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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on September 30, 2024. Claims 1-20 have been canceled. Claims 21-40 are pending and presented for examination.
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Abstract
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words. It is important that the abstract not exceed 150 words in length since the space provided for the abstract on the computer tape used by the printer is limited. The form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as "means" and "said," should be avoided. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, "The disclosure concerns," "The disclosure defined by this invention," "The disclosure describes," etc.
Examiner's note: It is recommended to amend the abstract to briefly describe the claimed invention according to the above guidelines.
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 pre-AIA 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ghozlan et al “Ghozlan”, US-PGPub. No. 20220131630.
As per claim 21, Ghozlan teaches an apparatus for a Service Registry Function (SRF) (Fig. 15, Paragraph(s) [0119]; the AMF 1521 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 1501, etc.)), the apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry (Paragraph(s) [0137-0138]) configured to:
connect to network functions (NFs) through a service based interface (SBI) (Paragraph(s) [0119], [0121]; the AMF 1521 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 1501, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization… The AMF 1521 may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be a termination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 1521 and an N17 reference point between the AMF 1521 and a 5G-EIR);
provide a registry for computing service instances in a user plane of a user equipment (UE) (Paragraph(s) [0121]; the UE 1501 may need to register with the AMF 1521 in order to receive network services); and
provide interaction between the computing service instances and the UE through the SBI (Paragraph(s) [0131], [0141], [0168]; the selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 1501 may be triggered by the AMF 1521 with which the UE 1501 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 1529, which may lead to a change of AMF 1521. The NSSF 1529 may interact with the AMF 1521 via an N22 reference point between AMF 1521 and NSSF 1529; and may communicate with another NSSF 1529 in a visited network via an N31 reference point. Additionally, the NSSF 1529 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface); and
memory configured to store the computing service instances (Paragraph(s) [0136], [0149]).
As per claim 22, Ghozlan teaches wherein the computing service instances comprise:
a management service instance (Paragraph(s) [0119]) configured to:
register a SRF service instance, update a status of the SRF service instance, deregister the SRF service instance, subscribe to and unsubscribe from the status of the SRF service instance, and provide notification of a change in the status of the SRF service instance (Paragraph(s) [0121], [0124], [0129]), a discovery service instance configured to handle discovery requests for the SRF service instance (Paragraph(s) [0127]), and a token service instance configured to provide a token to access the SRF service instance or computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0112], [0119]).
As per claim 23, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
decode, from a computing service function (Comp SF), a registration or status update request for a computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0121], [0129], [0242], [0247]), and
encode, for transmission to the Comp SF, a registration or status update response that indicates a status of registration of the computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0121], [0129], [0242], [0247]).
As per claim 24, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
decode, from a service orchestration and chaining function (SOCF), a registration or status update request for a computing service instance of the UE received by the SOCF (Paragraph(s) [0119], [0121], [0247]), and
encode, to the SOCF, a registration or status update response that indicates a status of registration of the computing service instance for transmission to the UE (Paragraph(s) [0119], [0121], 0247]).
As per claim 25, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
decode, from a service infrastructure control function (SICF), a registration or status update request for a computing service instance received by the SICF from an evolved service communication proxy-user plane (eSCP-U) or a service mesh proxy of the UE (Paragraph(s) [0088], [0119], [0121]), and
encode, for transmission to the SICF, a registration or status update response that indicates a status of registration of the computing service instance for transmission to the eSCP-U or service mesh proxy (Paragraph(s) [0119], [0121], [0247]).
As per claim 26, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
decode, from a NF, a request to subscribe to a status of a computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0105], [0112], [0247]),
encode, to the NF, a response that indicates a status of subscription to the status of the computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0121], [0124], [0247]), and
in response to successful subscription to the status of the computing service instance determine that a trigger condition for notification of the computing service instance has been met (Paragraph(s) [0117], [0124], [0221]), and send, for transmission to the NF, a notification that indicates the trigger condition of the computing service instance has been met (Paragraph(s) [0124], [0131]).
As per claim 27, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
decode, from a NF, a service discovery request for computing service instances having service discovery criteria (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0247]), and
encode, for transmission to the NF, a service discovery response that indicates computing service instances that satisfy the service discovery criteria and information about how to access the computing service instances (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0221]).
As per claim 28, Ghozlan teaches an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 13 – UE 1301a, Paragraph(s) [0083-0085]), the apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry (Paragraph(s) [0137-0138]) configured to:
encode (Paragraph(s) [0247]), for transmission to one of a nth generation NodeB (xNB), access and mobility function (AMF), or Security Anchor Function (SEAF), a service registration message for service registration and authentication and authorization (Paragraph(s) [0119], [0121]; the AMF 1521 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 1501, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization…The AMF 1521 may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be a termination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 1521 and an N17 reference point between the AMF 1521 and a 5G-EIR);
perform a control plane service discovery to find a service orchestration and chaining function (SOCF) (Paragraph(s) [0127-0128]; the NRF 1525 may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. The prior art further teaches the NFVO 2112 may coordinate, authorize, release and engage resources of the NFVI 2104 in order to provide the requested service (e.g., to execute an EPC function, component, or slice). The NM 2114 may provide a package of end-user functions with the responsibility for the management of a network, which may include network elements with VNFs, non-virtualized network functions, or both (Paragraph(s) [0228]));
encode, for transmission to the SOCF, a service request for computing service instances having service discovery criteria (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0222]; the NRF 1525 may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances);
decode (Paragraph(s) [0247]), from the SOCF, a service response that indicates at least one computing service instance that meet the service discovery criteria and information about how to access the at least one computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0124], [0196], [0205]); and
select a computing control function (Comp CF) and a computing service function (Comp SF) to set up a packet data unit (PDU) session between the UE and a selected communication service function (Comm SF) to steer traffic to the Comp SF (Paragraph(s) [0124], [0130]; for edge computing implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF 1502 close to the UE 1501 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 1502 to DN 1503 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 1528. In this way, the AF 1528 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing); and
memory configured to store the at least one computing service instance that meet the service discovery criteria (Paragraph(s) [0136], [0149]).
