DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
Claims 1, 7, 10, 16, and 19 are amended. This rejection is Final.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in the amendments, filed 10/15/2025, have been fully considered and are persuasive. A new ground(s) of rejection has been made based on the amendments.
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 – 2, 7 – 11, and 16 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sridhar (US 20120039175) and in view of Vasamsetti (US 20250133447).
As per claim 1, Sridhar discloses a device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
detecting congestion in a network that provides communication services to user equipment (The processor detects network congestion at the eNB and generates a policy update, and transmits the update to the congested node where it is locally enforced, See ¶42);
Sridhar however does not expressly disclose:
determining a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network and transmitting, from a network element within the network to the user equipment, an indication that the congestion has been detected wherein: the indication comprises the congestion level, and the indication causes the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network.
Vasamsetti discloses:
determining a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, See ¶12); and
transmitting, from a network element within the network to the user equipment, an indication that the congestion has been detected (The UDR may cause a service to be provided to the UE 105 via the network slice and based on the QoS policy table. The service may include … a service that prioritizes traffic associated with the network slice in order to reduce network congestion, See ¶20) wherein:
the indication comprises the congestion level, and (The UDR may provide network slice data, QoS levels, and a policy lookup table based on the request, See ¶14)
the indication causes the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment (The UDR may receive, from the UE 105, selection of an application (data mode of communication services, ¶7) for QOS modification and a time duration for the QoS modification. For example, the UE 105 may provide a mobile application or a web portal for display to a user of the UE 105. The user may utilize the mobile application or the web portal to select an application for QoS modification and to specify a time duration for the QoS modification, See ¶22) based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, … to prioritize a network slice to enforce data usage limits, … and/or the like, See ¶12).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Vasamsetti’s teaching of a user equipment changing a data mode of the communication services, along with detecting congestion in a network to improve Sridhar’s system. Both Sridhar and Vasamsetti disclose systems for determining congestion in associated with a network. Vasamsetti’s system includes a UE that can select applications for QoS modification based on network congestion from determined QoS levels. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because network congestion can be detected, as taught by Sridhar, where the congestion can cause a user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services, as taught by Vasamsetti, to allow network utilization of communication services when data priority is required.
As per claim 2, the device of claim 1, wherein the congestion is detected by monitoring traffic within the network (Sridhar, The UE may be in a high network traffic area, such as a football stadium or the like during a football game, See ¶41).
As per claim 7, the device of claim 1, wherein the user equipment changes the data mode upon a new indication of the congestion level determined by the user equipment (Vasamsetti, The UDR may receive, from the UE 105, selection of an application (data mode of communication services, ¶7) for QOS modification and a time duration for the QoS modification. For example, the UE 105 may provide a mobile application or a web portal for display to a user of the UE 105. The user may utilize the mobile application or the web portal to select an application for QoS modification and to specify a time duration for the QoS modification, See ¶22 … The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, … to prioritize a network slice to enforce data usage limits, … and/or the like, See ¶12).
As per claim 8, the device of claim 1, wherein changing the data mode comprises limiting the communication services used by the user equipment to short message service (SMS) only, SMS plus voice calls, or SMS plus voice calls and low data rates (Sridhar, The processor generates a policy update for the congested eNB to permit voice data and SMS data transmission for its UEs while excluding data services (e.g., internet browsing, streaming data video, etc.), See ¶41).
As per claim 9, the device of claim 1, wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed computing environment (Sridhar, The network 52 is a closed-loop optimized network, where every entity autonomously makes decisions based on policy information. The extended SON network uses monitoring information to help assess the state (e.g., congestion, available bandwidth, quality of service, overall health, etc.) of the network, and communicate it to the PCRF which then distributes the relevant policy information needed for the specific network state conditions to the basestations and MMEs that need that policy input information for call admission control to achieve load balancing, See ¶25).
As per claim 10, Sridhar discloses a non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
detecting congestion in a network that provides communication services to user equipment (The processor detects network congestion at the eNB and generates a policy update, and transmits the update to the congested node where it is locally enforced, See ¶42); and
Sridhar however does not expressly disclose:
determining a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network, transmitting, from a network element within the network to the user equipment, an indication that the congestion has been detected, wherein: the indication comprises the congestion level the indication instructs the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network.
