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 .
DETAILED ACTION
a. Claims 1-20 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, are being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
b. This is a first action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 08/07/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/30/2024, 04/09/2025, 06/25/2025, and 07/30/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 of this title, 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.
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 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.
Claims 1-2, 5-7, 9, 11-15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. US Pub 2023/0062452 (hereinafter “Kim”), and in view of China Mobile NPL “EES traffic Influence at ECS”, 3GPP S6-210765, April 12-20, 2021 (hereinafter “China Mobile”).
Regarding claim 1
Kim discloses a method (“a method for providing a service in an edge computing system” [0001]), comprising:
determining, by an enabler server based on first determining information (“The time when the EES 100 requests the corresponding information from the ECS 30 (or request time or in case of requesting) may be in or after performing the EEC registration operation, or in or after performing the EAS discovery operation.” [0166]), to perform traffic influence (“After selecting the NEF, the edge enabler server 100 may identify whether the AF influence and the UP path management event notifications are available, and based on this, the edge enabler server 100 may reconfigure an application context relocation initiation mode, or may configure a method for performing application data traffic re-routing in accordance with the application context relocation.” [0131]) in advance (“Unlike the present example, the edge application server registration procedure may be performed earlier than the edge enabler client registration procedure. In this case, operation 508 may be performed earlier than operation 506.” [0118] and furthermore “Further, in case that the edge application server 101 knows information of the user equipment 50 to be connected to the edge application server 101, the user equipment 50 may perform operations 510, 512, and 514 in advance before the user equipment 50 requests the service.” [0119]); and
Kim does not specifically teach sending, by the enabler server, an application function request message for requesting to perform traffic influence for one or more application servers.
In an analogous art, China Mobile discloses in Fig. 8.3.2.3-1 below sending, by the enabler server, an application function request message (“step 1. EES traffic influence request” in Fig. 8.3.2.3-1) for requesting to perform traffic influence for one or more application servers (“This procedure is used to influence the EES traffic as early as possible (i.e. “in advance”), e.g., before connecting the selected EES” on page 2, section 8.3.3.2.x).
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Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system, to include China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS, in order to minimize impact on delay-sensitive applications (China Mobile, section 2 Reason for Change). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS into Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1,
Kim further discloses wherein the first determining information comprises application information comprising one or more of: an application type (“the edge application server 101 performs application context relocation initiating capability reconfiguration and related information update (edge application server registration update procedure can be utilized) in the edge enabler server” [0134]), an application server type (“the edge enabler server 100 may obtain the CN type information of the UE 50 through the following method. For example, the edge data network configuration server 30 may send the CN type information supportable by the UE 50 to all edge enabler servers 100 and 200 connected to the edge data network configuration server 30. As the information, the edge data network configuration server 30 may predetermine the edge enabler server 100 in which the UE 50 is to perform the registration based on the location information of the UE 50 (or edge enabler client 52) or the network state of the UE 50.” [0089]), or a delay requirement (“the edge enabler servers 100 and 200 are configured to be physically and/or logically close to each other, transmission delay can be reduced by directly transferring data packets to be provided to the user (or electronic device 50) (or received from the user) to the edge data network without passing through the Internet. That is, low-latency transmission is possible.” [0057]).
Regarding claim 5
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined to perform traffic influence in advance, the method further comprises:
Kim further discloses sending, by the enabler server, a first indication message to a selected application server, wherein the first indication message indicates to trigger the traffic influence in advance (“Unlike the present example, the edge application server registration procedure may be performed earlier than the edge enabler client registration procedure. In this case, operation 508 may be performed earlier than operation 506.” [0118] and furthermore “Further, in case that the edge application server 101 knows information of the user equipment 50 to be connected to the edge application server 101, the user equipment 50 may perform operations 510, 512, and 514 in advance before the user equipment 50 requests the service.” [0119]), and
China Mobile further discloses the one or more application servers comprise the selected application server (“step 2. Interacting with #GPP core network to perform the AF influence traffic” on page 2, section 8.3.3.2.x).
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Regarding claim 6
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1,
Kim further discloses wherein the performing traffic influence in advance comprises performing traffic influence before an application client is started or performing traffic influence before the application client exchanges data with an application server (“Unlike the present example, the edge application server registration procedure may be performed earlier than the edge enabler client registration procedure. In this case, operation 508 may be performed earlier than operation 506.” [0118] and furthermore “Further, in case that the edge application server 101 knows information of the user equipment 50 to be connected to the edge application server 101, the user equipment 50 may perform operations 510, 512, and 514 in advance before the user equipment 50 requests the service.” [0119]).
