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 .
Authorization for Internet Communication
To expedite prosecution, filing a written authorization for internet communication is recommended. Doing so permits USPTO to communicate using email to schedule interviews and/or discuss other aspects of the application. Without the written authorization in place, USPTO cannot respond to email communications. The preferred method of providing authorization is by filing form PTO/SB/439, available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms. See MPEP 502.03.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 15 is/are objected because of the following informalities (or vagueness): Claim 15 needs to spell out UDR.
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) 1-10, 14-20, 26-27 and 31 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kweon et al. (US 2021/0320979, “Kweon”) in view of Zhu et al. (US 2022/0191165, “Zhu”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Kweon unless otherwise mentioned.
Kweon comprises the following features:
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, a method for exposing network information, applied to performed by a first function, comprising:
receiving first information ([0089 and Fig. 2] “Stages 2e and 2f show a configuration of transmitting, by the AF, a response to the early notification to the SMF via NEF when the AF requests an AF notification via the NEF. In stage 2e, the AF may transmit a response to the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Notify message, to the NEF, by using a Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo service operation.”), and
determining network information based on the first information ([0090 and Fig. 2] “In stage 2f, when receiving the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message, the NEF may transmit, to an appropriate SMF, an Nsmf_EventExposure_AppRelocationInfo message including the information received from the target AF.” The step of ‘determining’ will be discussed in view of Zhu.),
wherein the first information comprises relevant information of a second function (See Fig. 2 for 2e and 2f, and aforesaid [0089].),
wherein the second function comprises an application function (AF) (See Fig. 2 for “Source AF”) or an edge application server (EAS) (This alternative is not examined.); and
exposing the network information ([0089 and Fig. 2] “When, in stage 2d, the target DNAI is out of the coverage of the local DN for which the AF is responsible, the AF may notify the SMF of an indication indicating that an AF change is necessary, the ID of the target AF responsible for the target local DN to which the target DNAI belongs, and an address of the target AF to which a message is transmitted. To this end, the AF may transmit, to the NEF, the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message including at least one piece of information of an indication of an AF change, a target AF ID, or a notification target address of a target AF.”, and aforesaid [0090].).
It is noted that while disclosing network entities, Kweon does not specifically teach about an actual step of determining network information. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Zhu as follows;
determining network information ([Zhu, 0095 and Fig. 2] “201: The session management function network element determines an address of a first domain name system server based on a first location of user equipment”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Kweon by using the features of Zhu in order to effectively determine a domain name such that “provide a domain name system server determining method, and a request processing method, apparatus, and system, so that a session management function network element determines an address of a first domain name system server” [Zhu, 0007].
Regarding claim 20, it is a method claim performed by a second function corresponding to the method claim 1 in a reciprocal way, and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 31, it is a first function claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except the limitations, “a first communication interface and a first processor” (See Fig. 8 and [0204] “Referring to FIG. 8, the NF may include a transceiver 810, a memory 820, and a processor 830.”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claim 2, the method according to claim 1, wherein the relevant information of the second function comprises at least one of: address information; location information; application information; corresponding user information (These alternatives are not examined.); or network related information ([0089] “The Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message may include N6 traffic routing information toward the target DNAI.”).
Regarding claim 3, the method according to claim 2, wherein the network related information comprises at least one of: a data network name (DNN) ([0089] “The Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message may include N6 traffic routing information toward the target DNAI.”); or single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) (This alternative is not examined.).
Regarding claim 4, the method according to claim 2, wherein the application information of the second function comprises at least one of:
provider/owner information of the second function; an application category carried in the second function (These alternatives are not examined.); or
an application identifier ([0155] “The AF request may include at least one piece of information of an AF transaction ID, an address (IP or Ethernet) of a UE if available, GPSI if available, DNN if available, S-NSSAI if available, External Group Identifier if available, application identifier or traffic filtering information, AF-service-identifier, a list of DNAI(s) and corresponding routing profile ID(s) or N6 traffic routing information, an indication of traffic correlation”).
