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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 9/24/2026 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), as to the reference (THIRD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT, "Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; AT command set for User Equipment (UE) (Release 18)," 3GPP TS 27.007 V18.0.0 (December 2022)) which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. The remaining references have been considered. The noted reference appears have an error as the 3GPP TS 27.007 dated December 2022 is version 18.1.0 instead of 18.0.0. A copy of version 18.1.0 was provided and considered.
Preliminary Amendment
The present Office Action is based upon the original patent application filed on 9/26/2024, as modified by the preliminary amendment also filed on the same day. Claims 15-28 are now pending in the present application.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: the wording “a sending registration message” appears as though it should be “sending a registration message”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 15-17 and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Velev et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0120589 A1) (hereinafter Velev).
Regarding claim 15, Velev discloses a method implemented by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) (Figure 5B and paragraph 0098 disclose UE 205 may re-establish the PDU Session with another default S-NSSAI part of the allowed NSSAI (see block 526, signaling 528)), the method comprising:
receiving a message from an AMF of a network, the message including an allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), wherein the message is a registration accept message or a configuration update message, wherein a replacement Single-NSSAI (S-NSSAI) is part of the allowed NSSAI, wherein the message includes an indication that the replacement S-NSSAI is a replacement for a second S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraphs 0098 and 0101 disclose a Network Slice instance (NSI) becomes no longer available to the UE 205 (e.g., due to the change of set of NSIs for the UE). Here, the Network Slice instance corresponds to an S-NSSAI which is part of the old Allowed NSSAI. In such an embodiment, the AMF 135 initiates, e.g., a Registration Management procedure or UE Configuration Update procedure to send a new Allowed NSSAI which does not contain the unavailable old S-NSSAI (see signaling 520). The AMF 135 may initiate, e.g., a Registration Management procedure or UE Configuration Update procedure to send a new Allowed NSSAI which contains the new S-NSSAI and indicates that the new S-NSSAI is a replacement to an old S-NSSAI (see signaling 520)); and
sending a request for PDU session establishment to the network, wherein the request includes the replacement S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraphs 0098, 0099, 0101 and 0115 disclose the UE 205 may re-establish the PDU Session with another default S-NSSAI part of the allowed NSSAI (see block 526, signaling 528). The UE 205 may initiate a PDU Session release and re-establishment procedures to associate existing PDU Session(s) with the new S-NSSAI, i.e. with the existing PDU Session(s) are established over the new Network Slice instance (see block 526, signaling 528). The UE 205 re-establishes the PDU Session(s) associated with the old S-NSSAI using the new S-NSSAI (see signaling 528). As depicted, the UE 205 may send a NAS session management message, such as the depicted NAS Transport message, that includes the third set of parameters (e.g., S-NSSAI-b, DNN-1, PDU Session ID, etc.) and the N1 SM Information embedding the PDU Session establishment request (e.g., containing the new S-NSSAI, SSC mode, PDU type, etc.) (see signaling 528)).
Regarding claim 16, as applied to claim 15 above, Velev further discloses wherein the message includes a mapping for a list of a plurality of replacement S-NSSAI, wherein the mapping includes the replacement S-NSSAI and the current S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraph 0105 discloses the AMF 135 may send a NAS Registration Accept message with the new Allowed NSSAI [S-NSSAI-x, S-NSSA-y] and usage information for mapping the new Allowed NSSAI to the old Allowed NSSAI. For example, the usage information may indicate that, e.g., S-NSSAI-x maps to S-NSSAI-a, and S-NSSA-y maps to S-NSSAI-c).
Regarding claim 17, as applied to claim 15 above, Velev further discloses a sending registration message, prior to receiving the message, related to the second S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraph 0083 discloses the UE 205 performing an initial registration with the AMF 135 (see block 502). In certain embodiments, the UE 205 sends a NAS Registration Request message and receives a NAS Registration Accept message).
