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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-48 are presented for examination.
Claims 1 and 2 are amended.
Claims 3-32 are cancelled.
Claims 33-48 are newly presented.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4 May 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the recited sections of Li fail to disclose Applicant’s amended claims as the recited sections disclose the AUSP performing the actions. This is not persuasive, As Li specifically states that any of the actions disclosed as being performed by the AUSP can also be performed by either the UDM or AMF (Li: Page 1, Sec 7; Any of the functions described as being performed by the AUSF can be performed by any of the AUSF, UDM or ADF; “In this application, an access and mobility management function device in a first aspect and a third aspect may perform steps or procedures performed by an AMF in procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a home network device may perform steps or procedures performed by a UDM or a second AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a user data management device may perform steps or procedures performed by the UDM in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, and an authentication server function device may perform steps or procedures performed by a third AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5.). Accordingly, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2 and 33-48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With respect to claims 1, 37 and 43, Applicant recites “an Unified Data Management (UDM)”. A “Unified Data Management” is not defined by the specification and is unclear. Rather, a “Unified Data Management Function” is defined. Additionally, the phrase “Unified Data Management” would take the article “a” and not “an”. Appropriate correction is required. Claims 1, 37 and 43 are rejected on this basis. Claims 2, 33-36, 38-42 and 44-48 are rejected for depending from a rejected claim and inheriting the defects without correcting the same.
Claims 2 and 38 recite “A UE Parameter Update (UPU)”. The abbreviation UE is not defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claims 37 or 38 and claims 2 and 38 are rejected on this basis.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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)(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 1-2 and 33-48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0244432 by Li et al.
As to claims 1 and 37, Li discloses one or more processors of an Unified Data Management (UDM) (Li: Page 1, Sec 7; Any of the functions described as being performed by the AUSF can be performed by any of the AUSF, UDM or ADF; “In this application, an access and mobility management function device in a first aspect and a third aspect may perform steps or procedures performed by an AMF in procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a home network device may perform steps or procedures performed by a UDM or a second AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a user data management device may perform steps or procedures performed by the UDM in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, and an authentication server function device may perform steps or procedures performed by a third AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5.) configured to perform operations comprising:
determining to trigger an authentication procedure (Li: Page 8, Sec 125: “It may be understood that the second AUSF has executed an authentication procedure on the terminal device. Therefore, the second AUSF stores a security context of the terminal device, for example, the SUPI of the terminal device and a corresponding K.sub.AUSF and SoR Counter. When the SoR Counter is about to wrap around, the second AUSF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. As described above, the second AUSF may directly send the first authentication request message to the AMF, or first send a message to the UDM, and the UDM forwards the first authentication request message or sends the second authentication request message to the AMF”); and
transmitting, to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a request for the authentication procedure (Li: Page 8, Sec 125: “It may be understood that the second AUSF has executed an authentication procedure on the terminal device. Therefore, the second AUSF stores a security context of the terminal device, for example, the SUPI of the terminal device and a corresponding K.sub.AUSF and SoR Counter. When the SoR Counter is about to wrap around, the second AUSF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. As described above, the second AUSF may directly send the first authentication request message to the AMF, or first send a message to the UDM, and the UDM forwards the first authentication request message or sends the second authentication request message to the AMF”).
As to claim 43, Li discloses a method, comprising:
at a Fifth Generation (5G) core network (Li: Page 4, Sec 64; “In still another triggering method, if the terminal device moves from a 4G network to a 5G network, and the terminal device does not have a 5G native security context, the AMF may trigger a primary authentication procedure to obtain the 5G native security context):
determining, by a unified data management (UDM) (Li: Page 1, Sec 7; Any of the functions described as being performed by the AUSF can be performed by any of the AUSF, UDM or ADF; “In this application, an access and mobility management function device in a first aspect and a third aspect may perform steps or procedures performed by an AMF in procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a home network device may perform steps or procedures performed by a UDM or a second AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a user data management device may perform steps or procedures performed by the UDM in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, and an authentication server function device may perform steps or procedures performed by a third AUSF in the procedures in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5.), to trigger an authentication procedure between a user equipment (UE) and the 5G core network (Li: Page 8, Sec 125: “It may be understood that the second AUSF has executed an authentication procedure on the terminal device. Therefore, the second AUSF stores a security context of the terminal device, for example, the SUPI of the terminal device and a corresponding K.sub.AUSF and SoR Counter. When the SoR Counter is about to wrap around, the second AUSF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. As described above, the second AUSF may directly send the first authentication request message to the AMF, or first send a message to the UDM, and the UDM forwards the first authentication request message or sends the second authentication request message to the AMF”);;
transmitting, by the UDM to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a request for the authentication procedure (Li: Page 8, Sec 125: “It may be understood that the second AUSF has executed an authentication procedure on the terminal device. Therefore, the second AUSF stores a security context of the terminal device, for example, the SUPI of the terminal device and a corresponding K.sub.AUSF and SoR Counter. When the SoR Counter is about to wrap around, the second AUSF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. As described above, the second AUSF may directly send the first authentication request message to the AMF, or first send a message to the UDM, and the UDM forwards the first authentication request message or sends the second authentication request message to the AMF”); and
performing, by the AMF, the authentication procedure with the UE (Li: Page 6, Sec 96-99; “[0096] S203B: After receiving the first authentication request message or the second authentication request message, the AMF determines whether to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device.[0097] The AMF determines the terminal device based on the SUPI in the first authentication request message or the second authentication request message. [0098] Optionally, the AMF determines whether the AMF is an AMF that is serving the terminal device. For example, the AMF checks, based on the SUPI, whether mobility management context information corresponding to the SUPI can be obtained. If the AMF cannot obtain the mobility management context information, the AMF rejects to start the primary authentication procedure. Executing the primary authentication procedure may mean that the AMF sends an authentication request message for the terminal device to the AUSF (where the AUSF herein may be the first AUSF, the second AUSF, or another AUSF), to request to execute the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. After receiving the authentication request message, the AUSF requests an authentication vector from the UDM. For details, refer to descriptions in the 5G-AKA authentication method or the EAP-AKA' authentication method. Details are not described herein again. [0099] In this application, if the AMF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device, it does not mean that the AMF definitely triggers the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. There may be a plurality of conditions for triggering the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. That the AMF determines, based on the first authentication request message or the second authentication request message, whether to trigger the primary authentication procedure is only one of the plurality of conditions. The AMF may further determine, with reference to another primary authentication triggering or execution condition, whether to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. After receiving the first authentication request message or the second authentication request message, if the AMF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device, but another condition for triggering the primary authentication procedure is not met, the AMF may not execute the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device.”).
