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 .
This is a final action for application number 18/690,343 in response to an amendment filed on 07/22/2026; the original application was filed on 03/08/2024.
Claims 1, 3-10, 12-17, 20 and 23-26 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Claims 1, 9 and 20 are independent claims.
Claims 2, 11, 18, 19, 21 and 22 have been cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-10, 12-17, 20 and 23-26 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.
Claims 1, 3-10, 12-17, 20 and 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lou et al. (2021/0321264 A1) in view of Qiao et al. (US 2019/0053147 A1).
Regarding claim 1, a method for configuring information, applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending first information to a first device, [sending, by a first network node, a first message to a second network node, where the first message includes a network slice identifier corresponding to at least one network slice in a first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
wherein the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, [the network slice in the first network slice set is a network slice that is selected for a terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device, Terminal device 120 of Figure 1 and Network device 110 of figure 1, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
and wherein the first information at least comprises: second information characterizing an attribution of the first network, [the first message further includes at least one of the following: a network slice priority; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice prohibited from being accessed by the terminal device; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice allowed to be accessed by the terminal device; a network slice reselection policy; and security information and service information that are corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, where the network slice reselection policy is used to indicate a manner of selecting a network slice for the terminal device by a network node, (Lou et al., Paragraph 18)],
and third information characterizing the network slice corresponding to the first
network, [the first network node may obtain, from the terminal device, information about a network slice that is selected for the terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), or may obtain, from the core-network node, the information about the network slice that the terminal device wants to access, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Lou et al. fails to explicitly teach that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice,
Qiao et al. teaches that a network may provide an operator an interface to configure the associations of services to network slices, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4), A PDU connectivity service may provide exchange of PDUs between a wireless device 100 and a data network. PDU session may be an association between a wireless device 100 and a data network, DN that provides a PDU connectivity service, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 106),
Qiao et al. further teaches that the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, the network device communicates with the at least one terminal through the first device and the first network, and the first device is an access gateway device, [FIGS. 5A-B shows examples of registration management state models for a wireless device and access and mobility management function (AMF), FIGS. 6A-B shows examples of connection management state models for wireless device and AMF, (Qiao et al., Paragraphs 11 and 12)],
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lou et al. by including that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice, (Zhu et al., Abstract), in order to allow for interworking between a visited network and a home network, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 3, the method of claim 2, wherein the second information comprises at least one of:
an identifier of an access network type of the first network;
an identifier of an access point in the first network;
information about a manufacturer of the at least one terminal accessing the first network;
information about a device type of the at least one terminal accessing the first network; or
information about an application carried by the first network, [wearable smart devices focus on only one type of application function and need to work with other devices such as smartphones, for example, various smart bands and smart jewelry for body signs monitoring, (Lou et al., Paragraph 62)].
Regarding claim 4, the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving fourth information reported by the first device, the fourth information characterizing information about the first network, [the method further includes, sending, by the first network node, a second message to the terminal device, where the second message includes the first NAS message, (Lou et al., Paragraph 12)],
and sending the first information to the first device based on the fourth information, [the first network node may obtain, from the terminal device, information about a network slice that is selected for the terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), or may obtain, from the core-network node, the information about the network slice that the terminal device wants to access (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 5, the method of claim 3, wherein when the first information indicates at least two associations between attributions of the first network and network slices, the first information further indicates usage priorities of the at least two associations, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A frequency priority and an access technology priority that are corresponding to at least one network slice in a first network slice set: used for terminal mobility management; for example, the terminal may determine a priority for cell selection or reselection based on the frequency priority, to select a target cell with a high frequency priority, (Lou et al., Paragraph 96)].
Regarding claim 6, the method of claim 5, wherein the first information explicitly or implicitly indicates the usage priorities of the at least two associations, [the first message may further include a priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, and the priority is used for mobility management, admission control, and the like of the terminal device. The terminal device may consider supporting a high-priority cell in cell selection or cell reselection when the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state, (Lou et al., Paragraph 134)].
