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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submissions filed on August 7, 2026 and August 28, 2026 have been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 21-22 and 24-41 are pending in the application. Claims 21-22, 25, 27, 29, 32, 35-36, and 38-40 are currently amended. Claim 23 has been canceled. No new claims are currently added.
Response to Arguments
With regard to Applicant’s remarks dated August 7, 2026:
Regarding the rejection of claims 21-22 and 24-41 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), Applicant’s amendment and arguments have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the previously-made rejection, as explained in the Advisory action dated 08/17/2026.
Regarding the rejection of claims 21-22 and 24-41 under 35 U.S.C. 103, Applicant’s amendment and arguments have been fully considered and have been addressed in the Advisory action dated 08/17/2026.
As to any arguments not specifically addressed, they are the same as those discussed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 21-22 and 24-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
As to claims 21, 35, and 39-40, it is unclear how receiving at least one input parameter is linked to the newly introduced step of calculating an expected energy consumption. In particular, it is unclear whether receiving the at least one input parameter triggers the calculating and whether the at least one input parameter is somehow utilized in the calculating. Appropriate correction or explanation is required.
In the newly added step of calculating, it is unclear how application traffic parameters are factored into the calculation of an expected energy consumption contribution. In particular, the claim failed to establish a relationship between two seemingly unrelated terms: “application traffic parameters” and “expected energy consumption” where calculation of energy consumption is somehow based on the application traffic parameters. Appropriate correction or explanation is required.
As discussed in the Advisory action dated 08/17/2026, Applicants need to clarify how application traffic parameters are related to energy usage and expected energy consumption such that energy data analytics can be derived. The steps of receiving at least one input parameter and calculating an expected energy consumption contribution appear to have no linkage and can be performed independently of each other. Also, the step of receiving fails to identify what the energy usage pertains to, only broadly stating that it is "at a data network". The step of calculating similarly fails to identify what the expected energy consumption contribution pertains to, only broadly stating that it is somehow "based on one or more application traffic parameters". It is noted that the language "based on" and "associated with" is overly broad and is interpreted by Examiner much broader than Applicants might anticipate. Therefore, Examiner suggests replacing "based on" with language that explains how the one or more application traffic parameters are integrated into the calculation of the expected energy consumption contribution.
Dependent claims are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
Claims 21-22, 24-30, and 32-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hui et al. (US Patent 10,146,395 B2) in view of Qiao et al. (US 2025/0211683 A1) and in further view of Shaw et al. (US 2025/0287227 A1).
As to claim 21, Hui teaches an apparatus for wireless communication [computing device 102] (Fig. 2), comprising:
at least one memory storing computer executable instructions (Fig. 2); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to execute the computer readable instructions (Fig. 2) that cause the apparatus to:
receive at least one input parameter associated with energy usage at a data network [receive an action or occurrence indicating that one or more user interactions have happened on the user device 102 including user interaction with remote services such as web browsing, phone calls or media streaming] (step 602; col. 5 lines 8-20; col. 13 lines 3-9, Fig. 6);
derive energy data analytics for the data network based at least in part on the at least one input parameter [step 604; obtain data associated with QoE metrics including energy consumption by an application of the user device] (col. 13 lines 10-31); and
send an energy data analytics output parameter based at least in part on the derived energy data analytics, wherein the energy data analytics output parameter comprises an energy usage statistic or energy usage prediction for the data network [transmit the data that includes the one or more QoE metrics to the computing device 110] (step 606; col. 13 lines 32-42).
Hui fails to teach calculating an expected energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network; where the energy data analytics is derived based on the expected energy consumption contribution.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao teaches calculating an energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network [determine an amount of service data exchanged between an application provider and a set of UEs of the number of UEs requesting service data (claimed “energy consumption”) over one or more network slices; generate first billing information corresponding to the application provider based on criteria including the amount of service data exchanged with the application provider over the one or more network slices; and generate second billing information corresponding to each UE of the set of UEs based on data usage by each UE of the set of the UEs, independent of characteristics of the one or more network slices, which is the energy consumption contribution of each UE] (par. [0046]-[0048], [0051]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by calculating an energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
Shaw is directed to measuring a network performance characteristic (abstract). In particular, Shaw teaches calculating an expected energy consumption contribution [building a data usage profile for an application based on an expected data usage from previous uses of the application] (par. [0017], [0080], claim 19) based on one or more application traffic parameters [data rate] obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network (par. [0033]-[0036]); and deriving energy data analytics for the data network based in least in part on the expected energy consumption contribution [determining which application matches the measured characteristic based on data usage profile of expected data usage] (par. [0080]-[0084]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui in view of Qiao by calculating an expected energy consumption contribution and deriving energy data analytics based on the expected energy consumption contribution in order to determine which application is likely responsible for data usage (par. [0081]-[0082] in Shaw).
As to claim 22, Hui teaches that the data network is associated with at least one of one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs), a data network name (DNN), a single network slice selection assistance information (S- NSSAI), a network slice instance (NSI), or one or more application servers [Hui teaches that the data network can be LAN, WAN, mobile telephone network and other types of networks, which inherently include at least of the listed identifiers and servers] (col. 2 line 60 to col. 3 line 8).
