, and before the sending, by the first core network device, second information, the method further comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0156]: In some cases, if a PCF is deployed by an operator, S5031 and S5032 can be performed after S502 [receiving the PDU-session establishment request]; Paragraph [0164]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU-session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule):
‘wherein the first QoS requirement is a QoS requirement between the remote UE and an anchor user plane function UPF, and the first QoS sub-requirement is a QoS requirement between the relay UE and the anchor UPF;’ (LIU – Paragraph [0005]: the second QoS information is QoS information of communication between the first terminal device [relay UE] and the data network [via the anchor UPF], and the end-to-end QoS requirement is satisfied by the first QoS information and the second QoS information; Paragraph [0147]: the remote UE provides a PC5-connection establishment or modification request to the relay UE, where the PC5-connection establishment or modification request may include an end-to-end QoS requirement of a service which is initiated by the remote UE [second terminal device] and to be communicated to a data network via the relay UE [first terminal device]);
‘and the second information is generated based on the first QoS sub-requirement.’ (LIU – Paragraph [0160]: Specifically, the PCF may generate the PCC rule and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and a pre-configured QoS control policy… The PCC rule can be used for determining the QoS rule, where the QoS rule is a QoS rule of a PDU session executed by the relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 6, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 5, PAN further teaches, ‘wherein the splitting, by the first core network device, a first QoS requirement based on the first information to obtain a first QoS sub- requirement comprises: determining, by the first core network device, a second QoS sub-requirement based on the first information;’ (Paragraph [0517]: The PCF decides the PCC rules and PC5 QoS parameters based on E2E QoS requirement info, operator policies and the charging rate of Uu and PC5);
‘and splitting, by the first core network device, the first QoS requirement based on the second QoS sub-requirement to obtain the first QoS sub-requirement, wherein the second QoS sub-requirement is a QoS requirement between the relay UE and the remote UE,’ (Paragraph [0464]: As the UE-to-Network relay path comprises of two legs (PC5 and Uu) as shown in FIG. 6.24.1-1 below, the end-to-end QoS can be met only when the QoS requirements are properly split and satisfied over the two legs respectively; Paragraph [0465]: The QoS requirements on the PC5 link are controlled with PC5 QoS rules and PC5 QoS parameters (PQI, GFBR, MFBR, PC5 LINK-AMBR, Range, etc.) as specified in clause 5.4 of TS 23.287 [5].
‘wherein the second QoS sub-requirement satisfies any one of the following items: in a case that the first information comprises a QoS requirement between the relay UE and the remote UE, the second QoS sub-requirement is the QoS requirement;’ (Paragraph [0470]: In case that the Remote UE requested dedicated PC5 QoS Flows when establishing the L2 Link over PC5, Remote UE decides the PC5 part QoS parameters, the UE-to-Network can map the PC5 QoS requirements into Uu QoS requirements; Paragraph [0513]: Remote UE sends the E2E QoS requirement info to UE-to-Network relay. The E2E QoS requirement info may be the application requirement… or E2E QoS parameters);
‘and in a case that the first information does not comprise the QoS requirement between the relay UE and the remote UE, the second QoS sub-requirement satisfies any one of the following items: being determined based on an operator policy, being determined based on a local policy, being specified in a protocol, and being configured by a network side device.’ (Paragraphs [0472]-[0473]: SMF follows the PCC rules (if it is PCF determined) or based on local configuration to deduct the PDB. When dynamic PCC control is supported, the SMF can base on the PCC rules to determine the PDB to use.
Otherwise, SMF can base on pre-configuration; Paragraph [0502]: In this step, if the Remote UE doesn't have the PC5 QoS parameters of the service, a default PC5 QoS Flow is setup using the default PC5 QoS parameters in the provisioning information).
