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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application no. 2021102796345 filed in China on 03/16/2021. It is noted that the applicant has filed a certified copy of the application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/06/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly
indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [0068], equation 1; the function “tanh” is not defined.
In paragraph [0107], equation 2; the function “tanh” is not defined.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 7; “…wherein the SLA parameters includes…” should read as “…wherein the SLA parameters include…”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 20210037455 A1) hereinafter Zhu in view of Awada et al. (EP 3589064 A1) hereinafter Awada_9064.
Regarding claim 1,
Zhu teaches an electronic device for a network control device (core network unit [0103]-[0104]; element 600 of Fig. 6), comprising: a processing circuitry (comprising processor [0104]; element 602 of Fig. 6) configured to interact with one or more neighbor cells of a user equipment (UE) (core network interacting with a first cell and a second cell [0041]; Figs. 7-10, and 12) to acquire support information on a network slice type suitable for the UE fed back by each of the neighbor cells (request message indicating network slice support and support information acquired by the AMF [0068]-[0071], [0106] and [0113]);
Zhu does not explicitly teach based on the support information, evaluate a service capability metric for each of the neighbor cells with respect to said network slice type; and at least based on the service capability metric, determine a selection priority of each of the neighbor cells for the UE.
Awada_9064 teaches based on the support information, evaluate a service capability metric for each of the neighbor cells with respect to said network slice type (based on the information about network slices, evaluating a cell ranking criterion [0059]-[0065]); and at least based on the service capability metric, determine a selection priority of each of the neighbor cells for the UE (based on the cell ranking criterion, rank the selection priority of the at least one neighbor cell [0059]-[0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Regarding claim 3,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 1, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches determining the network slice type suitable for the UE based on Service Level Agreement (SLA) parameters registered by the UE (configuring slice based on UE service requirements [0004], [0034], and [0060]), and sending information on the network slice type to the one or more neighbor cells (core network sends information associated with UE’s interested network slice [0060] and [0097]).
Regarding claim 7,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 3, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches the SLA parameters include at least one of transmission latency (latency [0004] and [0034]), transmission rate (throughput [0004] and [0034]), service priority, security, and reliability ([0004] and [0034]).
Regarding claim 8,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 1, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches network slice type includes one of URLLC slice (URLLC network slice type [0060]), eMBB slice (eMBB slice type [0060]), and mMTC slice.
Regarding claim 9,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 1, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches the processing circuitry is configured to initiate said interacting in occurrence of the following: the UE moving to another tracking area (exchange between the AMF and the BSs triggered by UE mobility [0179]-[0190]; Figs. 13A and 13B).
Regarding claim 13,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 1, as outlined above.
Zhu does not explicitly teach sending information on the selection priorities of the neighbor cells to the UE, so that the UE selects or reselects a cell to access based on the selection priorities.
Awada_9064 teaches sending information on the selection priorities of the neighbor cells to the UE, so that the UE selects or reselects a cell to access based on the selection priorities (UE receives a priority list of neighboring cells through a source cell in order to perform cell re/selection [0057]-[0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Regarding claim 15,
Zhu teaches an electronic device for a user equipment (UE) (UE [0081]-[0082]; Fig. 4), comprising: a processing circuitry ([0082]; element 402 of Fig. 4) configured to select a neighbor cell to access (selecting a second cell frequency [0226]).
Zhu does not explicitly teach receive information on selection priorities of one or more neighbor cells, wherein the selection priorities are determined by a network control device based on a service capability metric for each of the neighbor cells with respect to a network slice type suitable for the UE; and selecting a neighbor cell to access based on the selection priorities.
Awada_9064 teaches receive information on selection priorities of one or more neighbor cells (UE receives a priority list of neighboring cells [0065]), wherein the selection priorities are determined by a network control device based on a service capability metric for each of the neighbor cells with respect to a network slice type suitable for the UE (the priority list being based on a quality of service for a type of service [0063]-[0065]); and selecting a neighbor cell to access based on the selection priorities (selecting a cell based on the priority list [0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Claims 2, 12, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu in view of Awada_9064 in further view of Awada et al. (US 20220279408 A1) hereinafter Awada.
