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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claims 1-20 stand rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In regard to Claim 6, Claim 6 recites: “receiving from the EECF at least one of energy cost information” (emphasis added). It is unclear whether this energy cost information is the same as or different from “the energy cost information” of the “receiving” step in Claim 1, which Claim 6 depends from. The examiner will treat the above claim excerpt to state: receiving from the EECF at least one of the energy cost information.
In regard to Claim 13, Claim 13 recites: “receiving from the EECF at least one of energy cost information” (emphasis added). It is unclear whether this energy cost information is the same as or different from “the energy cost information” of the “receiving” step in Claim 9, which Claim 13 depends from. The examiner will treat the above claim excerpt to state: receiving from the EECF at least one of the energy cost information.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 6 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20260197752 A1) in view of Chen et al. (Pub. No.: US 20240314718 A1), hereafter respectively referred to as Bhangu and Chen.
In regard to Claim 1, Bhangu teaches A method performed by a policy control function (PCF) (PCF 114, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2) of a wireless network in connection with routing traffic (network policies may comprise Access and Mobility (AM) policies and/or Session Management (SM) policies, Para. 58, FIG. 2) in a protocol data unit (PDU) session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2), the method comprising: determining to request energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. A request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise any logical or physical network entity such as a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmitting a message to an energy efficiency control function (EECF) requesting the energy cost information (At Step S1, the EMF 124 may receive a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2) based at least in part on determining to request the energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches receiving, in response to the message (At Step S1, a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”), Para. 46, FIG. 2), the energy cost information (At Step S12, the EMF 124 may transmit a request to the PCF 114 for controlling one or more network policies. Specifically, the EMF 124 may transmit the calculated energy consumption associated with the network element to the PCF 114. This is performed by transmitting a “Nemf_Energyconsumption_Request response” to the PCF 114, Para. 55, FIG. 2. At Step S13, upon receiving the calculated energy consumption and the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may compare the two energy consumptions, Para. 56, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches determining a routing policy based at least in part on the energy cost information (Upon determining that the calculated energy consumption exceeds the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may decide to control one or more network policies, Para. 57. The network policies may comprise Access and Mobility (AM) policies and/or Session Management (SM) policies and controlling the one or more network policies may comprise controlling/adjusting the AM policies and/or SM policies, Para. 58, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmitting the routing policy (At Step S13, the PCF 114 may transmit the one or more modified/new rules to the SMF 122. This may be represented as “Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update response”, Para. 59, FIG. 2) for use in the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu fails to teach receiving a notification of a request to influence traffic routing for the PDU session, and although Bhangu teaches determining to request energy cost information for the PDU session, Bhangu fails to teach determining to request based at least in part on the notification.
Chen teaches receiving a notification (Step 522A) The UDR 404 transmits to the PCF 310 a notification, Para. 108, FIG. 5A) of a request (a notification corresponding to the data update request, Para. 108, FIG. 5A) to influence traffic routing (updated policy and charging control (PCC) rules. The updated PCC rules include QoS parameters, Para. 113, FIG. 5A) for the PDU session (a PDU session associated with the target UE(s), Para. 113, FIG. 5A).
Chen teaches determining (Step 530) The PCF 310 may make a policy decision, Para. 137, FIG. 5A) to request (Step 532B) based on the policy decision, the PCF 310 transmits a policy update request to the SMF 308, the policy update request including updated policy and charging control (PCC) rules, Para. 138, FIG. 5A) based at least in part on the notification (Step 522A) The UDR 404 transmits to the PCF 310 a notification, Para. 108, FIG. 5A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen with the teachings of Bhangu since Chen provides a technique for notifying a PCF of network information related to an update request, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu to permit a PCF to be prompted to control and adjust network policies in response to reception of new network information in a notification.
In regard to Claim 6, Bhangu teaches receiving from the EECF at least one of energy cost information (At Step S12, the EMF 124 may transmit a request to the PCF 114 for controlling one or more network policies. Specifically, the EMF 124 may transmit the calculated energy consumption associated with the network element to the PCF 114. This is performed by transmitting a “Nemf_Energyconsumption_Request response” to the PCF 114, Para. 55, FIG. 2. At Step S13, upon receiving the calculated energy consumption and the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may compare the two energy consumptions, Para. 56, FIG. 2), an indication that energy monitoring thresholds have been met or exceeded, user equipment (UE) identification information, or a PDU session identifier.