Regarding claim 7, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 5, PAN further teaches, ‘and the first QoS sub-requirement comprises at least one of the following items:’ (Paragraph [0464]: the end-to-end QoS can be met only when the QoS requirements are properly split and satisfied over the two legs respectively):
‘a PDB, a PER, and a 5G QoS identifier 5Q1.’ (Paragraph [0465]: The QoS requirements on the
Uu link are controlled via with 5G QoS rules and 5G QoS parameters (5QI, GFBR, MFBR, etc.) as specified in clause 5.7 of TS 23.501 [6]; Paragraph [0467]: The only parameter that requires assistance in the translation is the mapping of 5QIs and PQIs. It is therefore necessary that the UE-to-Network Relay to be configured with the proper mapping information… The 5QI for Uu and PQI for PC5 are used together to support the end-to-end QoS requirement; Paragraph [0472]: One way to achieve this without affecting the NG-RAN is for the SMF to modify the PDB signaled to the NG-RAN in the QoS Profile for the QoS Flows of the Remote UE's traffic).
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein the first QoS requirement comprises at least one of the following items:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0147]: the remote UE provides a PC5-connection establishment or modification request to the relay UE, where the PC5-connection establishment or modification request may include an end-to-end QoS requirement of a service which is initiated by the remote UE [second terminal device] and to be communicated to a data network via the relay UE [first terminal device]):
‘a PDB and a PER;’ (LIU – Paragraph [0147]: Exemplarily, the end-to-end QoS requirement includes, but is not limited to, parameters such as transmission delay [PDB], bit error rate [PER], bandwidth, etc.; Paragraph [0161]: PDB represents a delay… TABLE 2 and TABLE 3: Packet error rate [PER]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claims 8 and 20, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 1, PAN further teaches, ‘querying, by the first core network device, UE subscription data to obtain a first query result related to the dedicated parameter;’ (Paragraph [0499]: UE-to-Network Relay also setup a corresponding PDU session for relaying, e.g. based on the S-NSSAI, DNN requested by remote UE. After the IP address/prefix allocation, UE-to-Network Relay reports the IP info of remote UE to SMF, PCF also receives the IP info of remote UE from SMF; Paragraph [0409]: The SMF stores the Remote User IDs and the related Remote UE info (if available) in the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay's SM context for this PDU session associated with the relay);
‘and determining, by the first core network device in a case that the first query result indicates that the dedicated parameter is a dedicated parameter of the relay PDU session, that a first PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of the relay PDU session.’ (Paragraph [0396]: PDU session(s) supporting UE-to-Network Relay shall only be used for Remote ProSe UE(s) relay traffic; Paragraph [0473]: Otherwise, SMF can base on pre-configuration, e.g. using DNN and/or S-NSSAI, to determine if and how to modify; Paragraph [0500]: After the PC5 connection and the related PDU session setup, remote UE interacts with AF… As PCF has received the remote UE report from SMF, PCF knows the target UE requested by AF is a remote UE).
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein in a case that the first information is a dedicated parameter of the relay PDU session, after the receiving, by a first core network device, first information, and before the sending, by the first core network device, second information, the method further comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0156]: In some cases, if a PCF is deployed by an operator, S5031 and S5032 can be performed after S502 [receiving the PDU-session establishment request]; Paragraph [0164]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU-session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule):
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 9, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 1, PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein in a case that the second information is the QoS rule, after the receiving, by a first core network device, first information, the method further comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0156]: In some cases, if a PCF is deployed by an operator, S5031 and S5032 can be performed after S502 [receiving the PDU-session establishment request]; Paragraph [0164]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU-session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule):
‘sending, by the first core network device, a QoS profile, wherein the QoS profile is determined based on the first information.’ (LIU – Paragraph [0030]: the SMF obtains a policy and charging control (PCC) rule from the PCF, and determines, according to the PCC rule, a quality of service (QoS) rule for the UE to perform data transmission. The SMF provides the determined QoS rule to the UE via the AMF; Paragraph [0160]: Specifically, the PCF may generate the PCC rule and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and a pre-configured QoS control policy [Note: The SMF can provide the QoS rule to the relay UE, and the network device can configure a corresponding QoS profile on the base station side to optimize transmission]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 10, PAN teaches, ‘A protocol data unit PDU session establishment method, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0396]: A ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay capable UE may register to the network… and establish a PDU session enabling the necessary relay traffic):
‘sending, by relay UE, first information to a first core network device, wherein the… indicates that a PDU session establishment request sent by the relay UE… and the relay PDU session is used…’, (Paragraph [0401]: If there is no PDU session satisfying the requirements of the PC5 connection with the remote UE… the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay initiates a new PDU session establishment or modification procedure for relaying; Paragraph [0379]: The ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay shall relay unicast traffic (UL and DL) between the Remote UE and the network),
‘wherein the first information is carried in the PDU session establishment request,’ (Paragraphs [0401]-[0402]: If there is no PDU session satisfying the requirements of the PC5 connection with the remote UE… the ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay initiates a new PDU session establishment or modification procedure for relaying),
‘the first information comprises a dedicated parameter of the relay PDU session, and the dedicated parameter comprises at least one of the following items: a dedicated data network name (DNN), or dedicated single network slice selection assistance information (SNSSAI).’ (Paragraph [0396]: PDU session(s) supporting UE-to-Network Relay shall only be used for Remote ProSe UE(s) relay traffic; Paragraph [0398]: The ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay may establish a PDU session for relaying with default PDU session parameters… e.g. S-NSSAI, DNN, SSC mode or PDU Session Type).
