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 Status
This office action is in response to the communication(s) filed on 06/26/2026.
Claim(s) 1-12, and 20-21 is/are currently presenting for examination.
Claim(s) 1, 8, and 20-21 is/are independent claim(s).
Claim(s) 1-7, and 20 is/are rejected.
Claim(s) 8-12 and 21 is/are rejected.
This action has been made FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 06/26/2026 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 6, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20210219264_A1_Chen in view of WO_2019193184_A1_Chen (hereinafter, “Chen-84”).
Regard claim 1, Chen discloses a method, comprising: sending, by an access network device, first information to an access and mobility management function network element, wherein the first information triggers to buffer downlink data of a terminal in an inactive state in a core network element (Chen figure 6, steps 600A, 600B, step of “DATA BUFFERING” in the UPF, and paragraph 94, “Step 600A: Each time when the RAN (i.e., the radio access node) transitions a UE using eDRX/Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to RRC_Inactive state, the RAN sends a N2 Notification to the AMF. The RAN provides buffering support information…”. Also see paragraphs 93, 95. The UPF is corresponding to the claimed “core network element”); and sending, by the access network device, second information to the terminal, wherein the second information indicates to the terminal to enter the inactive state (Chen figure 6, step 616, paragraph 106, “Step 616: The RAN moves the UE to RRC Inactive state”. That means, the RAN sends a control signal to the UE to instruct the UE to enter the RRC Inactive state),
but does not teach receiving, by the access network device, a message from the access and mobility management function network element, wherein the message indicates that the core network element supports buffering of the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state based on the first information.
Chen-84 from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches: receiving, by the access network device, a message from the access and mobility management function network element (Chen-84 figure 3, step 306, tunnel info), wherein the message indicates that the core network element supports buffering of the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state based on the first information (Chen-84 figure 3, steps 304-306, and page 4 lines 17-19, “…RAN 103 receives the DL data and checks the UE reachability in RRC Inactive mode…the RAN sends to AMF 105 a notification 304 ( e.g. an N2 Notification)…”; page 10 lines 21-25, “… the AN may receive data forwarding tunnel information transmitted by a network function (e.g., SMF 108 or UPF 125) (step s812). In such an embodiment, as a result of determining that the UE is in the RRC Inactive state and is not reachable, the AN uses the data forwarding tunnel information to forward to a network function the received DL data so that the network function can buffer the DL data for an extended period of time…”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Chen-84 into Chen, since Chen suggests a technique for BUFFERING downlink data for UE in the inactive state, and Chen-84 suggests the beneficial way of sending tunnel info related to the network function buffering downlink data so that/thus the communication network stores downlink data for the UE until the UE becomes reachable (Chen-84 page 1 line 25 – page 2 line 12) in the analogous art of communication.
Regard claim 5, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, and Chen further teaches wherein the first information is used to trigger the access and mobility management function network element to determine to buffer the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state in the core network element (Chen figure 6, step of “UE NOT REACHABLE eDRX/DRX KI4 (RRC INACTIVE)”, steps 600A, 600B, step of “DATA BUFFERING” in the UPF, and paragraph 94, “Step 600A: Each time when the RAN (i.e., the radio access node) transitions a UE using eDRX/Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to RRC_Inactive state, the RAN sends a N2 Notification to the AMF. The RAN provides buffering support information…”. Also see paragraphs 93, 95. The UPF is corresponding to the claimed “core network element”, and the AMF is corresponding to the claimed “access and mobility management function network element”).
Regard claim 6, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, and Chen further teaches further comprising: sending, by the access network device, first indication information when the terminal enters a connected state, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal is in the connected state (Chen figure 6, steps 610A, 610B, and paragraph 103, “…When the UE enters CM-Connected and RRC Connected mode, the RAN notifies the AMF through a N2 notification triggered by a RRC resume, or an N2 Path Switch Request if a RRC resume triggers a RAN node change. The AMF in tum notifies the SMF/UPF of the UE reachability.”).
Regard claim 20, Chen and Chen-84 teach the limitations set forth in claim 1.
Claim(s) 2, 4, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20210219264_A1_Chen in view of WO_2019193184_A1_Chen (hereinafter, “Chen-84”), and US_20220151014_A1_Kedalagudde.
Regard claim 2, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, and Chen further teaches wherein the first information comprises an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) parameter (Chen paragraph 94, “Step 600A: Each time when the RAN (i.e., the radio access node) transitions a UE using eDRX/Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to RRC_Inactive state, the RAN sends a N2 Notification to the AMF. The RAN provides buffering support information…”), the terminal uses the eDRX parameter to sleep in the inactive state (Chen paragraph 94, to RRC_Inactive state), but does not discloses the eDRX parameter comprises an eDRX cycle.
