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 .
This application has been examined.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Interpretation
The following are interpretations of the claims as they stand:
In all claims that recite “and/or”, “one or more”, “at least one of”, or similar statements, it’s understood that only one of the options provided is necessitated to meet the claim language.
Some of the independent claims recite “sixth information” which implies the presence of first to fifth information which is not claimed. Thus, this is interpreted as just information obtained by the radio access network element.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Huang (USPN 11,943,304; with effective filing date provided by the PCT dated 12/31/2019).
Regarding claim 1 Huang discloses an information exposure method, comprising:
obtaining, by a radio access network (RAN) network element, sixth information (col. 27, lines 46-61; the RAN element receives a tunnel establishment request message), wherein the sixth information comprises at least one of the following: exposure mode information of RAN-provided information, or address information or index information of a first core network (CN) network element (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; wherein the establishment message comprises core network elements identifiers and QoS information);
wherein the exposure mode information is used to indicate that the RAN-provided information is exposed through a first tunnel (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; QoS information for the established tunnel); and
performing, by the RAN network element, a third operation based on the sixth information (col. 27, lines 46-61, col. 28, lines 5-29, col. 30, lines 29-38; the RAN sends a confirmation message to the network device);
wherein the third operation comprises at least one of the following: sending, through the first tunnel, the RAN-provided information; or sending the RAN-provided information to the first CN network element (col. 27, lines 46-61, col. 28, lines 5-29, col. 30, lines 29-38; the RAN sends a confirmation message to the network device).
Regarding claim 2 Huang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the RAN-provided information comprises: a level of congestion (col. 3, lines 15-30, col. 18, lines 20-40, col 26, lines 50-60; QoS information related to delay and bandwidth, all measures of network traffic).
Regarding claim 3 Huang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first tunnel comprises one of the following: a quality of service (QoS) flow, a tunnel between the RAN network element and the first CN network element, and a tunnel used for exposing the RAN-provided information (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; a QoS tunnel for communication between network and users).
Regarding claim 4 Huang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first CN network element comprises a user plane function (UPF) (figs. 7A, 8, UPF).
Regarding claim 5 Huang discloses the method according to claim 1,
wherein the sixth information further comprises at least one of the following:
a first message, first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel, a third message, or third request information for establishing a tunnel, establishing a subtunnel, establishing the first tunnel, and/or establishing a first subtunnel (col. 27, lines 40-50; a tunnel establishment request); and
the third operation further comprises at least one of the following:
establishing the first tunnel or establishing a requested tunnel; allocating RAN side information of the first tunnel; sending RAN side information of the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 40-50; tunnel establishment);
performing at least one of the following for an established first tunnel or a requested tunnel established:
not allocating a radio resource, or not mapping a radio tunnel (col. 24, lines 3-20; wherein a tunnel is established but not allocated until a session establishment is requested by a user);
performing at least one of the following for the established first subtunnel or a subtunnel of the requested tunnel established:
allocating a radio resource, or mapping a radio tunnel; sending, through a tunnel requested to be established, the RAN-provided information; sending, through the first subtunnel or a subtunnel of the tunnel requested to be established, the RAN-provided information; selecting a tunnel according to a first QoS rule to send the RAN-provided information; guaranteeing QoS of the first data or the first tunnel based on a first QoS parameter; selecting a subtunnel according to the first QoS rule to send the RAN-provided information; or guaranteeing QoS of the first subtunnel based on the first QoS parameter (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; QoS guaranteed for the established tunnel);
wherein the first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel comprises at least one of the following:
a first request, a first indication, a first QoS requirement, an identifier of the first tunnel or an identifier of the tunnel requested to be established, a first data network name (DNN), a first slice, CN side information of the first tunnel or CN side information of the tunnel requested to be established, RAN side information of the first tunnel or RAN side information of the tunnel requested to be established, or address information or index information of the first CN network element (col. 24, lines 12-35, col. 27, lines 40-50; DNN information, tunnel request);
the third request information for establishing a tunnel, establishing a subtunnel, establishing the first tunnel, and/or establishing the first subtunnel comprises at least one of the following:
the first request, the first indication, the first QoS requirement, the identifier of the first tunnel or the identifier of the tunnel requested to be established, the first DNN, the first slice, the CN side information of the first tunnel or the CN side information of an established tunnel, exposure mode information of the RAN-provided information, the first QoS parameter, or the first QoS rule (col. 24, lines 12-35, col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-50; DNN information, QoS);
the exposure mode information of the RAN-provided information comprises at least one of the following:
description information of the RAN-provided information, or a exposure mode of the RAN-provided information; the exposure mode of the RAN-provided information is used to indicate that the RAN-provided information is exposed through the established tunnel or the first tunnel (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; QoS information for the established tunnel);
the first QoS requirement comprises one of the following:
a QoS requirement for the first data, a QoS requirement for the first tunnel, and a QoS requirement for the first subtunnel (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; QoS guaranteed for the established tunnel);
the first QoS rule comprises at least one of the following:
a QoS rule for the first data, a QoS rule for the first tunnel, a QoS rule for the first subtunnel, a QoS rule for the tunnel requested to be established, or a QoS rule for a subtunnel requested to be established (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; QoS guaranteed for the established tunnel);
the first QoS parameter comprises at least one of the following:
QoS information of the first data, a QoS parameter for the first tunnel, a QoS parameter for the first subtunnel, a QoS parameter for the tunnel requested to be established, or a QoS parameter for the subtunnel requested to be established (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; QoS guaranteed for the established tunnel);
the first data is data carrying the RAN-provided information (col. 18, lines 30-40; QoS data); and
the first subtunnel is a tunnel in the first tunnel (claims do not require both the tunnel and subtunnel to be established, according to the conditional limitations).