In regard to Claim 16, Bhangu teaches A wireless network system comprising circuitry (FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level block diagram of an example communication system (or a 5G system architecture) 100 for controlling network policies for energy saving in a communication system, Para. 30, FIGS. 1, 2) for implementing a policy control function (PCF) (PCF 114, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2) and an efficiency control function (EECF) (EMF 124, Para. 46, FIG. 2), the circuitry to: determine to request energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. A request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise any logical or physical network entity such as a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmit a message to the EECF requesting the energy cost information (At Step S1, the EMF 124 may receive a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2) based at least in part on determining to request the energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches receive, in response to the message (At Step S1, a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”), Para. 46, FIG. 2), the energy cost information (At Step S12, the EMF 124 may transmit a request to the PCF 114 for controlling one or more network policies. Specifically, the EMF 124 may transmit the calculated energy consumption associated with the network element to the PCF 114. This is performed by transmitting a “Nemf_Energyconsumption_Request response” to the PCF 114, Para. 55, FIG. 2. At Step S13, upon receiving the calculated energy consumption and the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may compare the two energy consumptions, Para. 56, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches determine a routing policy based at least in part on the energy cost information (Upon determining that the calculated energy consumption exceeds the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may decide to control one or more network policies, Para. 57. The network policies may comprise Access and Mobility (AM) policies and/or Session Management (SM) policies and controlling the one or more network policies may comprise controlling/adjusting the AM policies and/or SM policies, Para. 58, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmit the routing policy (At Step S13, the PCF 114 may transmit the one or more modified/new rules to the SMF 122. This may be represented as “Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update response”, Para. 59, FIG. 2) for use in the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu fails to teach receive a notification of a request to influence traffic routing for a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and although Bhangu teaches determine to request energy cost information for the PDU session, Bhangu fails to teach determine to request based at least in part on the notification.
Chen teaches receive a notification (Step 522A) The UDR 404 transmits to the PCF 310 a notification, Para. 108, FIG. 5A) of a request (a notification corresponding to the data update request, Para. 108, FIG. 5A) to influence traffic routing (updated policy and charging control (PCC) rules. The updated PCC rules include QoS parameters, Para. 113, FIG. 5A) for a protocol data unit (PDU) session (a PDU session associated with the target UE(s), Para. 113, FIG. 5A).
Chen teaches determine (Step 530) The PCF 310 may make a policy decision, Para. 137, FIG. 5A) to request (Step 532B) based on the policy decision, the PCF 310 transmits a policy update request to the SMF 308, the policy update request including updated policy and charging control (PCC) rules, Para. 138, FIG. 5A) based at least in part on the notification (Step 522A) The UDR 404 transmits to the PCF 310 a notification, Para. 108, FIG. 5A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen with the teachings of Bhangu since Chen provides a technique for notifying a PCF of network information related to an update request, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu to permit a PCF to be prompted to control and adjust network policies in response to reception of new network information in a notification.
Claim(s) 2 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu in view of Chen, and further in view of Qiao et al. (Pub. No.: US 20190098537 A1), hereafter referred to as Qiao.
In regard to Claim 2, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the routing policy is a second routing policy, the method further comprising: receiving N6 routing information for the PDU session; identifying the PDU session based at least in part on the request; determining a first routing policy for the PDU session based at least in part on the N6 routing information; and transmitting the first routing policy for use in the PDU session, wherein the second routing policy is used in place of the first routing policy.