Regarding claim 2,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 1, as outlined above.
Zhu does not explicitly teach selecting based on the evaluated service capability metric.
Awada_9064 teaches selecting based on the evaluated service capability metric (selecting based on a cell ranking criterion [0059]-[0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach determine RACH resources to be reserved by corresponding neighbor cell for said network slice type; and inform the corresponding neighbor cell and the UE of the determined RACH resource reservation information.
Awada teaches determine RACH resources to be reserved by corresponding neighbor cell for said network slice type based on information (selecting random access resources based on network slice information [0052]); and inform the corresponding neighbor cell and the UE of the determined RACH resource reservation information (handover assistance information indicating selected random access resources of target access point and to the UE [0052]-[0053]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve contention-based random access (Awada [0042]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 12,
Zhu, Awada_9064, and Awada teach all the features of claim 2, as outlined above.
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach the processing circuitry is configured to reserve the RACH resources for the network slice type in idle RACH resources of the neighbor cell.
Awada teaches the processing circuitry is configured to reserve the RACH resources for the network slice type in idle RACH resources of the neighbor cell (apparatus with processor configured to select random access resources based on network slice related information on terminals in radio resource control idle mode [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve contention-based random access (Awada [0042]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 16,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 15, as outlined above.
Zhu does not explicitly teach receive information on RACH resources to be reserved by a particular neighbor cell for the network slice type, the reserved RACH resources are determined by the network control device based on slice information for the particular neighbor cell; and access the particular neighbor cell on the reserved RACH resources, and selecting based on the evaluated service capability metric.
Awada_9064 teaches selecting based on the evaluated service capability metric (selecting based on a cell ranking criterion [0059]-[0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach receive information on RACH resources to be reserved by a particular neighbor cell for the network slice type, the reserved RACH resources are determined by the network control device based on slice information for the particular neighbor cell; and access the particular neighbor cell on the reserved RACH resources.
Awada teaches receive information on RACH resources to be reserved by a particular neighbor cell for the network slice type (receiving handover assistance information indicating selected random access resources of target access point [0052]-[0053]), the reserved RACH resources are determined by the network control device based on slice information for the particular neighbor cell (random access recourses determined based at least on network slice related information [0052]-[0053]); and access the particular neighbor cell on the reserved RACH resources (using random access recourses determined based at least on network slice related information [0052]-[0053]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve contention-based random access (Awada [0042]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 18,
Zhu teaches an electronic device for a cell (base station [0092]-[0093]; Fig. 5), comprising: a processing circuitry (base station [0092]-[0093]; elements 502 and 508 of Fig. 5) configured to feedback support information on a particular network slice type to a network control device (request message indicating network slice support and support information acquired by the AMF from the BSs [0068]-[0071], [0106] and [0113]).
Zhu does not explicitly teach for the network control device to determine a service capability metric for the cell with respect to the particular network slice type; receive RACH resource reservation information for the particular network slice type determined by the network control device based on slice information; and reserve RACH resources determined for the particular network slice type based on the RACH resource reservation information.
Awada_9064 teaches for the network control device to determine a service capability metric for the cell with respect to the particular network slice type (evaluating a cell ranking criterion based on the information about network slices [0059]-[0065]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada_9064 to the teachings of Zhu. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve connection establishment and service continuity in the context of network slicing (Awada_9064 [0020]).
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach receive RACH resource reservation information for the particular network slice type determined by the network control device based on slice information; and reserve RACH resources determined for the particular network slice type based on the RACH resource reservation information.
Awada teaches receive RACH resource reservation information for the particular network slice type determined by the network control device based on slice information (receiving selected random access resources based on network slice information [0052]); and reserve RACH resources determined for the particular network slice type based on the RACH resource reservation information (using random access recourses based on handover assistance information [0052]-[0053]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Awada to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve contention-based random access (Awada [0042]-[0044]).
Claims 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu in view of Awada_9064 in further view of Salmela et al. (US 20240155452 A1) hereinafter Salmela.
