Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/691,040

SERVICE SLICE ADJUSTMENT METHOD, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 07, 2024
Priority
Oct 25, 2021 — CN 202111241569.3 +1 more
Examiner
MADDOX, MICHAEL WAYNE
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
29 granted / 29 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
52
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
90.7%
+50.7% vs TC avg
§102
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
§112
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 29 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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, 4, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pateromichelakis et al. (WO 2020/011350)(hereinafter “Pateromichelakis”)(submitted in IDS filed February 20, 2025) in view of Wei et al. (US 2020/0383043 A1)(hereinafter “Wei”). Regarding claim 1, Pateromichelakis discloses a service slice adjustment method (pg. 3, lines 22-27: according to embodiments the user equipment is capable of sending a set of customized properties of the network slice instances (NSIs) that are essential for certain use cases to the management entity, and the management entity can adjust the system in terms of network service provisioning for a specific terminal, which enables terminal-triggered and network-controlled network slice instance adjustments. This may result in a slice adjustment and/or slice re-selection), applied to a terminal (Fig. 2, pg. 10, lines 14-16: user equipment or mobile terminal (231)), and the method comprising: acquiring a service demand parameter of an application service slice configured for a terminal (pg. 15, lines 16-26: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like.) and a current network parameter of the terminal (Fig. 3, pg. 11, lines 21-36: as illustrated in step 1 of the embodiment shown in figure 3, for the system performance awareness by the user equipment 231 and/or the V2X application 231 the user equipment 231 can request from the management entity 201 (referred to as communications system 231 in figure 3) information about the current and/or near future performance metrics associated with the plurality of NSIs provided by the communication network 200 and, in particular, the first NSI to which the user equipment 231 is attached for using the first network resource provided by the first NSI. ), wherein the service demand parameter comprises a service demand parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice (pg. 15, lines 16-26: the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like. This information could be provided as an exact value or a predefined index.); and adjusting a parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter (pg. 15, lines 16-36: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Pg.15, lines 27-34: after the management entity 201 receives the message, according to an embodiment it will first verify the message for instance based on the subscription information of the user equipment and/or slice information. If the SARq message is valid, the management entity 201 will perform the corresponding adjustment (see step 903 of figure 9), and send back a System adjustment response (SARp) message to the user equipment 231 (see step 905 of figure 9). In an embodiment, the SARp message can indicate one of the following adjustment results: (i) SUCCESS: Resource allocation is adjusted according to the requirement of the user equipment 231…. Pg. 16, lines 15-18: In an embodiment, the communication interface 203 of the management entity 201 is further configured to inform the user equipment 231 that the adjustment request is approved, in case the first network slice instance is capable of providing the adjusted first network resource to the user equipment 231.). Although Pateromichelakis discloses that the SARp/SARq requests are directed to an application service slice, Pateromichelakis does not specifically disclose that the slice includes sub-slices or that the adjustments are directed to sub-slices. However, Wei discloses that a network slice instance may include sub-slices, and that the sub-slices may be adjusted ([0046]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to instantiate at least two sub-slices in at least one of the correlated network slice instances based on the resource allocation. [0056]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to manage the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices based on the joint performance parameter and/or the resource allocation, in particular by applying a joint resource management across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices; and/or perform a service optimization across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or at least two sub-slices in at least two correlated network slice instances. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the service-slice adjustment process, as taught by Pateromichelakis, to include adjustment of sub-slices of a slice, as taught by Wei. Doing so allows for resource allocation and the user experience to be improved (See Wei: [0057]). Regarding claim 4, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis also discloses wherein adjusting the parameter of each sub-slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter comprises: adjusting the parameter of each sub-slice of the application service slice in a hard slicing circuit adjustment manner (pg. 8, line 35 to page 8, line 1: According to a sixth aspect the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code for performing the method of the second aspect and/or the method of the fourth aspect when executed on a computer. The invention can be implemented in hardware and/or software.). Regarding claim 12, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis also discloses wherein after adjusting the parameter of each sub-slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter, further comprising: acquiring a performance parameter during operation of the adjusted application service slice; and stopping adjusting the application service slice in response to that the performance parameter satisfies a preset stop condition (pg. 15, lines 27-36: after the management entity 201 receives the message, according to an embodiment it will first verify the message for instance based on the subscription information of the user equipment and/or slice information. If the SARq message is valid, the management entity 201 will perform the corresponding adjustment (see step 903 of figure 9), and send back a System adjustment response (SARp) message to the user equipment 231 (see step 905 of figure 9). In an embodiment, the SARp message can indicate one of the following adjustment results: …(iii) FAILURE: SARq is rejected by the management entity 201 .). Regarding claim 13, Pateromichelakis discloses an electronic device (Fig. 2: management entity 201 or user equipment 231), comprising: at least one processor (Fig. 2: processor 205 or processor 235); and a memory in communication connection with the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores an instruction executable by the at least one processor (pg. 7, lines 35-37: according to a sixth aspect the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code for performing the method of the second aspect and/or the method of the fourth aspect when executed on a computer. Examiner notes that use of a memory for string the instruction is inherent.), and the instruction is executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to execute a service slice adjustment method (pg. 3, lines 22-27: according to embodiments the user equipment is capable of sending a set of customized properties of the network slice instances (NSIs) that are essential for certain use cases to the management entity, and the management entity can adjust the system in terms of network service provisioning for a specific terminal, which enables terminal-triggered and network-controlled network slice instance adjustments. This may result in a slice adjustment and/or slice re-selection), which is applied to a terminal (pg. 3, lines 22-27: according to embodiments the user equipment is capable of sending a set of customized properties of the network slice instances (NSIs) that are essential for certain use cases to the management entity, and the management entity can adjust the system in terms of network service provisioning for a specific terminal, which enables terminal-triggered and network-controlled network slice instance adjustments. This may result in a slice adjustment and/or slice re-selection) and comprises: acquiring a service demand parameter of an application service slice configured for a terminal (pg. 15, lines 16-26: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like.) and a current network parameter of the terminal (Fig. 3, pg. 11, lines 21-36: as illustrated in step 1 of the embodiment shown in figure 3, for the system performance awareness by the user equipment 231 and/or the V2X application 231 the user equipment 231 can request from the management entity 201 (referred to as communications system 231 in figure 3) information about the current and/or near future performance metrics associated with the plurality of NSIs provided by the communication network 200 and, in particular, the first NSI to which the user equipment 231 is attached for using the first network resource provided by the first NSI. ), wherein the service demand parameter comprises a service demand parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice (pg. 15, lines 16-26: the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like. This information could be provided as an exact value or a predefined index.); and adjusting a parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter (pg. 15, lines 16-36: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Pg.15, lines 27-34: after the management entity 201 receives the message, according to an embodiment it will first verify the message for instance based on the subscription information of the user equipment and/or slice information. If the SARq message is valid, the management entity 201 will perform the corresponding adjustment (see step 903 of figure 9), and send back a System adjustment response (SARp) message to the user equipment 231 (see step 905 of figure 9). In an embodiment, the SARp message can indicate one of the following adjustment results: (i) SUCCESS: Resource allocation is adjusted according to the requirement of the user equipment 231…. Pg. 16, lines 15-18: In an embodiment, the communication interface 203 of the management entity 201 is further configured to inform the user equipment 231 that the adjustment request is approved, in case the first network slice instance is capable of providing the adjusted first network resource to the user equipment 231.). Although Pateromichelakis discloses that the SARp/SARq requests are directed to an application service slice, Pateromichelakis does not specifically disclose that the slice includes sub-slices or that the adjustments are directed to sub-slices. However, Wei discloses that a network slice instance may include sub-slices, and that the sub-slices may be adjusted ([0046]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to instantiate at least two sub-slices in at least one of the correlated network slice instances based on the resource allocation. [0056]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to manage the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices based on the joint performance parameter and/or the resource allocation, in particular by applying a joint resource management across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices; and/or perform a service optimization across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or at least two sub-slices in at least two correlated network slice instances. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the service-slice adjustment process, as taught by Pateromichelakis, to include adjustment of sub-slices of a slice, as taught by Wei. Doing so allows for resource allocation and the user experience to be improved (See Wei: [0057]). Regarding claim 14, Pateromichelakis discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program (pg. 7, lines 35-37: according to a sixth aspect the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code for performing the method of the second aspect and/or the method of the fourth aspect when executed on a computer.), wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements a service slice adjustment method (pg. 3, lines 22-27: according to embodiments the user equipment is capable of sending a set of customized properties of the network slice instances (NSIs) that are essential for certain use cases to the management entity, and the management entity can adjust the system in terms of network service provisioning for a specific terminal, which enables terminal-triggered and network-controlled network slice instance adjustments. This may result in a slice adjustment and/or slice re-selection), which is applied to a terminal (Fig. 2, pg. 10, lines 14-16: user equipment or mobile terminal (231)) and comprises: acquiring a service demand parameter of an application service slice configured for a terminal (pg. 15, lines 16-26: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like.) and a current network parameter of the terminal (Fig. 3, pg. 11, lines 21-36: as illustrated in step 1 of the embodiment shown in figure 3, for the system performance awareness by the user equipment 231 and/or the V2X application 231 the user equipment 231 can request from the management entity 201 (referred to as communications system 231 in figure 3) information about the current and/or near future performance metrics associated with the plurality of NSIs provided by the communication network 200 and, in particular, the first NSI to which the user equipment 231 is attached for using the first network resource provided by the first NSI. ), wherein the