CTNF 18/833,650 CTNF 81709 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 “the UPF” appears to lack antecedent basis . Appropriate correction is required. 07-29-01 AIA Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 “the UPF” appears to lack antecedent basis . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim(s) 1- 4, 9-12, 17 and 20 is/a re rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihla r et al. (Ihlar), U.S. Publication No. 2025/0030640. Rega rding Claim 1, Ihlar discloses a method for operation of a session management function (SMF) in a wireless communication system (i.e., SMF 21 shown in figure 1) , the method comprising: receiving, from a policy control function (PCF), a packet processing policy including first information on target packet (i.e., Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule sent by the PCF 16 to the SMF 21 over the N7 interface. The SMF 21 may translate the PCC rule to a modified QoS (“Quality of Service”) Enhancement Rule (QER) comprising the information; see paragraph [0050] also, see paragraphs [0034]-[0035]) and second information on explicit congestion notification (ECN) marking for the target packet (i.e., The SMF 21 may translate the PCC rule to a modified QoS (“Quality of Service”) Enhancement Rule (QER) comprising the information, in addition to comprising information specifying that ECN is to be applied… Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) is an extension to the Internet Protocol (IP) and to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) allowing the UPF 10 performing traffic shaping to mark any outgoing data packets—in practice performed by setting an ECN flag in the IP header—to indicate congestion occurring at the UPF 10.; see paragraphs [0039] and [0050]) . Ihlar fails to specifically state based on the packet processing policy, transmitting a first message including an indication for the ECN marking for the target packet . However, does mention the SMF receiving information on the ECN marking for the target packet (see paragraphs [0039] and [0050]). Ihlar further describes SMF as configured to perform session management, e.g. session establishment, modify and release, etc. (see paragraph [0031]) therefore, requiring such information is typically supplied to the UPF 10 by the PCF 16 over interface N7 to the SMF 21 and further over interface N4 (see paragraph [0035]) for allowing the gaming server 22 in the data network 13 , to inform the sending UE 11 of the congestion indication provided by the marked data packet (see paragraph [0040]). In other words, it can be said that the SMF… based on the packet processing policy, transmits a first message including an indication for the ECN marking for the target packet . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Ihlar’s invention for reducing its transmission rate in order to avoid data packet drop or buffering (see paragraph [0040] of Ihlar). Regarding Claim 9, Ihlar discloses a session management function (SMF) (i.e., the device 10 of FIG. 5 may be provided as a standalone device or as a part of at least one further device. For example, the device 10 may be provided in a node of a core network, or in an appropriate device of a radio access network (RAN), such as in a radio base station… the method according to the herein disclosed embodiments are suitable to be performed by a device 10 residing in a cloud computational environment.; see paragraph [0069] and [0071]) in a wireless communication system (see figure 1) , the SMF comprising: a transceiver (i.e., communication interface 114 (wired or wireless) over which it is configured to transmit and receive data; see paragraph [0068]) ; and a controller (i.e., processing unit 111; see figure 5) , coupled with the transceiver and configured to control to: receive, from a policy control function (PCF), a packet processing policy including first information on target packet (i.e., Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule sent by the PCF 16 to the SMF 21 over the N7 interface. The SMF 21 may translate the PCC rule to a modified QoS (“Quality of Service”) Enhancement Rule (QER) comprising the information; see paragraph [0050] also, see paragraphs [0034]-[0035]) and second information on explicit congestion notification (ECN) marking for the target packet (i.e., The SMF 21 may translate the PCC rule to a modified QoS (“Quality of Service”) Enhancement Rule (QER) comprising the information, in addition to comprising information specifying that ECN is to be applied… Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) is an extension to the Internet Protocol (IP) and to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) allowing the UPF 10 performing traffic shaping to mark any outgoing data packets—in practice performed by setting an ECN flag in the IP header—to indicate congestion occurring at the UPF 10.; see paragraphs [0039] and [0050]) . Ihlar fails to specifically state based on the packet processing policy, transmit a first message including an indication for the ECN marking for the target packet. However, does mention the SMF receiving information on the ECN marking for the target packet (see paragraphs [0039] and [0050]). Ihlar further describes SMF as configured to perform session management, e.g. session establishment, modify and release, etc. (see paragraph [0031]) therefore, requiring such information is typically supplied to the UPF 10 by the PCF 16 over interface N7 to the SMF 21 and further over interface N4 (see paragraph [0035]) for allowing the gaming server 22 in the data network 13 , to inform the sending UE 11 of the congestion indication provided by the marked data packet (see paragraph [0040]). In other words, it can be said that the SMF… based on the packet processing policy, transmit a first message including an indication for the ECN marking for the target packet . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Ihlar’s invention for reducing its transmission rate in order to avoid data packet drop or buffering (see paragraph [0040] of Ihlar). Regarding Claims 2 and 10, Ihlar discloses wherein the first message further comprises at least one of processing target packet information (see paragraph [0034]) , a processing execution indicator for a network congestion-experienced packet (see paragraph [0050]) , a network congestion-experienced packet processing scheme index or rule indicator for an RAN, a processing rule for the network congestion-experienced packet, and a network congestion-experienced packet processing rule for a UE. Regarding Claims 3 and 11, Ihlar discloses wherein the processing rule for the network congestion-experienced packet comprises a marking probability (see paragraph [0039]) , a marking threshold value, and an averaging window for calculating a network congestion level. Regarding Claims 4 and 12, Ihlar discloses further comprising: performing an N4 session modification procedure for establishing a connection between a radio access network (RAN) and the UPF (shown in figure 1) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 16 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihlar in view of Zhu et al. (Zhu), U.S. Patent No. 12,425,914 . Regarding Claims 16 and 19, Ihlar discloses the method and SMF comprising ECN marking as described above. Ihlar fails to disclose further comprising: selecting a user plane function (UPF) that supports the for the target packet. Zhu discloses further comprising: selecting a user plane function (UPF) that supports the for the target packet (see col. 45, lines 37-50) . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Zhu’s invention with Ihlar’s invention for managing the PDU sessions (described in col. 45, lines 59-60) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihlar in view of Sun et al. (Sun), U.S. Publication No. 2021/0282049 . Regarding Claims 17 and 20, Ihlar discloses the method and SMF wherein the first message further includes a quality of service (QoS) profile (see paragraph [0050] of Ihlar) as described above. Ihlar fails to disclose a QoS flow ID (QFI). Sun discloses a QoS flow ID (QFI) (see paragraphs [0082] and [0089]-[0090]) . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Sun’s invention with Ihlar’s invention for further avoiding incorrect scheduling (as described throughout Sun) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 18 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihlar in view of Yang et al. (Yang), U.S. Publication No. 2020/0229024 . Regarding Claims 18 and 21, Ihlar discloses the method and SMF as described above. Ihlar fails to disclose further comprising: receiving, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), a second message including information associated with whether to activate processing of the target packet. Yang discloses further comprising: receiving, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), a second message including information associated with whether to activate processing of the target packet (see paragraphs [0102] and [0105]) . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Yang’s invention with Ihlar’s invention to provide a low-latency service (as described throughout Yang). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHANTELL LAKETA HEIBER whose telephone number is (571)272-0886. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9am to 5pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Addy, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-7795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form. /SHANTELL L HEIBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 May 26, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 2 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 3 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 4 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 5 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 6 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 7 Art Unit: 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/833,650 Page 8 Art Unit: 2645
