Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-3, 10, 11, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1).
XIE et al. discloses a method for multicast service session operation comprising: regarding claim 1, a method at a Session Management Function (SMF) (FIG. 8, SMF) for managing a multicast session (FIG. 8, 801) for one or more User Equipments (UEs) (FIG. 8 UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a Multicast/Broadcast Session Management Function (MB-SMF), a first message indicating that the multicast session is released ([0232] Step 813: the MBSF returns to the SMF a result of invoking the multicast context update service operation … may also include multicast session release complete information to be notified to the UE); and transmitting, to the one or more UEs, a first indication indicating that the multicast session is released ([0233] Step 814: The SMF sends a multicast session release complete message to the UE via the AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Complete message), XIE et al. does not disclose, but DAO et al. discloses: wherein the first indication comprises one or more bits for rejection cause which indicates the reason of removing the one or more UEs from the multicast session ([0111] If the network or AF 322 decided that some EDs leave the MB Session, … The message may include … Cause. The Cause indicates reason to release the MB Session, e.g. End of MB Session, Network Maintenance). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of XIE et al., by using the features as taught by DAO et al., in order to provide clearer network feedback, proper UE response, and more effective handling of session termination.
Regarding claim 2, XIE et al. discloses: prior to transmitting to the one or more UEs, determining to remove the one or more UEs that have joined the multicast session from the multicast session ([0218] Step 802: The SMF sends a first invocation parameter to the MBSF to invoke a multicast context user delete service operation of the MBSF, for example, to invoke an Nmbsf_MBContext_UserDelete service operation).
Regarding claim 3, XIE et al. discloses: wherein the first indication is transmitted to the one or more UEs via an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF) and a Radio Access Network (RAN) node that serve the one or more UEs ([0216] Step 801: UE sends a multicast session release request via a RAN and an AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Request message; [0233] Step 814: The SMF sends a multicast session release complete message to the UE via the AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Complete message, where the message may include a TMGI).
XIE et al. discloses: regarding claim 10, a method at a UE (FIG. 8 UE) for managing a multicast session, the method comprising: receiving, from an SMF (FIG. 8 SMF), a first indication indicating that the multicast session is released ([0233] Step 814: The SMF sends a multicast session release complete message to the UE via the AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Complete message), and transmitting, to a RAN node, a message indicating that the UE is currently aware of the release of the multicast session ([0227] “the UE sends a multicast session release acknowledgment to the AMF via the RAN node, for example, sending an MB Session Release Ack message”); regarding claim 14, a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor ([0022] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communications device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, where when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the foregoing method for multicast service session operation can be implemented), cause the processor to receive, from an SMF, a first indication indicating that the multicast session is released ([0233] Step 814: The SMF sends a multicast session release complete message to the UE via the AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Complete message), and transmit, to a RAN node, a message indicating that the UE is currently aware of the release of the multicast session ([0227] “the UE sends a multicast session release acknowledgment to the AMF via the RAN node, for example, sending an MB Session Release Ack message”). XIE et al. does not disclose, but DAO et al. discloses: regarding claims 10 and 14, wherein the first indication comprises one or more bits for rejection cause which indicates the reason of removing the UE from the multicast session ([0111] If the network or AF 322 decided that some EDs leave the MB Session, … The message may include … Cause. The Cause indicates reason to release the MB Session, e.g. End of MB Session, Network Maintenance). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of XIE et al., by using the features as taught by DAO et al., in order to provide clearer network feedback, proper UE response, and more effective handling of session termination.
Regarding claim 11, wherein the first indication is received from the SMF via an AMF and the RAN node that serve the UE ([0216] Step 801: UE sends a multicast session release request via a RAN and an AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Request message; [0233] Step 814: The SMF sends a multicast session release complete message to the UE via the AMF, for example, sending an MB Session Release Complete message, where the message may include a TMGI).