Qiao teaches the routing policy is a second routing policy (the PCF 135 sending to the New SMF 160-1, a message (e.g. policy response) by providing one or more of the following policies(s): QoS policy for the PDU session(s); charging policy for the PDU session(s); traffic Steering Control for steering traffic; and other policies, Para. 152, FIGS. 1-2), the method further comprising: receiving N6 routing information for the PDU session (the session create request message may comprise a Data Network Name (DNN). The DNN may be equivalent to an APN, which may be used to select N6 interface(s) for a PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); identifying the PDU session based at least in part on the request (the session create request message may comprise PDU Session ID(s) for one or more PDU sessions. The PDU Session ID may identify a PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); determining a first routing policy for the PDU session based at least in part on the N6 routing information (The DNN may be equivalent to an APN, which may be used to select N6 interface(s) for a PDU session, and/or determine the policies and apply the policies to the PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); and transmitting the first routing policy for use in the PDU session (the session create request message may comprise UPF information (e.g. UPF identities or UPF address), Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2), wherein the second routing policy is used in place of the first routing policy (the PCF 135 updating the PDU session context for each of the PDU session ID by replacing the stored PDU session information with the new received information. the PCF 135 sending to the New SMF 160-1, a message (e.g. policy response) by providing one or more of the following policies(s): QoS policy for the PDU session(s); charging policy for the PDU session(s); traffic Steering Control for steering traffic; and other policies, Para. 152, FIGS. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Qiao with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Qiao provides a technique for utilizing information related to N6 interfaces for determining policies and replacement policies, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize N6 related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 17, as presented in the rejection of Claim 16, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the routing policy is a second routing policy, the circuitry further to: receive N6 routing information for the PDU session; identify the PDU session based at least in part on the request; determine a first routing policy for the PDU session based at least in part on the N6 routing information; and transmit the first routing policy for use in the PDU session, wherein the second routing policy is used in place of the first routing policy.
Qiao teaches the routing policy is a second routing policy (the PCF 135 sending to the New SMF 160-1, a message (e.g. policy response) by providing one or more of the following policies(s): QoS policy for the PDU session(s); charging policy for the PDU session(s); traffic Steering Control for steering traffic; and other policies, Para. 152, FIGS. 1-2), the circuitry further to: receive N6 routing information for the PDU session (the session create request message may comprise a Data Network Name (DNN). The DNN may be equivalent to an APN, which may be used to select N6 interface(s) for a PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); identify the PDU session based at least in part on the request (the session create request message may comprise PDU Session ID(s) for one or more PDU sessions. The PDU Session ID may identify a PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); determine a first routing policy for the PDU session based at least in part on the N6 routing information (The DNN may be equivalent to an APN, which may be used to select N6 interface(s) for a PDU session, and/or determine the policies and apply the policies to the PDU session, Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2); and transmit the first routing policy for use in the PDU session (the session create request message may comprise UPF information (e.g. UPF identities or UPF address), Para. 149, FIGS. 1-2), wherein the second routing policy is used in place of the first routing policy (the PCF 135 updating the PDU session context for each of the PDU session ID by replacing the stored PDU session information with the new received information. the PCF 135 sending to the New SMF 160-1, a message (e.g. policy response) by providing one or more of the following policies(s): QoS policy for the PDU session(s); charging policy for the PDU session(s); traffic Steering Control for steering traffic; and other policies, Para. 152, FIGS. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Qiao with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Qiao provides a technique for utilizing information related to N6 interfaces for determining policies and replacement policies, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize N6 related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
Claim(s) 3-5, 7-8 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu in view of Chen, and further in view of Li et al. (Pub. No.: US 20230370383 A1), hereafter referred to as Li.
In regard to Claim 3, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the energy cost information for the PDU session.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session.
Li teaches respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session (information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information, Para. 60. The DNAI(s) may be used by the SMF 204 for UPF (re)selection, i.e. to (re)select UPF for a PDU Session related to or impacted by the AF request, Para. 62, FIGS. 2A, 2B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 4, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the routing policy comprises energy aware N6 routing policies included in a policy and charging control rule, and wherein the transmitting the routing policy for use in the PDU session comprises transmitting the routing policy to a session management function (SMF) of the wireless network.
Li teaches the routing policy comprises energy aware N6 routing policies included in a policy and charging control rule, and wherein the transmitting the routing policy for use in the PDU session comprises transmitting the routing policy to a session management function (SMF) of the wireless network (the requirements or requests from the AF 202 may be firstly sent 230 to a PCF 206 and be transformed into policies by the PCF 206, and the PCF then updates the policies 232 to an SMF 204 that is serving a PDU Session, Para. 53, FIG. 2B. The PCF 206 authorizes the request (i.e. the AF request) received from the AF 202 based on information (e.g. information in the AF request such as AF-Service-Identifier) received from the AF 202, operator's policy, etc. and determines for each DNAI, a traffic steering policy ID (derived from the routing profile ID provided by the AF 202 in the AF request) and/or the N6 traffic routing information (as provided by the AF 202 in the AF request) to be sent (e.g. step 232 in FIG. 2B or step 312 in FIG. 3 or step 412 in FIG. 4) to the SMF 204 as part of the PCC rules, Para. 82, FIGS. 2B, 3, 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 5, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the determining the routing policy comprises determining the routing policy further based at least in part on initial N6 routing information.
