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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in response to application filed on 7/11/2024.
Claims 42-66 have been examined and are pending with this action.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges that the Applicant claims a priority benefit of PCT/CN2022/091888 filed on 05/10/2021.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7/11/2024 and these drawings are accepted.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/26/2023, 1/7/2025, 3/5/2025 & 7/23/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 of this title, 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 should not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 42,45,47-48,50-52,56-58 and 62-66 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US 20190223250 A1) in view of Yao (EP 4021024 A1).
As per claim 42, Dao discloses a method implemented by a first network node of a communication system (Dao: [Fig 1: 0031] “a computing and communications environment 100 that may be used for implementing the devices and methods & , the electronic device 102 may be an element of communications network infrastructure, such as a base station (for example a NodeB, an enhanced Node B (eNodeB), a next generation NodeB”), the method comprising:
receiving a first multicast session release request from a second network node of the communication system (Dao: [0040] “A multicast session is a data session, in which a data source, such as an application server in a data network, sends the same data to multiple targeted UEs.”) ,
transmitting a first multicast session release response to the second network node; and
transmitting a communication message to a third network node of the communication system (Dao: [0009] “method of Modifying a Multicast/Broadcast (MB) session to a plurality of Electronic Devices (EDs) connected to a (Radio) Access Network (R)AN node. The method includes receiving, from a Session Management Function (SMF) by a Policy Control Function (PCF), a request for policy and charging control (PCC) rules relating to the MB session & The method further includes transmitting, by the PCF to the SMF, the PCC rules. In some embodiments the method further includes transmitting, by the PCF to the SMF, a MB session modification request.”).
Dao does not explicitly disclose the removal of session.
Yan however discloses wherein the first multicast session release request includes an identifier of a multicast broadcast service (MBS) session (Yan: “eMCE 250 may identify that the multicast broadcast service session is in a first mode or a second mode,.”) ,;
selecting terminal devices having joined the MBS session from terminal devices served by the first network node (Yan: “ selector 221 of the BMSC 220 may screen and obtain a cell #1 and a cell #2 according to event-related information and database knowledge and provide cell IDs of the cell #1 and the cell #2 to the session management module 222 & the session management module 222 updates the broadcast target area of the multicast broadcast service according to the cell #1 and the cell #2,”);
wherein the communication message includes an N2 session management information to inform a fourth network node of removal of a predetermined terminal device (Yan: “the first base station corresponding to the first cell to allocate the radio spectrum resources for the multicast broadcast service. In step S705, the MCE 250 determines whether the old broadcast target area includes a second cell to be removed & in step S706, the MCE 250 notifies a second base station corresponding to the second cell to configure the state of the multicast broadcast session as the suspended state ”); . of the selected terminal devices, from the MBS session, wherein the predetermined terminal device is associated with the fourth network node. (Yan: “to determine that the multicast broadcast service belongs to one of the first mode and the second mode according to the flag; and in response to the flag matching a predetermined value, determining that the multicast broadcast service belongs to the first mode and suspending the multicast broadcast service.,”).
Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Dao in view of Yan to figure out removal of session. One would be motivated to do so to control the base station to allocate or release the radio spectrum resources (RS1) for the multicast broadcast servicer (Yan).
As per claim 43, Dao/Yan discloses the method of claim 42, further comprising transmitting an N4
session modification request to a user plane function for release of user plane resources (Dao: [0040] “a method of Modifying a Multicast/Broadcast (MB) session to a plurality of Electronic Devices (EDs) connected to a (Radio) Access Network (R)AN node. The method also includes, responsive to the trigger, configuring, by the SMF, any needed changes in the User Plane Functions (UPF),).
As per claim 44, Dao/Yan discloses the method of claim 42, wherein the communication message also includes an N1 session management container which indicates release of the MBS session (Yan: “ the MCE 250 may add cells to the old broadcast target area or remove cells from the old broadcast target area to update the broadcast target area & the first base station corresponding to the first cell to allocate the radio spectrum resources for the multicast broadcast service. In step S705, the MCE 250 determines whether the old broadcast target area includes a second cell to be removed & in step S706, the MCE 250 notifies a second base station corresponding to the second cell to configure the state of the multicast broadcast session as the suspended state ”)
Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Dao in view of Yan to figure out removal of session. One would be motivated to do so to control the base station to allocate or release the radio spectrum resources (RS1) for the multicast broadcast servicer (Yan).
As per claim 45, Dao/Yan discloses the method of claim [[44]]42, wherein the N2 session
management information includes a session stop for the fourth network node to release radio
resources of the MBS session (Dao: [0120] “If the MB Session Context is to be deleted or established, the (R)AN node 302 may perform AN-specific procedure to release or establish the radio resources with the EDs 102.”).
As per claim 47, Dao/Yan discloses the method of claim 42, wherein the first network node is a
session management function and the second network node is a multicast broadcast session
management function (Dao: [0120] “If the MB Session Context is to be deleted or established, the (R)AN node 302 may perform AN-specific procedure to release or establish the radio resources with the EDs 102. The (R)AN 302 sends the N1 SM MB Session Message 613 to each ED indicated by the SMF 310 & Each ED 102 may send to (R)AN 302 an N1 SM MB Session Message 616 in response to N1 SM MB Session message 611 sent by the SMF 310.”).
As per claim 62, Dao/Yan discloses the method of claim 57, wherein the third network node is an access and mobility management function and the fourth network node is a node of a next generation radio access network (Dao: [0010 & 0033] “ receiving, from a Session Management Function (SMF) by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a request to modify the MB session & include a radio access network interface 122 for connecting to other devices over a radio link”).
Claims 48, 50, 51-52, 56-58 & 63-66 are rejected based on rationale provided above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 46, 49, 53-55 and 59-61 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This includes:
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/SIBTE H BUKHARI/Examiner, Art Unit 2449
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