Regarding claim 7, the method of claim 1, wherein when the first network is associated with at least two network slices, the first information further indicates priorities of the at least two network slices, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 8, the method of claim 7, wherein the first information explicitly or implicitly indicates the priorities of the at least two network slices, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 9, a method for configuring information, applied to a first device, the method comprising: receiving first information from a network side, [sending, by a first network node, a first message to a second network node, where the first message includes a network slice identifier corresponding to at least one network slice in a first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
wherein the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, [the network slice in the first network slice set is a network slice that is selected for a terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device, Terminal device 120 of Figure 1 and Network device 110 of figure 1, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
and wherein the first information at least comprises: second information characterizing an attribution of the first network, [the first message further includes at least one of the following: a network slice priority; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice prohibited from being accessed by the terminal device; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice allowed to be accessed by the terminal device; a network slice reselection policy; and security information and service information that are corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, where the network slice reselection policy is used to indicate a manner of selecting a network slice for the terminal device by a network node, (Lou et al., Paragraph 18)],
and third information characterizing the network slice corresponding to the first
network, [the first network node may obtain, from the terminal device, information about a network slice that is selected for the terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), or may obtain, from the core-network node, the information about the network slice that the terminal device wants to access, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Lou et al. fails to explicitly teach that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice,
Qiao et al. teaches that a network may provide an operator an interface to configure the associations of services to network slices, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4), A PDU connectivity service may provide exchange of PDUs between a wireless device 100 and a data network. PDU session may be an association between a wireless device 100 and a data network, DN that provides a PDU connectivity service, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 106),
Qiao et al. further teaches that the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, the network device communicates with the at least one terminal through the first device and the first network, and the first device is an access gateway device, [FIGS. 5A-B shows examples of registration management state models for a wireless device and access and mobility management function (AMF), FIGS. 6A-B shows examples of connection management state models for wireless device and AMF, (Qiao et al., Paragraphs 11 and 12)],
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lou et al. by including that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice, (Zhu et al., Abstract), in order to allow for interworking between a visited network and a home network, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 10, the method of claim 9, further comprising: carrying data of the first network onto the network slice corresponding to the first network using the first information, [the terminal may determine a priority for cell selection or reselection based on the frequency priority, to select a target cell with a high frequency priority, (Lou et al., Paragraph 96)].
Regarding claim 11, the method of claim 9, wherein the first information at least comprises: second information characterizing an attribution of the first network, [the first message further includes at least one of the following: a network slice priority; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice prohibited from being accessed by the terminal device; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice allowed to be accessed by the terminal device; a network slice reselection policy; and security information and service information that are corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, where the network slice reselection policy is used to indicate a manner of selecting a network slice for the terminal device by a network node, (Lou et al., Paragraph 18)],
and third information characterizing the network slice corresponding to the first network, [the first network node may obtain, from the terminal device, information about a network slice that is selected for the terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), or may obtain, from the core-network node, the information about the network slice that the terminal device wants to access, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 12, the method of claim 11, wherein the second information comprises at least one of:
an identifier of an access network type of the first network;
an identifier of an access point in the first network;
information about a manufacturer of the at least one terminal accessing the first network;
information about a device type of the at least one terminal accessing the first network;
or information about an application carried by the first network, [wearable smart devices focus on only one type of application function and need to work with other devices such as smartphones, for example, various smart bands and smart jewelry for body signs monitoring, (Lou et al., Paragraph 62)].
Regarding claim 13, the method of claim 9, further comprising: reporting fourth information to the network side, the fourth information characterizing information about the first network, [the method further includes, sending, by the first network node, a second message to the terminal device, where the second message includes the first NAS message, (Lou et al., Paragraph 12)].
Regarding claim 14, the method of claim 12, wherein when first information indicates at least two associations between attributions of the first network and network slices, the first information further indicates usage priorities of the at least two associations, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)],
and wherein the method further comprises: selecting a network slice for carrying data of the first network based on the usage priorities of the at least two associations, [the terminal may determine a priority for cell selection or reselection based on the frequency priority, to select a target cell with a high frequency priority, (Lou et al., Paragraph 96)].
