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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-4 and 57 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to determining a policy related to a UE according to physical state information of the UE without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) an abstract of mental processes. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the generically recited computer elements do not add a meaningful limitations to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements only perform well-understood, routine, conventional computer functions.
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 –
Claim(s) 1-9, 11, 13-15, 22, 26 and 57-59 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Puente Pestana et al. (US 2023/0319709).
Regarding claim 1, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a policy processing method, performed by a first network element (Figures 7A-7C, NWDAF 780), comprising:
determining a policy related to user equipment (UE) according to physical state information of the UE (Figures 7B-7C and paragraphs 95-99, UE reporting battery level and power to AMF 760 and further NWDAF 780, which recommends battery saving policies to PCF 770 based on the UE’s reported battery level and power mode [physical state information]; Figure 7C and paragraph 100, the PCF 770 can activate a corresponding power saving policy(ies) for the UE 750 (step 718). For example in response to a battery saving policy notification 717 that recommends reducing the battery consumption of the UE 750, the PCF 770 can activate a power saving policy to lower the maximum bit rate (MBR) that the UE 750 can transmit data with, or lower an actual bit rate that the UE 750 is transmitting data with).
Regarding claim 2, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein the physical state information is indicative of at least one of: a current battery level of the UE (Paragraph 87, battery level reporting); battery level change of the UE (Paragraph 87, periodic battery level reporting and battery level reporting granularity); a current temperature of the UE; temperature change of the UE; a current available memory capacity of the UE; and memory capacity change of the UE.
Regarding claim 3, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein the policy related to the UE comprises at least one of: a policy for all services of the UE (Figures 7A-7B, battery saving policies to all UE services); a policy for a single service of the UE; and a policy for a service associated with one or more data protocol unit (PDU) sessions of the UE.
Regarding claim 4, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein, different policies related to the UE correspond to different qualities of service (QoS) (Paragraph 100, policy for reducing battery consumption causes activation of power saving policy to lower the bit rate [QoS] that the UE to uses for transmitting data; Paragraph 100, the multiple policies inherently have a corresponding QoS) or different radio access technologies (RATs).
Regarding claim 5, Puente Pestana et al. disclose receiving a state information event of the UE from a second network element, wherein the state information event is used for determining the physical state information of the UE (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760 [second network element]. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE; Paragraph 98, NWDAF 780 analyzes information in the notification 715).
Regarding claim 6, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein receiving the event from the second network element comprises one of: receiving the state information event sent by an access management function (AMF) (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760 [second network element]. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE); or receiving the state information event sent by a session management function (SMF).
Regarding claim 7, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein determining the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE comprises one of: determining the policy related to the UE when receiving the state information event (Figure 7B and paragraph 98, ng the information relating to the battery level and/or the power mode of the UE 750, the NWDAF 780 can analyse the information to determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 (step 716)); determining, when receiving preset information, the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE and the preset information (Paragraph 44, The PCF 105 accesses subscription information for policy decisions made by a User Data Repository (UDR); Figure 7A and paragraph 83, at optional step 701, a UE 750 that is to be subject to battery saving policies according to the disclosed techniques can have a feature “UE battery saving policies” activated in its subscription data that is stored in a UDR; Figure 7A and paragraph 85, As an alternative (or in addition) to the UE 750 having a feature “UE battery saving policies” activated in its subscription data that is stored in a UDR in step 701, the UE 750 can include an indication in the registration request 702 that the UE 750 wants to activate battery saving policies for the UE 750); or determining, when receiving the physical state information, the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE and preset information.
Regarding claim 8, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein determining, when receiving the preset information, the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE and the preset information (Paragraph 44, The PCF 105 accesses subscription information for policy decisions made by a User Data Repository (UDR); Figure 7A and paragraph 83, at optional step 701, a UE 750 that is to be subject to battery saving policies according to the disclosed techniques can have a feature “UE battery saving policies” activated in its subscription data that is stored in a UDR; Figure 7A and paragraph 85, As an alternative (or in addition) to the UE 750 having a feature “UE battery saving policies” activated in its subscription data that is stored in a UDR in step 701, the UE 750 can include an indication in the registration request 702 that the UE 750 wants to activate battery saving policies for the UE 750) comprises: storing, when receiving the physical state information, the physical state information in a third network element (Paragraph 44, policy decision made by a UDR; Paragraphs 83 and 85, UE battery saving policies in subscription data stored in a UDR); and determining, when receiving the preset information, the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE obtained from the third network element and the preset information (Paragraph 44, The PCF 105 accesses subscription information for policy decisions made by a User Data Repository (UDR); Figure 7A and paragraphs 83 and 85, PCF 770 accessing UDR in step 701 to obtain subscription information for UE battery saving policies, PCF 770 receiving a request from the UE 750 in step 702 indicating that it wants to activate those battery saving policies [Paragraph 85], AMF 760 getting those policies in step 703 [Paragraph 86], and PCF 770 responding in step 704 [Paragraphs 87-88]).