Regarding claim 22, Velev discloses a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) (Figure 5B and paragraph 0098 disclose UE 205), the WTRU comprising:
a processor operatively coupled to a receiver, the processor and receiver configured to receive a message from an AMF of a network, the message including an allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), wherein the message is a registration accept message or a configuration update message, wherein a replacement Single-NSSAI (S-NSSAI) is part of the allowed NSSAI, wherein the message includes an indication that the replacement S-NSSAI is a replacement for a second S-NSSAI (Figure 3 and paragraphs 0048-0050 disclose a remote apparatus 300 that may be used for reconfiguring a data connection using new parameters, according to embodiments of the disclosure. The remote apparatus 300 may be one embodiment of the remote unit 105, the relay unit 120, the remote UE 205, and/or the relay UE 210. Furthermore, the remote apparatus 300 includes a processor 305, a memory 310, an input device 315, a display 320, and a transceiver 325. The transceiver 325 allows the remote apparatus 300 to communicate with a mobile communication network (e.g., a mobile core network 130 and/or a network slice instance 215, 220) over an access network (e.g., the base unit 110 and/or 5G (R)AN 210). The processor 305, in one embodiment, may include any known controller capable of executing computer-readable instructions and/or capable of performing logical operations. The processor 305 executes instructions stored in the memory 310 to perform the methods and routines described herein. The processor 305 is communicatively coupled to the memory 310, the input device 315, the display 320, and the transceiver 325. Figure 5B and paragraphs 0098 and 0101 disclose a Network Slice instance (NSI) becomes no longer available to the UE 205 (e.g., due to the change of set of NSIs for the UE). Here, the Network Slice instance corresponds to an S-NSSAI which is part of the old Allowed NSSAI. In such an embodiment, the AMF 135 initiates, e.g., a Registration Management procedure or UE Configuration Update procedure to send a new Allowed NSSAI which does not contain the unavailable old S-NSSAI (see signaling 520). The AMF 135 may initiate, e.g., a Registration Management procedure or UE Configuration Update procedure to send a new Allowed NSSAI which contains the new S-NSSAI and indicates that the new S-NSSAI is a replacement to an old S-NSSAI (see signaling 520)); and
a processor operatively coupled to a transmitter, the processor and transmitter configured to send a request for PDU session establishment to the network, wherein the request includes the replacement S-NSSAI (Figure 3 and paragraphs 0048-0050 disclose a remote apparatus 300 that may be used for reconfiguring a data connection using new parameters, according to embodiments of the disclosure. The remote apparatus 300 may be one embodiment of the remote unit 105, the relay unit 120, the remote UE 205, and/or the relay UE 210. Furthermore, the remote apparatus 300 includes a processor 305, a memory 310, an input device 315, a display 320, and a transceiver 325. The transceiver 325 allows the remote apparatus 300 to communicate with a mobile communication network (e.g., a mobile core network 130 and/or a network slice instance 215, 220) over an access network (e.g., the base unit 110 and/or 5G (R)AN 210). The processor 305, in one embodiment, may include any known controller capable of executing computer-readable instructions and/or capable of performing logical operations. The processor 305 executes instructions stored in the memory 310 to perform the methods and routines described herein. The processor 305 is communicatively coupled to the memory 310, the input device 315, the display 320, and the transceiver 325. Figure 5B and paragraphs 0098, 0099, 0101 and 0115 disclose the UE 205 may re-establish the PDU Session with another default S-NSSAI part of the allowed NSSAI (see block 526, signaling 528). The UE 205 may initiate a PDU Session release and re-establishment procedures to associate existing PDU Session(s) with the new S-NSSAI, i.e. with the existing PDU Session(s) are established over the new Network Slice instance (see block 526, signaling 528). The UE 205 re-establishes the PDU Session(s) associated with the old S-NSSAI using the new S-NSSAI (see signaling 528). As depicted, the UE 205 may send a NAS session management message, such as the depicted NAS Transport message, that includes the third set of parameters (e.g., S-NSSAI-b, DNN-1, PDU Session ID, etc.) and the N1 SM Information embedding the PDU Session establishment request (e.g., containing the new S-NSSAI, SSC mode, PDU type, etc.) (see signaling 528))..
Regarding claim 23, as applied to claim 22 above, Velev further discloses wherein the message includes a mapping for a list of a plurality of replacement S-NSSAI, wherein the mapping includes the replacement S-NSSAI and the current S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraph 0105 discloses the AMF 135 may send a NAS Registration Accept message with the new Allowed NSSAI [S-NSSAI-x, S-NSSA-y] and usage information for mapping the new Allowed NSSAI to the old Allowed NSSAI. For example, the usage information may indicate that, e.g., S-NSSAI-x maps to S-NSSAI-a, and S-NSSA-y maps to S-NSSAI-c).
Regarding claim 24, as applied to claim 22 above, Velev further discloses send a registration message, prior to receiving the message, related to the second S-NSSAI (Figure 5B and paragraph 0083 discloses the UE 205 performing an initial registration with the AMF 135 (see block 502). In certain embodiments, the UE 205 sends a NAS Registration Request message and receives a NAS Registration Accept message).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-21 and 25-28 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Considering claims 18 and 25, the best prior art found during the prosecution of the present application, Velev, fails to disclose, teach, or suggest the limitations of evaluating UE Route Selection Policy (URSP) rules, and considering the second S-NSSAI to be equivalent to the replacement S-NSSAI while evaluating the URSP rules in combination with and in the context of all of the other limitations in claims 18 and 25.
Claims 19-21 and 26-28 are also allowed by virtue of their dependency on claims 18 and 25.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure.
Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0182788 A1) discloses a method and system for regional data network configuration in wireless communication network.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to MARK G. PANNELL whose telephone number is (303) 297-4245. The Examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm (Mountain Time).
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, Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached on (571) 272-7915. 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.
/Mark G. Pannell/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
Prosecution Insights