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 .
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)(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.
Claim(s) 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by D1 (ETSI TS 124 501 V17.9.0 (2023-01); 5G; Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) protocol for 5G System (5GS); Stage 3 (3GPP TS 24.501 version 17.9.0 Release 17).
-Regarding claim 9, D1 discloses a method implemented in a User Equipment (UE) for service recovery in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: establishing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) via a first cell corresponding to a network (subclause 3.1 (Definitions); "A TAI of a selected PLMN broadcast in the cell on which the UE is camping."; D1, subclause 5.3.1.1; "the UE shall request the lower layer to establish an RRC connection. Upon indication from the lower layers that the RRC connection has been established, the UE shall consider that the N1 NAS signalling connection over 3GPP access is established"); transmitting, to the network, a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) establishment request for a service from the first cell using the RRC connection (subclause 5.4.5.2.2; "the purpose of the UE-initiated NAS transport procedure is to provide a transport of: a) a single 5GSM message"; "set the Payload container IE to the 5GSM message"); receiving, from the network in response to the PDU establishment request, a PDU establishment failure message based on at least location information of the UE (subclause 5.4.5.3.2; "upon sending a single uplink 5GSM message which was not forwarded because the UE is registered to a PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the present UE location, the AMF shall … set the 5GMM cause IE to the 5GMM cause #78 'PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location'"; subclause 5.4.5.3.3; the UE "passes to the 5GSM sublayer an indication that the 5GSM message was not forwarded because the UE is registered to a PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the present UE location"); and performing one or more other pending uplink signaling services with the first cell (subclause 5.4.5.2.2; "the purpose of the UE-initiated NAS transport procedure is to provide a transport of: … b) SMS …; c) an LPP message; … g) a location services message"; case c) "set the Payload container type IE to 'LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message container').
-Regarding claim 10, D1 further discloses adding the PLMN to a new list in response to the PDU establishment failure message, the new list mapping with the service which is failed based at least on the location information of the UE (subclause 4.23.2; "the UE shall store a list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location". Each entry consists of: a) the PLMN identity of the PLMN which sent a message including 5GMM cause value #78 "PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location" via satellite NG-RAN access technology; and b) the geographical location … where 5GMM cause value #78 was received"; subclause 5.4.5.3.2; a 5GSM message "not forwarded because the UE is registered to a PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the present UE location," the AMF "set[s] the 5GMM cause IE to the 5GMM cause #78.).
-Regarding claim 11, D1 further discloses the first cell corresponds to a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) satellite cell (subclause 5.4.5.3.2; a 5GSM message "not forwarded because the UE is registered to a PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the present UE location"; subclause 4.23.3 "5GS mobility management via a satellite NG-RAN cell").
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 nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 12-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 (ETSI TS 124 501 V17.9.0 (2023-01); 5G; Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) protocol for 5G System (5GS); Stage 3 (3GPP TS 24.501 version 17.9.0 Release 17) in view of D2 (U.S. PG-PUB NO. 2022/0225266).
-Regarding claim 1, D1 discloses a method implemented in a User Equipment (UE) for service recovery in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: establishing a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) via a first cell corresponding to a network (subclause 3.1 (Definitions); "A TAI of a selected PLMN broadcast in the cell on which the UE is camping."; subclause 5.3.1.1; "the UE shall request the lower layer to establish an RRC connection. Upon indication from the lower layers that the RRC connection has been established, the UE shall consider that the N1 NAS signalling connection over 3GPP access is established"); transmitting, to the network, one of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) establishment request or a registration request for a service from the first cell using the first RRC connection (subclause 5.5.1.2.2; "The UE in state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED shall initiate the registration procedure for initial registration by sending a REGISTRATION REQUEST message to the AMF"; D1 subclause 6.4.1.2 analogously teaches UE creation/transmission of a PDU SESSION ESTABLISHMENT REQUEST message); receiving, from the network in response to the one of the PDU establishment request or the registration request, one of a PDU establishment failure message or a registration reject message based on at least location information of the UE (subclause 5.5.1.2.5; "If the UE's initial registration request is via a satellite NG-RAN cell and the network using the User Location Information provided by the NG-RAN, ... is able to determine that the UE is in a location where the network is not allowed to operate, the network shall set the 5GMM cause value in the REGISTRATION REJECT message to #78 'PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location'"); initializing a timer after performing a local deregistration with the first cell (cause-value #78 description (5GMM cause IE); "The UE shall store the PLMN identity and, if it is known, the current geographical location in the list of 'PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location' and shall start a corresponding timer instance (see subclause 4.23.2).”); performing a local release of the first RRC connection with the first cell (subclause 5.3.1.3; "To allow the network to release the N1 NAS signalling connection, the UE: a) shall start the timer T3540 if the UE receives any of the 5GMM cause values #7, #11, #12, #13, #15, #27, #31, #62, #72, #73, #74, #75, #76..."; "Upon expiry of T3540, ... the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection"); and establishing a second RRC connection with one of the first PLMN via a second cell of another network or a second PLMN via the first cell corresponding to the network (subclause 5.3.4; "The TAI is constructed from a TAC and a PLMN identity. In case of a shared network: ... multiple PLMN identities" [broadcast]; cause-#78 description; "...perform a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]."; subclause 5.3.1.1 (established RRC connection teaching, Limitation 1)).