Vasamsetti discloses:
determining a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, See ¶12);
transmitting, from a network element within the network to the user equipment, an indication that the congestion has been detected (The UDR may cause a service to be provided to the UE 105 via the network slice and based on the QoS policy table. The service may include … a service that prioritizes traffic associated with the network slice in order to reduce network congestion, See ¶20), wherein:
the indication comprises the congestion level (The UDR may provide network slice data, QoS levels, and a policy lookup table based on the request, See ¶14), and
the indication instructs the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment (The UDR may receive, from the UE 105, selection of an application (data mode of communication services, ¶7) for QOS modification and a time duration for the QoS modification. For example, the UE 105 may provide a mobile application or a web portal for display to a user of the UE 105. The user may utilize the mobile application or the web portal to select an application for QoS modification and to specify a time duration for the QoS modification, See ¶22) based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, … to prioritize a network slice to enforce data usage limits, … and/or the like, See ¶12).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Vasamsetti’s teaching of a user equipment changing a data mode of the communication services, along with detecting congestion in a network to improve Sridhar’s system. Both Sridhar and Vasamsetti disclose systems for determining congestion in associated with a network. Vasamsetti’s system includes a UE that can select applications for QoS modification based on network congestion from determined QoS levels. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because network congestion can be detected, as taught by Sridhar, where the congestion can cause a user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services, as taught by Vasamsetti, to allow network utilization of communication services when data priority is required.
As per claim 11, a non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the congestion is detected by monitoring traffic within the network (Sridhar, The UE may be in a high network traffic area, such as a football stadium or the like during a football game, See ¶41).
As per claim 16, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the user equipment changes the data mode upon a new indication of the congestion level determined by the user equipment (Vasamsetti, The UDR may receive, from the UE 105, selection of an application (data mode of communication services, ¶7) for QOS modification and a time duration for the QoS modification. For example, the UE 105 may provide a mobile application or a web portal for display to a user of the UE 105. The user may utilize the mobile application or the web portal to select an application for QoS modification and to specify a time duration for the QoS modification, See ¶22 … The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, … to prioritize a network slice to enforce data usage limits, … and/or the like, See ¶12).
As per claim 17, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein changing the data mode comprises limiting the communication services used by the user equipment to short message service (SMS) only, SMS plus voice calls, or SMS plus voice calls and low data rates (Sridhar, The processor generates a policy update for the congested eNB to permit voice data and SMS data transmission for its UEs while excluding data services (e.g., internet browsing, streaming data video, etc.), See ¶41).
As per claim 18, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed computing environment (Sridhar, The network 52 is a closed-loop optimized network, where every entity autonomously makes decisions based on policy information. The extended SON network uses monitoring information to help assess the state (e.g., congestion, available bandwidth, quality of service, overall health, etc.) of the network, and communicate it to the PCRF which then distributes the relevant policy information needed for the specific network state conditions to the basestations and MMEs that need that policy input information for call admission control to achieve load balancing, See ¶25).
As per claim 19, Sridhar a method, comprising:
detecting, by a processing system including a processor, developing congestion in a network that provides communication services to user equipment;
Sridhar however does not expressly disclose:
determining, by the processing system, a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network and transmitting, by the processing system, an indication that the congestion has been detected to the user equipment, wherein: the indication comprises the congestion level, and the indication instructs the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network.
Vasamsetti discloses:
determining, by the processing system, a congestion level based on an analysis of network traffic within the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, See ¶12); and
transmitting, by the processing system, an indication that the congestion has been detected to the user equipment (The UDR may cause a service to be provided to the UE 105 via the network slice and based on the QoS policy table. The service may include … a service that prioritizes traffic associated with the network slice in order to reduce network congestion, See ¶20), wherein:
the indication comprises the congestion level (The UDR may provide network slice data, QoS levels, and a policy lookup table based on the request, See ¶14), and
the indication instructs the user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services used by the user equipment (The UDR may receive, from the UE 105, selection of an application (data mode of communication services, ¶7) for QOS modification and a time duration for the QoS modification. For example, the UE 105 may provide a mobile application or a web portal for display to a user of the UE 105. The user may utilize the mobile application or the web portal to select an application for QoS modification and to specify a time duration for the QoS modification, See ¶22) based on the congestion level to reduce data usage by the user equipment in the network (The user device 120 may enable a user (e.g., network operator) to modify or change network slice QoS in real time, from a level of QoS that may be granted to a particular network slice based on operator configured policies. This may enable the network operator … to prioritize a network slice during network congestion, … to prioritize a network slice to enforce data usage limits, … and/or the like, See ¶12).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Vasamsetti’s teaching of a user equipment changing a data mode of the communication services, along with detecting congestion in a network to improve Sridhar’s system. Both Sridhar and Vasamsetti disclose systems for determining congestion in associated with a network. Vasamsetti’s system includes a UE that can select applications for QoS modification based on network congestion from determined QoS levels. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because network congestion can be detected, as taught by Sridhar, where the congestion can cause a user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services, as taught by Vasamsetti, to allow network utilization of communication services when data priority is required.
As per claim 20, the method of claim 19, wherein changing the data mode comprises limiting the communication services used by the user equipment to short message service (SMS) only, SMS plus voice calls, or SMS plus voice calls and low data rates (Sridhar, The processor generates a policy update for the congested eNB to permit voice data and SMS data transmission for its UEs while excluding data services (e.g., internet browsing, streaming data video, etc.), See ¶41).
Claim(s) 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sridhar (US 20120039175) and in view of Ganesh (US 8868025).
