DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, anycorrection of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground ofrejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would bethe same under either status.
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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2-5, 7-9, 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouyang et al. (US 2021/0344759 A1) in view of Keller et al. (US 2020/0312510 A1).
Ouyang et al. teach (Fig. 1, [0021, 0053-0054], a method for selecting a route for outgoing data traffic by a communication terminal (i.e. a network standard of the terminal includes but is not limited to a 3G communications network, a 4G communications network, a 5G communications network, and the like. A terminal 100 may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP (UE route selection policy) rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule);
wherein the communication terminal is adapted for route selection based on user equipment route selection policy (Fig. 1, [0053-0054, 0068], a terminal may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule. The terminal determines a first route selection component for the application, the information of which is considered matched);
comprising the steps of: a) receiving, by the communication terminal, at least one user equipment route selection policy rule, which comprises a traffic descriptor and at least one route selection component (Fig. 1, [0059, 0081, 0091, 0119], the traffic descriptor information can be stored in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule by the terminal 100 locally. In this embodiment of this application, the terminal may locally store a URSP rule corresponding to each application in advance. That means one application maybe corresponds to one URSP rule shown in Table 1. Table 1 lists an example data. After the terminal determines that there is information of the application matching the UE route selection policy (URSP) rule, the terminal performs filtering on all route selection components in the URSP rule. After detecting the information of the application that matches the traffic descriptor, the terminal determines the first route selection component for the application, in order to/then route the traffic of the application on a PDU session that matches the first route selection component. In this way, the traffic of the application is transmitted in a customized network resource, to avoid a problem in other approaches that because a network side does not reserve a corresponding resource for a specific application, traffic of the specific application has to wait until resource is available then is transmitted. Structure of a URSP rule provided in an embodiment of this application. Detection module 31 (fig. 3) is configured to support the apparatus 30 in detecting whether information about an application in a terminal matches a traffic descriptor; or the like. The determining module 32 is configured to support the apparatus 30 in determining a first route selection component, a second route selection component, and a third route selection component, or the like. The processing module 33 is configured to support the apparatus 30 in routing traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session, that is, a first PDU session corresponding to the first route selection component);
b) detecting, by the communication terminal, a traffic-related information item which is related to at least one outgoing data unit (Fig. 1, [0064], the terminal detects that the information of the application matches the traffic descriptor. “Detect” means that an identifier of the application is the same as an application identifier in the traffic descriptor, or an IP address in traffic of the application is the same as an IP address in the traffic descriptor. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the information of the application may include an IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application. In this way, the terminal can determine, based on the IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application carried in the information of the application, whether the information of the application matches a traffic descriptor in a locally stored URSP rule corresponding to the application);
c) selecting, by the communication terminal, a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule, wherein a traffic descriptor of the selected user equipment route selection policy rule is associated with the detected traffic-related information item on the basis of a matching table that is stored in the communication terminal (Fig. 1, [0053-0054, 0059], a terminal may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule. The traffic descriptor information can be stored in a URSP rule by the terminal locally. In this embodiment of this application, the terminal may locally store a URSP rule corresponding to each application in advance. That means one application maybe corresponds to one URSP rule shown in Table 1. Table 1 lists an example data structure of a URSP rule provided in an embodiment of this application);
and d) selecting, by the communication terminal, a route for the at least one outgoing data unit on the basis of a route selection component of the selected user equipment route selection policy rule (Fig. 1, [0008, 0079, 0083], a valid route selection component or an available route selection component can be obtained from the URSP rule through filtering based on case 1 and case 2. Then, the terminal selects, as the first route selection component, a route selection component with a highest priority from the valid route selection components or the available route selection components obtained through filtering. Determining the application corresponding to the information of the application, the terminal can locally determine the URSP rule corresponding to the application. Then, the terminal determines, in the URSP rule, a route selection component that matches the first condition, and determines the route selection component as the first route selection component. It should be noted that both the foregoing first-filtering then-selecting implementation for the route selection component and the foregoing first-selecting then-filtering implementation for the route selection component by the terminal are implementations)”).