As to claim 24, Hui teaches all the elements except that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive a request for energy data analytics for the data network.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao teaches an apparatus [UPF] receiving a request for energy data analytics for the data network [amount of exchanged data with a data network] (par. [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by having the user device 102 to receive a request for energy data analytics for the data network in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
As to claims 25 and 38, Hui in view of Qiao teaches that the request is for energy data analytics corresponding to at least one of one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the data network or an area of interest comprising the data network (par. [0046]-[0048] in Qiao).
As to claims 26 and 41, Hui in view of Qiao teaches that the request for the energy data analytics is received from one or more of a network function, a management function, or an application function [request is received from SMF] (par. [0052] in Qiao).
As to claim 27, Hui teaches all the elements except that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: identify one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the data network for which the energy data analytics apply; and map the energy data analytics output parameter to the one or more DNAIs.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: identify one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the data network for which the energy data analytics apply; and map the energy data analytics output parameter to the one or more DNAIs [identifying an amount of data exchanged with a data network of an application provider identified based on the DNAI] (par. [0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by having the at least one processor configured to cause the apparatus to: identify one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs) associated with the data network for which the energy data analytics apply; and map the energy data analytics output parameter to the one or more DNAIs in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
As to claim 28, Hui teaches that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to generate energy data for the data network based at least in part on the at least one input parameter, wherein the energy data is used as an input for deriving the energy data analytics [energy consumption analysis] (col. 5 line 48 to col. 6 line 6).
As to claim 29, Hui teaches all the elements except that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: request the one or more application servers to provide the one or more application traffic parameters; and receive, from the one or more application servers, the one or more application traffic parameters based at least in part on the request to provide the one or more application traffic parameters.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: request the one or more application servers to provide the one or more application traffic parameters; and receive, from the one or more application servers, the one or more application traffic parameters based at least in part on the request to provide the one or more application traffic parameters [identifying an amount of data exchanged with a data network of an application provider identified based on the DNAI] (par. [0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by having the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: request the one or more application servers to provide the one or more application traffic parameters; and receive, from the one or more application servers, the one or more application traffic parameters based at least in part on the request to provide the one or more application traffic parameters in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
As to claim 30, Hui teaches that the at least one input parameter associated with the energy usage comprises at least one of:
energy usage measurements for the data network;
energy usage analytics for a managed element from an operations, administration and management/maintenance (OAM);
resource usage or load measurements from one or more user plane functions (UPF);
data analytics on UPF resource usage and/or load from a network data analytics function (NWDAF) or the OAM;
energy usage measurements for a managed element from the OAM;
energy or resource usage measurements associated with one or more user equipment (UE) within the data network; or
resource usage measurements for one or more application enablement entities within the data network (col. 2 lines 48-59, col. 5 lines 31-53).
As to claim 32, Hui teaches that sending the energy data analytics output parameter triggers, for one or more applications using the data network, one or more of a data network access identifier (DNAI) change, a user plane function (UPF) change, a slice change, a network slice instance change, a network slice subnet instance change, an application quality of service (QoS) requirement change, or a network QoS parameter change [perform root-cause analysis to change a video frame rate, change an audio bitrate, change image resolution, turn on or off adaptive bitrate streaming, increase or decrease the size of a multimedia data buffer, restart one or more communication services or applications of the computing device to clear an application error, etc.] (col. 6 lines 11-43).
As to claim 33, Hui teaches that the at least one input parameter associated with the energy usage is an edge calculated measurement on computational resource usage at the data network [amount of cellular network data consumed by an application] (col. 5 lines 48-53).
As to claim 34, Hui teaches that the apparatus is implemented at one or more of an edge platform or a cloud platform [user device is communicating with the computing device over a network. The claim fails to define either one of the platforms and what “implementing at a platform” entails] (col. 2 line 60 to col. 3 line 8).
As to claim 35, Hui teaches an apparatus for wireless communication [computing device 110] (Figs. 1 and 5), comprising:
at least one memory (Fig. 5); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause (Fig. 5) the apparatus to:
receive, for a data network, an energy data analytics output parameter based at least in part on energy data analytics for the data network, wherein the energy data analytics are based at least in part on at least one input parameter associated with energy usage at the data network [an action or occurrence indicating that one or more user interactions have happened on the user device 102] (step 602; col. 13 lines 3-9, Fig. 6); and
the energy data analytics output parameter comprises an energy usage statistic or energy usage prediction for the data network [receiving data 112 including OeE metric 114 from the user device 102] (col. 2 line 60 to col. 3 line 8); and
perform a network action to reduce the energy usage [perform root-cause analysis to change a video frame rate, change an audio bitrate, change image resolution, turn on or off adaptive bitrate streaming, increase or decrease the size of a multimedia data buffer, restart one or more communication services or applications of the computing device to clear an application error, etc.] (col. 6 lines 11-43).
