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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on 01/14/2025 and 07/16/2026 fail to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because no explanation of relevance of non-English language information for 1) International Search Report issued in corresponding International Application No. PCT/CN2023/075914, dated May 12, 2023, pages 1-8 and 2) Chinese Office Action issued in corresponding Chinese Application No. 202210313762.1, dated May 20, 2026, pages 1-34. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-9 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu (WO 2021/254001 A1, English translated US 2023/0156828 A1 cited), hereinafter "HU" in view of Li et al. (US 2020/0252813 A1), hereinafter “LI”.
Regarding claim 1, HU teaches, ‘A communication method, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0006]: According to a first aspect, this application provides a session establishment method, applied to an SMF network element):
‘and determining a second network slice instance for the second session, wherein the first network slice instance and the second network slice instance correspond to a same network slice.’ (Paragraphs [0097]-[0098]: The SD (slice differentiator) is used to distinguish between different slice instances of a same slice type. One slice instance may have one or more slice types. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a first slice instance, a second slice instance, and a third slice instance are all eMBB-type slices; Paragraph [0123]: the SMF network element 11 may perceive, by using the N4 interface session response message or the node-level heartbeat message, running statuses and/or load information of the slice instances deployed in the plurality of second UPF network elements. When a slice instance is overloaded, the SMF network element 11 no longer selects a second UPF network element corresponding to the overloaded slice instance to perform session establishment processing, but selects another second UPF network element with light load to perform session establishment
processing).
HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘learning, by an access and mobility management function network element, that load information of a first network slice instance is congested, wherein the first network slice instance is configured to serve a first session;’ (LI – Paragraph [0330]: based on the real-time network statistics… NWDA (Network Data Analytics) may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded… NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet),
‘sending indication information to a session management function network element corresponding to the first session, wherein the indication information is useable to trigger establishment of a second session;’ (LI – Paragraph [0097]: The single N1 termination point is located in Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The AMF forwards SM related NAS information to the Session Management Function (SMF). AMF handles the RM/CM part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE. SMF handles the Session Management part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE; Paragraph [0330]: For example, NWDA may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded, and it may send a message to SMFs not to select the UPF when creating a PDU session with high data rates or with a large amount of traffic. As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 2, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 1, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the indication information is useable to indicate that the first network slice instance is congested.’ (LI – Paragraph [0098]: NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it; Paragraph [0330]: For example, NWDA may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded, and it may send a message to SMFs not to select the UPF when creating a PDU session with high data rates or with a large amount of traffic. As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 4, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 1, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the learning that the first network slice instance is congested comprises:’
(LI – Paragraph [0003]: In the 5G network architecture currently under development by 3GPP, Network Data Analytics (NWDA) is defined as a network function to represent operator managed
network analytics… NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to
the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it; Paragraph [0006]: Currently, the usage of NWDA is limited to provide network status (e.g. congestion level) to the PCF and the PCF will use the information to make policy decisions; Paragraph [0170]: For example, the M2M (machine -to-machine) server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion of the sensor reporting application. If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the
M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion)
‘sending a first subscription message to a communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus is configured to store the load information of the first network slice instance in the network slice, and the first subscription message comprises the identifier of the first network slice instance;’ (LI – Paragraph [0099]: An Nnwda reference point resides between the Network Data Analytics (NWDA) and the PCF. In one implementation, the PCF could get analytics data from NWDA by either a request/response model or a subscription/notification model. FIGS. 4 to 6 show these message flows. FIG. 4 illustrates an NWDA subscription service; Paragraph [0173]: The M2M server may also be interested in the event that a network slice serving the UEs which register with the server becomes overloaded in terms of total number of connections or total amount of traffic. So, the M2M server may request an additional network slice or more network resources within the network slice for better service quality; Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters);
‘receiving a first notification message from the communication apparatus;’ (LI – Paragraph [0099]: FIG. 5 illustrates an Nnwda notification service; Paragraph [0249]: in step 3, over time, when the subscribed event takes place, the NF sends a notification message to indicate the type of event, and the NF identity; Paragraph [0341]: As illustrated in step 3, at some point in time thereafter, when the event takes place or the subscribed information is updated, the NWDA sends notification to the
SCS/AS (Service Capability Server/Application Server) including the subscribed information or the updated information);
‘and determining, based on the first notification message, that the first network slice instance is congested.’ (LI - Paragraphs [0170]-[0171]: For example, the M2M server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion... If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0330]: In addition, based on the real-time network statistics, such as the above information, NWDA may provide some operation guidance and/or rules to NF. For example, NWDA may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded, and it may send a message to SMFs not to select the UPF when creating a PDU session).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 5, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 4, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the first subscription message is useable to request to subscribe to the load information of the first network slice instance, and the first notification message is useable to indicate the load information of the first network slice instance;’ (LI – Paragraphs [0188]-[0192]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters… A new PDU session is created by the SMF with the following information: QoS parameters, such as Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR), Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR), and per Session Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (Session-AMER); Paragraph [0206]: With this event information from the SMF, the NWDA may be able to keep track of the different statistics, such as the SMF's load and downlink data storage. This statistic information may be provided to an AMF; Paragraph [0222]: Given these events and information from the AMF, the NWDA is able to track the work load statistics of an AMF including NAS signaling, PDU session through control plane and non-3GPP access signaling via N3IWF(Non-3GPP InterWorking Function); Paragraph [0249]: in step 3, over time, when the subscribed event takes place, the NF sends a notification message to indicate the type of event, and the NF identity. Some more information may be provided as well to associate with the event);