Regarding claim 4,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 3, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches receiving, from each of the one or more neighbor cells, support information on whether the neighbor cell supports said network slice type or not (AMF receiving network slice support information from other BSs [0068]-[0071]).
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach inquiring a neighbor cell which supports said network slice type about a current service load for said network slice type; and receiving, from the neighbor cell, support information on the current service load for said network slice type.
Salmela teaches inquiring a neighbor cell which supports said network slice type about a current service load for said network slice type (AMF reevaluating cells for slice service load [0019], [0020], and [0064]); and receiving, from the neighbor cell, support information on the current service load for said network slice type (AMF receiving cell slice service load from cells [0019], [0020], and [0064]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Salmela to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve network slice service continuity in handover (Salmela [0002]).
Regarding claim 6,
Zhu and Awada_9064 teach all the features of claim 3, as outlined above.
Zhu further teaches receiving, from each of the one or more neighbor cells, support information on whether the neighbor cell supports said network slice type or not (AMF receiving network slice support information from other BSs [0068]-[0071]).
Zhu and Awada_9064 do not explicitly teach receiving support information on a current service load for said network slice type.
Salmela teaches receiving support information on a current service load for said network slice type (AMF receiving cell slice service support based on load from cells [0019], [0020], and [0064]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teachings of Salmela to the teachings of Zhu and Awada_9064. One would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would improve network slice service continuity in handover (Salmela [0002]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The reason for allowing claims 10 and 11 is as follows: Zhu and Awada_9064 teach network slice service continuity procedures in handover situations. Zhu teaches acquiring support information from multiple BSs and/or cells (AMF acquiring support for network slice service [0068]-[0071], [0106] and [0113]). Zhu further teaches the support information indicating whether a cell/BS supports a network slice service type (AMF acquiring support for network slice service [0068]-[0071], [0106] and [0113]).
Awada_9064 teaches ranking candidate handover cells based on a service quality metric (evaluating a cell ranking criterion based on the quality of service requirements of the network slices [0059]-[0065]). Salmela teaches the network slice service capability being based on a slice load (AMF receiving cell slice service support based on factors such as load associated with cells that support the particular network slice [0019], [0020], and [0064]).
Awada teaches a network-assisted contention-based random access procedure during handover in the event of failure of the contention-free random access. Awada teaches the determination of RACH resources for a slice type (selecting random access resources based on network slice information [0052]) and providing the selection information to the cells and the UE (handover assistance information indicating selected random access resources of target access point and to the UE [0052]-[0053]).
However, neither Zhu, Awada_9064, nor Salmela teach evaluating the service capability metric
η
α
according to
η
α
=
tanh
S
S
L
A
α
*
1
-
N
S
L
A
_
α
N
S
L
A
_
α
m
a
x
*
γ
α
where
S
S
L
A
α
is an average satisfaction of service of the network slice type α currently provided by the neighbor cell,
N
S
L
A
_
α
is a current service load for the network slice type a ofthe neighbor cell,
N
S
L
A
_
α
m
a
x
is an upper limit of service load for the network slice type a of the neighbor cell, and
γ
α
is a binary variable indicating whether the neighbor cell supports the network slice type a or not.
Furthermore, Zhu, Awada_9064, nor Salmela teach determining an amount
N
r
α
of the RACH resources that should be reserved by a neighbor cell:
N
r
α
=
tanh
N
Ʃ
*
η
α
*
λ
where
N
Ʃ
is a number of UEs that might select the network slice type
α
of the neighbor cell,
η
α
is the service capability metric for the neighbor cell with respect to the network slice type
α
, and
λ
is a selection frequency parameter.
None of the prior art, individually or in combination, teach or fairly suggest these limitations in combination with the other limitation of Claim(s) 10 and 11. Although the other limitations are used in the art, none of the prior art of record teach or provide motivation to combine to reach a similar result.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDUL AZIZ SANTARISI whose telephone number is (703)756-4586. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5:00 PM ET. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on (571)270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ABDUL AZIZ SANTARISI/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465