As to claims 2, 38 and 44, Li further discloses wherein determining to trigger the authentication procedure comprises:
in accordance with a determination that there is a need for a UE Parameter Update (UPU) determining to trigger the authentication procedure (Li: Page 7, Sec 105-106: “[0105] For example, the AMF may determine, based on the identifier of the terminal device, whether the home network device has the permission to trigger the primary authentication procedure. For example, the AMF may determine subscription data of the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device, and determine, based on the subscription data, whether the home network device has the permission to trigger the primary authentication procedure. The subscription data may indicate whether the terminal device supports one or more of a steering of roaming (steering of roaming, SoR) procedure, a user equipment parameter update (UE parameter update, UPU) procedure, and an authentication and key management for applications (authentication and key management for applications, AKMA) procedure. [0106] If the subscription data of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports one or more of the SoR procedure, the UPU procedure, and the AKMA procedure, it may be determined that the home network device has the permission to trigger or request the primary authentication procedure, and it may be determined to trigger the primary authentication on the terminal device.”).
As to claims 33, 39 and 45, Li further discloses wherein determining to trigger the authentication procedure comprises:
in accordance with a determination that there is a need for refresh of a key for an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), determining to trigger the authentication procedure (Li: Page 7, Sec 105-106: “[0105] For example, the AMF may determine, based on the identifier of the terminal device, whether the home network device has the permission to trigger the primary authentication procedure. For example, the AMF may determine subscription data of the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device, and determine, based on the subscription data, whether the home network device has the permission to trigger the primary authentication procedure. The subscription data may indicate whether the terminal device supports one or more of a steering of roaming (steering of roaming, SoR) procedure, a user equipment parameter update (UE parameter update, UPU) procedure, and an authentication and key management for applications (authentication and key management for applications, AKMA) procedure. [0106] If the subscription data of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports one or more of the SoR procedure, the UPU procedure, and the AKMA procedure, it may be determined that the home network device has the permission to trigger or request the primary authentication procedure, and it may be determined to trigger the primary authentication on the terminal device.”).
As to claims 34, 40 and 46, Li further discloses wherein determining to trigger the authentication procedure comprises:
in accordance with a determination that a Steering of Roaming (SOR) count wrap around occurs, determining to trigger the authentication procedure (Li: Page 8, Sec 125: “It may be understood that the second AUSF has executed an authentication procedure on the terminal device. Therefore, the second AUSF stores a security context of the terminal device, for example, the SUPI of the terminal device and a corresponding K.sub.AUSF and SoR Counter. When the SoR Counter is about to wrap around, the second AUSF determines to trigger the primary authentication procedure on the terminal device. As described above, the second AUSF may directly send the first authentication request message to the AMF, or first send a message to the UDM, and the UDM forwards the first authentication request message or sends the second authentication request message to the AMF”).
As to claims 35, 41 and 47, Li further discloses wherein the authentication procedure is a home network triggered authentication procedure (Li: Page 7, Sec 105-106: “[For example, the AMF may determine, based on the identifier of the terminal device, whether the home network device has the permission to trigger the primary authentication procedure).
As to claims 36, 42 and 48, Li further discloses wherein a security anchor function (SEAF) is integrated into the AMF (Li: Page 4, Sec 60; “The AMF is a network element mainly responsible for mobility management, and main functions include a termination point of a radio access network control plane, a termination point of non-access signaling, mobility management, lawful interception, access authorization or authentication, and the like. The AMF and a security anchor function (security anchor function, SEAF) may be combined into one physical entity, or may be separately set as independent physical entities).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL S MCNALLY whose telephone number is (571)270-1599. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey L Nickerson can be reached at (469)295-9235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MICHAEL S. MCNALLY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2432
/Michael S McNally/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2432
Prosecution Insights