Regarding claim 15, the method of claim 14, wherein the first information explicitly or implicitly indicates the usage priorities of the at least two associations, [the first message may further include a priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, and the priority is used for mobility management, admission control, and the like of the terminal device. The terminal device may consider supporting a high-priority cell in cell selection or cell reselection when the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state, (Lou et al., Paragraph 134)].
Regarding claim 16, the method of claim 9, wherein when the first network is associated with at least two network slices, the first information further indicates priorities of the at least two network slices, and wherein the method further comprises: selecting a network slice for carrying data of the first network based on the priorities of the at least two network slices, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 17, the method of claim 16, wherein the first information explicitly or implicitly indicates the priorities of the at least two network slices, [the first network slice management request message may include at least one of the following: A priority corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Regarding claim 20, a network device, [Figure 7, Ref # 700], comprising: a communication interface and a first processor, [the communications apparatus 700 may include a processor and a transceiver, and the processor and the transceiver are communicatively connected, (Lou et al., Paragraph 274)], wherein the communication interface is configured to send first information to a first device, [sending, by a first network node, a first message to a second network node, where the first message includes a network slice identifier corresponding to at least one network slice in a first network slice set, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
wherein the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, [the network slice in the first network slice set is a network slice that is selected for a terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device, Terminal device 120 of Figure 1 and Network device 110 of figure 1, (Lou et al., Paragraph 6)],
and wherein the first information at least comprises: second information characterizing an attribution of the first network, [the first message further includes at least one of the following: a network slice priority; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice prohibited from being accessed by the terminal device; a network slice identifier, a cell identity, a tracking area identifier or code, a paging area identifier, and a PLMN identifier that are corresponding to a network slice allowed to be accessed by the terminal device; a network slice reselection policy; and security information and service information that are corresponding to the at least one network slice in the first network slice set, where the network slice reselection policy is used to indicate a manner of selecting a network slice for the terminal device by a network node, (Lou et al., Paragraph 18)],
and third information characterizing the network slice corresponding to the first
network, [the first network node may obtain, from the terminal device, information about a network slice that is selected for the terminal device and that is used for access by the terminal device (or that the terminal device wants to access or is capable of accessing), or may obtain, from the core-network node, the information about the network slice that the terminal device wants to access, (Lou et al., Paragraph 15)].
Lou et al. fails to explicitly teach that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice,
Qiao et al. teaches that a network may provide an operator an interface to configure the associations of services to network slices, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4), A PDU connectivity service may provide exchange of PDUs between a wireless device 100 and a data network. PDU session may be an association between a wireless device 100 and a data network, DN that provides a PDU connectivity service, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 106),
Qiao et al. further teaches that the first network is configured to connect at least one terminal and the first device, the network device communicates with the at least one terminal through the first device and the first network, and the first device is an access gateway device, [FIGS. 5A-B shows examples of registration management state models for a wireless device and access and mobility management function (AMF), FIGS. 6A-B shows examples of connection management state models for wireless device and AMF, (Qiao et al., Paragraphs 11 and 12)],
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lou et al. by including that the first information at least indicating an association between a first network and a network slice, (Zhu et al., Abstract), in order to allow for interworking between a visited network and a home network, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 23, a first device for implementing the method of claim 9, comprising: a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform operations of the method when running the computer program, [the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and the program causes user equipment to execute the methods according to the first to the fourth aspects, or any possible implementation, (Lou et al., Paragraph 46)].
Regarding claim 24, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations of the method of claim 1, [the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and the program causes user equipment to execute the methods according to the first to the fourth aspects, or any possible implementation, (Lou et al., Paragraph 46)].
Regarding claims 25 and 26, the method of claim 1, wherein the first network is a non-5G network, [The communication network, and any other network referenced herein, may include an LTE network, a 5G network, or any other network for wireless communications, (Qiao et al., Paragraph 97)].
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 Shukri Taha whose telephone number is 571-270-1921. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30am-5pm Mon-Fri.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino can be reached on 571-272-3905.
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/SHUKRI TAHA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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