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 .
The instant first office action is in response to communication filed on 07/01/2025.
Claims 1, 3-5, 8, 10-12, 14, 16-18, 20-22 are pending of which claims 1, 8, 14 and 20-21 are the base independent claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-5, 8, 10-12, 14, 16-18, 20-22 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.
Further, the amended limitations are in fact taught by the previously cited prior art. For a detailed explanation on how the prior art along with additional prior art reads on the claims as amended, please see the rejection below.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 10-11 and 16-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Intel (R2-2102838, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #113bis-e Electronic meeting, 12-20th April 2021, Agenda: 8.1.1, Source: Intel Corporation, Title: Discussion on SA2 LS and Multicast Session Activation) and further in view of Linden et al (US 2016/0057766).
Regarding claim 1, Intel’838 discloses a communication method, comprising: receiving, by an access network device,(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows RAN as access network) reference information of a first multicast/broadcast service (MBS) session(see 2.2, which discusses RAN is aware of multicast session establishment upon receiving N2 session modification request in the UE context once UE is authorized to join the multicast group. Multicast group identity, session context ID and QoS related information are included in the modification request) from an access and mobility management network element(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows N2 session modification request 11 is from AMF as access and mobility management network element); and
triggering, by the access network device based on the reference information of the first MBS session(see 2.2 and fig.8.2.3-1), a first receive end(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end) corresponding to the first MBS session to enter an idle state or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state(see 2.2, which discusses the UE need to stay in RRC_CONNCTED and wait until it receives PDU Session Modification Command from N1 SM container (step 12), see 2.2.2, which discusses RAN can decide whether to transit UE’s RRC state into RRC_INACTIVE/RRC_IDLE or stay in RRC_CONNECTED after multicast configuration is sent to UE…),
wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) more of the following:
wherein a reliability requirement of the first MBS session((see 2.2.2, which discusses QoS requirement includes both latency and reliability aspects according to RAN2 agreement. For services with high reliability requirement, it is essential to send such services in delivery mode 1…. Hence, three types of multicast services are included in delivery mode 1: 1) latency sensitive multicast services; 2) high reliability multicast services; 3) latency sensitive and high reliability multicast services, see 2.1, which discusses 5GC).
As discussed above, although Intel’838 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), Intel’838 does not explicitly show the use of “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Linden’766.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Linden’766 teaches the use of a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs(see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3, thus 14 is the lowest ARP among ARPs 1-14) of the QoS flows of the first MBS session(see para.0377, which discusses in case different MBMS sessions have different levels of ARP priority, the rank of said MBMS sessions in said list is determined based on said SN, on said ARP priority and the pre-emption capability and vulnerability of each session, said assessment including first pre-empting a pre-emptable session with a lowest ARP priority, and with a SN identifying a session most recently scheduled by a BM-SC in case of several sessions having a same lowest ARP priority level, see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3).
In view of the above, having the system of Intel’838 and then given the well-established teaching of Linden’766, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Intel’838 to include “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as taught by Linden’766, since Linden’766 stated in para.0007+ that such a modification would provide a need to improve support of MBMS.
Regarding claim 5, Intel’838 discloses wherein the first receive end is one or more of receive ends corresponding to the first MBS session(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end).
Claim(s) 8, 12, 14, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Intel (R2-2102838, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #113bis-e Electronic meeting, 12-20th April 2021, Agenda: 8.1.1, Source: Intel Corporation, Title: Discussion on SA2 LS and Multicast Session Activation), in view of Linden et al (US 2016/0057766) and further in view of Xie et al (US 2023/0284322).
Regarding claim 8, Intel’838 discloses a communication apparatus, comprising:
receiving, by an access network device,(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows RAN as access network) reference information of a first multicast/broadcast service (MBS) session(see 2.2, which discusses RAN is aware of multicast session establishment upon receiving N2 session modification request in the UE context once UE is authorized to join the multicast group. Multicast group identity, session context ID and QoS related information are included in the modification request) from an access and mobility management network element(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows N2 session modification request 11 is from AMF as access and mobility management network element); and
triggering, by the access network device based on the reference information of the first MBS session(see 2.2 and fig.8.2.3-1), a first receive end(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end) corresponding to the first MBS session to enter an idle state or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state(see 2.2, which discusses the UE need to stay in RRC_CONNCTED and wait until it receives PDU Session Modification Command from N1 SM container (step 12), see 2.2.2, which discusses RAN can decide whether to transit UE’s RRC state into RRC_INACTIVE/RRC_IDLE or stay in RRC_CONNECTED after multicast configuration is sent to UE…),
wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) more of the following:
wherein a reliability requirement of the first MBS session((see 2.2.2, which discusses QoS requirement includes both latency and reliability aspects according to RAN2 agreement. For services with high reliability requirement, it is essential to send such services in delivery mode 1…. Hence, three types of multicast services are included in delivery mode 1: 1) latency sensitive multicast services; 2) high reliability multicast services; 3) latency sensitive and high reliability multicast services, see 2.1, which discusses 5GC).