Regarding claim 2, Ouyang et al. teach wherein step c) is performed by the an operating system of the communication terminal, wherein the operating system accesses the matching table (Fig. 1, [0050, 0053-0054], an application processor and a modem processor may further be integrated into the processor 101. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface (UI), an application program. The terminal may route traffic of this application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule”);
Regarding claim 4, Ouyang et al. teach wherein the at least one outgoing data unit is associated with a communication service and the route which is selected in step d) is used for all outgoing data traffic of (Fig. 1, [0055], there is one or multiple PDU session(s) have been established by terminal. When the parameters of one of the PDU Sessions in the terminal matches a selected route selection component, the terminal may associate the application with the PDU session. When none of the PDU sessions, which have been established in the terminal, matches a selected route selection component, the terminal establishes a new PDU session based on the selected route selection component”);
Regarding claim 5, Ouyang et al. teach wherein the selected route is defined by a protocol data unit session, a network slice, or a data network name (Fig. 1, [0055], when the terminal establishes the new PDU Session, the terminal sets values of parameters in the PDU Session request based on the selected route selection component, for example, single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), a session and service continuity (SSC) mode, which is referred to as a continuity mode for short below, a data network name (DNN), and a PDU type, in order to request a network side to establish the PDU session, in order to support data service”);
Regarding claim 7, Ouyang et al. teach wherein the traffic-related information item, which is detected in step b), is comprised in a header of a data unit of outgoing data traffic (Fig. 1, [0007], the information of the application includes an Internet Protocol (IP) 3-tuple (in the header is used to identify and route traffic, such as source IP address, destination IP address, and protocol) of the application or an identifier (ID) of the application. In this way, the terminal can determine, based on the IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application carried in the information of the application, whether the information of the application matches a traffic descriptor in a user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rule corresponding to the application”);
Regarding claim 8, Ouyang et al. teach wherein the traffic-related information item, which is detected in step b), is a differentiated service code point or a virtual local area network identifier (Fig. 1, [0082], the terminal determines the first route selection component from a list of route selection components in a first-selecting then-filtering manner. After the terminal determines that there is information from the application matching the URSP rule, the terminal determines a route selection component with a highest priority in the URSP rule, and then performs filtering on the selected route selection component with the highest priority (it may be noted that differentiated services code point (DSCP) is a mechanism for prioritizing network traffic).
Ouyang et al. is teaching a data transmission, by a communication terminal, comprising data route selection based on route selection policy and traffic description. Ouyang et al., however, fail to expressly disclose of selecting, by the terminal, a policy rule from the received route selection policy rules. (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 1, Keller et al. teach selecting, by the communication terminal, a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule (Fig. 1, [0006, 0037, 0046, 0055], communication network 100 comprises a home network 110a and a local serving network 110b representing a roaming network. The home network 110a and the local serving network 110b each provide network access to a terminal device (TD) 300. Terminal device 200 selects a URSP (user equipment route selection policy) rule for the traffic to be communicated in a communication session with the local serving network 110b. The URSP rule is selected in accordance with the traffic descriptor and in accordance with a validity condition for the communication session. The URSP rule is selected from a set of URSP rules. Further, the terminal device 200 might be configured to select an RSD (route selection descriptor) within the selected URSP rule. In further aspects, the URSP rule is selected only among those URSP rules in the set of URSP rules for which the validity condition for the communication session is fulfilled. The RSD might then be selected within the URSP rule with matching validity conditions. Wherein for a newly detected application, the UE evaluates the URSP rules in the order of rule precedence and determines if the application is matching the traffic descriptor of any URSP rule. If a URSP rule is found this URSP rule is applicable to the application)”).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Keller et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of selecting, by the communication terminal, a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule. The motivation is to support an improved method for selecting a URSP rule in accordance with the traffic descriptor and in accordance with a validity condition for the communication session (see [0014]).