As per claim 3, the combination of Sridhar and Vasamsetti discloses all limitations of claim 1.
The combination of Sridhar and Vasamsetti however does not expressly disclose:
detecting includes monitoring for emergency alerts and position of the user equipment.
Ganesh discloses:
the device of claim 1, wherein the detecting includes monitoring for emergency alerts and position of the user equipment (The mobile device 302 may be configured to receive special notifications (e.g., an emergency alert, signal, command, SMS, etc.) from the network server, and launch an "emergency mode" application in response to receiving the special notification. In this embodiment, a network server may be configured to send out the special notification to all the mobile devices serviced by the network that are within the area impacted by the emergency or reduction in network communication bandwidth as soon the telecommunications network detects (or is informed of) the occurrence of the event, See Col. 8, Lines 48 - 58).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ganesh’s teaching of monitoring for emergency alerts and position of the user equipment and Vasamsetti’s teaching of a user equipment changing a data mode of the communication services, along detecting congestion in a network to improve Sridhar’s system. Sridhar, Vasamsetti, and Ganesh all disclose systems for detecting network congestion. Ganesh’s system includes a mobile device configured to receive emergency alerts from within the area. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because congestion can be detected in a network, as taught by Sridhar, where the congestion can cause a user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services, as taught by Vasamsetti, and the user equipment can further be monitored for emergency alerts based on position, as taught by Ganesh, to allow a system for transmitting emergency notifications to mobile devices when network congestion is detected.
As per claim 12, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the detecting includes monitoring for emergency alerts and position of the user equipment (Ganesh, The mobile device 302 may be configured to receive special notifications (e.g., an emergency alert, signal, command, SMS, etc.) from the network server, and launch an "emergency mode" application in response to receiving the special notification. In this embodiment, a network server may be configured to send out the special notification to all the mobile devices serviced by the network that are within the area impacted by the emergency or reduction in network communication bandwidth as soon the telecommunications network detects (or is informed of) the occurrence of the event, See Col. 8, Lines 48 - 58).
Claim(s) 4 – 6 and 13 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sridhar (US 20120039175) and in view of Gupta (US 20250219894).
As per claim 4, the combination of Sridhar and Vasamsetti discloses all limitations of claim 1.
The combination of Sridhar and Vasamsetti however does not expressly disclose:
detecting comprises comparing key performance indicators to thresholds.
Gupta discloses:
the device of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises comparing key performance indicators to thresholds (Anomaly detection engine 258 may determine a performance issue based on thresholds of KPIs included in performance metrics 238, See ¶74).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Gupta’s teaching of detecting comprises comparing key performance indicators to thresholds and Vasamsetti’s teaching of a user equipment changing a data mode of the communication services, along detecting congestion in a network to improve Sridhar’s system. Sridhar, Vasamsetti, and Gupta all disclose systems for detecting network congestion. Gupta’s system includes anomaly detection engine that determines thresholds of KPIs. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because congestion can be detected in a network, as taught by Sridhar, where the congestion can cause a user equipment to change a data mode of the communication services, as taught by Vasamsetti, and the detecting further comprises comparing key performance indicators to thresholds, as taught by Gupta, to allow a system to seamless detect network congestion based on various metrics associated with the network environment.
As per claim 5, the device of claim 4, wherein the thresholds are generated from historical data (Gupta, Anomaly detection engine 258 may generate anomaly logs based on KPIs included in performance metrics 238 to determine whether additional or different KPIs for a particular layer should be measured to detect the performance issue … Log analytics engine 246 may apply model trainer 252 to historical log data 262, that includes historical anomaly logs, to train a machine learning model of model service 254 to generate templates for anomaly logs, See ¶75).
As per claim 6, the device of claim 4, wherein the key performance indicators comprise throughput, latency, jitter, or a combination thereof (Gupta, Performance metrics 238 may include application KPIs, compute KPIs, and network KPIs configured to measure latency, jitter, packet loss, throughput … network congestion, See ¶74).
As per claim 13, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the detecting comprises comparing key performance indicators to thresholds (Gupta, Anomaly detection engine 258 may determine a performance issue based on thresholds of KPIs included in performance metrics 238, See ¶74).
As per claim 14, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the thresholds are generated from historical data (Gupta, Anomaly detection engine 258 may generate anomaly logs based on KPIs included in performance metrics 238 to determine whether additional or different KPIs for a particular layer should be measured to detect the performance issue … Log analytics engine 246 may apply model trainer 252 to historical log data 262, that includes historical anomaly logs, to train a machine learning model of model service 254 to generate templates for anomaly logs, See ¶75).
As per claim 15, the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the key performance indicators comprise throughput, latency, jitter, or a combination thereof (Gupta, Performance metrics 238 may include application KPIs, compute KPIs, and network KPIs configured to measure latency, jitter, packet loss, throughput … network congestion, See ¶74).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/NAZIA NAOREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458