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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/23/2026 has been entered.
Remarks
The present Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 03/23/2026. Claims 18 and 22-24 are still pending in the present application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 18 and 22-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KUGE -US 20240114587 A1- (hereinafter Kuge).
Regarding claim 18, as applied to claim 23 above, Kuge discloses entering an idle mode from a connected mode after releasing the PDU; and obtaining a service on the higher priority PLMN (par. 0232, “an embodiment in which the NW notifies the UE_A 10 of the SOR-CMCI in order for the NW to configure a timing at which the UE_A 10 transitions from the connected mode to the idle mode will be described with reference to FIG. 6”; par. 0270, “The UE_A 10 may receive the SOR transport container information element from the AMF 140. In a case that the SOR information included in the received SOR transport container information element includes a list of recommended (or prioritized) PLMN and access technology combinations, and in a case that the received list of recommended (or prioritized) PLMN and access technology combinations includes a PLMN having a higher priority than a currently connected PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), the UE_A 10 may select a timer value to which the first timer is to be set, set the first timer to the selected timer value, and start the first timer.”).
Regarding claim 22, as applied to claim 24 above/below, the claim is rejected for the same reason(s) as set forth claim 18 above.
Regarding claim 23, Kuge discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) for handling steering of roaming connected mode control information (SoR-CMCI) configuration during a cell change of the UE in a wireless communication system (par.0150 and 0154-0155 for, “The steering of roaming connected mode control information (SOR-CMCI) refers to HPLMN information for controlling a timing at which the UE transitions from the 5GMM connected mode to the 5GMM non-connected mode in order to perform the SOR.”), the method comprising:
receiving, from a fifth-generation core (5GC) network node, a SoR-CMCI in case that the UE is in a first cell, wherein the SoR CMCI includes a value of a timer indicating that the UE waits before releasing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions (FIG. 6, par. 0232, “NW notifies the UE_A 10 of the SOR-CMCI in order for the NW to configure a timing at which the UE_A 10 transitions from the connected mode to the idle mode will be described with reference”; par. 0251-0252, “While the first timer is running, the UE_A 10 receiving the first identification information may stop the first timer based on the reception of the new SOR-CMCI, set the first timer to the first timer value based on the new SOR-CMCI, and start the first timer.”);
starting the timer based on the value included in the SoR-CMCI (par. 0246-0249, “set the first timer to the first timer value based on the new SOR-CMCI, and start the first timer.”);
performing a deregistration procedure releasing the PDU sessions, in case that the time is expired (par. 0373, “The UE_A 10 performs the deregistration procedure to release all the established PDU sessions and transition to the idle mode, based on expiration or stopping of the first timer”), the UE has a list of available and allowable public land mobile networks (PLMNs), and the UE identifies a higher priority PLMN than a selected visited PLMN (VPLMN) in the list (par. 0181, “The automatic mode in the PLMN selection is a mode in which the PLMN selection is performed automatically. The UE in the automatic mode selects a PLMN and access technology combination stored in the UE, based on the priority. Specifically, in the automatic mode, in the PLMN selection by the UE (or the MS), a PLMN and access technology combination with the highest priority available to the UE is selected.”; par. 0117 and 0122 for “the UE may store, in a USIM, an Equivalent HPLMN list for identifying one or multiple Equivalent HPLMNs (EHPLMNs). A PLMN different from the HPLMN and/or the EHPLMN may be a Visited PLMN (VPLMN)”).
Regarding claim 24, Kuge discloses a user equipment (UE) for handling steering of roaming connected mode control information (SoR-CMCI) configuration during a cell change of the UE, the UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the UE to (FIG. 3 par. 0048-0049 and par. 0380; par.0150 and 0154-0155 for, “The steering of roaming connected mode control information (SOR-CMCI) refers to HPLMN information for controlling a timing at which the UE transitions from the 5GMM connected mode to the 5GMM non-connected mode in order to perform the SOR.”):
receive, from a fifth-generation core (5GC) network node, a SoR-CMCI in case that the UE is in a first cell, wherein the SoR CMCI includes a value of a timer indicating that the UE waits before releasing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions (FIG. 6, par. 0232, “NW notifies the UE_A 10 of the SOR-CMCI in order for the NW to configure a timing at which the UE_A 10 transitions from the connected mode to the idle mode will be described with reference”; par. 0251-0252, “While the first timer is running, the UE_A 10 receiving the first identification information may stop the first timer based on the reception of the new SOR-CMCI, set the first timer to the first timer value based on the new SOR-CMCI, and start the first timer.”),
start the timer based on the value included in the SoR-CMCI (par. 0246-0249, “set the first timer to the first timer value based on the new SOR-CMCI, and start the first timer.”), and
release the PDU sessions and the services, in case that the time is expired, the UE has a list of available and allowable public land mobile networks (PLMNs) (par. 0373, “The UE_A 10 performs the deregistration procedure to release all the established PDU sessions and transition to the idle mode, based on expiration or stopping of the first timer”), and the UE identifies a higher priority PLMN than a selected visited PLMN (VPLMN) in the list (par. 0181, “The automatic mode in the PLMN selection is a mode in which the PLMN selection is performed automatically. The UE in the automatic mode selects a PLMN and access technology combination stored in the UE, based on the priority. Specifically, in the automatic mode, in the PLMN selection by the UE (or the MS), a PLMN and access technology combination with the highest priority available to the UE is selected.”; par. 0117 and 0122 for “the UE may store, in a USIM, an Equivalent HPLMN list for identifying one or multiple Equivalent HPLMNs (EHPLMNs). A PLMN different from the HPLMN and/or the EHPLMN may be a Visited PLMN (VPLMN).”).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 5 of the Applicant’s remarks, Applicant asserts, “cited paragraphs [0117], [0122], [0181] and [0371] in Kuge teach that while the timer is running, based on release of the PDU session or stop of the service related to the timer, the UE may stop running the timer. In contrast, Claim 23 recites that the UE performs a deregistration procedure releasing the PDU sessions, in case that the timer is expired, the UE has a list of available and allowable public land mobile networks (PLMNs), and the UE identifies a higher priority PLMN than a selected visited PLMN (VPLMN) in the list, which Kuge either alone or as combined does not teach or suggest at least because Kuge teaches a varied version of the opposite, i.e., that while the timer is running, based on the release of the session or stop of the related service, the UE may stop running the timer.” Examiner respectfully disagrees. As Kuge described the running first timer is updated with a new value received start the first time based the new value, “While the first timer is running, the UE_A 10 receiving the first identification information may stop the first timer based on the reception of the new SOR-CMCI, set the first timer to the first timer value based on the new SOR-CMCI, and start the first timer”, (see paragraphs [0251]-[0252]). Kuge further discloses, in paragraph [0373], “The UE_A 10 performs the deregistration procedure to release all the established PDU sessions and transition to the idle mode, based on expiration or stopping of the first timer”. Thus, Kuge clearly teaches the claimed limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
KUMAR et al. -US 20240015682 A1- disclose METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING SOR SECURITY CHECK FAILURE DURING REGISTRATION PROCEDURE IN WIRELESS NETWORK.
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/ALLAHYAR KASRAIA N/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642