As discussed above, although Intel’838 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), Intel’838 does not explicitly show the use of “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Linden’766.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Linden’766 teaches the use of and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions(see para.0410, which discusses steps of various above-described methods can be performed by programmed computers. Herein, some embodiments are also intended to cover program storage devices, e.g., digital data storage media, which are machine or computer readable and encode machine-executable or computer-executable programs of instructions, wherein said instructions perform some or all of the steps of said above-described methods. The program storage devices may be, e.g., digital memories, magnetic storage media such as a magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media. The embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmed to perform said steps of the above-described method) …a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs(see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3, thus 14 is the lowest ARP among ARPs 1-14) of the QoS flows of the first MBS session(see para.0377, which discusses in case different MBMS sessions have different levels of ARP priority, the rank of said MBMS sessions in said list is determined based on said SN, on said ARP priority and the pre-emption capability and vulnerability of each session, said assessment including first pre-empting a pre-emptable session with a lowest ARP priority, and with a SN identifying a session most recently scheduled by a BM-SC in case of several sessions having a same lowest ARP priority level, see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3).
In view of the above, having the system of Intel’838 and then given the well-established teaching of Linden’766, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Intel’838 to include “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as taught by Linden’766, since Linden’766 stated in para.0007+ that such a modification would provide a need to improve support of MBMS.
As discussed above, although the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 discloses MB-SMF(see fig.8.2.3-1), the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 does not explicitly show the use of “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Xie’322.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Xie’322 teaches the use of at least one processor(see fig.9, which shows processor 904) and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform(see fig.9, which shows processor and memory, see para.0151, which discusses instructions or a program stored in the memory 905 and executable on the processor 904, and the processor 904 invokes the instructions or program in the memory 905 to perform).
In view of the above, having the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 and then given the well-established teaching of Xie’322, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 to include “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” as taught by Xie’322, since Xie’322 stated in para.0035+ that such a modification would provide a system that ensures continuity and reliability of a multicast service and improve quality of wireless communication.
Regarding claim 12, Intel’838 discloses wherein the first receive end is one or more of receive ends corresponding to the first MBS session(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end).
Regarding claim 14, Intel’838 discloses communication system, comprising: an access network device(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows RAN as access network device), an access and mobility management network element(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows AMF), and a multicast/broadcast session management network element(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows MB-SMF),
the access and mobility management network element is configured to receive the reference information of the first MBS session (see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows receive Namf_N1N2MessageTransfer service 10) and send the reference information of the first MBS session to the access network device (see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows AMF sends N2 session modification request 11 is from AMF as access and mobility management network element to RAN as access network device); and
triggering, by the access network device based on the reference information of the first MBS session(see 2.2 and fig.8.2.3-1), a first receive end(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end) corresponding to the first MBS session to enter an idle state or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state(see 2.2, which discusses the UE need to stay in RRC_CONNCTED and wait until it receives PDU Session Modification Command from N1 SM container (step 12), see 2.2.2, which discusses RAN can decide whether to transit UE’s RRC state into RRC_INACTIVE/RRC_IDLE or stay in RRC_CONNECTED after multicast configuration is sent to UE…),
wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) more of the following:
wherein a reliability requirement of the first MBS session((see 2.2.2, which discusses QoS requirement includes both latency and reliability aspects according to RAN2 agreement. For services with high reliability requirement, it is essential to send such services in delivery mode 1…. Hence, three types of multicast services are included in delivery mode 1: 1) latency sensitive multicast services; 2) high reliability multicast services; 3) latency sensitive and high reliability multicast services, see 2.1, which discusses 5GC).
As discussed above, although Intel’838 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), Intel’838 does not explicitly show the use of “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Linden’766.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Linden’766 teaches the use of a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs(see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3, thus 14 is the lowest ARP among ARPs 1-14) of the QoS flows of the first MBS session(see para.0377, which discusses in case different MBMS sessions have different levels of ARP priority, the rank of said MBMS sessions in said list is determined based on said SN, on said ARP priority and the pre-emption capability and vulnerability of each session, said assessment including first pre-empting a pre-emptable session with a lowest ARP priority, and with a SN identifying a session most recently scheduled by a BM-SC in case of several sessions having a same lowest ARP priority level, see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3).
In view of the above, having the system of Intel’838 and then given the well-established teaching of Linden’766, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Intel’838 to include “a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as taught by Linden’766, since Linden’766 stated in para.0007+ that such a modification would provide a need to improve support of MBMS.
