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 is response to Application 18/865,054 filed on 11/12/2024 in which claims 24-43 are presented for examination.
Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 24-32 and 35-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Panchal et al. (US 2022/0264540 A1).
2. Regarding claims 24 and 43, Panchal teaches an apparatus in a user equipment (Fig. 1, 6 and 7) and method, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving, from a core network entity, at least one user equipment route selection policy rule (Paragraph [0011] UE route selection policies, URSP; core network) , wherein the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule comprises a component with information associated with a source device (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] update traffic routing; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device);
receiving, from an application of the source device, a request for uplink data traffic, wherein the request comprises information about the source device;
determining how to route the data traffic from the application, using the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule and based on the received information about the source device in the request, to determine a route; and routing the data traffic according to the determined route (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] update traffic routing; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device).
3. Regarding claim 35, Panchal teaches An apparatus for a core network entity (Fig 1), the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform:
determining, for a user equipment, at least one user equipment route selection policy rule (Paragraph [0011] UE route selection policies, URSP; core network), wherein the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule comprises a component with information associated with a source device that is able to request data traffic via the user equipment; and providing, to the user equipment, the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] update traffic routing; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device).
4. Regarding claims 25 and 36, Panchal teaches, wherein, for the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule, the information associated with the source device comprises at least one of:
an identity of at least one source device;
an identity of a network associated with the user equipment (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device).
5. Regarding claims 26 and 37, Panchal teaches, wherein at least one of:
the identity of the source device is an identity of a personal internet-of-things network
element; and the identity of the network is an identity of a personal internet-of-things network (Paragraphs [0025] and [0071] IoT device).
6. Regarding claims 27 and 38, Panchal teaches wherein the identity of the source device comprises at least one of: a medium access control address, a source internet protocol address,a port number, a bluetooth identity, a unique identification of the personal internet-of-things network element, a network access identifier received by the user equipment once the source device has been authenticated (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice).
7. Regarding claims 28 and 39, Panchal teaches, wherein the identity of a personal internet-of-things network comprises at least one of: a service set identifier of an access point, a unique identification of the personal internet-of-things network (Paragraphs [0025] and [0071] IoT device; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice).
8. Regarding claim 29, Panchal teaches, wherein the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule comprises a plurality of user equipment route selection policy rules (Paragraph [0011] URSP framework provides traffic steering rules).
9. Regarding claim 30, Panchal teaches wherein the route is determined utilising a route selection descriptor associated with the selected user equipment route selection policy rule (Paragraphs [0025] and [0071] IoT device; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice).
10. Regarding claim 31, Panchal teaches, wherein the apparatus comprises:
determining whether there is an existing protocol data unit session that has been
established and is compatible with the route selection descriptor; and
, when there is an existing protocol data unit session that is compatible with the route
selection descriptor, utilising the protocol data unit session for routing the data traffic (Paragraphs [0012] and [0034]evaluate all URSP rules; rule matching the application is identified, the slice/PDU session are provided; existing or new PDU session).
11. Regarding claim 32, Panchal teaches, wherein the apparatus comprises:
performing quality of service mapping, for the protocol data unit session, using at least
one quality of service rule (Paragraph [0065] traffic mapped to a different slice; best quality of service).
12. Regarding claim 40, Panchal teaches, wherein the determining comprises
determining the at least one user equipment route selection policy rule based on a received input from an application function, wherein the application function is associated with a personal internet-of-things network associated with the user equipment device (Paragraphs [0025] and [0071] IoT device; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice).
13. Regarding claim 41, Panchal teaches, wherein the apparatus comprises:
receiving an indication, from the user equipment, that the user equipment supports user
equipment route selection policy rules with components that have information associated with a source device that is able to request data traffic via a user equipment (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] update traffic routing; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device).
14. Regarding claim 42, Panchal teaches, wherein the apparatus comprises:
using the received indication to trigger the determination of the at least one user
equipment route selection policy rule which comprises the component with information
associated with the source device that is able to request data traffic via the user equipment (Paragraphs [0071] and [0072] update traffic routing; transmit an identifier associated with subscriber, identifier associated with application, an identifier associated with the recommended new slice/ information associated with a source device).
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 33 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Panchal et al. (US 2022/0264540 A1) in view of Tiwari et al. (US 2024/0107481 A1).
15. Regarding claim 33, Panchal does not explicitly disclose, wherein the apparatus comprises: providing an indication, to a further core network entity, that the user equipment supports user equipment route selection policy rules with components that have information associated with a source device that is able to request data traffic via a user equipment.
Tiwari teaches wherein the apparatus comprises: providing an indication, to a further core network entity, that the user equipment supports user equipment route selection policy rules with components that have information associated with a source device that is able to request data traffic via a user equipment (Paragraph [0198] to [0203] registration request; second core network apparatus).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the apparatus comprises: providing an indication, to a further core network entity, that the user equipment supports user equipment route selection policy rules with components that have information associated with a source device that is able to request data traffic via a user equipment as taught by Tiwari in the system of Panchal for handling registration procedure and user data transmission related to disjoint slices in a 5G core network see Paragraph [0001] of Tiwari.
16. Regarding claim 34, Panchal in view of Tiwari teaches wherein the indication is provided to the further core network entity within a registration request message (Tiwari, Paragraph [0198] to [0203] registration request; second core network apparatus).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Wang et al. (US 2025/0071034 A1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANE LEE LO whose telephone number is (571)270-1952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at (571)272-7969. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DIANE L LO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
Prosecution Insights