Regarding claim 9:
Ouyang et al. teach (Fig. 1, [0021, 0053-0054], a communication terminal, adapted for route selection based on user equipment route selection policy (Fig. 1, [0053-0054, 0068], a network standard of the terminal includes but is not limited to a 3G communications network, a 4G communications network, a 5G communications network, and the like. A terminal 100 may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP (UE route selection policy) rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule);
the communication terminal comprises a processor, a memory, and a wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication (Fig. 1, [0021, 0043] the terminal 100 includes components such as a processor 101, a memory 102, a camera 103, an RF circuit 104, an audio circuit 105, a loudspeaker 106, a microphone 107, an input device 108, another input device 109, a display screen 110, a touch panel 111, a display panel 112, an output device 113, and a power supply 114. The display screen 110 includes at least the touch panel 111 used as an input device and the display panel 112 used as an output device. A network standard of the terminal includes but is not limited to a 3G communications network, a 4G communications network, a 5G communications network, and the like);
and wherein the communication terminal is adapted to receive at least one user equipment route selection policy rule, which comprises a traffic descriptor and at least one route selection component (Fig. 1, [0059, 0081, 0091, 0119] a terminal may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule. The terminal determines a first route selection component for the application, the information of which is considered matched); The traffic descriptor information can be stored in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule by the terminal 100 locally. In this embodiment of this application, the terminal may locally store a URSP rule corresponding to each application in advance. That means one application maybe corresponds to one URSP rule shown in Table 1. Table 1 lists an example data. After the terminal determines that there is information of the application matching the UE route selection policy (URSP) rule, the terminal performs filtering on all route selection components in the URSP rule. After detecting the information of the application that matches the traffic descriptor, the terminal determines the first route selection component for the application, in order to/then route the traffic of the application on a PDU session that matches the first route selection component. In this way, the traffic of the application is transmitted in a customized network resource, to avoid a problem in other approaches that because a network side does not reserve a corresponding resource for a specific application, traffic of the specific application has to wait until resource is available then is transmitted. Structure of a URSP rule provided in an embodiment of this application. Detection module 31 (fig. 3) is configured to support the apparatus 30 in detecting whether information about an application in a terminal matches a traffic descriptor; or the like. The determining module 32 is configured to support the apparatus 30 in determining a first route selection component, a second route selection component, and a third route selection component, or the like. The processing module 33 is configured to support the apparatus 30 in routing traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session, that is, a first PDU session corresponding to the first route selection component);
detect a traffic-related information item which is related to at least one outgoing data unit (Fig. 1, [0064], the terminal detects that the information of the application matches the traffic descriptor. “Detect” means that an identifier of the application is the same as an application identifier in the traffic descriptor, or an IP address in traffic of the application is the same as an IP address in the traffic descriptor. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the information of the application may include an IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application. In this way, the terminal can determine, based on the IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application carried in the information of the application, whether the information of the application matches a traffic descriptor in a locally stored URSP rule corresponding to the application);
select a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule, wherein a traffic descriptor of the selected user equipment route selection policy rule is associated with the detected traffic- related information item on the basis of a matching table that is stored in the communication terminal (Fig. 1, [0053-0054, 0059], a terminal may route traffic of an application on an existing protocol data unit (PDU) session or on a newly established PDU session according to different rules defined in a UE route selection policy (URSP) rule. When the application matches a traffic descriptor of a URSP rule of the terminal, the terminal may route traffic of the application on a corresponding PDU session based on route selection components recorded in a route selection descriptor in the URSP rule. The traffic descriptor information can be stored in a URSP rule by the terminal locally. In this embodiment of this application, the terminal may locally store a URSP rule corresponding to each application in advance. That means one application maybe corresponds to one URSP rule shown in Table 1. Table 1 lists an example data structure of a URSP rule provided in an embodiment of this application);
and select a route for the at least one outgoing data unit on the basis of a route selection component of the selected user equipment route selection policy rule (Fig. 1, [0008, 0079, 0083], a valid route selection component or an available route selection component can be obtained from the URSP rule through filtering based on case 1 and case 2. Then, the terminal selects, as the first route selection component, a route selection component with a highest priority from the valid route selection components or the available route selection components obtained through filtering. Determining the application corresponding to the information of the application, the terminal can locally determine the URSP rule corresponding to the application. Then, the terminal determines, in the URSP rule, a route selection component that matches the first condition, and determines the route selection component as the first route selection component. It should be noted that both the foregoing first-filtering then-selecting implementation for the route selection component and the foregoing first-selecting then-filtering implementation for the route selection component by the terminal are implementations)”).