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘first information… is used to request establishment of a relay PDU session… to relay service data of remote UE’ (LIU – Paragraph [0005], A first terminal device receives first information from a second terminal device [Remote UE]… The first terminal device obtains first QoS information and second QoS information, where the first QoS information is QoS information; Paragraph [0061]: according to the end-to-end QoS requirement and the second QoS information [by generating the uplink session parameters]; Paragraph [0147]: the remote UE provides a PC5-connection establishment or modification request to the relay UE, where the PC5-connection establishment or modification request may include an end-to-end QoS requirement of a service)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 11, PAN and LIU teach, The method according to claim 10, PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘wherein after the sending, by relay UE, first information, the method further comprises:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0157]: S5031, the SMF provides a session management (SM) policy association establishment or modification request to the PCF [occurring after receiving the first info from the relay UE]; Paragraph [0164]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU-session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule):
‘receiving, by the relay UE, a quality of service QoS rule, wherein the QoS rule is determined based on the first information.’ (LIU – Paragraphs [0164]-[0165]: S504, the SMF provides a PDU-session establishment or modification response to the relay UE. The PDU-session establishment or modification response includes the QoS rule. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the PDU-session
establishment or modification response from the SMF; Paragraph [0160], Specifically, the PCF may generate the PCC rule and the PC5 QoS parameter according to the end-to-end QoS requirement [first information]… The PCC rule can be used for determining the QoS rule, where the QoS rule is a QoS rule of a PDU session executed by the relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
Regarding claim 15, the claim includes features identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 10. The claim is mere reformulation of claim 10 in order to define the corresponding computer-readable apparatus/hardware terminal, and the rejection to claim 10 is applied hereto.
PAN teaches, ‘A terminal, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions
stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the program or the instructions are executed by the processor to implement:’ (Paragraph [0547], UE 300 includes a program code
312 stored in the memory 310. The CPU 308 could execute program code 312):
Regarding claim 17, the claim includes identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 1. The claim is mere reformulation of claim 1 in order to define the corresponding network side device, and the rejection to claim 1 is applied hereto.
PAN does not explicitly teach but LIU teaches, ‘A network side device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the program or the instructions are executed by the processor to implement steps of the PDU session establishment method according to claim 1, comprising:’ (LIU – Paragraph [0249]: As illustrated in FIG. 15, the electronic device 500 includes a processor 511, a memory 512… The memory 512 is configured to store computer executable instructions. The processor 511 is configured to execute the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 512, to perform the technical solutions at the
first-terminal-device side):
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIU with PAN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIU into PAN is that LIU provides that a relay terminal device passes an end-to-end service requirement to the core network to explicitly map and isolate localized direct communications from the data network backhaul path, and details the precise core network parsing and rule delivery loop needed to satisfy this profile request. LIU provides how a first core network device (the SMF/PCF) receives those exact tracking parameters in an uplink session request and converts them into downstream QoS rules and PCC rules. (See paragraph [0005], [0030], LIU)
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 HAESHIL J CHOI whose telephone number is (703)756-5409. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday ET.
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/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479
/JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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