China Mobile further discloses wherein the performing traffic influence in advance comprises performing traffic influence before an application client is started or performing traffic influence before the application client exchanges data with an application server (“This procedure is used to influence the EES traffic as early as possible (i.e. “in advance”), e.g., before connecting the selected EES” on page 2, section 8.3.3.2.x).
Regarding claim 7
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1,
Kim further discloses wherein the first determining information is in an application server discovery request message from an enabler client (“The ECS 30 may provide, to the EES 100, information about the exposure function selected at service provisioning operation of the edge enabler client 52 and the edge configuration server 30, … The time when the EES 100 requests the corresponding information from the ECS 30 (or request time or in case of requesting) may be in or after performing the EEC registration operation, or in or after performing the EAS discovery operation.” [0166]).
Regarding claim 9
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the application function request message comprises:
Kim further discloses sending, by the enabler server, the application function request message to a session management function network element or a network exposure function network element (“Further, the NEF device 44a can access information for managing the user equipment 50 in the 5G network, and may be a network entity that can perform subscription for a mobility management event of the corresponding user equipment 50, subscription for a session management event of the corresponding user equipment 50, a request for session related information, billing information configuration of the corresponding user equipment 50, a request for PDU session policy change for the corresponding UE, and transmission of a small amount of data for the corresponding user equipment 50.” [0073]).
Regarding claim 11
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 9,
Kim further discloses further comprising: receiving, by the session management function network element or the network exposure function network element, the application function request message (“First, with reference to FIG. 2B, a core of a mobile communication system, for example, a 5G mobile communication system (5G Core or 5GC) 41 may include a network exposure function (NEF) device 44a in addition to the NFs described above with reference to FIG. 1. Further, the NEF device 44a can access information for managing the user equipment 50 in the 5G network, and may be a network entity that can perform subscription for a mobility management event of the corresponding user equipment 50, subscription for a session management event of the corresponding user equipment 50, a request for session related information, billing information configuration of the corresponding user equipment 50, a request for PDU session policy change for the corresponding UE, and transmission of a small amount of data for the corresponding user equipment 50.” [0073]).
Regarding claim 12
Kim discloses an apparatus for requesting an application function (“an edge enabler server (EES) device” [0017]), comprising:
a processor (“processor” [0017]), and
a memory (“memory” [0017]) coupled with the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
determining, based on first determining information, to perform traffic influence in advance; and
sending an application function request message for requesting to perform traffic influence for one or more application servers.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 12 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 12 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 13
The apparatus according to the claim 12, wherein the first determining information comprises application information comprising one or more of: an application type, an application server type, or a delay requirement.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 13 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 2. Therefore apparatus claim 13 corresponds to method claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 2 rejection above.
Regarding claim 14
The apparatus according to the claim 13, wherein the performing traffic influence in advance comprises performing traffic influence before an application client is started or performing traffic influence before the application client exchanges data with an application server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 14 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 6. Therefore apparatus claim 14 corresponds to method claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 15
The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the first determining information is in an application server discovery request message from an enabler client.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 15 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 7. Therefore apparatus claim 15 corresponds to method claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 7 rejection above.
Regarding claim 17
The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the sending the application function request message comprises:
sending the application function request message to a session management function network element or a network exposure function network element.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 17 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 9. Therefore apparatus claim 17 corresponds to method claim 9 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 9 rejection above.
Regarding claim 18
Kim discloses a system (“edge computing system” in Fig. 1; [0058]) comprising:
an enabler client (e.g. “edge enabler client (EEC) 52” in Fig. 1; [0058]) configured to send first determining information to the enabler server; and
an enabler server (e.g. “edge enabler servers 100 and 200” in Fig. 1; [0058]) configured to:
determine, based on first determining information, to perform traffic influence in advance; and
send an application function request message for requesting to perform traffic influence for one or more application servers.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 18 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 12. Therefore apparatus claim 18 corresponds to apparatus claim 12 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 12 rejection above.
Regarding claim 19
The system according to the claim 18, wherein the first determining information comprises application information comprising one or more of: an application type, an application server type, or a delay requirement.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 19 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 13. Therefore apparatus claim 19 corresponds to apparatus claim 13 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 13 rejection above.
Regarding claim 20
The system according to the claim 18, wherein the performing traffic influence in advance comprises performing traffic influence before an application client is started or performing traffic influence before the application client exchanges data with an application server.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 20 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 14. Therefore apparatus claim 20 corresponds to apparatus claim 14 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 14 rejection above.