Regarding claim 11, Ouyang et al. teach further comprising a wireless communication interface adapted for WLAN communication, wherein the communication terminal is adapted for selecting WLAN communication as a route for the at least one outgoing data unit on the basis of a route selection component of the selected user equipment route selection policy rule (Fig. 1, [0008, 0079, 0083], a valid route selection component or an available route selection component can be obtained from the URSP rule through filtering based on case 1 and case 2. Then, the terminal selects, as the first route selection component, a route selection component with a highest priority from the valid route selection components or the available route selection components obtained through filtering. Determining the application corresponding to the information of the application, the terminal can locally determine the URSP rule corresponding to the application. Then, the terminal determines, in the URSP rule, a route selection component that matches the first condition, and determines the route selection component as the first route selection component. It should be noted that both the foregoing first-filtering then-selecting implementation for the route selection component and the foregoing first-selecting then-filtering implementation for the route selection component by the terminal are implementations);
Regarding claim 13, Ouyang et al. teach adapted to detect an information comprised in a header of a data unit of outgoing data traffic as the traffic-related information item, in particular a differentiated service code point or a virtual local area network identifier (Fig. 1, [0007], the information of the application includes an Internet Protocol (IP) 3-tuple (in the header is used to identify and route traffic, such as source IP address, destination IP address, and protocol) of the application or an identifier (ID) of the application. In this way, the terminal can determine, based on the IP 3-tuple of the application or the identifier of the application carried in the information of the application, whether the information of the application matches a traffic descriptor in a user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rule corresponding to the application).
Ouyang et al. is teaching a data transmission, by a communication terminal, comprising data route selection based on route selection policy and traffic description. Ouyang et al., however, fail to expressly disclose of selecting, by the terminal, a policy rule from the received route selection policy rules. (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 9, Keller et al. teach select a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule (Fig. 1, [0006, 0037, 0046, 0055], communication network 100 comprises a home network 110a and a local serving network 110b representing a roaming network. The home network 110a and the local serving network 110b each provide network access to a terminal device (TD) 300. Terminal device 200 selects a URSP (user equipment route selection policy) rule for the traffic to be communicated in a communication session with the local serving network 110b. The URSP rule is selected in accordance with the traffic descriptor and in accordance with a validity condition for the communication session. The URSP rule is selected from a set of URSP rules. Further, the terminal device 200 might be configured to select an RSD (route selection descriptor) within the selected URSP rule. In further aspects, the URSP rule is selected only among those URSP rules in the set of URSP rules for which the validity condition for the communication session is fulfilled. The RSD might then be selected within the URSP rule with matching validity conditions. Wherein for a newly detected application, the UE evaluates the URSP rules in the order of rule precedence and determines if the application is matching the traffic descriptor of any URSP rule. If a URSP rule is found this URSP rule is applicable to the application)”).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Keller et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of selecting a user equipment route selection policy rule from the at least one received user equipment route selection policy rule. The motivation is to support an improved method for selecting a URSP rule in accordance with the traffic descriptor and in accordance with a validity condition for the communication session (see [0014]).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouyang et al. (US 2021/0344759 A1) in view of Keller et al. (US 2020/0312510 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xu et al. (US 2022/0104117 A1).
Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 3, wherein the matching table (700) is dynamically updated by user input provided via a user interface of the communication terminal, by an application executed by the communication terminal, or by a separate device communicatively connected with the communication terminal.
Xu et al. disclose a method and device for receiving a network selection policy with the following features: regarding claim 3, wherein the matching table is dynamically updated by user input provided via a user interface of the communication terminal, by an application executed by the communication terminal, or by a separate device communicatively connected with the communication terminal (Fig. 1, is a schematic diagram of a composition structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, see teachings in [0040] summarized as “For the URSP policy in the NR system, a terminal device associates an application with a corresponding PDU session for transmitting based on the URSP policy; in a specific implementation, when data appears at an application layer, the terminal device uses a URSP rule in the URSP policy to check whether a feature of the application data matches a Traffic Descriptor of a certain rule in the URSP rules shown in table 1, the order of checking is determined according to the precedence in the Traffic Descriptor in the URSP rules; that is, the terminal device sequentially checks matching statuses based on an order of the precedence, when one URSP rule is matched, a list of RSD under the URSP rule is used for binding a protocol data unit (PDU) session. Specifically, when a URSP rule is matched, a UE searches for a suitable PDU session according to an order of the precedence in the list of RSD, for example, preferentially RSD with a high precedence is used; if a certain parameter in the list of RSD with a high precedence is one or more values, then the terminal device selects one of the parameters, combined together with other parameters, to search for whether a PDU session exists; if it exists, then the application data is bound to the PDU session for transmitting; if it does not exist, then the terminal device triggers an establishment of the PDU session, and the terminal device reports attribute parameters of the PDU session in an establishment request message; if the PDU session is established successfully, then the terminal device binds the application data to the PDU session for transmitting; if the PDU session is not established successfully, then the terminal device searches again for whether a PDU session exists based on other-parameter combinations in the list of RSD or by using parameter combinations in a list of RSD with a secondary precedence; if no suitable PDU session can be found for binding according to the matched URSP rule, then the terminal device searches for whether a Traffic Descriptor in a URSP rule with a secondary precedence may match the feature of the application data flow according to the order of the precedence; when they are matched, the process previously described are repeated”).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. with Keller et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Xu et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of matching table is dynamically updated by user input provided via a user interface of the communication terminal, by an application executed by the communication terminal. The motivation is to support an improved method for a terminal device using URSP in a new radio (see [0039]).