D1 is silent to teaching that based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer. However, the claimed limitation is well known in the art as evidenced by D2.
In the same field of endeavor, D2 teaches based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer (based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer, [0100]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of D1 with the teaching of D2 in order to provide improved handling communication.
-Regarding claim 2, the combination further discloses adding the PLMN to a restricted list of PLMNs, the restricted list of PLMNs corresponding to a "PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location" list maintained by the UE based on the PDU establishment failure message (D1, subclause 4.23.2; "For 3GPP satellite NG-RAN the UE shall store a list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location". Each entry consists of: a) the PLMN identity of the PLMN which sent a message including 5GMM cause value #78 "PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location" via satellite NG-RAN access technology"; §5.5.1.3.5; "The UE shall store the PLMN identity … in the list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location"; D2, [0121]).
-Regarding claim 3, the combination further discloses the first cell corresponds to a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) satellite cell and the second cell corresponds to a Radio Access Technology (RAT)-based cell different from the first cell (D1, For 5GS mobility management via a satellite NG-RAN cell the UE shall apply the value of the applicable NAS timer indicated in table 10.2.1 for access via a satellite NG-RAN cell"; subclause 5.5.1.3.5 (#78 handling); the UE, on #78, "enter[s] state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH and perform[s] a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]; D2, [0020]-[0021]).
-Regarding claim 4, the combination further discloses performing the local deregistration with the first cell based on the PDU establishment failure message (D1, subclause 5.5.1.3.5 / 5.5.1.2.5; on #78 "The UE shall … enter state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH"; D2, [0017], [0029], [0054]).
-Regarding claim 5, the combination further discloses performing mobility registration using an available registration context with the first PLMN via the second cell of the other network or the second PLMN via the first cell corresponding to the network (D1, subclause 5.5.1.3.2; "The UE in state 5GMM-REGISTERED shall initiate the registration procedure for mobility and periodic registration update by sending a REGISTRATION REQUEST message to the AMF, a) when the UE detects that the current TAI is not in the list of tracking areas that the UE previously registered in the AMF"; D2, [0111]).
-Regarding claim 6, the combination further discloses selecting the second PLMN from among one or more PLMNs identified as a result of a PLMN selection procedure (D1, §4.23.2; "the UE shall perform PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; §5.5.1.3.5; "perform a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; D2, [0020]).
-Regarding claim 7, the combination further discloses performing a PLMN selection based on the performing the local release of the first RRC connection (D1, subclause 5.3.1.3; "Upon expiry of T3540, … the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection"; "If the timer T3540 is not running when the UE enters state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH or 5GMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH, the UE may locally release the N1 NAS signalling connection"; subclause 5.5.1.3.5; the UE then "perform[s] a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; D2, [0086]).
-Regarding claim 8, the combination further discloses the timer is a T3540 timer (D1, subclause 5.3.1.3; "shall start the timer T3540 …"; "Upon expiry of T3540 … the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection").