Regarding claim 9, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein the third network element comprises one of: a unified data repository (UDR) (Paragraphs 44, 83, 85, UDR); a user data management (UDM); or a data storage network element.
Regarding claim 11, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein determining the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE comprises one of: determining the policy related to the UE according to the physical state information of the UE and mapping relationship information, wherein the mapping relationship information is indicative of a correspondence relationship between different physical statuses of the UE and candidate policies; or determining a policy of the UE according to the physical state information of the UE and auxiliary information sent by the UE (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level [physical state information] and power mode [auxiliary information] to AMF 760. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE; Figure 7B and paragraph 98, After receiving the information relating to the battery level and/or the power mode of the UE 750, the NWDAF 780 can analyse the information to determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 (step 716). In some embodiments the NWDAF 780 may determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 based on the reported battery level and/or whether the UE 750 is in a power saving mode [auxiliary information]).
Regarding claim 13, Puente Pestana et al. disclose sending the physical state information to a fourth network element (Figure 7C and Paragraph 99, the NWDAF 780 [first network element] sends a notification to the PCF 770 [fourth network element] (battery saving policy notification 717) to recommend a reduction in the battery consumption of the UE 750). The battery saving policy notification 717 can indicate any of: an identifier for the UE 750, information indicating the battery level [physical state information] of the UE 750 (and/or information indicating the battery level of the UE 750 with respect to a threshold), information indicating a power saving mode of the UE 750, information indicating a desired power saving level/policy for the UE 750 (e.g. low power saving, medium power saving, high power saving, etc.), and/or information indicating a pattern of the battery level and/or power mode for the UE 750 over time), wherein the physical state information is used by the fourth network element to determine a data policy for communicating with the UE (Paragraph 100, In response to the battery saving policy notification 717, the PCF 770 [fourth network element] can activate a corresponding power saving policy(ies) for the UE 750 (step 718). For example in response to a battery saving policy notification 717 that recommends reducing the battery consumption of the UE 750, the PCF 770 can activate a power saving policy to lower the maximum bit rate (MBR) that the UE 750 can transmit data with, or lower an actual bit rate that the UE 750 is transmitting data with…the PCF 770 may use the information in the battery saving policy notification 717 (e.g. information indicating a battery consumption pattern) to decide an optimal policy for the UE 750).
Regarding claim 14, Puente Pestana et al. disclose wherein the data policy comprises at least one of: a coding policy; and a data transmission policy (Paragraph 100, the PCF 770 can activate a power saving policy to lower the maximum bit rate (MBR) [data transmission policy] that the UE 750 can transmit data with, or lower an actual bit rate [data transmission policy] that the UE 750 is transmitting data with. This lowering of the MBR can be achieved via dynamic policy and charging control (PCC) rules following standard mechanisms).
Regarding claim 15, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a policy processing method, performed by a second network element (Figures 7A-7C, AMF 760), comprising:
sending, when determining that physical state information of user equipment (UE) changes (Paragraph 87, UE 750 battery level and power mode reporting period and/or granularity (i.e. the reporting step, e.g. report when the battery level has decreased or increased by X % from the last reported battery level and/or report when the battery level has reached Y %) [determining change in physical state]; Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE), a state information event to a first network element (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE), wherein the physical state information indicated by the state information event is used by the first network element to determine a policy related to the UE (Figure 7C and paragraph 98, After receiving the information relating to the battery level and/or the power mode of the UE 750, the NWDAF 780 can analyse the information to determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 (step 716); Figure 7C and paragraph 99, the NWDAF 780 sends a notification to the PCF 770 (battery saving policy notification 717) to recommend a reduction in the battery consumption of the UE 750; Figure 7C and paragraph 100, In response to the battery saving policy notification 717, the PCF 770 can activate a corresponding power saving policy(ies) for the UE 750 (step 718). For example in response to a battery saving policy notification 717 that recommends reducing the battery consumption of the UE 750, the PCF 770 can activate a power saving policy to lower the maximum bit rate (MBR) that the UE 750 can transmit data with, or lower an actual bit rate that the UE 750 is transmitting data with).