Claim(s) 6 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouyang et al. (US 2021/0344759 A1) in view of Keller et al. (US 2020/0312510 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2021/0235372 A1).
Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 6, wherein the communication terminal comprises a 5G capable modem, which receives the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule and which provides access to respective routes via virtual network interfaces; regarding claim 12, wherein the wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication is a 5G modem adapted to provide access to routes via virtual network interfaces.
Wang et al. disclose a method and a terminal device for selecting a network slice in a cellular communication system with the following features: regarding claim 6, wherein the communication terminal comprises a 5G capable modem, which receives the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule and which provides access to respective routes via virtual network interfaces (Fig. 1, illustrates a wireless communication scenario to which some embodiments of the invention may be applied, see teachings in [0050, 0054, 0057, 0086] summarized as “a single physical network or a group of networks is sliced into multiple virtual networks (slices) that can support different radio access networks (RANs). Each virtual network (network slice) comprises a unique identifier. 3GPP specifications define Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) and Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI i.e. a collection of S-NSSAI) for such a purpose. A device may readily have NSSAI values and application mappings that link applications to the network slices. the network slice selection policies for the terminal device are determined in a network node of the network infrastructure, e.g. by the PCF in the core network. Current policies rely on the PCF sending rules (e.g. an UE route selection policy (URSP) as defined in 3GPP specifications) to the UE. Radio interface 70 (fig. 8), of terminal device 100, may comprise a radio modem supporting the 5G specifications and/or IEEE 802.11 technology. The radio interface 70 may further comprise a radio frequency (RF) front end”); regarding claim 12, wherein the wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication is a 5G modem adapted to provide access to routes via virtual network interfaces (Fig. 1, illustrates a wireless communication scenario to which some embodiments of the invention may be applied, see teachings in [0050, 0054, 0057, 0086] summarized as “a single physical network or a group of networks is sliced into multiple virtual networks (slices) that can support different radio access networks (RANs). Each virtual network (network slice) comprises a unique identifier. 3GPP specifications define Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) and Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI i.e. a collection of S-NSSAI) for such a purpose. A device may readily have NSSAI values and application mappings that link applications to the network slices. the network slice selection policies for the terminal device are determined in a network node of the network infrastructure, e.g. by the PCF in the core network. Current policies rely on the PCF sending rules (e.g. an UE route selection policy (URSP) as defined in 3GPP specifications) to the UE. Radio interface 70 (fig. 8), of terminal device 100, may comprise a radio modem supporting the 5G specifications and/or IEEE 802.11 technology. The radio interface 70 may further comprise a radio frequency (RF) front end”)
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. with Keller et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Wang et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of receiving, by the user equipment via a 5G capable modem interface, the URSP rule and which provides access to respective routes via virtual network interfaces. The motivation is to support an improved method for selecting a network slice for a terminal device in a cellular communication system (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouyang et al. (US 2021/0344759 A1) in view of Keller et al. (US 2020/0312510 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Huang-Fu (US 2020/0359295 A1) (Huang-Fu’295 hereinafter).
Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Ouyang et al. disclose the following features: regarding claim 10, wherein the communication terminal is comprises: a telematics control unit of a vehicle, a cell phone, an IoT device, a machine, a smartwatch, or an automated guided vehicle.