Hui fails to teach calculating an expected energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network; where the energy data analytics is derived based on the expected energy consumption contribution.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao teaches calculating an energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network [determine an amount of service data exchanged between an application provider and a set of UEs of the number of UEs requesting service data (claimed “energy consumption”) over one or more network slices; generate first billing information corresponding to the application provider based on criteria including the amount of service data exchanged with the application provider over the one or more network slices; and generate second billing information corresponding to each UE of the set of UEs based on data usage by each UE of the set of the UEs, independent of characteristics of the one or more network slices, which is the energy consumption contribution of each UE] (par. [0046]-[0048], [0051]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by calculating an energy consumption contribution based on one or more application traffic parameters obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
Shaw is directed to measuring a network performance characteristic (abstract). In particular, Shaw teaches calculating an expected energy consumption contribution [building a data usage profile for an application based on an expected data usage from previous uses of the application] (par. [0017], [0080], claim 19) based on one or more application traffic parameters [data rate] obtained from one or more application servers associated with the data network (par. [0033]-[0036]); and deriving energy data analytics for the data network based in least in part on the expected energy consumption contribution [determining which application matches the measured characteristic based on data usage profile of expected data usage] (par. [0080]-[0084]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui in view of Qiao by calculating an expected energy consumption contribution and deriving energy data analytics based on the expected energy consumption contribution in order to determine which application is likely responsible for data usage (par. [0081]-[0082] in Shaw).
As to claim 36, Hui teaches that the network action comprises one or more of:
a single or group application migration to a different data network; or
a DNAI change, a user plane function (UPF) change, a slice change, a network slice instance change, a network slice subnet instance change, an application quality of service (QoS) requirement change, a network QoS parameter change, or a combination thereof, for one or more applications using the data network [perform root-cause analysis to change a video frame rate, change an audio bitrate, change image resolution, turn on or off adaptive bitrate streaming, increase or decrease the size of a multimedia data buffer, restart one or more communication services or applications of the computing device to clear an application error, etc.] (col. 6 lines 11-43).
As to claim 37, Hui teaches all the elements except that the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to send a request for the energy data analytics for the data network.
Qiao is directed to methods and systems for network slicing charging (abstract). In particular, Qiao teaches an apparatus [SMF] sending a request for the energy data analytics for the data network [amount of exchanged data with a data network] (par. [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui by having the computing device 110 to send a request for the energy data analytics for the data network in order to determine how much data was exchanged between an application executing on the user device of Hui and an application server with which the user device of Hui is interacting (par. [0046] in Qiao).
As to claim 39, Hui in view of Qiao in view of Shaw teaches a method performed by an apparatus, the method comprising steps as discussed above with respect to claim 21.
As to claim 40, Hui in view of Qiao in view of Shaw teaches a method performed by an apparatus, the method comprising steps as discussed above with respect to claim 35.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hui et al. in view of Qiao et al. in view of Shaw et al. and in further view of Zhao et al. (US 2023/0397044 A1).
As to claim 31, Hui in view of Qiao and Shaw teaches all the elements except that sending the energy data analytics output parameter triggers a single or group application migration to a different data network.
Zhao is directed to data transmission method and apparatus (abstract). In particular, Zhao teaches sending the energy data analytics output parameter triggers a single or group application migration to a different data network [sending congestion parameter information which triggers migration of a service from a first edge application server to the second application server] (par. [0226]-[0227]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system of Hui in view of Qiao and Shaw by sending the energy data analytics output parameter triggers a single or group application migration to a different data network in order to perform a congestion control to avoid a case in which data sent by a sender fills the entire network (par. [0004] in Zhao).
Related Prior Art
Yao et al. (WO 2022/027014 A1 – cited in the IDS dated 12/26/2024, cite #1) is directed to a wireless network where energy saving is assisted by management data (abstract). In particular, Yao teaches performing Management Data Analytics (MDA) with focus of providing Energy Saving instructions by MDAS producer (pages 4-7), as further explained in the Written Opinion of the International searching authority, cited in the IDS dated 12/26/2024, cite #1. Therefore, teachings of Yao are pertinent to the pending claims and can be used in the rejection.
Han et al. (US 2022/0408293 A1) is directed to providing network analysis information for RFSP index selection in mobile communication network. The goal in Han is to allow the operator to reduce the power consumed by unnecessary base stations or resources (abstract). In particular, Han teaches that PCF 420 may recognize that network analytics information of an NWDAF 430 is necessary in order to determine an RFSP index value. In this case, in the necessity of the PCF 420 for the configuration of an RFSP Index value, the PCF 420 may be configured to always receive analytics information from the NWDAF 430 according to an internal policy. Optionally, in order to process a case where known usage information of a terminal is not present or a case where a specific slice is in a congested situation, analytics information of a terminal may be requested from the NWDAF 430. Additionally, an operator may request, from the NWDAF 430, service usage analytics information of a terminal as a part of the application of a policy, such as the optimization of network energy, the maximization of network performance, or the maximization of consumer service experiences, to the PCF 420 according to an internal policy (par. [0074]). Therefore, teachings of Han are also pertinent to the pending claims and can be used in the rejection.
Conclusion
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/OLEG SURVILLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
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