Regarding claim 5, the method according to claim 2, wherein the address information of the second function comprises at least one of: internet protocol (IP) address information (See aforesaid [0155].); an IP address segment; IP domain information; or fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) information (These alternatives are not examined.).
Regarding claim 6, the method according to claim 1, wherein the network information comprises at least one of: a data network access identifier (DNAI) (This alternative is not examined.); an identifier corresponding to the DNAI ([0138] “The Nsmf_EventExposure_Notify message may include at least one piece of information of an AF transaction internal ID, a type of a notification, i.e., an early notification or a late notification, identify of a source DNAI and/or identify of a target DNAI, an IP address/prefix or MAC address of a UE, or GPSI or N6 traffic routing information.”); an external identifier corresponding to the DNAI; a user plane function (UPF) address; an identifier of the UPF; an IP domain; network configuration information corresponding to a user; a correspondence between public network IP address information and private network IP address information; or a private network IP address (These alternatives are not examined.).
Regarding claims 7 and 26, the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 20, respectively, further comprising: receiving a subscription to cause the second function to obtain updated network information ([0161] “In stage 2, the AF may transmit an AF request to the NEF by using a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create service operation. To update or erase an existing request, the AF may use a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update or Nnef_TrafficInfluence Delete service operation with the AF transaction ID regarding an existing request to be updated or erased.”, and [0162] “In stage 3a, when the AF performs a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create or Update operation, the NEF may store AF request information in the UDR as follows.” Note the “Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create” operation establishes an AF’s traffic influence subscription, and the resulting “NnefTrafficInfluenceNotify” message delivers updated network information in response to network-side changes.).
Regarding claim 8, the method according to claim 1, wherein determining the network information based on the first information comprises: determining the network information based on the first information and network topology information ([0089] “When, in stage 2d, the target DNAI is within the coverage of the local DN for which the AF is responsible, the AF may transmit a Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message, to the NEF, immediately or after performing application relocation needed as the target DNAI.”).
Regarding claim 9, the method according to claim 8, wherein the first function comprises at least one of a network exposure function (NEF) and/or a policy control function (PCF) (See Fig. 2.), and the method further comprises: obtaining the network topology information (See aforesaid [0089] “N6 traffic routing information”).
Regarding claim 10, the method according to claim 9, wherein obtaining the network topology information comprises one of:
sending second information to a session management function (SMF) ([0143] “In stage 2f, when receiving the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_AppRelocationInfo message, the NEF may transmit, to an appropriate SMF, the Nsmf_EventExposure_AppRelocationInfo message including the information received from the target AF.”),
wherein the second information is configured for requesting the network topology information ([0144] “The Nsmf_EventExposure_AppRelocationInfo message may include the N6 traffic routing information toward the target DNAI.”), and the second information comprises at least one of:
address information of the second function ([0144] “the Nsmf_EventExposure_AppRelocationInfo message including at least one piece of information of an indication of an AF change, a target AF ID, or a notification target address of the target AF, a target AF ID, or a notification target address of the target AF.”);
location information of the second function; application information of the second function; corresponding user information of the second function; or network related information of the second function (These alternatives are not examined.); and
receiving the network topology information sent from the SMF; or
configuring the network topology information to the NEF/a unified data repository (UDR) by an operation administration and maintenance (OAM), wherein the network topology information indicates mapping information between an EAS IP address/an IP address range and a DNAI; or
sending sixth information to an SMF/OAM, wherein the sixth information is configured for subscribing to the network topology information, wherein the sixth information comprises at least one of: address information of the second function; location information of the second function; application information of the second function; corresponding user information of the second function; or network related information of the second function; and receiving the network topology information sent from the SMF/OAM; or
sending fourth information to a UDR, wherein the fourth information is configured for requesting or subscribing to the network topology information, wherein the fourth information comprises at least one of: address information of the second function; location information of the second function; application information of the second function; corresponding user information of the second function; or network related information of the second function; and receiving the network topology information sent from the UDR (These alternatives are not examined.).