-Regarding claim 12, D1 discloses a system for service recovery at a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, the system comprising: processing circuitry configured to, establish a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) via a first cell corresponding to a network (subclause 3.1 (Definitions); "A TAI of a selected PLMN broadcast in the cell on which the UE is camping."; subclause 5.3.1.1; "the UE shall request the lower layer to establish an RRC connection. Upon indication from the lower layers that the RRC connection has been established, the UE shall consider that the N1 NAS signalling connection over 3GPP access is established"), transmit, to the network, one of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) establishment request or a registration request for a service from the first cell using the first RRC connection (subclause 5.5.1.2.2; "The UE in state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED shall initiate the registration procedure for initial registration by sending a REGISTRATION REQUEST message to the AMF"; D1 subclause 6.4.1.2 analogously teaches UE creation/transmission of a PDU SESSION ESTABLISHMENT REQUEST message), receive, from the network in response to the one of the PDU establishment request or the registration request, one of a PDU establishment failure message or a registration reject message based on at least location information of the UE (subclause 5.5.1.2.5; "If the UE's initial registration request is via a satellite NG-RAN cell and the network using the User Location Information provided by the NG-RAN, ... is able to determine that the UE is in a location where the network is not allowed to operate, the network shall set the 5GMM cause value in the REGISTRATION REJECT message to #78 'PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location'"), initialize a timer after performing a local deregistration with the first cell (cause-value #78 description (5GMM cause IE); "The UE shall store the PLMN identity and, if it is known, the current geographical location in the list of 'PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location' and shall start a corresponding timer instance (see subclause 4.23.2).”), perform a local release of the first RRC connection with the first cell (subclause 5.3.1.3; "To allow the network to release the N1 NAS signalling connection, the UE: a) shall start the timer T3540 if the UE receives any of the 5GMM cause values #7, #11, #12, #13, #15, #27, #31, #62, #72, #73, #74, #75, #76..."; "Upon expiry of T3540, ... the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection"), and establish a second RRC connection with one of the first PLMN via a second cell of another network or a second PLMN via the first cell corresponding to the network (subclause 5.3.4; "The TAI is constructed from a TAC and a PLMN identity. In case of a shared network: ... multiple PLMN identities" [broadcast]; cause-#78 description; "...perform a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]."; subclause 5.3.1.1 (established RRC connection teaching, Limitation 1)).
D1 is silent to teaching that based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer. However, the claimed limitation is well known in the art as evidenced by D2.
In the same field of endeavor, D2 teaches based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer (based on the one of the PDU establishment failure message or the registration reject message in response to determining the first RRC connection has not been released by the network by expiry of the timer, [0100]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of D1 with the teaching of D2 in order to provide improved handling communication.
-Regarding claim 13, the combination further discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: add the PLMN to a restricted list of PLMNs, the restricted list of PLMNs corresponding to a "PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location" list maintained by the UE based on the PDU establishment failure message (D1, subclause 4.23.2; "For 3GPP satellite NG-RAN the UE shall store a list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location". Each entry consists of: a) the PLMN identity of the PLMN which sent a message including 5GMM cause value #78 "PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location" via satellite NG-RAN access technology"; §5.5.1.3.5; "The UE shall store the PLMN identity … in the list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location"; D2, [0121]).
-Regarding claim 14, the combination further discloses the first cell corresponds to a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) satellite cell and the second cell corresponds to a Radio Access Technology (RAT)-based cell different from the first cell (D1, For 5GS mobility management via a satellite NG-RAN cell the UE shall apply the value of the applicable NAS timer indicated in table 10.2.1 for access via a satellite NG-RAN cell"; subclause 5.5.1.3.5 (#78 handling); the UE, on #78, "enter[s] state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH and perform[s] a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]; D2, [0020]-[0021]).
-Regarding claim 15, the combination further discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: perform mobility registration using an available registration context with the first PLMN via the second cell of the other network or the second PLMN via the first cell corresponding to the network (D1, subclause 5.5.1.3.2; "The UE in state 5GMM-REGISTERED shall initiate the registration procedure for mobility and periodic registration update by sending a REGISTRATION REQUEST message to the AMF, a) when the UE detects that the current TAI is not in the list of tracking areas that the UE previously registered in the AMF"; D2, [0111]).
-Regarding claim 16, the combination further discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: perform a the local deregistration with the first cell based on the PDU establishment failure message (D1, subclause 5.5.1.3.5 / 5.5.1.2.5; on #78 "The UE shall … enter state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH"; D2, [0017], [0029], [0054]).
-Regarding claim 17, the combination further discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: select the second PLMN from among one or more PLMNs identified as a result of a PLMN selection procedure (D1, §4.23.2; "the UE shall perform PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; §5.5.1.3.5; "perform a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; D2, [0020]).
-Regarding claim 18, the combination further discloses perform a PLMN selection based on performing the local release of the first RRC connection (D1, subclause 5.3.1.3; "Upon expiry of T3540, … the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection"; "If the timer T3540 is not running when the UE enters state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH or 5GMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH, the UE may locally release the N1 NAS signalling connection"; subclause 5.5.1.3.5; the UE then "perform[s] a PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122 [5]"; D2, [0086]).
-Regarding claim 19, the combination further discloses the timer is a T3540 timer (D1, subclause 5.3.1.3; "shall start the timer T3540 …"; "Upon expiry of T3540 … the UE shall locally release the established N1 NAS signalling connection").
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/PING Y HSIEH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2664
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