service demand parameter comprises a service demand parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice (pg. 15, lines 16-26: the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Such requirements could include: slice related information, such as slice type information; and/or performance related information, such as latency, bandwidth, reliability and the like. This information could be provided as an exact value or a predefined index.); and adjustinq a parameter of each [sub-]slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter (pg. 15, lines 16-36: embodiments of the invention enable a terminal triggered and network controlled system resource allocation and/or adjustment. For instance, when the user equipment 231 is in a certain state, e.g. state X, it may want to update performance requirements, e.g. bandwidth. As already described above, in this case the user equipment 231 sends the adjustment request, e.g. the system adjustment request (SARq) message to the management entity 231 (as illustrated in step 901 of figure 9), which contains information about its future performance requirements. Pg.15, lines 27-34: after the management entity 201 receives the message, according to an embodiment it will first verify the message for instance based on the subscription information of the user equipment and/or slice information. If the SARq message is valid, the management entity 201 will perform the corresponding adjustment (see step 903 of figure 9), and send back a System adjustment response (SARp) message to the user equipment 231 (see step 905 of figure 9). In an embodiment, the SARp message can indicate one of the following adjustment results: (i) SUCCESS: Resource allocation is adjusted according to the requirement of the user equipment 231…. Pg. 16, lines 15-18: In an embodiment, the communication interface 203 of the management entity 201 is further configured to inform the user equipment 231 that the adjustment request is approved, in case the first network slice instance is capable of providing the adjusted first network resource to the user equipment 231.). Although Pateromichelakis discloses that the SARp/SARq requests are directed to an application service slice, Pateromichelakis does not specifically disclose that the slice includes sub-slices or that the adjustments are directed to sub-slices. However, Wei discloses that a network slice instance may include sub-slices, and that the sub-slices may be adjusted ([0046]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to instantiate at least two sub-slices in at least one of the correlated network slice instances based on the resource allocation. [0056]: in one embodiment, the apparatus is configured to manage the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices based on the joint performance parameter and/or the resource allocation, in particular by applying a joint resource management across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or the at least two sub-slices; and/or perform a service optimization across the at least two correlated network slice instances and/or at least two sub-slices in at least two correlated network slice instances. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the service-slice adjustment process, as taught by Pateromichelakis, to include adjustment of sub-slices of a slice, as taught by Wei. Doing so allows for resource allocation and the user experience to be improved (See Wei: [0057]). Regarding claim 15, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis also discloses wherein adjusting the parameter of each sub-slice of the application service slice according to the service demand parameter and the current network parameter comprises: adjusting the parameter of each sub-slice of the application service slice in a hard slicing circuit adjustment manner or a soft slicing program adjustment manner (pg. 8, line 35 to page 8, line 1: According to a sixth aspect the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code for performing the method of the second aspect and/or the method of the fourth aspect when executed on a computer. The invention can be implemented in hardware and/or software.). Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pateromichelakis in view of Wei, and further in view of Jayakumar et al. (US 2020/0313985 A1)(hereinafter (“Jayakumar”). Regarding claim 11, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis in view of Wei does not disclose wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises: collecting, in response to that the application service slice opened by the terminal is detected, a radio frequency information parameter set of the terminal, performing statistical analysis on the radio frequency information parameter set, and acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice. However, Jayakumar discloses wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises: collecting, in response to that the application service slice opened by the terminal is detected, a radio frequency information parameter set of the terminal, performing statistical analysis on the radio frequency information parameter set, and acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice ([0009]: in one embodiment, a method for collecting, aggregating, and analyzing data in a distributed heterogeneous communication network is disclosed. The method may include determining impact characteristics with respect to a network slice or a service in the distributed heterogeneous communication network. The impact characteristics may include at least one of: user characteristics, service characteristics, slice characteristics, network characteristics, or performance characteristics. The method may further include determining one or more collection nodes, one or more aggregation nodes, and one or more analysis nodes within the distributed heterogeneous communication network based on the impact characteristics. The method may further include activating the one or more collection nodes for collecting data, the one or more aggregation nodes for aggregating the collected data, and the one or more analysis nodes for analyzing the aggregated data. [0034]: in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the DCAOM 201 may determine a major part of the monitoring context for the service/slice. The monitoring context may include what data to collect, where to collect the data, granularity and frequency of data collection for different parameters (KPIs), where to aggregate the data, what data to analyze, where to analyze the data, priority, sequence and accuracy level of the analysis. [0074]: the MONIM 208 may be responsible for monitoring the actual KPIs of a service/slice, and the associated parameters. The MONIM 208 may also monitor change in network conditions, service and slice characteristics, exceptions encountered in services/slices, etc. In addition to its existing functions, the MONIM 208 may also monitor the effectiveness of data collection, aggregation and analysis by keeping track of number of times collected data was not received by the node performing the aggregation (or received it after a delay), number of times the data could not be collected/aggregated/analyzed along with the reason, number of times the analysis did not result in a meaningful outcome before the occurrence of a fault/performance issue, etc. Accordingly, Jayakumar discloses collecting, aggregating, and analyzing a radio frequency information parameter set (e.g., KPIs) to acquire a service demand parameter of a slice in the form of service characteristics, slice characteristics, network characteristics, or performance characteristics.