‘or the first subscription message is useable to request to send a notification to the access and mobility management function network element in response to the first network slice instance being congested, and the first notification message is useable to notify that the first network slice instance is congested.’ (LI – Paragraph [0003]: NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it; Paragraph [0170]; For example, the M2M server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion of the sensor reporting application. If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the
M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0173]: The M2M server may also be interested in the event that a network slice serving the UEs which register with the server becomes overloaded in terms of total number of connections or total amount of traffic. So, the M2M server may request an additional network slice or more network resources within the network slice for better service quality; Paragraph [0330]: As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 6, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 4, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the first subscription message further comprises: the threshold corresponding to the first network slice instance.’ (LI – Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters; Paragraph [0200]: The total number of (IP type and/or non-IP type) sessions supported by the SMF crosses a certain threshold; Paragraph [0202]: Total number, or rate of, rejected or failed
connection attempts passes a threshold. This could be further qualified to request a notification if the total number, or rate of, ejected or failed connection attempts with a particular cause value passes a threshold; Paragraph [0214]: The total number of connected UEs supported by the AMF crosses a certain threshold; Paragraph [0205]: The amount of downlink data buffered at the SMF exceeds a certain threshold. Or the utilization of the memory allocated for downlink data buffering exceeds a certain threshold).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 8, HU teaches, ‘A communication method, comprising:’ Paragraph [0006]: According to a first aspect, this application provides a session establishment method, applied to an SMF network element):
‘and the first network slice instance and the second network slice instance correspond to a same network slice.’ (Paragraphs [0097]-[0098]: The SD (slice differentiator) is used to distinguish between different slice instances of a same slice type. One slice instance may have one or more slice types. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a first slice instance, a second slice instance, and a third slice instance are all eMBB-type slices; Paragraph [0123]: the SMF network element 11 may perceive, by using the N4 interface session response message or the node-level heartbeat message, running statuses and/or load information of the slice instances deployed in the plurality of second UPF network elements. When a slice instance is overloaded, the SMF network element 11 no longer selects a second UPF network element corresponding to the overloaded slice instance to perform session establishment processing, but selects another second UPF network element with light load to perform session establishment processing).
HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘establishing, by a session management function network element, a first session, wherein the first session is configured to be served by a first network slice instance;’ (LI – Paragraph [0082]: A "PDU session" may be an association between the UE and a data network that provides a PDU Connectivity Service; Paragraphs [0189]-[0192]: new PDU session is created by the SMF with the following information: QoS parameters, such as Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR), Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR), and per Session Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (Session-AMER));
‘receiving indication information from an access and mobility management function network element, wherein the indication information is useable to indicate that the first network slice instance is congested, or the indication information is useable to trigger establishment of a second session;’ (LI – Paragraph [0097]: A single N1 Non Access Stratum (NAS) connection is used for both Registration Management and Connection Management (RM/CM) and for Session Management (SM)-related messages and procedures for a UE. The single N1 termination point is located in Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The AMF forwards SM related NAS information to the Session Management Function (SMF). AMF handles the RM/CM part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE. SMF handles the Session Management part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE; Paragraph [0170]: If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0330]: As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet);
‘and triggering the establishment of the second session based on the indication information, wherein the second session is configured to be served by a second network slice instance,’ (LI – Paragraph [0170]: If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0173]: The M2M server may also be interested in the event that a network slice serving the UEs which register with the server becomes overloaded in terms of total number of connections or total amount of traffic. So, the M2M server may request an additional network slice or more network resources within the network slice for better service quality; Paragraph [0330]: For example, NWDA may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded, and it may send a message to SMFs not to select the UPF when creating a PDU session with high data rates or with a large amount of traffic. As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 9, HU teaches, ‘A communication method, applied to a communication apparatus, wherein the method comprises: comprising:’ (Paragraph [0006]: According to a first aspect, this application provides a session establishment method, applied to an SMF network element):
‘receiving, by a communication apparatus, a first subscription message from a first subscription network element, wherein the first subscription message comprises an identifier of a first network slice instance;’ (Paragraph [0007]: sending a session establishment request to a target UPF network element, where the session establishment request includes first slice information of a target slice instance; Paragraph [0010]: In an optional implementation, the first slice information includes single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) of the target slice instance or a network slice instance identifier (NSI ID) of the target slice instance; Paragraph [0134]: That the SMF network element 11 sends first slice information of the target slice instance to the target UPF network element 12 may include: sending a packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) session establishment request