Li teaches the determining the routing policy comprises determining the routing policy further based at least in part on initial N6 routing information (The PCF 206 authorizes the request (i.e. the AF request) received from the AF 202 and determines for each DNAI, a traffic steering policy ID (derived from the routing profile ID provided by the AF 202 in the AF request) and/or the N6 traffic routing information (as provided by the AF 202 in the AF request) to be sent (e.g. step 232 in FIG. 2B or step 312 in FIG. 3 or step 412 in FIG. 4) to the SMF 204, Para. 82, FIGS. 2B, 3, 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 7, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the wireless network.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach receiving a negotiation message from an application function (AF) of the wireless network, wherein determining the routing policy is further based on the negotiation message.
Li teaches receiving a negotiation message from an application function (AF) of the wireless network (In step 308, if step 302 was performed, the NEF 208 transfers or sends the AF request to the PCF 206, Para. 95, FIG. 3), wherein determining the routing policy is further based on the negotiation message (In step 310, the PCF 310 generates PCC rules(s) based on the AF request. In step 312, the PCF 206 may update/send the SMF 204 (that is serving the PDU Session) the new PCC rule(s) generated based on the AF request, Para. 96, FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 8, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the method.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation.
Li teaches the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) (The AF request may have information about the N6 traffic routing requirements for traffic identified as defined in the request. This information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information. If this indication is provided by the AF 202, the 5GC (e.g. the SMF 204) should select a common DNAI for the target PDU Sessions from the list of DNAI(s) specified in the AF request, Para. 60), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation (An AF may send requests to influence SMF routing decisions for a traffic of a protocol data unit (PDU) Session. The AF may be in charge of the (re)selection or relocation of the applications within the local DN, Para. 37, FIG. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 18, as presented in the rejection of Claim 16, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the energy cost information for the PDU session.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the information for the PDU session comprises respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session.
Li teaches the information for the PDU session comprises respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session (information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information, Para. 60. The DNAI(s) may be used by the SMF 204 for UPF (re)selection, i.e. to (re)select UPF for a PDU Session related to or impacted by the AF request, Para. 62, FIGS. 2A, 2B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 19, as presented in the rejection of Claim 16, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the circuitry.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the circuitry is further for implementing an application function (AF), wherein the circuitry is further to receive a negotiation message from the AF, and wherein the determining the routing policy is further based on the negotiation message.
Li teaches the circuitry is further for implementing an application function (AF), wherein the circuitry is further to receive a negotiation message from the AF (In step 308, if step 302 was performed, the NEF 208 transfers or sends the AF request to the PCF 206, Para. 95, FIG. 3), and wherein the determining the routing policy is further based on the negotiation message (In step 310, the PCF 310 generates PCC rules(s) based on the AF request. In step 312, the PCF 206 may update/send the SMF 204 (that is serving the PDU Session) the new PCC rule(s) generated based on the AF request, Para. 96, FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 20, as presented in the rejection of Claim 16, Bhangu in view of Chen teaches the system.
Bhangu in view of Chen fails to teach the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation.
Li teaches the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) (The AF request may have information about the N6 traffic routing requirements for traffic identified as defined in the request. This information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information. If this indication is provided by the AF 202, the 5GC (e.g. the SMF 204) should select a common DNAI for the target PDU Sessions from the list of DNAI(s) specified in the AF request, Para. 60), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation (An AF may send requests to influence SMF routing decisions for a traffic of a protocol data unit (PDU) Session. The AF may be in charge of the (re)selection or relocation of the applications within the local DN, Para. 37, FIG. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Chen since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Chen to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
Claim(s) 9 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20260197752 A1) in view of Guttman et al. (Pub. No.: US 20260172870 A1), hereafter respectively referred to as Bhangu and Guttman.