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the service-slice adjustment process, as taught by the combination of Pateromichelakis and Wei, to include collecting and performing statistical analysis on a radio frequency information set, and acquiring a service demand parameter of an application service slice, as taught by Jayakumar. Doing so allows for more accurate determination of the service demand parameter to improve the service-slice adjustment process. Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pateromichelakis in view of Wei, and further in view of Zhu et al. (US 2020/0169921 A1)(hereinafter (“Zhu”). Regarding claim 17, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis in view of Wei does not disclose wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises using slice network information received from a base station as the service demand parameter of the application service slice. However, Zhu discloses wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises: using slice network information received from a base station as the service demand parameter of the application service slice (Fig. 2, [0075]: illustrates that a terminal is in communication with an access network (AN) for receiving a network slice. The AN provides a wireless access service for the terminal. The AN may include various forms of base stations such as a macro base station, a micro base station (also referred to as a small cell), a relay station, or an access point. [0102]: Step 41: The terminal receives, in a registration process of the terminal, a type of a slice that the terminal is allowed to access (allowed-NSSAI), service feature information corresponding to each slice type, and display instruction information that are returned by a network side by using a registration accept message.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the terminal to receive the service parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal, as taught by Pateromichelakis, from a base station, as taught by Zhu. Doing so allows for the terminal to be in wireless communication with the management entity of Pateromichelakis for receiving network slice information. Regarding claim 18, Pateromichelakis in view of Wei discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above. Pateromichelakis in view of Wei does not disclose wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises receiving the service demand parameter, input by a user, of the application service slice by means of a user interaction interface. However, Zhu discloses wherein the acquiring the service demand parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal comprises: receiving the service demand parameter, input by a user, of the application service slice by means of a user interaction interface (Fig. 5, [0110]: for example, when the user sees, on the user interface, the service feature information of the S-NSSAI-1 that is displayed on the first display interface, the user may associate, based on a preference of the user and a requirement on a network speed, an application of video and game types frequently used by the user with the identifier of the first network slice corresponding to the first display interface, thereby achieving good user experience. Alternatively, when the user receives service feature information that corresponds to the network slice and that is returned by the network side, the service feature information further includes character string prompt information, for example, “such as video and game types”. The terminal further displays the character string prompt information on the display interface, to help the user associate an application with an identifier of the network slice. [0112]: Step 43: when detecting an installation operation performed by the user on an application (APP), the terminal displays, on a display interface of the terminal, prompt information prompting to associate a network slice. Fig. 6, [0113]: FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of display of prompt information prompting to associate a network slice. To be specific, the prompt information of “whether to immediately associate the APP with the slice”, and an input instruction that can be selected by a user, that is, confirm or cancel, are displayed on a user interface of a terminal. [0114] Step 44: the terminal generates a network slice selection policy based on an instruction entered by the user for the prompt information, where the network slice selection policy includes a mapping relationship between the application and an identifier of the network slice.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the terminal to receive the service parameter of the application service slice configured for the terminal, as taught by Pateromichelakis, by input from a user by means of a user interaction interface, as taught by Zhu. Doing so allows for the user to configure the network slice parameters to the particular use case (See Zhu: [0110]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-3, 5-10, 16, and 19-20 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. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Choe et al. (US 2024/0259934 A1) – Method and Apparatus For Slice Aware Cell Selection and Reselection. Zhang et al. (US 2023/0246900 A1) – Network Management Method, Apparatus, and System. Hua et al. (US 2022/0353745 A1) – Network Slicing With Multiple Slice Instance Variation Types. Li (US 2019/0357136 A1) – Network Slice Selection Method, User Equipment, and Network Device. Cheng et al. (US 2019/0357033 A1) – Resource Slicing On A Sidelink Interface. An et al. (US 2018/0359688 A1) – Function Selection In Mobile Networks. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL W MADDOX whose telephone number is (571)272-5834. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5:00pm, 1st F 7:30am-4:00pm, 2nd F off. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Asad M Nawaz can be reached at 571-272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MICHAEL WAYNE MADDOX/Examiner, Art Unit 2463 /CHI TANG P CHENG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 07, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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1-2
Expected OA Rounds
100%
Grant Probability
99%
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2y 7m (~8m remaining)
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