Kedalagudde discloses the eDRX parameter comprises an eDRX cycle (Kedalagudde paragraph 180, “…At step 1000a, the RAN sends a N2 notification to the AMF. In some implementations, the N2 notification includes information indicating that the UE is in eDRX. In some implementations, the N2 notification includes buffer support information…”, paragraph 194, “…The notification message can include information to cause a UPF to buffer data for the UE. In some implementations, the notification message can include an indication that the UE is in an eDRX cycle and/or that the UE is in an inactive state...”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Kedalagudde’s the notification message includes eDRX cycle information in Chen and Chen-84’s system to help the UPF better buffering the data for the specific UE. This method for improving the system of Chen and Chen-84 was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Kedalagudde. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chen, Chen-84, and Kedalagudde to obtain the invention as specified in claim 2.
Regard claim 4, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, and Chen further teaches wherein sending, by the access network device, the first information element (Chen figure 6, steps 600A, 600B), but does not disclose sending, by the access network device, the first information when an eDRX cycle of the terminal in the inactive state is greater than or equal to a first cycle threshold.
Kedalagudde discloses sending, by the access network device, the first information when an eDRX cycle of the terminal in the inactive state is greater than or equal to a first cycle threshold (Kedalagudde paragraph 178, “…a DRX cycle is 0.256 seconds. In eDRX, the DRX cycle is extended to a longer duration such as 5.12 sec or greater, e.g., up to 44 minutes or up to 3 hours...” 5.12 second is corresponding to the claimed “first cycle threshold”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Kedalagudde’s the notification message includes eDRX cycle information in Chen and Chen-84’s system to help the UPF better buffering the data for the specific UE. This method for improving the system of Chen and Chen-84 was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Kedalagudde. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chen, Chen-84, and Kedalagudde to obtain the invention as specified in claim 4.
Regard claim 7, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, but do not teach further comprising: receiving, by the access network device, second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates that the downlink data of the terminal is buffered in the core network element; and paging, by the access network device, the terminal based on the second indication information.
Kedalagudde discloses receiving, by the access network device, second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates that the downlink data of the terminal is buffered in the core network element (Kedalagudde figure 11, steps 1103-1105, paragraph 188, “At step 1105, the AMF sends a N2 notification request, which includes a UE reachability information request, to the RAN. The trigger for AMF to send the N2 notification request message to obtain information on UE reachability from the RAN is based on the UE being in the RRC_INACTIVE state (as notified from RAN in step 1100) and UE supporting eDRX (as negotiated by the network) and the arrival of DL data in step 1101”); and paging, by the access network device, the terminal based on the second indication information (Kedalagudde figure 11, steps 1107).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Kedalagudde’s the notification message includes eDRX cycle information in Chen and Chen-84’s system to help the UPF better buffering the data for the specific UE. This method for improving the system of Chen and Chen-84 was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Kedalagudde. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chen, Chen-84 and Kedalagudde to obtain the invention as specified in claim 7.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20210219264_A1_Chen in view of WO_2019193184_A1_Chen (hereinafter, “Chen-84”), and US_20220174775_A1_Ronneke.
Regard claim 3, Chen and Chen-84 teach the method according to claim 1, but do not teach wherein the first information comprises a first duration, and the first duration is time determined by the access network device for buffering the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state in the core network element.
Ronneke discloses wherein the first information comprises a first duration, and the first duration is time determined by the access network device for buffering the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state in the core network element (Ronneke figure 6, paragraph 95, “…the NG-RAN may decide to buffer the data ( e.g., based on RRC Inactive Assistance Information…”, paragraph 96, “…the NG-RAN sends a NAS Non-Delivery Indication to the AMF with estimated duration time until next UE reachability and sets a Reachability Notification flag…”, and paragraph 97).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Ronneke’s the NG-RAN sends a NAS Non-Delivery Indication to the AMF with estimated duration time until next UE reachability and sets a Reachability Notification flag in Chen and Chen-84’s system to optimize downlink data delivery. This method for improving the system of Chen and Chen-84 was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Ronneke. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chen, Chen-84 and Ronneke to obtain the invention as specified in claim 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12, and 21 are allowed.
The art of record does not suggest the respective claim combinations together and nor would the respective claim combinations be obvious with: “determining, based on the received first information, that the core network element supports buffering of the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state in the core network element; and in response to the determination that the core network element supports buffering of the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state in the core network element… sending, by the access and mobility management function network element, a message to the access network device, wherein the message indicates that the core network element supports buffering of the downlink data of the terminal in the inactive state” as stated in independent claim 8, and similar limitations as stated in independent claim 21.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Reference US_20200146077_A1_Li teaches a downlink data buffering method (Li figures 14-16).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEIBIN HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3695. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30AM - 6:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy Kundu can be reached at (571)272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/W.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
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