In regard to Claim 9, Bhangu teaches A method performed by a function (PCF 114, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2) of a wireless network in connection with routing traffic in a protocol data unit (PDU) session, the method comprising: determining to request energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. A request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise any logical or physical network entity such as a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmitting a message to an energy efficiency control function (EECF) requesting the energy cost information (At Step S1, the EMF 124 may receive a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”) from the PCF 114, Para. 46, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2) based at least in part on determining to request the energy cost information (The PCF 114 is responsible for enforcing policy decisions related to quality of service (QOS), access control, network resource allocation, Para. 36, FIGS. 1, 2. The request may be for energy consumption associated with a network element, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches receiving, in response to the message (At Step S1, a request (represented as “Nemf_EnergyConsumption_Request”), Para. 46, FIG. 2), the energy cost information (At Step S12, the EMF 124 may transmit a request to the PCF 114 for controlling one or more network policies. Specifically, the EMF 124 may transmit the calculated energy consumption associated with the network element to the PCF 114. This is performed by transmitting a “Nemf_Energyconsumption_Request response” to the PCF 114, Para. 55, FIG. 2. At Step S13, upon receiving the calculated energy consumption and the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may compare the two energy consumptions, Para. 56, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches determining a second routing policy based at least in part on the energy cost information (Upon determining that the calculated energy consumption exceeds the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may decide to control one or more network policies, Para. 57. The network policies may comprise Access and Mobility (AM) policies and/or Session Management (SM) policies and controlling the one or more network policies may comprise controlling/adjusting the AM policies and/or SM policies, Para. 58, FIG. 2) for the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Bhangu teaches transmitting the second routing policy (At Step S13, the PCF 114 may transmit the one or more modified/new rules to the SMF 122. This may be represented as “Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update response”, Para. 59, FIG. 2) for use in the PDU session (The network element may comprise a PDU Session, Para. 46, FIG. 2).
Although Bhangu teaches a function of a wireless network, Bhangu fails to teach a session management function (SMF) of a wireless network, and Bhangu fails to teach receiving, from a policy control function (PCF) of the wireless network, a first routing policy for the PDU session, and although Bhangu teaches determining to request energy cost information for the PDU session, Bhangu fails to teach determining to request energy cost information for the PDU session based at least in part on the first routing policy.
Guttman teaches a session management function (SMF) (Session Management Function (SMF), Para. 68, FIG. 1) of a wireless network (FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of charging and credit control in 5G networks, Para. 67, FIG. 1).
Guttman teaches receiving, from a policy control function (PCF) of the wireless network, a first routing policy for the PDU session (Step 1: According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the Policy Charging Function (PCF) sends to Session Management Function (SMF) the policy, Para. 68, FIG. 1).
Guttman teaches determining to request energy cost information for the PDU session based at least in part on the first routing policy (Step 2: the SMF forwards the policy to Online Charging Server/System (OCS), Para. 69, FIG. 1. Step 4: the OCS sends ‘Out of Credit’ event triggers to SMF for enforcement. For example, the SMF may gate the sessions (informs UPF to stop routing traffic, limit service to a reduced level, etc.), Para. 71, FIG. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Guttman with the teachings of Bhangu since Guttman provides a technique for a SMF to participate in policy determination with a PCF in relation to an OCS, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu to permit SMF management of sessions through an OCS that also takes into account energy consumption for policies determined by a PCF.
In regard to Claim 13, Bhangu teaches receiving from the EECF at least one of energy cost information (At Step S12, the EMF 124 may transmit a request to the PCF 114 for controlling one or more network policies. Specifically, the EMF 124 may transmit the calculated energy consumption associated with the network element to the PCF 114. This is performed by transmitting a “Nemf_Energyconsumption_Request response” to the PCF 114, Para. 55, FIG. 2. At Step S13, upon receiving the calculated energy consumption and the maximum energy consumption associated with the network element, the PCF 114 may compare the two energy consumptions, Para. 56, FIG. 2), an indication that energy monitoring thresholds have been met or exceeded, user equipment (UE) identification information, or a PDU session identifier.
Claim(s) 10 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu in view of Guttman, and further in view of Li et al. (Pub. No.: US 20230370383 A1), hereafter referred to as Li.
In regard to Claim 10, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Bhangu in view of Guttman teaches the energy cost information for the PDU session.
Bhangu in view of Guttman fails to teach the information for the PDU session comprises respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session.
