DETAILED ACTION
This application has been examined. Claims 1-6,8-20 are pending. Claim 7 is cancelled.
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 .
Making Final
Applicant's arguments filed 4/28/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds for rejection.
The claim amendments regarding -- ‘wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time battery consumption data for the application service from one or more vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UEs)’ -- clearly change the literal scope of the independent and dependent claims and/or the range of equivalents for such claims. The said amendments alter the scope of the claims but do not overcome the disclosure by the prior art as shown below.
The Examiner is presenting new grounds for rejection as necessitated by the claim amendments and is thus making this action FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/28/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds for rejection.
Regarding Claim 1
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 1) wherein the second set of energy data is at least one of Application Energy Efficiency (AEE), Application Energy Consumption (AEC), and Application Data Volume (ADV). (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 20, compute a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics, Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time energy consumption data from one or more application servers or edge platforms associated with the application service (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
While Zavesky-Ramamurthi substantially disclosed the claimed invention Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not disclose (re. Claim 1) wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time battery consumption data for the application service from one or more vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UEs)
Mladin Paragraph 16 disclosed receiving a request from a service layer for an update on battery status; (ii) determining the status of the battery; (iii) sending a reply on the update to the service layer; and (iv) receiving a message from the application of an updated status.
Mladin disclosed (re. Claim 1) wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time battery consumption data for the application service from one or more vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UEs)( Mladin-Paragraph 16,receiving a request from a service layer for an update on battery status; (ii) determining the status of the battery)
Zavesky and Mladin are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding provisioning of resources for a mobile terminal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Mladin into Zavesky. The motivation for the said combination would have been to provide service capability exposure to applications on user equipment to network exposure functions. (Mladin-Paragraph 63)
The Examiner notes wherein Ramamurthi Paragraph 20 disclosed computing a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics.
The Examiner notes wherein Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not calculate energy efficiency based on battery usage/status.
While Zavesky-Ramamurthi substantially disclosed the claimed invention Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not disclose (re. Claim 1)
computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data.
Jeong Paragraph 14 disclosed a calculation unit configured to calculate an energy efficiency degree corresponding to a ratio of an amount of transmission of a data packet to an expected energy consumption, in response to the transmission of the data packet to a base station.
Jeong disclosed (re. Claim 1) computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data.( Jeong-Paragraph 17, Paragraph 19,the energy efficiency degree may be determined based on an amount of electric power consumed for transmitting the data packet to the base station..)
Zavesky and Jeong are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding provisioning of resources for a mobile terminal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Jeong into Zavesky-Ramamurthi. The motivation for the said combination would have been to implement a scheme of accessing the transmission channel and setting the power capable of improving the energy efficiency degree of the mobile device (Jeong-Paragraph 108)
Priority
This application claims benefits of priority from Foreign Application GR20220100256 (Greece) filed March 23, 2022.
The effective date of the claims described in this application is March 23, 2022.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6,8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zavesky (USPGPUB 2021/0385755) further in view of Ramamurthi (USPGPUB 2022/0353163) further in view of Mladin (USPGPUB 2020/0100080) further in view of Jeong (USPGPUB 2012/0083211)
Regarding Claim 1
Zavesky Figure 6 Paragraph 106 disclosed wherein the UE 602 can report to the network 606 power needs and operations, at 622.
Zavesky disclosed (re. Claim 1) a method for providing energy data for an application service, the method comprising:
receiving an energy data requirement for the application service (Zavesky-Paragraph 43, the usage (e.g., applications executing on the UE) can be profiled and a change in usage can indicate a change to the power distribution setting) from a requesting node (Zavesky-Figure 6 Paragraph 106, UE 602 can collect local usage information. At 618, the UE 602 can update the RL agent 604 with the local usage information and the network history…the UE 602 can report to the network 606 power needs and operations, at 622.)
While Zavesky substantially disclosed the claimed invention Zavesky does not disclose (re. Claim 1) receiving an energy data requirement for the application service from a requesting node
determining a set of energy data producers associated with the application service from which to collect energy data based on the energy data requirement;
collecting a first set of energy data from the set of energy data producers;
computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data;
sending a report comprising the second set of energy data to the requesting node.
Ramamurthi Paragraph 11 disclosed computation of energy efficiency of one or more elements of a RAN, and performing network configuration operations based on the computation of energy efficiency of the one or more elements of the RAN. Energy efficiency may be determined on a granular basis, such as on a per-network element basis, a per-network slice basis.
Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 1) a method for providing energy data for an application service, the method comprising:
receiving an energy data requirement for the application service from a requesting node;(Ramamurthi-Paragraph 37, UE 109 may output (at 404) a Radio Resource Control (“RRC”) Connection Request, Paragraph 23, receive information from CU 103, DU 105, and/or one or more other devices or systems indicating amounts of energy consumed to receive, process, handle, etc. traffic with particular attributes or categories (e.g., slices, applications, cells, etc.) for each attribute or category of the traffic,Paragraph 27, receive, determine, etc. (e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIG. 1) granular energy efficiency metrics 203, which may include energy efficiency metrics on the basis of different slices, different CUs 103, different DUs 105, different traffic application types)
determining a set of energy data producers associated with the application service from which to collect energy data based on the energy data requirement; (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 17, CU 103 may receive traffic from core network 107, may identify a particular DU 105 associated with UE 109, and may output the traffic to the particular DU 105, which may in turn wirelessly provide the traffic to UE 109. DU 105-N in this figure may be a DU 105 that has been selected by CU 103 and/or some other device or system to provide wireless service to UE 109 based on geographical proximity to UE 109, latency metrics between DU 105-N and UE 109, load metrics associated with DU 105-N and one or more other DUs 105)
collecting a first set of energy data from the set of energy data producers; (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data; (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 20, compute a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics) and
sending a report comprising the second set of energy data to the requesting node.(Ramamurthi-Paragraph 37, Base station 401 may output (at 408) an indication to UE 109, such as an RRC Reconfiguration Request or other suitable message, indicating that UE 109 should connect to base station 401 via cell 403-1,Paragraph 41, Based on the selection of DU 105-1, CU 103 may cause UE 109 to connect to DU 105-1. For example, CU 103 may output (at 508) an indication to DU 105-1 and/or UE 109 (e.g., via DU 105-1) that UE 109 should connect to DU 105-1)
Zavesky and Ramamurthi are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding provisioning of resources for a mobile terminal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Ramamurthi into Zavesky. The motivation for the said combination would have been to enable REES 101 to determine one or more modifications to parameters of the network in order to improve the energy efficiency of the network, thus reducing energy consumption of the network. (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 25)
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 1) wherein the second set of energy data is at least one of Application Energy Efficiency (AEE), Application Energy Consumption (AEC), and Application Data Volume (ADV). (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 20, compute a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics, Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time energy consumption data from one or more application servers or edge platforms associated with the application service (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
While Zavesky-Ramamurthi substantially disclosed the claimed invention Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not disclose (re. Claim 1) wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time battery consumption data for the application service from one or more vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UEs)
Mladin Paragraph 16 disclosed receiving a request from a service layer for an update on battery status; (ii) determining the status of the battery; (iii) sending a reply on the update to the service layer; and (iv) receiving a message from the application of an updated status.
Mladin disclosed (re. Claim 11) wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least real-time battery consumption data for the application service from one or more vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UEs)( Mladin-Paragraph 16,receiving a request from a service layer for an update on battery status; (ii) determining the status of the battery)
Zavesky and Mladin are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding provisioning of resources for a mobile terminal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Mladin into Zavesky. The motivation for the said combination would have been to provide service capability exposure to applications on user equipment to network exposure functions. (Mladin-Paragraph 63)
The Examiner notes wherein Ramamurthi Paragraph 20 disclosed computing a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics.
The Examiner notes wherein Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not calculate energy efficiency based on battery usage/status.
While Zavesky-Ramamurthi substantially disclosed the claimed invention Zavesky-Ramamurthi does not disclose (re. Claim 1)
computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data.
Jeong Paragraph 14 disclosed a calculation unit configured to calculate an energy efficiency degree corresponding to a ratio of an amount of transmission of a data packet to an expected energy consumption, in response to the transmission of the data packet to a base station.
Jeong disclosed (re. Claim 1) computing a second set of energy data for the application service based on the first set of energy data.( Jeong-Paragraph 17, Paragraph 19,the energy efficiency degree may be determined based on an amount of electric power consumed for transmitting the data packet to the base station.)
