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
This non-final office action is responsive to the U.S. patent application no. 18/813,772 filed on August 23, 2024.
Claims 1-20 have been cancelled.
Claims 21-40 are pending.
Claims 21-40 are rejected.
Priority
The application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) to Chinese application No. CN202210181554.0 filed on February 26th, 2022.
The application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 365(a) to the international application no. PCT/CN2023/078167 filed on February 24, 2023.
A certified copy of the Chinese application submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) was received on September 23, 2024, and has been placed in the file of record.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 14, 2024 is compliant with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 24 and 39 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.
Claims 24 and 39 recite the limitation "the computing network element" but there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable over Chong et al. (U.S. 2024/0236935).
Regarding claim 21, Chong disclosed a method applied to a service control network element (Chong disclosed in Fig. 9 a method performed by a service control function (SCF) in a network illustrated in Figs. 1, 7 and 8. Said SCF anticipates the service control network element in the claim), the method comprising:
receiving a first request from a first device, wherein the first request is configured to request a first service (Chong disclosed in Fig. 9, step 900 and [0430] that “ Step 900: A sensing control function SCF network element receives a first sensing service request message, where the first sensing service request message is used for requesting for performing sensing for a service for a first user equipment.”);
determining a first computing network element based on the first request, wherein the first computing network element is configured to generate first data of the first service (Chong disclosed in Fig. 9, steps 901, 902 and [0459] that “Step 901: The sensing control function network element transmits a first request message to a first network element, where the first request message is used for requesting to acquire identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to the first user equipment” and [0470], “Step 902: The sensing control function network element receives a first request response message transmitted by the first network element, and acquires identification information of a candidate sensing device in the sensing serving area corresponding to the first user equipment.” These two steps describe the process that anticipates the “determining” step in the claim, where Chong’s “candidate sensing device in the sensing serving area” anticipates the “first computing network element” in the claim); and
sending information about the first computing network element to an access network device (Chong disclosed in [0499] that “the sensing control function SCF network element transmits identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to the first network element”).
Claim 36 lists substantially the same elements as claim 21, in apparatus form rather than method form. Therefore, the rejection rationale for claim 21 applies equally as well to claim 36.
Regarding claims 22 and 37, Chong disclosed the subject matter of claims 21 and 36 respectively.
Chong further disclosed wherein the first request comprises service type information or area information (Chong disclosed in [0446] that “the first sensing service request message includes: identification information of the first user equipment and first sensing service description information.” Chong then disclosed in [0447, 0048] that “The first sensing service description information includes … sensing service type information” and in [0457] that “the first sensing service request message further includes first sensing serving area information…”).
Regarding claims 23 and 38, Chong disclosed the subject matter of claims 21 and 36 respectively.
Chong further disclosed wherein determining the first computing network element based on the first request comprises: determining the first computing network element based on the first request and first information of at least one computing network element, wherein the first information comprises at least one of service type information, location information, or computing resource information (Chong disclosed in [0459] that “The sensing control function network element transmits a first request message to a first network element, where the first request message is used for requesting to acquire identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to the first user equipment” and in [0471] that “after receiving the first request message, the first network element determines the information of the first area according to the location information of the first user equipment and the sensing serving area corresponding to the first user equipment, and acquires the identification information of the candidate sensing device in the first area”. Said disclosure shows that Chong’s determination of a candidate sensing device, which anticipates the “determining” step in the claim involves using the sensing serving area information in the first sensing service request message to select a sensing device serving in the desired sensing area)
Regarding claims 24 and 39, Chong disclosed the subject matter of claims 23 and 38 respectively.
Chong further disclosed receiving the first information from the computing network element (Chong disclosed in [0475] that “the first network element transmits the identification information of the candidate sensing device in the sensing serving area corresponding to the first user equipment to the sensing control function network element through the first request response message.” and in [0479] that “for example the AMF determines an AOI according to the location information of the consumer UE and the first sensing serving area information, and the AMF determines a UE ID list and/or an RAN ID list within the AOI. The AMF transmits the UE ID list and/or the RAN ID list within the AOI to the SCF.”).
Regarding claims 25 and 40, Chong disclosed the subject matter of claims 21 and 36 respectively.
Chong further disclosed wherein determining the first computing network element based on the first request comprises: sending a second request to a computing control network element based on the first request, wherein the second request corresponds to the first service, and the second request is used to obtain the information about the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in [0499, 0517, 0533] that “… and the sensing control function SCF network element transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the target sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of a sensing service process.” Said transmission to the target sensing device anticipates the “second request” in the claim); and
receiving the information about the first computing network element from the computing control network element (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2 and [0110-0129] a sensing service process that includes steps 51-5c and 6 in which the SCF receives a sensing data report back from the selected sensing device).
Regarding claim 26, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 25.
Chong further disclosed wherein the second request further comprises a first identifier corresponding to the first service (Chong disclosed in Fig. 6 and [0078, 0349, 0533, 0703] that “The second sensing service request message includes second sensing service description information and identification information of a target sensing device.”).
Regarding claim 27, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 21.
Chong further disclosed sending the information about the first computing network element to the first device (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2, step 8 and [0129] that “The SCF network element transmits the sensing data report or a sensing result report to the AF” As Chong disclosed in [0159] that “the first sensing service request message is transmitted by the AF, or by the first user equipment, or by the AF through a network exposure function (NEF) network element,” therefore the AF in Chong anticipates the “first device” in the claim); or
sending information about the first device to the first computing network element; or
receiving the first data from the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2, steps 5a-5c, 6 and [0122, 0127]that “5a: The sensing UE transmits a UL NAS TRANSPORT message (carrying a sensing data report) to the AMF network element.” and “6. The AMF network element transmits the sensing data report to the SCF network element.”) and sending the first data to the first device (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2, step 8 and [0129] that “The SCF network element transmits the sensing data report or a sensing result report to the AF” As Chong disclosed in [0159] that “the first sensing service request message is transmitted by the AF, or by the first user equipment, or by the AF through a network exposure function (NEF) network element,” therefore the AF in Chong anticipates the “first device” in the claim).
Regarding claim 28, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 21.
Chong further disclosed sending second information to the first computing network element, wherein the second information indicates a condition for the computing network element to send the first data (Chong disclosed in [0260] that “The second sensing service request message includes: second sensing service description information and identification information of the target sensing device”).
Regarding claim 29, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 21.
Chong further disclosed wherein the information about the first computing network element comprises: first address information, wherein the first address information is used to receive second data of the first service, and the second data is used to generate the first data; or an identifier of the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in [0476, 0477] that “AMF determines a UE ID list and/or an RAN ID list within the AOI. The AMF transmits the UE ID list and/or the RAN ID list within the AOI to the SCF”).
Regarding claim 30, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 29.
Chong further disclosed wherein the information about the first computing network element comprises the first address information (Chong disclosed in [0476, 0477] that “AMF determines a UE ID list and/or an RAN ID list within the AOI. The AMF transmits the UE ID list and/or the RAN ID list within the AOI to the SCF”), the first request comprises service type information (Chong disclosed in [0447, 0048] that “The first sensing service description information includes … sensing service type information”), and
the method further comprises:
receiving the first address information from the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in [0321] that “ .. the AMF network element transmits identification information of a candidate sensing device (a candidate UE ID list and/or a candidate RAN ID list),” meaning that the SCF receives such identification information of the candidate sensing device, which is the equivalent of the “first computing network element” in the claim); or
receiving a first correspondence from the first computing network element, wherein the first correspondence comprises a correspondence between the service type information and address information, the service type information comprises service type information of the first service, and the address information comprises the first address information (Chong disclosed in [0321] that “ if the AMF network element transmits identification information of a candidate sensing device (a candidate UE ID list and/or a candidate RAN ID list), the SCF network element selects sensing UE(s) with a sensing service network capability satisfying a sensing service corresponding to the second sensing service description information from the candidate UE ID list, and/or the SF selects sensing RAN(s) with a sensing service capability satisfying the sensing service corresponding to the second sensing service description information from the candidate RAN ID list.”).
Regarding claim 31, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 21.
Chong further disclosed sending the following information to the first computing network element: service type information of the first service; or service type information of the first service and a first identifier, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the first service (Chong disclosed in [0016, 0078, 0259-0260] that “The first network element transmits a second sensing service request message to the target sensing control function network element in a case that the first network element selects the target sensing device. The second sensing service request message includes: second sensing service description information and identification information of the target sensing device, where the second sensing service description information is generated according to the first sensing service description information.”).
Regarding claim 32, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 21.
Chong further disclosed sending a first identifier to the access network device or the first device, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the first service (Chong disclosed in [0499] that “the sensing control function SCF network element transmits identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to the first network element”).
Regarding claim 33, Chong disclosed a method applied to an access network device, the method comprising:
receiving from a computing control network element or a service control network element, information about a first computing network element and control information corresponding to a first service (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2, step 2 and [0114] that “The SCF network element transmits Namf_Communication_N1 N2 Message Transfer (sensing service message) to the AMF network element.” Chong’s AMF anticipates “an access network device” in the claim and Chong’s SCF network element anticipates the “computing control network element or service control network element” in the claim); and
sending first data of the first service to the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in Fig. 2, step 3 and [0115] that “The AMF network element transmits the sensing service message to a sensing UE.” Chong’s sensing UE anticipates “the first computing network element” in the claim).
Regarding claim 34, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 33.
Chong further disclosed receiving a first identifier from the computing control network element or the service control network element, wherein the first identifier is related to the first service (Chong disclosed in [0016, 0078, 0259-0260] that “The first network element transmits a second sensing service request message to the target sensing control function network element in a case that the first network element selects the target sensing device. The second sensing service request message includes: second sensing service description information and identification information of the target sensing device, where the second sensing service description information is generated according to the first sensing service description information.” Said “second sensing service request message” disclosed by Chong here corresponds to the “sensing service message” disclosed by Chong in Fig. 2, steps 2 and 3); and
sending the first data of the first service to the first computing network element comprises sending the first data of the first service and the first identifier to the first computing network element (Chong disclosed in [0016, 0078, 0259-0260, 0517, 0533, 0703] this claim element).
Regarding claim 35, Chong disclosed the method according to claim 33.
Chong further disclosed wherein: the information about the first computing network element comprises first address information of the first computing network element, and the first address information is used to send the first data of the first service; and sending the first data of the first service to the first computing network element comprises sending the first data to the first computing network element based on the first address information (Chong disclosed in [0259-0260] that “The first network element transmits a second sensing service request message to the target sensing control function network element in a case that the first network element selects the target sensing device. The second sensing service request message includes: second sensing service description information and identification information of the target sensing device, where the second sensing service description information is generated according to the first sensing service description information.” Chong’s “second sensing service description information” anticipates “the information about the first computing network element” in the claim).
Related Prior Art
Guo et al. (US 2024/0284228) is directed to methods and systems that cause a transceiver to receive a first sensing instruction from a first core network element, where the first sensing instruction instructs the second core network element to control an access-network device and/or a terminal device to perform a target sensing task; and control, according to the first sensing instruction, the access-network device and/or the terminal device to perform the target sensing task.
Cheng et al. (US 2023/0370820) is directed to methods and systems that configures sensing mode of a user equipment for wireless sensing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHIRLEY X ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5012. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joon H Hwang can be reached at 571-272-4036. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHIRLEY X ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447