As discussed above, although the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 discloses MB-SMF(see fig.8.2.3-1), the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 does not explicitly show the use of “obtaining, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session; and sending, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session to the access and mobility management network element” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “obtaining, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session; and sending, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session to the access and mobility management network element” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Xie’322.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Xie’322 teaches the use of obtaining, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session(see para.0078, which discusses the MBSF, the UDR, or the PCF transmits service requirement information and the like of a multicast service to the MB-SMF, thus service requirement information as reference information, see fig.4); and sending, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session to the access and mobility management network element(see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF); receiving, by the access and mobility management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session(see para.0079, which discusses The MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF, see para.0080); and sending, by the access and mobility management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session to the access network device(see para.0080, which discusses the AMF transmits first assistance information to the gNB based on a multicast service status such as the multicast service requirement information).
In view of the above, having the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 and then given the well-established teaching of Xie’322, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 to include “obtaining, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session; and sending, by the multicast/broadcast session management network element, the reference information of the first MBS session to the access and mobility management network element” as taught by Xie’322, since Xie’322 stated in para.0035+ that such a modification would provide a system that ensures continuity and reliability of a multicast service and improve quality of wireless communication.
Regarding claim 18, Intel’838 discloses wherein the first receive end is one or more of receive ends corresponding to the first MBS session (see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows UE as receive end).
Regarding claim 20, Intel’838 discloses a communication apparatus (see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows AMF), comprising
receiving reference information of a first multicast/broadcast service (MBS) session (see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows receive Namf_N1N2MessageTransfer service 10);
sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access network device(see fig.8.2.3-1, which shows AMF sends N2 session modification request 11 is from AMF as access and mobility management network element to RAN as access network device),
wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) more of the following:
wherein a reliability requirement of the first MBS session((see 2.2.2, which discusses QoS requirement includes both latency and reliability aspects according to RAN2 agreement. For services with high reliability requirement, it is essential to send such services in delivery mode 1…. Hence, three types of multicast services are included in delivery mode 1: 1) latency sensitive multicast services; 2) high reliability multicast services; 3) latency sensitive and high reliability multicast services, see 2.1, which discusses 5GC).
As discussed above, although Intel’838 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), Intel’838 does not explicitly show the use of “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Linden’766.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Linden’766 teaches the use of and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions(see para.0410, which discusses steps of various above-described methods can be performed by programmed computers. Herein, some embodiments are also intended to cover program storage devices, e.g., digital data storage media, which are machine or computer readable and encode machine-executable or computer-executable programs of instructions, wherein said instructions perform some or all of the steps of said above-described methods. The program storage devices may be, e.g., digital memories, magnetic storage media such as a magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media. The embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmed to perform said steps of the above-described method) …a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs(see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3, thus 14 is the lowest ARP among ARPs 1-14) of the QoS flows of the first MBS session(see para.0377, which discusses in case different MBMS sessions have different levels of ARP priority, the rank of said MBMS sessions in said list is determined based on said SN, on said ARP priority and the pre-emption capability and vulnerability of each session, said assessment including first pre-empting a pre-emptable session with a lowest ARP priority, and with a SN identifying a session most recently scheduled by a BM-SC in case of several sessions having a same lowest ARP priority level, see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3).
In view of the above, having the system of Intel’838 and then given the well-established teaching of Linden’766, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Intel’838 to include “and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions…a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as taught by Linden’766, since Linden’766 stated in para.0007+ that such a modification would provide a need to improve support of MBMS.
As discussed above, although the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 discloses MB-SMF(see fig.8.2.3-1), the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 does not explicitly show the use of “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Xie’322.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Xie’322 teaches the use of at least one processor(see fig.9, which shows processor 904) and a non-transitory memory storage, wherein the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform(see fig.9, which shows processor and memory, see para.0151, which discusses instructions or a program stored in the memory 905 and executable on the processor 904, and the processor 904 invokes the instructions or program in the memory 905 to perform).
In view of the above, having the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 and then given the well-established teaching of Xie’322, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the combined system of Intel’838 and Linden’766 to include “at least one processor; and the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform:” as taught by Xie’322, since Xie’322 stated in para.0035+ that such a modification would provide a system that ensures continuity and reliability of a multicast service and improve quality of wireless communication.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xie et al (US 2023/0284322) and further in view of Linden et al (US 2016/0057766).
Regarding claim 21, Xie’322 discloses a communication apparatus, comprising at least one processor (see fig.9, which shows processor 904) and a non-transitory memory storage (see fig.9, which shows memory 905), wherein
the non-transitory memory storage is configured to store a computer program or instructions(see para.0151, which discusses instructions or a program stored in the memory 905); and
the at least one processor executes the computer program or the instructions to perform(see fig.9, which shows processor and memory, see para.0151, which discusses instructions or a program stored in the memory 905 and executable on the processor 904, and the processor 904 invokes the instructions or program in the memory 905 to perform):
obtaining reference information of a first multicast/broadcast service (MBS) session (see para.0078, which discusses the MBSF, the UDR, or the PCF transmits service requirement information and the like of a multicast service to the MB-SMF, thus service requirement information as reference information, see fig.4); and
sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF).
As discussed above, although Xie’322 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), Xie’322 does not explicitly show the use of “wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or more of the following:
a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or more of the following:
a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Linden’766.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Linden’766 teaches the use of wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or(due to or language, only one of them is being considered) more of the following:
wherein a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or
or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs(see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3, thus 14 is the lowest ARP among ARPs 1-14) of the QoS flows of the first MBS session(see para.0377, which discusses in case different MBMS sessions have different levels of ARP priority, the rank of said MBMS sessions in said list is determined based on said SN, on said ARP priority and the pre-emption capability and vulnerability of each session, said assessment including first pre-empting a pre-emptable session with a lowest ARP priority, and with a SN identifying a session most recently scheduled by a BM-SC in case of several sessions having a same lowest ARP priority level, see para.0073, which discusses ARP priority values 1 to 14 are ordered in decreasing order of priority, i.e. 1 is the highest and 14 the lowest, see also claims 1-3).
In view of the above, having the system of Xie’322 and then given the well-established teaching of Linden’766, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Xie’322 to include “wherein the reference information of the first MBS session comprises one or more of the following: a reliability requirement of the first MBS session that is the highest reliability requirement among reliability requirements of fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) identifiers (5QIs) of QoS flows of the first MBS session; or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) of the first MBS session that is the lowest ARP among ARPs of the QoS flows of the first MBS session” as taught by Linden’766, since Linden’766 stated para.0007+ that such a modification would provide a need to improve support of MBMS.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xie et al (US 2023/0284322), in view of Linden et al (US 2016/0057766) and further in view of Son et al (US 2022/0400358).
Regarding claim 22, as discussed above, although the combined system of Xie’322 and Linden’766 discloses sending the reference information of the first MBS session to an access and mobility management network element (Xie’322, see para.0079, which discusses the MB-SMF forwards the service requirement information and the like of the multicast service to the AMF), the combined system of Xie’322 and Linden’766 does not explicitly show the use of “receiving an MBS session create request comprising the reference information of the first MBS session; receiving, from a policy management network element, policy information of the first MBS session that comprises the reference information of the first MBS session; or receiving QoS information of the first MBS session from an application function or a policy management network element, and determining the reference information of the first MBS session based on the QoS information of the first MBS session” as required by present claimed invention. However, including “receiving an MBS session create request comprising the reference information of the first MBS session; receiving, from a policy management network element, policy information of the first MBS session that comprises the reference information of the first MBS session; or receiving QoS information of the first MBS session from an application function or a policy management network element, and determining the reference information of the first MBS session based on the QoS information of the first MBS session” would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Son’358.
In particular, in the same field of endeavor, Son’358 teaches the use of receiving, from a policy management network element, policy information of the first MBS session that comprises the reference information of the first MBS session; or(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) receiving QoS information of the first MBS session from an application function or r(due to or alternative language, only one of them is being considered) a policy management network element(see fig.9, 901, see para.0176, which discusses the SMF 940 may determine the QoS requirement of the MBS session from a service requirement of the MBS service requested through communication with a Policy Control Function (PCF) defined in the wireless communication system, thus determining QOS from PCF, see at least fig.4-6), and determining the reference information (i.e. service requirement as reference information) of the first MBS session based on the QoS information of the first MBS session (see para.0176, which discusses the SMF 940 may determine the QoS requirement of the MBS session from a service requirement as reference information of the MBS service requested through communication with a Policy Control Function (PCF) defined in the wireless communication system, see para.0091, which discusses QoS requirement of the MBS session, based on service requirements included in the MBS service request).
In view of the above, having the combined system of Xie’322 and Linden’766 and then given the well-established teaching of Son’358, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the combined system of Xie’322 and Linden’766 to include “receiving an MBS session create request comprising the reference information of the first MBS session; receiving, from a policy management network element, policy information of the first MBS session that comprises the reference information of the first MBS session; or receiving QoS information of the first MBS session from an application function or a policy management network element, and determining the reference information of the first MBS session based on the QoS information of the first MBS session” as taught by Son’358, since Son’358 stated in para.0009+ that such a modification would provide a system for establishing a Multimedia Broadcast Service (MBS) service session for MBS service provision in a wireless communication system.
Conclusion
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/VINNCELAS LOUIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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