Li teaches the information for the PDU session comprises respective information for each of a plurality of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the PDU session (information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information, Para. 60. The DNAI(s) may be used by the SMF 204 for UPF (re)selection, i.e. to (re)select UPF for a PDU Session related to or impacted by the AF request, Para. 62, FIGS. 2A, 2B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Guttman since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Guttman to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 14, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Bhangu in view of Guttman teaches the wireless network.
Bhangu in view of Guttman fails to teach receiving a negotiation message from an application function (AF) of the wireless network, wherein determining the second routing policy is further based on the negotiation message.
Li teaches receiving a negotiation message from an application function (AF) of the wireless network (In step 308, if step 302 was performed, the NEF 208 transfers or sends the AF request to the PCF 206, Para. 95, FIG. 3), wherein determining the second routing policy is further based on the negotiation message (In step 310, the PCF 310 generates PCC rules(s) based on the AF request. In step 312, the PCF 206 may update/send the SMF 204 (that is serving the PDU Session) the new PCC rule(s) generated based on the AF request, Para. 96, FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Guttman since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Guttman to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 15, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Bhangu in view of Guttman teaches the method.
Bhangu in view of Guttman fails to teach the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation.
Li teaches the negotiation message comprises information indicative of at least one of: a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) (The AF request may have information about the N6 traffic routing requirements for traffic identified as defined in the request. This information about N6 traffic routing may include information about the N6 traffic routing requirements that is provided per DNAI: for each DNAI, the N6 traffic routing requirements may contain a routing profile ID and/or N6 traffic routing information. If this indication is provided by the AF 202, the 5GC (e.g. the SMF 204) should select a common DNAI for the target PDU Sessions from the list of DNAI(s) specified in the AF request, Para. 60), a user plane (UP) latency requirement, a delta requirement from an original UP latency requirement, a deviation parameter from an original UP requirement, a temporal validity condition, updated N6 routing information, a preference for whether user equipment (UE) IP address preservation is to be used, or a possibility for application relocation (An AF may send requests to influence SMF routing decisions for a traffic of a protocol data unit (PDU) Session. The AF may be in charge of the (re)selection or relocation of the applications within the local DN, Para. 37, FIG. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Guttman since Li provides a technique for utilizing routing information per DNAI for PDU sessions, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Guttman to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize DNAI related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhangu in view of Guttman, and further in view of Qiao et al. (Pub. No.: US 20190098537 A1), hereafter referred to as Qiao.
In regard to Claim 11, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Bhangu in view of Guttman teaches the second routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Guttman fails to teach the second routing policy comprises energy aware N6 routing policies included in a policy and charging control rule, and wherein the transmitting the second routing policy for use in the PDU session comprises transmitting the second routing policy to a user plane function (UPF) of the wireless network.
Qiao teaches the second routing policy comprises energy aware N6 routing policies included in a policy and charging control rule, and wherein the transmitting the second routing policy for use in the PDU session comprises transmitting the second routing policy to a user plane function (UPF) of the wireless network (The 5G core network may select a UPF 110 close to the UE 100 and may execute the traffic steering from the UPF 110 to the local data network via a N6 interface. Based on input from application function, network capability exposure where 5G core network and application function may provide information to each other via NEF, QoS and charging where PCF may provide rules for QoS control and charging for the traffic routed to the local data network, Para. 116, FIGS. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Qiao with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Guttman since Qiao provides a technique for utilizing information related to N6 interfaces for determining policies and replacement policies, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Guttman to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize N6 related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
In regard to Claim 12, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Bhangu in view of Guttman teaches the second routing policy.
Bhangu in view of Guttman fails to teach determining the second routing policy comprises determining the second routing policy further based at least in part on initial N6 routing information.
Qiao teaches determining the second routing policy comprises determining the second routing policy further based at least in part on initial N6 routing information (The 5G core network may select a UPF 110 close to the UE 100 and may execute the traffic steering from the UPF 110 to the local data network via a N6 interface, Para. 116, FIGS. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Qiao with the teachings of Bhangu in view of Guttman since Qiao provides a technique for utilizing information related to N6 interfaces for determining policies and replacement policies, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Bhangu in view of Guttman to permit network policies associated with energy consumption to utilize N6 related information to aid management of controlling and adjusting policies for PDU Sessions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA Y SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1826. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10:30am-7pm ET.
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, CHIRAG G SHAH can be reached at (571)272-3144. 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.
Joshua Smith
/J.S./
7-18-2026
/CHIRAG G SHAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2477