Regarding claim 22, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a policy processing method, performed by user equipment (UE) (Figure 7A-7C), comprising:
monitoring physical state information of the UE (Figure 7B and paragraphs 89 and 95, UE 750 monitors and reports battery level [physical state information] and/or the UE 750's power mode [physical state information] to the AMF 760); and
reporting, when the physical state information meets a policy update condition, the physical state information to a second network element (Paragraph 87, UE 750 battery level and power mode reporting period and/or granularity (i.e. the reporting step, e.g. report when the battery level has decreased or increased by X % from the last reported battery level and/or report when the battery level has reached Y %) [policy update condition]; Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760 [second network element]. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE), wherein the physical state information is to be forwarded by the second network element to a first network element (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode to AMF 760 [second network element]. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 [first network element] that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE) and used by the first network element to determine a policy related to the UE (Figure 7C and paragraph 98, After receiving the information relating to the battery level and/or the power mode of the UE 750, the NWDAF 780 can analyse the information to determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 (step 716); Figure 7C and paragraph 99, the NWDAF 780 sends a notification to the PCF 770 (battery saving policy notification 717) to recommend a reduction in the battery consumption of the UE 750; Figure 7C and paragraph 100, In response to the battery saving policy notification 717, the PCF 770 can activate a corresponding power saving policy(ies) for the UE 750 (step 718). For example in response to a battery saving policy notification 717 that recommends reducing the battery consumption of the UE 750, the PCF 770 can activate a power saving policy to lower the maximum bit rate (MBR) that the UE 750 can transmit data with, or lower an actual bit rate that the UE 750 is transmitting data with).
Regarding claim 26, Puente Pestana et al. disclose providing auxiliary information to the second network element, wherein the auxiliary information is to be forwarded by the second network element to the first network element (Figure 7B and paragraphs 95-96, UE 750 reports is battery level and power mode [auxiliary information] to AMF 760 [second network element]. AMF 760 sends event exposure notification 715 to NWDAF 780 [first network element] that includes battery status report 714 received from the UE) and used by the first network element to determine the policy related to the UE for the UE (Figure 7B and paragraph 98, After receiving the information relating to the battery level and/or the power mode of the UE 750, the NWDAF 780 can analyse the information to determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 (step 716). In some embodiments the NWDAF 780 may determine whether the network should take steps to reduce the power consumption of the UE 750 based on the reported battery level and/or whether the UE 750 is in a power saving mode [auxiliary information]).
Regarding claim 57, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a first network device (Figures 7A-7C, NWDAF 780; Figure 5 and paragraph 74, analysis node 500 is an NWDAF), comprising:
a processor (Figure 5, processing circuitry 501);
a transceiver (Figure 5, communications interface 502); and
a memory (Figure 5, memory 503) storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 1 (Paragraph 75, the memory 503 can be configured to store program code that can be executed by the processing circuitry 501 to perform the method described herein in relation to the analysis node 500).
Regarding claim 58, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a second network device (Figures 7A-7C, AMF 760; Figure 4 and paragraph 68, In a 5G network the network node 400 described herein may be a policy management node, such as a PCF, or a mobility management node, such as an AMF), comprising:
a processor (Figure 4, processing circuitry 401);
a transceiver (Figure 4, communications interface 402); and
a memory (Figure 4, memory 403) storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 15 (Paragraph 71, the memory 403 can be configured to store program code that can be executed by the processing circuitry 401 to perform the method described herein in relation to the network node 400).
Regarding claim 59, Puente Pestana et al. disclose a user equipment (UE) (Figure 7A-7C, UE 750; Figure 6, wireless device 600), comprising:
a processor (Figure 6, processing circuitry 604);
a transceiver (Figure 6, communications interface 602); and
a memory (Figure 6, memory 603) storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 22 (Paragraph 79, the memory 603 can be configured to store program code that can be executed by the processing circuitry 601 to perform the method described herein in relation to the wireless device 600).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, 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) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestana et al. as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Zhuoming Li (US 2023/0072593).
Regarding claim 10, Puente Pestana et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhuoming Li: wherein the preset information comprises at least one of: payment information of a paying user; network resource restriction status information (Zhuoming Li, Paragraph 236, the PCF may obtain the upper data rate limit and the actual data rate in different manners. For example, the PCF may obtain the actual data rate via the NWDAF, and obtain the upper data rate limit via the UDR; Paragraph 379, the NWDAF may send an obtaining request for an upper data rate limit to the UDR, and receive a response message from the UDR, where the response message carries the upper data rate limit of the candidate network area); and indication information on whether an actual QoS of the UE reaches a target QoS.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestana et al. with the cited disclosure from Zhuoming Li in order to control traffic (Zhuoming Li, Abstract).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestana et al. as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Sun et al. (US 2023/0148106).
Regarding claim 12, Puente Pestana et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Sun et al.: wherein the auxiliary information comprises at least one of: a policy suggested by the UE; a QoS suggested by the UE (Sun et al., Figure 6 and paragraph 74, UE requesting PDU session and the request including QoS requirements as well as UE processing and storage capacity, battery status, etc. as physical state information, all of which is forwarded to a PCF which chooses a policy and model based on the information included in the request); and an RAT suggested by the UE.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestana et al. with the cited disclosure from Sun et al. in order to manage a data packet session in the cellular network (Sun et al., Abstract).
Conclusion
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/OTIS L THOMPSON, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
August 7, 2026
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