Regarding claim 14, the method according to claim 9, wherein receiving the first information comprises: receiving the first information sent from the second function (See Fig. 2-5), wherein the first information is configured for requesting to expose the network information related to the second function ([0161] “In stage 2, the AF may transmit an AF request to the NEF by using a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create service operation. To update or erase an existing request, the AF may use a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update or Nnef_TrafficInfluence Delete service operation with the AF transaction ID regarding an existing request to be updated or erased.”).
Regarding claims 15 and 27, the method according to claim 9 and the method according to claim 20, respectively, further comprising:
receiving third information sent from the second function, wherein the third information is configured for requesting to update or delete the network information ([0161 and Fig. 5] “In stage 2, the AF may transmit an AF request to the NEF by using a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create service operation. To update or erase an existing request, the AF may use a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update or Nnef_TrafficInfluence Delete service operation with the AF transaction ID regarding an existing request to be updated or erased.” Note that Kweon’s Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update service operation and Nnef_trafficInfluence Delete service operation is equivalent to the recited “third information”.);
sending the third information to a UDR (See Fig. 5 and [0161-0165]);
receiving a response returned from the UDR (See Fig. 5 and [0161-0165]); and
returning the response to the second function ([0166] “In stage 3b, the NEF may notify a create/update/delete result of an AF request by transmitting a response message to the AF.”).
Regarding claim 16, the method according to claim 9, further comprising:
receiving fifth information sent from the second function, wherein the fifth information is configured for requesting to retrieve or query the network information ([0161 and Fig. 5] “In stage 2, the AF may transmit an AF request to the NEF by using a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create service operation. To update or erase an existing request, the AF may use a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update or Nnef_TrafficInfluence Delete service operation with the AF transaction ID regarding an existing request to be updated or erased.” Note that Kweon’s Nnef_TrafficInfluence Update service operation and Nnef_trafficInfluence Delete service operation is equivalent to the recited “third information”., and [0214] “The NEF uses a standardized interface (Nudr) of a unified data repository (UDR) to store/retrieve structured data,” The AF’s Nnef_TrafficInfluence Fetch operation which is identified by the AF transaction ID to retrieve a specific existing request that corresponds to the claimed ‘fifth information’.);
sending the fifth information to a UDR (See Fig. 5 and [0161-0165]);
receiving a response returned from the UDR (See Fig. 5 and [0161-0165]); and
returning the response to the second function ([0166] “In stage 3b, the NEF may notify a create/update/delete result of an AF request by transmitting a response message to the AF.”).
Regarding claim 17, the method according to claim 8, wherein the first function comprises an SMF, and receiving the first information comprises: receiving the first information sent from at least one of an NEF or a PCF (See Fig. 5 that depicts the PCF, not the AF, as the immediate sender to the SMF via the Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify operation, with that data ultimately originating from the AF’s request stored at the NEF and relayed through the UDR. Since the claim doesn’t specify the exact form the ‘first information’ must take when it reaches the SMF – only that it be “sent from” the NEF/PCF – this chain satisfies the limitation under BRI.).
Regarding claim 18, the method according to claim 8, wherein the network topology information comprises at least one of:
a DNAI (This alternative is not examined.);
an identifier corresponding to the DNAI ([0183] “The Nsmf_EventExposure_Notify message may include not only at least one piece of information of an AF transaction internal ID, a type of a notification, i.e., an early notification or a late notification, identify of a source DNAI and/or identify of a target DNAI, an IP address/prefix or MAC address of a UE, or GPSI or N6 traffic routing information”);
an external identifier corresponding to the DNAI; a UPF address; an identifier of the UPF; an IP domain; network configuration information corresponding to a user; a correspondence between public network IP address information and private network IP address information; or a private network IP address (These alternatives are not examined.).
Regarding claim 19, the method according to claim 1,further comprising at least one of:
storing the network information to a UDR ([0162] “In stage 3a, when the AF performs a Nnef_TrafficInfluence Create or Update operation, the NEF may store AF request information in the UDR”); or,
storing a correspondence between the relevant information of the second function and the network information to a UDR (This alternative is not examined.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry H. Kim whose telephone number and email address are as follows; 571-272-5009, harry.kim2@uspto.gov.
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, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from www.uspto.gov. For questions or assistance, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights