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 Office Action is in response to the applicants' communication filed on December 30, 2024. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-16 are currently presented in the instant application.
Drawings
The drawings submitted on December 30, 2024 have been reviewed and accepted by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-11 and 15-16 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because they depend upon multiple claims. See MPEP § 608.01(n).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pub No.: US-20230362640-A1 (herein “Edge”).
Claims 1 and 12
Consider claim 1, Edge teaches a method for transmitting dynamic coverage availability information between a core network, comprising an access and mobility management function (see Edge Fig. 8C note Network Entity 185) and collaborative with an access network having dynamic coverage, and a user equipment (see Edge Fig. 8C note UE 115) able to connect to the access network, the method comprising the following steps, for the access and mobility management function:
receiving a set of points characterizing anticipated positions of the user equipment (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0212], [0223] note NAS Registration Request with request for provision of coverage data including input parameters to indicate applicable location(s) and time(s), step 875),
retrieving dynamic coverage availability information for at least one point belonging to the anticipated positions of the user equipment (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0214], [0224] note determining the coverage data, step 880),
sending to the user equipment a signaling message, in the Non-Access Stratum NAS layer, comprising the retrieved dynamic coverage availability information (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0220], [0225], [0226] note returning the coverage data in NAS Registration Accept, step 885).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected for at least the same reason(s) set forth in claim 1.
Claim 2
Consider claim 2, Edge teaches wherein the dynamic coverage availability information comprises events related to dynamic coverage, an event being qualified by an event type, a time stamp, and coordinates of a point of the anticipated positions of the user equipment (see Edge Fig. 7a, [0105], [0112] note coverage map at a time, i.e. T11, within a sequence of consecutive times at future locations as the UE is moving through the cells).
Claim 3
Consider claim 3, Edge teaches wherein the event type is an absence of coverage or a presence of coverage (see Edge Fig. 7B, [0114] note Grid points where satellite coverage is available and unavailable at a specified time).
Claim 4
Consider claim 4, Edge teaches wherein a time window for studying the availability of the dynamic coverage being defined, the events related to the availability of the dynamic coverage have a time stamp included in the study time window (see Edge [0115] note time period indicating when satellite coverage begins and ends at a particular location).
Claim 5
Consider claim 5, Edge teaches wherein, a sampling step of the anticipated positions of the user equipment being defined, the dynamic coverage availability information is limited to points thus sampled (see Edge [0115] note sequence of times or time period indicating when satellite coverage begins and ends at a particular location, i.e. begin at t1 and end at t4).
Claim 6
Consider claim 6, Edge teaches wherein a zone type is associated with the set of points characterizing anticipated positions of the user equipment, the zone then defined by the set of points that can be of the trajectory type or of the polygon type or of the polyhedron type within which the user equipment is likely to move (see Edge Fig. 7A, [0106], [0130] note 7A shows shaped areas which may include polygons an the UE SCAI might be based on a known or expected trajectory of a UE in which the UE future locations are defined together with the times at which the UE will be at the future locations ).
Claim 7
Consider claim 7, Edge teaches wherein the dynamic coverage availability information is retrieved from a service for providing centralized dynamic coverage availability information associated with the core network (see Edge [0223]-[0225] note the network entity may verify the UE subscription to receive coverage data).
Claims 8
Consider claim 8, Edge teaches wherein the service for providing centralized dynamic coverage availability information is integrated into the core network as a network function according to a service architecture (see Edge Fig. 1, Fig. 8C, [0223] note network entity 185 such as serving AMF 122).
Claim 9
Consider claim 9, Edge teaches wherein the set of points is received from the user equipment, which is able to determine its position and future positions (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0212], [0223], [0264] note UE send NAS Registration Request with location(s) at one or more future times).
Claim 10
Consider claim 10, Edge teaches wherein the set of points is received from a management entity of the network having access to the position of the user equipment and to the anticipated positions (see Edge [0058] note a location request for the UE may be forwarded to the AMF to forward to the LMF and the LMF may provide the location response via the AMF).
Claim 11
Consider claim 11, Edge teaches the method comprising steps of: registering the user equipment with an update service for the dynamic coverage availability information, automatically sending updated dynamic coverage availability information to the user equipment in a signaling message in the NAS layer (see Edge [0118] a set of coverage of maps can be provided to the UE for each of a sequency of times occurring at fixed periodic intervals).
Claim 13
Consider claim 13, Edge teaches a core network comprising an access and mobility management function according to claim 12 (see Edge Fig. 1, Fig. 8C, [0223] note network entity 185 such as serving AMF 122 of 5GCN 110-1).
Claim 14
Consider claim 14, Edge teaches characterized in that a service for providing dynamic coverage availability information is integrated into the core network as a network function according to a service architecture (see Edge Fig. 1, Fig. 8C, [0223] note network entity 185 such as serving AMF 122).
Claim 15
Consider claim 15, Edge teaches a user equipment (see Edge Fig. 8C note UE 115) able to connect to an access management and mobility management function (see Edge Fig. 8C note Network Entity 185) according to claim 13 or 14 via an access network having dynamic coverage, the user equipment further having access to a geolocation device for determining its geographical position (see Fig. 1, Edge [0058] note LMF 124), the user equipment being configured for:
receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a signaling message in the NAS layer comprising dynamic coverage availability information (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0220], [0225], [0226] note Network Entity 185 returning the coverage data in NAS Registration Accept, step 885, to UE 115).,
managing connections to the access network based on the received dynamic coverage availability information and the geographical position of the user equipment (see Edge Fig. 13, [0264] note coverage data enables the UE to determine whether access to the serving PLMN via one or more satellites can be possible).
Claim 16
Consider claim 16, Edge teaches determining a set of points characterizing anticipated positions of the user equipment (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0212], [0223] note input parameters to indicate applicable location(s) and time(s)),
sending, to the access and mobility management function, a message in the NAS Layer including the set of points thus determined to allow it to retrieve the availability information (see Edge Fig. 8C, [0212], [0223] note NAS Registration Request with request for provision of coverage data including input parameters to indicate application location(s) and time(s), step 875).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS C HAMMONDS whose telephone number is (571)270-3193. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00AM-6:00PM.
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, ALISON T. SLATER can be reached at (571)270-0375. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARCUS HAMMONDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