Regarding claim 6 Huang discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein
in a case that the sixth information comprises the first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel, the obtaining, by a RAN network element, sixth information comprises:
receiving, by the RAN network element, the first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel from at least one of a first communication device, a third CN network element, the first CN network element, or a CN network element (fig. 8, received from a core network device); and/or
in a case that the sixth information comprises the third request information for establishing a tunnel, establishing a subtunnel, establishing the first tunnel, and/or establishing the first subtunnel, the obtaining, by a RAN network element, sixth information comprises:
receiving, by the RAN network element, the third request information for establishing a tunnel, establishing a subtunnel, establishing the first tunnel, and/or establishing the first subtunnel from at least one of a second communication device, a second CN network element, the first CN network element, the third CN network element, a fifth CN network element, or the CN network element (the conditional limitations do not require this limitation to be met).
Regarding claim 7 Huang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein before the step of obtaining, by a RAN network element, sixth information, the method further comprises:
performing, by the RAN network element, a first operation, wherein the first operation comprises at least one of the following:
allocating an identifier of the first tunnel; allocating information about a first endpoint of the first tunnel; allocating an identifier of a tunnel, wherein the identifier of the tunnel does not belong to a range of tunnel identifiers allocatable by a terminal, and/or the identifier of the tunnel belongs to a range of the identifier of the first tunnel; or
sending first information, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: the first message, or the first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 35-50; tunnel request data).
Regarding claim 8 Huang discloses an information exposure method, comprising:
sending, by a first communication device, third information to a radio access network (RAN) network element (col. 27, lines 46-61; the RAN element receives a tunnel establishment request message);
wherein the third information comprises exposure mode information of RAN-provided information, wherein the exposure mode information is used to indicate that the RAN-provided information is exposed through a first tunnel (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; QoS information for the established tunnel).
Regarding claim 9 Huang discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the RAN-provided information comprises: a level of congestion (col. 3, lines 15-30, col. 18, lines 20-40, col 26, lines 50-60; QoS information related to delay and bandwidth, all measures of network traffic).
Regarding claim 10 Huang discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the first tunnel comprises one of the following: a quality of service (QoS) flow, a tunnel between the RAN network element and a first core network (CN) network element, and a tunnel used for exposing the RAN-provided information (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; a QoS tunnel for communication between network and users).
Regarding claim 11 Huang discloses the method according to claim 10, wherein the first CN network element comprises a user plane function (UPF), and the first communication device comprises a session management function (SMF) (see figure 8).
Regarding claim 12 Huang discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein a granularity of the RAN-provided information comprises one or more of the following: per RAN granularity; per terminal granularity; per terminal service granularity; per terminal tunnel granularity; per protocol data unit (PDU) session of terminal granularity; and per QoS flow of terminal granularity (col. 27, lines 46-61, col. 28, lines 5-29, col. 30, lines 29-38; per tunnel).
Regarding claim 13 Huang discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises: performing, by the first communication device, a first operation; wherein the first operation comprises at least one of the following: allocating an identifier of a first tunnel; allocating information about a first endpoint of the first tunnel; allocating an identifier of a tunnel, wherein the identifier of the tunnel does not belong to a range of tunnel identifiers allocatable by a terminal, and/or the identifier of the tunnel belongs to a range of the identifier of the first tunnel; or sending first information, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: a first message, or first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 35-50; tunnel request data);
wherein the first message is one of the following: a first message for establishing a tunnel and/or allocating a tunnel resource, and a first message for requesting establishment of the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 40-50; a tunnel establishment request); and
the first request information used for establishing a tunnel or establishing the first tunnel comprises at least one of the following: a first request, a first indication, a first QoS requirement, the identifier of the first tunnel or an identifier of a tunnel requested to be established, a first data network name (DNN), a first slice, CN side information of the first tunnel or CN side information of the tunnel requested to be established, RAN side information of the first tunnel or RAN side information of the tunnel requested to be established, or address information or index information of a first CN network element (col. 24, lines 12-35, col. 27, lines 40-50; DNN information, tunnel request);
wherein the first request is used for requesting establishment of the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 40-50; a tunnel establishment request); and the first indication is used to indicate that the tunnel requested to be established is the first tunnel (col. 27, lines 40-50; a tunnel establishment request);
the first QoS requirement is one of the following: a QoS requirement for first data and a QoS requirement for the first tunnel, wherein the first data is data that carries RAN-provided information (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; QoS guaranteed for the established tunnel);
the first DNN is one of the following: a DNN used for establishing the first tunnel and a DNN used for transmitting the first data; and the first slice is one of the following: a slice used for establishing the first tunnel and a slice used for transmitting the first data (col. 24, lines 12-35, col. 27, lines 40-50; DNN information, tunnel request).
Regarding claim 14 Huang discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the performing, by the first communication device, a first operation comprises: performing, by the first communication device, the first operation in a case that a first condition is met; wherein the first condition comprises one or more of the following: the first communication device has received a subscription request for the RAN-provided information; the first communication device has received a measurement requirement for the RAN-provided information; the RAN network element supports exposure of the RAN-provided information; the first communication device supports requesting to establish the first tunnel; and the first communication device obtains the address information or the index information of the first CN network element; wherein the first CN network element supports assisting the RAN network element in exposing the RAN-provided information (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; the request comprises identifiers of core network devices).
Regarding claim 15 Huang discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the performing, by the first communication device, a first operation comprises: obtaining, by the first communication device, second information; and performing, by the first communication device, the first operation based on the obtained second information; wherein the second information comprises one or more of the following: a subscription request for the RAN-provided information; a measurement requirement for the RAN-provided information; the RAN network element supports exposure of the RAN-provided information; the first communication device supports requesting to establish the first tunnel; and the address information or the index information of the first CN network element; wherein the first CN network element supports assisting the RAN network element in exposing the RAN-provided information (col. 26, lines 55-67, col. 27, lines 20-44; the request comprises identifiers of core network devices).
Regarding claim 16 Huang discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the sending first information comprises: sending the first information to at least one of a second CN network element, a second communication device, or a RAN network element (see figure 8).
Regarding claim 17 Huang discloses a communication device, being a radio access network (RAN) network element, comprising a processor and a memory (figure 8), wherein the memory stores a program or instructions capable of running on the processor, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the RAN network element to perform:
(col. 27, lines 46-61; the RAN element receives a tunnel establishment request message), wherein the sixth information comprises at least one of the following: exposure mode information of RAN-provided information, or address information or index information of a first core network (CN) network element (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; wherein the establishment message comprises core network elements identifiers and QoS information);
wherein the exposure mode information is used to indicate that the RAN-provided information is exposed through a first tunnel (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; QoS information for the established tunnel); and
performing, by the RAN network element, a third operation based on the sixth information (col. 27, lines 46-61, col. 28, lines 5-29, col. 30, lines 29-38; the RAN sends a confirmation message to the network device);
wherein the third operation comprises at least one of the following: sending, through the first tunnel, the RAN-provided information; or sending the RAN-provided information to the first CN network element (col. 27, lines 46-61, col. 28, lines 5-29, col. 30, lines 29-38; the RAN sends a confirmation message to the network device).
Regarding claim 18 Huang discloses the communication device according to claim 17, wherein the RAN-provided information comprises: a level of congestion (col. 3, lines 15-30, col. 18, lines 20-40, col 26, lines 50-60; QoS information related to delay and bandwidth, all measures of network traffic).
Regarding claim 19 Huang discloses the communication device according to claim 17, wherein the first tunnel comprises one of the following: a quality of service (QoS) flow, a tunnel between the RAN network element and the first CN network element, and a tunnel used for exposing the RAN-provided information (col. 4, lines 19-40, col. 27, lines 46-61; a QoS tunnel for communication between network and users).
Regarding claim 20 Huang discloses a communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instructions capable of running on the processor, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the information exposure method according to claim 8 are implemented (col. 12, lines 1-20).
Citation of Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Application Publication 2023/0362725 to Condoluci et al. – that discloses a method performed by a wireless device that comprises radio equipment and terminal equipment. The method comprises receiving connection reconfiguration signaling from a wireless communication network at the radio equipment of the wireless device. The connection reconfiguration signaling indicates reconfiguration of a connection that the radio equipment has with the wireless communication network. The method also comprises transmitting, from the radio equipment to the terminal equipment of the wireless device, notification signaling that notifies the terminal equipment of the reconfiguration of the connection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Aixa A Guadalupe-Cruz whose telephone number is (571)270-7523. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 6AM - 4:00PM.
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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at 571-272-7969. 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.
/Aixa Guadalupe-Cruz/
Examiner
Art Unit 2466
/FARUK HAMZA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2466
Prosecution Insights