DETAILED ACTION
In response to communications filed 08/03/2026.
Claims 14 and 15 are canceled.
Claims 1-13 and 16-20 are pending for examination.
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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 16-20 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
An updated search of the prior art fails to yield any additional references that could reasonably, either singularly or in combination with the cited references, support a proper rejection. There is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the art that would anticipate or render the claimed invention as a whole obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art either at or before the effective filing date.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shan et al. (US 2019/0174449 A1) hereinafter “Shan.”
Regarding Claim 8, Shan teaches A method of operating a user equipment context repository (UCRF), the method comprising:
receiving a registration request message (Shan: paragraph 0050, registration procedure with AMF) from a mobility management function (MMF) (Shan: paragraph 0050, saif AMF);
generating a user equipment (UE) context based on the registration request message (Shan: paragraphs 0051-0052, UE context or RM (registration management) context in the AMF in the RM-Registered state); and
storing, in the UE context, an indication that a UE is in a registered state (Tiwari: paragraph 0052, AMF stores in one or more RM contexts for the UE that indicates registration state of the UE).
Regarding Claim 9, Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches determining that the UE is configured with user plane (UP) resources for active transmission or reception of traffic (Shan: paragraph 0075, active the UP connection); and
storing an indication that the UE in an active substate of the registered state based on said determination that the UE is configured with UP resources for active transmission or reception of traffic (Shan: paragraph 0052, stores, inter alia, a registration state per access type).
Regarding Claim 10, Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches determining that the UE is not configured with user plane (UP) resources for active transmission or reception of traffic (Shan: paragraph 0051, no valid location or routing information for the UE when the UE is in the RM-Deregistered state).
Regarding Claim 11, Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches storing an indication that the UE is in a non-active substate of the registered state based on said determination that the UE is not configured with UP resources for active transmission or reception of traffic (Shan: paragraph 0052, store the one or more RM contexts for the UE).
Regarding Claim 12, Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches wherein the UE context comprises two or more of an access stratum context, a registration management context, or a session management context (Shan: paragraphs 0051-0052, UE context or RM (registration management) context).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tiwari et al. (US 2024/0406188 A1) in view of Shan et al. (US 2019/0174449 A1) hereinafter “Tiwari” and “Shan” respectively.
Regarding Claim 1, Tiwari teaches A method of operating a proxy function (Tiwari: paragraph 0220 & Fig. 1, AMF-NG), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station distributed unit (DU) (Tiwari: paragraph 0219 & Fig. 1, NG-RAN; see also paragraph 0415 & Fig. 10, distributed unit (DU) of RAN node), a message (Tiwari: paragraph 0219, NG-RAN routes registration request message) having one or more message containers (Tiwari: paragraph 0248, container 1 and container 2) that include a mobility management (MM) message container with MM information (Tiwari: paragraph 0211, MM context or 5GMM context);
selecting one or more network functions as destinations for information from the one or more message containers (Tiwari: paragraphs 0225-0230, AMF-NG may determine that the access type in request message is set to 3GPP access; see also paragraphs 0240-0242, selected AMF); and
transmitting one or more messages with information from the one or more message containers to the one or more network functions, wherein the one or more messages include an MM message with the MM information transmitted to a mobility management function (MMF) of the one or more network functions (Tiwari: paragraphs 0220, 0225 & Fig 1, the AMF-NG sends, to the AMF-G, a response message including a 5GMM context for 3GPP access of the UE).
Tiwari fails to explicitly teach the proxy function performing a successful non-access stratum (NAS) security check on the message. However, Shan from an analogous art similarly teaches an AMF may include a non-access stratum-MM entity that provides NAS protocol functionality for registration management and integrity protection for NAS signaling (Shan: paragraph 0048) thus similarly performing a security or integrity check on a message for registration.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the proxy function of Tiwari to include a NAS security check as taught by Shan so as to protect and secure messages exchanged between the UE and network side components.
Regarding Claim 2, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches a session management (SM) message container that includes second information (Tiwari: paragraph 0211, MM context may be a 5GSM context).
Regarding Claim 3, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches wherein the one or more messages further include an SM message (Tiwari: paragraphs 0231 & 0243, 5GMM & 5GSM context) and the method further comprises:
transmitting the SM message with the SM information to a session management function (SMF) of the one or more network functions (Tiwari: Figs. 14-15, transmitting to SMF).
Regarding Claim 4, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches transmitting the MM message and the SM message in parallel (Tiwari: Figs. 14-15, transmitting to both AMF and SMF).
Regarding Claim 5, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches wherein the MM message is a registration request message, a deregistration request message, a configuration update command message, an authentication request message, a security mode command message, a service request message, a notification message, or an identity request message (Tiwari: paragraph 0220 & Fig. 1, registration request message).
Regarding Claim 6, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches wherein the SM message is a protocol data unit (PDU) session authentication command message; a user equipment (UE)-requested PDU session message; a UE-requested PDU session modification message; or a UE-requested PDU session release message (Tiwari: paragraph 0211, MM context may be a 5GSM context; see also paragraphs 0378-0382, PDU session)).
Regarding Claim 7, Tiwari-Shan teaches the respective claim(s) as presented above and further teaches the message is a radio resource control (RRC) transfer message received via an F1 interface (Tiwari: paragraph 0213, Transfer message).
Response to Amendment
Applicant argument regarding withdrawing of the restriction is persuasive, therefore, the restriction is withdrawn. Claims 1-13 and 16-20 are pending for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kuge (US 2025/0097834 A1) teaches a function of performing encryption and integrity protection of a NAS message (paragraphs 0064-0065).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAJEEB ANSARI whose telephone number is (571)270-5446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am to 2pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ASAD NAWAZ can be reached at (571) 272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NAJEEB ANSARI/Examiner, Art Unit 2463
/ASAD M NAWAZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2463