Huang-Fu’295 disclose a method and apparatus for UE route selection policy (URSP) rules selection in 5G new radio system with the following features: regarding claim 10, wherein the communication terminal is comprises: a telematics control unit of a vehicle, a cell phone, an IoT device, a machine, a smartwatch, or an automated guided vehicle (Fig. 1, shows an exemplary wireless communication system performing dual connectivity operations according to an embodiment of the disclosure, see teachings in [0023] summarized as “shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 supporting enhanced user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rules selection according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 can be a 5G new radio (NR) network including a UE 101, a base station (BS) 102, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 103, a policy control function (PCF) 104, a user plane function (UPF) 105, and a data network (106). The UE 101 and the BS 102 can be a part of a radio access network (RAN) 110 (e.g., 5G-AN). The AMF 103, PCF 104, UPF 105, and DN 106 can be a part of a core network (CN) 120 (e.g., 5G-CN). The UE 101 can be a smart phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a tablet, and the like. The BS 102 can be a 5G gNB, 4G LTE eNB, and the like”).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. with Keller et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Huang-Fu’295 in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of using an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The motivation is to support an improved method for UE route selection policy (URSP) rules selection in 5G new radio (NR) system (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouyang et al. (US 2021/0344759 A1) in view of Keller et al. (US 2020/0312510 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Huang-Fu et al. (US 2020/0053622 A1).
Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Ouyang et al. disclose the following features: regarding claim 15, A-The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored there on the computer program of claim 14 (Fig. 4, is a schematic structural diagram of a second type of terminal according to an embodiment of this application, see teachings in [0121, 0124-0125] summarized as “a terminal 40 includes a processor 41, a transceiver 42, a memory 43, and a bus 44. The processor 41, the transceiver 42, and the memory 43 are connected to each other using the bus 44. The bus 44 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. An embodiment of this application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes software code. The software code is used to perform the foregoing method. In the foregoing one or more examples, functions described in this application may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the foregoing functions may be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code in the computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and a communications medium, and the communications medium includes any medium that enables a computer program to be transmitted from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a general-purpose or dedicated computer”).
Ouyang et al. and Keller et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 14, a computer program comprising instructions to cause the communication terminal comprising: the processor, the memory, and the wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication to execute the steps of the method of claim 1.
Huang-Fu et al. disclose a method of and device enhanced UE route selection policy (URSP) rule matching in 5G new radio (NR) systems with the following features: regarding claim 14, a computer program comprising instructions to cause the communication terminal comprising: the processor, the memory, and the wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication to execute the steps of the method of claim 1 (Fig. 1, illustrates an exemplary 5G network supporting enhanced User Equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) rule matching in accordance with one novel aspect, see teachings in [0022, 0025] summarized as “when UE 101 starts application 140, UE upper layers trigger URSP rule matching. UE 101 evaluates the URSP rules, except the default URSP rule, with a traffic descriptor matching the application information in increasing order of their precedence values. If UE 101 finds the traffic descriptor (141) in a non-default URSP rule (142) matching the application information, and an established PDU session matching at least one of the route selection descriptors (143) of the URSP rule, the UE then provides information on the PDU session that matches the route selection descriptor of the lowest precedence value to the upper layers. Otherwise the UE selects a route selection descriptor with the next smallest precedence value which has not been evaluated. The UE 201 (fig. 2) has memory 202, a processor 203, and radio frequency (RF) transceiver module 204. RF transceiver 204 is coupled with antenna 205, receives RF signals from antenna 205, converts them to baseband signals, and sends them to processor 203. RF transceiver 204 also converts received baseband signals from processor 203, converts them to RF signals, and sends out to antenna 205. Processor 203 processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules and circuits to perform features in UE 201. Memory 202 stores data and program instructions 210 to be executed by the processor to control the operations of UE 201”).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Ouyang et al. with Keller et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Huang-Fu et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of having a computer program comprising instructions to cause the communication terminal comprising: the processor, the memory, and the wireless communication interface adapted for 5G based communication. The motivation is to support an improved method of enhanced UE route selection policy rule matching in 5G new radio (NR) systems (see [0002]).
Conclusion
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/SYED M BOKHARI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2473
11/28/2025
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473