Claims 3, 4, 8, 10, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of China Mobile, and further in view of Sodagar US Pub 2022/0240061 (hereinafter “Sodagar”).
Regarding claim 3
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1,
Kim further discloses wherein the first determining information comprises indication information indicating to perform traffic influence in advance (“Unlike the present example, the edge application server registration procedure may be performed earlier than the edge enabler client registration procedure. In this case, operation 508 may be performed earlier than operation 506.” [0118] and furthermore “Further, in case that the edge application server 101 knows information of the user equipment 50 to be connected to the edge application server 101, the user equipment 50 may perform operations 510, 512, and 514 in advance before the user equipment 50 requests the service.” [0119]).
Kim and China Mobile do not specifically teach wherein the first determining information comprises indication information indicating to perform application server discovery in advance.
In an analogous art, Sodagar discloses wherein the first determining information comprises indication information indicating to perform application server discovery in advance (“At (S620), the 5GMS AF (540) can discover available EASs (585) through functionalities of edge enabler server. For example, the 5GMS AF (540) includes the EES (580), and the EES (580) can send discovery request to EASs (585) to discover available EASs (585). In some examples, the discovery request can include the location of the user device. In an example, the location of the user device is from the request.” [0115])
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system, as modified by China Mobile, to include Sodagar’s method for edge computing in media streaming, in order to achieve lower latency, higher bandwidth, and reduced backhaul traffic (Sodagar [0005]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS into Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 4
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising:
Kim and China Mobile do not specifically teach sending, by the enabler server, a discovery response message, indicating that traffic influence has been performed for the one or more application servers.
In an analogous art, Sodagar discloses sending, by the enabler server, a discovery response message, indicating that traffic influence has been performed for the one or more application servers (“the edge enabler server determines the edge application server based on an acknowledgement from the edge application server that is in response to a discovery request from the edge enabler server.” [0010]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system, as modified by China Mobile, to include Sodagar’s method for edge computing in media streaming, in order to achieve lower latency, higher bandwidth, and reduced backhaul traffic (Sodagar [0005]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS into Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 8
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the application function request message comprises:
Kim and China Mobile do not specifically teach sending, by the enabler server, the application function request message before sending an application server discovery response message to an edge enabler client.
In an analogous art, Sodagar discloses sending, by the enabler server, the application function request message (“At (S630), available EASs (585) can respectively respond to the discovery request with a discovery acknowledgement to the EES (580). A discovery acknowledgement from an available EAS (585) can include information of the available EAS (585). The EES (580) and the 5GMS AF (540) can receive the information of the available EASs (585).” [0116]) before sending an application server discovery response message to an edge enabler client (“At (S715), the MSH (521) can, through the EEC (570), send a request to 5GMS AF (540) for the specific media service. For example, the request is sent from EEC (570) to the EES (580) by EDGE-1. The request includes information of the UE (501), such as location of the UE (501), EAS discovery filters (e.g., capabilities), a category of ESAs (e.g., gaming applications and like), and the like.” [0125]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system, as modified by China Mobile, to include Sodagar’s method for edge computing in media streaming, in order to achieve lower latency, higher bandwidth, and reduced backhaul traffic (Sodagar [0005]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS into Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 10
Kim, as modified by China Mobile, previously discloses the method according to claim 7, further comprising:
Kim and China Mobile do not specifically teach sending, by the enabler client, the application server discovery request message comprising the first determining information to the enabler server.
In an analogous art, Sodagar discloses sending, by the enabler client, the application server discovery request message comprising the first determining information to the enabler server (“At (S630), available EASs (585) can respectively respond to the discovery request with a discovery acknowledgement to the EES (580). A discovery acknowledgement from an available EAS (585) can include information of the available EAS (585). The EES (580) and the 5GMS AF (540) can receive the information of the available EASs (585).” [0116]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system, as modified by China Mobile, to include Sodagar’s method for edge computing in media streaming, in order to achieve lower latency, higher bandwidth, and reduced backhaul traffic (Sodagar [0005]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate China Mobile’s method for EES traffic influence at ECS into Kim’s method for providing a service in an edge computing system since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 16
The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the sending the application function request message comprises:
sending the application function request message before sending an application server discovery response message to an edge enabler client.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 16 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 8. Therefore apparatus claim 16 corresponds to method claim 8 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 8 rejection above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUONG M NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8184. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm.
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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