5. Claims 4, 5, 6, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of 3GPP TS 23.247 V1.1.0.
XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) disclose the claimed limitations above. XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) do not disclose, but 3GPP TS 23.247 V1.1.0 discloses: regarding claim 4, wherein transmitting, to the one or more UEs, the first indication further comprises transmitting the first indication to the one or more UEs that have joined the multicast session and have an activated User Plane (UP) (page 56, “3. For the joined UEs with UP activated, the SMF invokes Namf_Communicate_N1N2MessageTransfer to the AMF”); regarding claim 5, wherein before receiving, from the MB-SMF, the first message (page 71, “8. MB-SMF sends Nmbsmf_MBSSession_ContextStatusNotify Notify …. performs a related subscription for the multicast session at the MB-SMF when the first such UE joins.”), the method further comprises: transmitting, to the MB-SMF, a second message for subscribing a session context of the multicast session (see Figure 7.2.1.3-1 and pages 49-50, “4. Nmbsmf_ MBSSession_ContextStatusSubscribe request indicates the SMF want to subscribe the MBS session context. … SMF interacts with the MB-SMF to retrieve information about the indicated multicast session context information…); regarding claim 7, wherein at least one of following is true: the first message is an NmbsmfMBSSession_ContextStatusNotify message (see Figure 7.2.5.3-1, page 68, “3. The MB-SMF sends Nmbsmf_MBSSsession ContextStatusNotify request (subscription correlation ID) to the SMFs.”); the second message is an NmbsmfMBSSession_ContextStatusSubscribe request message; and the third message is an NsmfPDUSession_ UpdateSMContext request message; and the first indication is an N1 Session Management (SM) container that is carried by an amfCommunication_N1N2MessageTransfer message from the SMF to the AMF, by an N2 Request message from the AMF to the RAN node, and by a Protocol Data Unit (PD U) Session Modification Command encapsulated in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message from the RAN node to the one or more UEs.
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) and DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1), by using the features as taught by 3GPP TS 23.247 V1.1.0, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling and improving coordination of multicast session release.
Regarding claim 6, XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) further disclose: receiving, from the AMF, a third message indicating that the one or more UEs are currently aware of the release of the multicast session ([0229] Step 810: If the AMF receives…the multicast session release acknowledgment message sent by the UE, the AMF notifies the SMF that the radio session response or the multicast session release acknowledgment is received).
6. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of KE et al. (US 20210144579 A1).
XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) disclose the claimed limitations above. XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) do not disclose: wherein at least one of following is true:
the transmitted message is a PDU Session Modification Acknowledgement message; and
the first indication is an N1 SM container that is carried by an
Namf_Communication_NIN2MessageTransfer message from the SMF to the AMF, by an N2
Request message from the AMF to the RAN node, and by a PDU Session Modification
Command encapsulated in an RRC message from the RAN node to the UE.
KE et al. discloses a wireless communication system comprising the following features: the transmitted message is a PDU Session Modification Acknowledgement message ([0618] “Step 2404: The UE transmits an RRC message to the radio access network node… the N1 PDU session modification acknowledgement”).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of XIE et al. and DAO et al., by using the features as taught by KE et al. in order to provide reliable coordination and prevent miscommunication in session handling.
7. Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of JIA et al. (US 20230188949 A1).
XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) disclose the claimed limitations above. XIE et al. (US 20220312156 A1) in view of DAO et al. (US 20190223250 A1) do not disclose, but JIA et al. (US 20230188949 A1) disclose: in response to the first indication, refraining from requesting to join the released multicast session ([0220], “The release/deleted state of the multicast/broadcast session may mean: The multicast/broadcast session is released/deleted when a content provider starts/initiates multicast/broadcast session release/delete (MBS session delete, MBS session release, session delete, or session release); during an execution process of releasing/deleting the multicast/broadcast session or after the multicast/broadcast session is released/deleted”; “A released/deleted multicast/broadcast session cannot be restarted/re-initiated/re-activated by the following procedures: multicast session start/initiate (MBS session start or Session start), multicast/broadcast service session activation (Multicast Broadcast Service (MB S) Session Activation), or multicast session activation.”).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of XIE et al. and DAO et al., by using the features as taught by JIA et al., in order to prevent unnecessary signaling and conserve network and device resources.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KWANG B YAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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