Zavesky and Jeong are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding provisioning of resources for a mobile terminal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Jeong into Zavesky-Ramamurthi. The motivation for the said combination would have been to implement a scheme of accessing the transmission channel and setting the power capable of improving the energy efficiency degree of the mobile device (Jeong-Paragraph 108)
Regarding Claim 12
Claim 12 (re. network node) recites substantially similar limitations as Claim 1. Claim 12 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 13
Claim 13 (re. method) recites substantially similar limitations as Claim 1. Claim 13 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 15
Claim 15 (re. network node) recites substantially similar limitations as Claim 1. Claim 15 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 2,16
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 2,16) wherein the energy data requirement comprises at least one of a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the application service, an energy KPI, (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 66, provide such measures of energy efficiency to the one or more network elements, which may grant access to UEs 109 based on the granular measures of energy efficiency) a quality level for the application service, a request for energy related data, and a time and area of interest.
Regarding Claim 3,17
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 3,17) wherein the set of energy data producers associated with the application service for a managed entity comprise at least one of: energy data producers for one or more application sessions; energy data producers from one or more data networks; and an energy data producer arranged to collect energy data from a managed entity.(Ramamurthi-Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
Regarding Claim 4,18
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 4,18) wherein the set of energy data producers associated with the application service includes a function within an edge platform.(Ramamurthi-Paragraph 68, CU 1005 may communicate with a core of a wireless network,Paragraph 71, CU 1005 may be communicatively coupled to MEC 1007-3)
Regarding Claim 5
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 5) wherein the set of energy data producers associated with the application service obtain energy data for a network slice associated with the application service to be measured. (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 20, compute a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics)
Regarding Claim 6,20
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 6,20) wherein the first set of energy data comprises at least one of: real time battery consumption data for the application service, edge platform energy consumption data, network energy consumption and/or efficiency data, network slice or slice subnet energy consumption and/or efficiency data, (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 20, compute a per-bit, per-packet, per-protocol unit, etc. measure of energy efficiency based on the granular (e.g., per-slice) traffic throughput and energy consumption metrics) radio access network energy consumption and/or efficiency data, energy consumption and/or efficiency data for a managed entity, and application server consumption data.
Regarding Claim 8
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 8) wherein the energy data requirement for the application service from a requesting node defines a target area within which energy data is to be collected. (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 37, base station 401 may select cell 403-1 for the connection between base station 401 and UE 109 based on factors such as geographical location of UE 109 (e.g., within a coverage area associated with cell 403-1)
Regarding Claim 9
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 9) wherein the request for energy related data indicates at least one of: the data needed, the application service profile, (Zavesky-Paragraph 43, the usage (e.g., applications executing on the UE) can be profiled and a change in usage can indicate a change to the power distribution setting) the application service identity (ID), service requirements, traffic requirements, the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID to be used, the non-public network (NPN) ID to be used, the area of subscription, (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 37, base station 401 may select cell 403-1 for the connection between base station 401 and UE 109 based on factors such as geographical location of UE 109 (e.g., within a coverage area associated with cell 403-1) or the time and criteria for the reporting.
Regarding Claim 10
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 10) wherein the set of energy data producers includes a plurality of vertical application layer (VAL) User Equipments (UEs). (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 23, receive information from CU 103, DU 105, and/or one or more other devices or systems indicating amounts of energy consumed to receive, process, handle, etc. traffic with particular attributes or categories (e.g., slices, applications, cells, etc.) for each attribute or category of the traffic,Paragraph 27, receive, determine, etc. (e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIG. 1) granular energy efficiency metrics 203, which may include energy efficiency metrics on the basis of different slices, different CUs 103, different DUs 105, different traffic application types)
Regarding Claim 11
Mladin disclosed (re. Claim 11) wherein the first set of energy data comprises one or more of: battery status when a service starts,( Mladin-Paragraph 16,receiving a request from a service layer for an update on battery status; (ii) determining the status of the battery) battery status when a service terminates, time of service, activity of applications other than the application service, and contribution of the application service to the battery drain if the UE Operating System support.
Regarding Claim 14
Zavesky-Ramamurthi disclosed (re. Claim 14) wherein the data collection node is an Application Energy Data Producer (AEDP). (Ramamurthi-Paragraph 18, CU 103 and DUs 105 may also provide, to REES 101, energy consumption information,Paragraph 33, energy consumption component 317 and energy consumption component 319 may be connected to one or more power supplies associated with CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, and may measure an amount of energy consumed by CU 103 and DU 105, respectively, over a given time window)
Conclusion
Examiner’s Note: In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREG C BENGZON whose telephone number is (571)272-3944. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8 AM - 4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Follansbee can be reached on (571) 272-3964. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREG C BENGZON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2444
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