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
1. This action is in response to the amendment and argument field on 8 May 2026
2. Claims 5 and 13 have been cancelled.
3. Claims 1, 6-7, 9, 14 and 15 have been amended.
4. Claims 1-4, 6-12 and 14-16 remain Pending and rejected.
Responses to the Argument
5. The applicant’s arguments filed on 8 May 2026 are moot in view of new ground of rejection rendered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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 1, 3-4, 6-9, 11-12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C §103 as being unpatentable over Saghir et al. (US Publication No. 20200145294), hereinafter Saghir and in view of Zhu et al. (US Publication No. 20060174018), hereinafter Zhu.
Regarding claim 1:
A method for provisioning a terminal in a radio communication network, the method comprising (Saghir, 1, Fig. 1):
receiving an initial connection prompt for the terminal to connect to the radio communication network (Saghir, ||36), Small cell wireless station 105 requests establishment (shown with a "3" within a circle) of a secure tunnel with SeGW 125 for connecting to controlled access network 130. The tunnel establishment request includes the small cell wireless station 105's network address and its assigned certificate.
providing the network address of a provisioning server (Saghir, 136), provisioning system 140 may query the small cell wireless station 105, or another node that maintains network address information, to retrieve the network address (e.g., MAC address) of the new small cell wireless station 105. FIG. 6 depicts provisioning system 140 obtaining a network address (e.g., a MAC address) for the new small cell wireless station 105, and sending a message 610 that includes the network address (e.g., MAC address) of the small cell wireless station 105 to validation entity 135.
and cryptographic information for authenticating the provisioning server to the terminal from the radiocommunication network (Saghir, 145, 147), wherein The secure tunnel may be a bi-directional tunnel, with the tunnel establishing the secure conveying of traffic from small cell wireless station 105 to SeGW 125, and from SeGW 125 to small cell wireless station 105. In one implementation, the secure tunnel may be an Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) tunnel in which traffic (e.g., packets) sent between the small cell wireless station 105 and the SeGW 125 is encrypted over the tunnel using the IPSec protocol.
Saghir does not explicitly suggest, providing information to the terminal indicating at least one of:an authentication credential to be sent by the terminal to the provisioning server; and an authentication method to be used to authenticate the terminal with the provisioning server; however, in a same field of endeavor Zhu discloses this limitation (Zhu, ¶22-23, ¶111), a registration module for: i) authenticating a provisioning information server; ii) receiving from the provisioning information server, for each authorized device, the configuration instruction associated with the authorized device; and iii) writing the configuration instruction, in association with the device ID of the authorized device
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include the method of device provisioning in a radio network of Saghir mutual authentication with authentication credential, disclosed in Zhu to secure connection between endpoints, stated by Zhu. at para. 13.
Regarding claim 3:
further comprising providing an identifier to the terminal from the radio communication network, the identifier indicating which provisioning protocol or which provisioning method is to be used (Saghir, 123).
Regarding claim 4:
further comprising providing a configuration parameter to the terminal from the radio
communication network, the configuration parameter indicating how the terminal is to adapt the provisioning protocol or the provisioning method to a given application context of the terminal (Saghir, 124).
Regarding claim 6:
further comprising providing a second piece of information to the terminal from the radio communication network, the second piece of information indicating what is to be configured in the terminal including at least one of: an authentication credential, and a network access configuration (Saghir, ¶22-23).
Regarding claim 7:
providing a third piece of information to the terminal from the radio communication network, the third piece of information indicating how a plurality of provisioning proccsscs arc to be carricd out at least one of: an order of authentication credentials to be sent to the terminal, and a dependency indicating a sequence of provisioning processes (Zhu, ¶25).
Regarding claim 8:
Wherein the radio communication network is comprises a 5G network; and the terminal initially connects to a node of the 5G network (Saghir, fig.1).
Regarding claim 9:
a terminal (Saghir, 15), wherein mobile device is the terminal. and a radio communication network (Saghir, Fig.1) wherein, upon initial connection of the terminal to the radio communication network (Saghir, fig.1), the radio communication network provide the network address of a provisioning server (Saghir, 136,) wherein, provisioning system 140 may query the small cell wireless station 105, or another nodethat maintains network address information, to retrieve the network address (e.g., MAC address) of the new small cell wireless station 105. FIG. 6 depicts provisioning system 140 obtaining a network address (e.g., a MAC address) for the new small cell wireless station 105, and sending a message 610 that includes the network address (e.g., MAC address) of the small cell wireless station 105 to validation entity 135.
Saghir does not explicitly suggest, providing information to the terminal indicating at least one of:an authentication credential to be sent by the terminal to the provisioning server; and an authentication method to be used to authenticate the terminal with the provisioning server; however, in a same field of endeavor Zhu discloses this limitation (Zhu, ¶22-23, ¶111), a registration module for: i) authenticating a provisioning information server; ii) receiving from the provisioning information server, for each authorized device, the configuration instruction associated with the authorized device; and iii) writing the configuration instruction, in association with the device ID of the authorized device
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include the method of device provisioning in a radio network of Saghir mutual authentication with authentication credential, disclosed in Zhu to secure connection between endpoints, stated by Zhu. at para. 13.
Regarding claim 11:
further comprising providing an identifier to the terminal from the radio communication network, the identifier indicating which provisioning protocol or which provisioning method is to be used (Saghir, 123).
Regarding claim 12:
further comprising providing a configuration parameter to the terminal from the radio
communication network, the configuration parameter indicating how the terminal is to adapt the provisioning protocol or the provisioning method to a given application context of the terminal (Saghir, 124).
Regarding claim 14:
further comprising providing a second piece of information to the terminal from the radio communication network, the second piece of information indicating what is to be configured in the terminal (Saghir, 135).
wherein the radio communication network provides a second piece of information to the terminal, the second piece of information indicating what is to be configured in the terminal including at least one of: an authentication credential, and a network access configuration (Saghir, ¶135, ¶24).
Regarding claim 15:
wherein the radio communication network provides a third piece of information to the terminal, the third piece of information how a plurality of provisioning processes are to be carried out at least one of: an order of authentication credentials to be sent to the terminal, and a dependency indicating a sequence of provisioning processes ( Saghir, ¶135, ¶24).
Regarding claim 16:
Wherein the radio communication network is comprises a 5G network; and the terminal initially connects to a node of the 5G network (Saghir, Fig. 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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 filingdate 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 2 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C §103 as being unpatentable over Saghir in view of Zhu and in view of Xiangyang Yang (US Publication No. 20160277051), hereinafter Yang.
Regarding claim 2 and claim 10:
Saghir in view of Zhu does not explicitly suggest, wherein the cryptographic information includes at least one of: the public key of the provisioning server, the Subject Key Identifier (SKID) of the provisioning server, the certificate of the provisioning server, or a check value formed depending on the certificate; however, in a same field endeavor Yang discloses this limitation (Yang, 128).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include the method of device provisioning in a radio network of Saghir in view of Zhu with the use of public key disclosed in Yang to enhance security, stated by Yang. at para. 37.
Conclusion
7. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure (See form “PTO-892 Notice of reference cited).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONJUR RAHIM whose telephone number is (571)270-3890.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shewye Gelagay can be reached on 571-272-4219. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Monjur Rahim/
Patent Examiner
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Art Unit: 2436; Phone: 571.270.3890
E-mail: monjur.rahim@uspto.gov
Fax: 571.270.4890
Prosecution Insights