As per claim 29, Ghozlan teaches wherein the service registration message includes credentials to authenticate and authorize for a subscription to a desired computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0129]).
As per claim 30, Ghozlan teaches wherein the service request includes identifiers to indicate a particular computing service instance type with computing service instance requirements (Paragraph(s) [0199]).
As per claim 31, Ghozlan teaches wherein:
the at least one computing service instance received from the SOCF includes a plurality of computing service instances (Paragraph(s) [0105], [0127]), and
the processing circuitry (Paragraph(s) [0137-0138]) configures the UE to:
select one of the plurality of computing service instances as a selected computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0115], [0130-0131]), and
encode information of the selected computing service instance for transmission to the SOCF (Paragraph(s) [0228], [0247]).
As per claim 32, Ghozlan teaches wherein the at least one computing service instance received from the SOCF is a single computing service instance, and the processing circuitry configures the UE to use the single computing service instance (Paragraph(s) [0218]).
As per claim 33, Ghozlan teaches wherein the at least one computing service instance received from the SOCF includes a new computing service instance launched by the SOCF in response to a determination that no existing computing service instance meets the service discovery criteria (Paragraph(s) [0126-0127]).
As per claim 34, Ghozlan teaches wherein control plane service discovery to find the SOCF is based on one of:
assignment of the SOCF to the UE during registration of the UE, an identifier of the SOCF (SOCF ID) included in a context of the UE (Paragraph(s) [0122], [0126], [0220]),
based on a network repository function (NRF) query to an NRF (Paragraph(s) [0131]), the NRF being a service registry for network functions in a 6th generation (6G) system (Paragraph(s) [0172]), or based on service infrastructure control function (SICF) service mesh configuration for the UE during registration of the UE, a list of SOCF received by the UE for selection and indication of an SOCF ID of a selected SOCF in the service request (Paragraph(s) [0131]).
As per claim 35, Ghozlan teaches wherein user plane service discovery to find a particular service instance comprises the processing circuitry configuring the UE to receive, in the service response, one of: Comp SF identifiers, a list of the service instances as part of a user plane service mesh configuration, Comm SF identifiers, or service instance identifiers (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0131], [0218]).
As per claim 36, Ghozlan teaches an apparatus for a service infrastructure control function (SICF) (Paragraph(s) [0124], [0135]), the apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry (Paragraph(s) [0137-0138]) configured to:
register at least one of network functions (NFs) or computing service instances of at least one evolved service communication proxy-user plane (eSCP-U) and at least one evolved service communication proxy-control plane (eSCP-C) for a service mesh (Paragraph(s) [0088], [0119], [0121]; the AMF 1521 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 1501, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization… The AMF 1521 may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be a termination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 1521 and an N17 reference point between the AMF 1521 and a 5G-EIR); and
provide service discovery for a user equipment (UE) as part of the service mesh without use of a network repository function (NRF) or service repository function (SRF) or coordinate with the NRF and SRF to serve different UEs (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0228]; the NRF 1525 may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 1525 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services); and
memory configured to store the at least one of NFs or computing service instances (Paragraph(s) [0136], [0149]).
As per claim 37, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to decode, during registration of the UE, a request for information of the NFs from access and mobility function (AMF) or Security Anchor Function (SEAF) and encode a response for transmission to the AMF or SEAF containing the information of the NFs (Paragraph(s) [0121], [0242], [0247]).
As per claim 38, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to decode, in response to a request for a computing service from the UE to a service orchestration and chaining function (SOCF), a request for information of the computing service instances from the SOCF and encode a response for transmission to the SOCF containing the information of the computing service instances (Paragraph(s) [0124], [0196], [0205]).
As per claim 39, Ghozlan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to decode, from the UE after establishment of the service mesh, a service mesh configuration request and encode, for transmission to the UE, service discovery-related information in a service mesh configuration response (Paragraph(s) [0127], [0130]).
As per claim 40, Ghozlan teaches wherein the service mesh configuration response comprises a list of service orchestration and chaining functions (SOCFs) and information about the SOCFs (Paragraph(s) [0127-0128], [0131]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please refer to form PTO-892 (Notice of Reference Cited) for a list of relevant prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED A WASEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-2669. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri (8:00 am – 4:30 pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Glenton Burgess can be reached on (571)272-3949. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMED A. WASEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454
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