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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 1, 10 and 17 recite “PIN”. It needs to be spelled out in the future amendment.
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 and 17-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lai et al. (US 2022/0232506, “Lai”) in view of Zhang et al. (US 2025/0159589, “Zhang”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Lai unless otherwise mentioned.
Lai comprises the following features:
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, a method for identifier configuration performed by a first (PIN) device in a personal internet of things (loT) -network, the method comprising:
configuring a PIN element (PINE) identifier for a second PIN device ([0026] “Upon receiving a Registration Request message of type “initial registration” or “mobility registration update” from a UE, the AMF sends a new 5G-GUTI to the UE in Registration Accept message.” Note that under BRI, a first PIN device reads on an AMF entity, a second PIN device reads on a UE, a target PIN that the second device requests to join reads on the PLMN to which the UE registers. Lai’s AMF ID reads on the claimed ‘first PIN identifier of the first PIN device’.);
wherein the PINE identifier comprises a PIN identifier of a target PIN that the second PIN device requests to join and a first PIN identifier of the first PIN device ([0026] “The 5G-GUTI has two main components: the Global Unique AMF Identifier (GUAMI) and the 5G-TMSI that provides an unambiguous identity of the UE within the AMF(s) identified by the GUAMI. GUAMI further comprises two network identifiers: PLMN ID and AMF ID.”); or
the PINE identifier comprises the PIN identifier of the target PIN that the second PIN device requests to join, the first PIN identifier of the first PIN device, and an element identifier for the second PIN device configured by the first PIN device (This alternative is not examined.).
It is noted that while disclosing network identity, Lai does not specifically teach about PIN and PINE. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Zhang as follows;
PIN device in a personal internet of things (IoT) network, PINE element (PINE) ([Zhang, 0071] “A PIN may be a configured and managed group of at least one at least one PIN element with gateway capability (PEGC) and at least one PIN element (PINE) that support communicating with each other and with a network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network) via a PEGC. For instance, a PINE may be a non-cellular wireless device that does not support directly accessing the network over a RAN but may communicate with the network via a PEGC.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Lai by using the features of Zhang in order to identify and manage PIN element joining a PIN such that “the described PIN architecture may support the configuration and management of PINs and the wireless devices included therein” [Zhang, 0004].
Regarding claim 10, it is a method claim 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 17, it is a first (PIN) device claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except the limitations, “a processor; and a memory storing computer programs executable by the processor” ([Zhang, 0145] “FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 400 of a device 405 that supports a PIN architecture in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 405 may be an example of aspects of a PIN application server or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a transmitter 415, and a communications manager 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claims 18 and 20, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing computer programs thereon, wherein the computer programs, when executed by a processor of first PIN device, cause the first PIN device to perform the method of claim 1 and the method of claim 10, respectively ([Zhang, 0178] “FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 that supports a PIN architecture”, and [Zhang, 0180] “The memory 725 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 725 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 730 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 735, cause the device 705 to perform various functions described herein. The code 730 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium”).
Regarding claim 19, a electronic device comprising: a processor; and a memory storing computer programs executable by the processor, wherein the computer programs; when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to act as the second PIN device and perform the identifier configuration method of claim 10 ([Zhang, 0178] “FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 that supports a PIN architecture in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of or include the components of a device 405, a device 505, a PIN application server, or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 705 may communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof, which may include communications over one or more wired interfaces, over one or more wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. The device 705 may include components that support outputting and obtaining communications, such as a communications manager 720, a transceiver 710, an antenna 715, a memory 725, code 730, and a processor 735.”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2, 11 and 21 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 3-7, 12 and 22-24 depend from one of the objected claims above, and thus are objected.
The claims contain the following underlined features which, when combined with other features of the claim, prior art of record failed to anticipate or render obvious before the effective filing date of the instant application was filed:
2. The identifier configuration method of claim 1, wherein the first PIN device comprises at least one of: a target PINE gateway capability (PEGC) device, a target PINE management capability (PEMC) device, or a target PIN management function (PMF) network element.
Regarding claims 11 and 21, the claims contain similar features as recited in claim 2, thus are objected for the same reason as stated above.
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.
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/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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