(PFCP Session Establishment Request) including the first slice information to the target UPF network element 12);
HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘and sending a first notification message to the first subscription network element in response to determining that the first network slice instance is congested,’ (LI – Paragraph [0003]: NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it; Paragraph [0170]: For example, the M2M server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion of the sensor reporting application. If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the
M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0249]: in step 3, over time, when the subscribed event takes place, the NF sends a notification message to indicate the type of event, and the NF identity. Some more information may be provided as well to associate
with the event),
‘wherein the first notification message is useable to indicate the load information of the first network slice instance in response to the first subscription message being useable to request to subscribe to the load information of the first network slice instance;’ (LI – Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters; Paragraph [0206]: With this event information from the SMF, the NWDA may be able to keep track of the different statistics, such as the SMF's load and downlink data storage. This
statistic information may be provided to an AMF; Paragraph [0222]: Given these events and information from the AMF, the NWDA is able to track the work load statistics of an AMF including NAS signaling, PDU session through control plane and non-3GPP access signaling via N3IWF; Paragraph [0249]: in step 3, over time, when the subscribed event takes place, the NF sends a notification
message to indicate the type of event, and the NF identity. Some more information may be provided as well to associate with the event),
‘or the first notification message is useable to indicate that the load information of the first network slice instance is congested in response to the subscription message being useable to request to send a notification to the first subscription network element and the first network slice instance is congested.’ (LI – Paragraph [0003]: NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it; Paragraph [0170]: For example, the M2M server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion of the sensor reporting application. If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the
M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0173]: The M2M server may also be interested in the event that a network slice serving the UEs which register with the server becomes overloaded in terms of total number of connections or total amount of traffic. So, the M2M server may request an additional network slice or more network resources within the network slice for better service quality).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 11, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 9, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the first subscription network element is an access and mobility management function network element or a session management function network element.’ (LI – Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters. In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at a SMF; Paragraph [0206]: With this event information from the SMF, the NWDA may be able to keep track of the different statistics, such as the SMF's load and downlink data storage. This statistic information may be provided to an AMF and used by the AMF when selecting an SMF or by another SMF in roaming scenarios. The AMF could read this information
from the NWDA during a PDU session establishment procedure and use it to select an SMF; Paragraph [0208]: In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at an AMF; Paragraph [0222]: Given these events and information from the AMF, the NWDA is able to track the work load statistics of an AMF including NAS signaling, PDU session through control plane and non-3GPP access signaling via N3IWF).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Regarding claim 12, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 9, HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein the first subscription network element is an access and mobility management function network element and the communication apparatus is a network slice selection function network element, and the method further comprises:’ (LI – Paragraph [0330]: NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet; Paragraph [0206]: With this event information from the SMF, the NWDA may be able to keep track of the different statistics, such as the SMF's load and downlink data storage. This statistic information may be provided to an AMF and used
by the AMF when selecting an SMF or by another SMF in roaming scenarios. The AMF could read this information from the NWDA during a PDU session establishment procedure and use it to select an SMF; Paragraph [0208]: In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at an AMF):
‘receiving a request message from the access and mobility management function network element, wherein the request message comprises an identifier of a network slice;’ (LI – Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters; Paragraph [0206]: The AMF could read this information from the NWDA during a PDU session establishment procedure and use it to select an SMF; Paragraph [0342]: In another embodiment, the request/response model may be employed instead of the subscription model. In that alternative embodiment, the method may be similar
to that illustrated in FIG. 18, where the SCS/AS sends a request message to the NEF, which forwards the message to the NWDA for obtaining the desired analytics information);
‘and sending a response message to the access and mobility management function network element, wherein the response message comprises an identifier of a second network slice instance, and the first network slice instance and the second network slice instance correspond to the same network slice.’ (LI – Paragraph [0086]: A network slice instance is made up of a set of network functions and the resources to run these network functions. The different shading is used to indicate the different network slice instances or sub-network slice instances; Paragraph [0206]: In addition, the NWDA may combine this SMF load balance statistics with network slice information. For example, there may be 3 PDU sessions, each with a guaranteed bit rate 2 GB/s managed by SMFs in a network slice, so that the statistics may be used for selecting a network slice or deciding whether to create a new network slice; Paragraph [0330]: As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
Claims 3, 7, 10 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU in view of LI in view of Liang et al. (US 2024/0314886 A1), hereinafter “LIANG”.
Regarding claim 3, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 1, further comprising: HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘deleting a correspondence between an identifier of a network slice and an identifier of the first network slice instance.’ (LIANG – Paragraph [0111]: In an embodiment, when a NF detects the overload of a network slice, it initiates the network slice release procedure; Paragraph [0113]: In this embodiment, the AMF detects the overload of a network slice and checks whether resources of such slices are used by the UE (whether there is any PDU session associated with such S-NSSAI). The AMF removes such S-NSSAI from the allowed NSSAI if it is not used by the UE);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Regarding claim 7, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 4, HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘wherein the communication apparatus is a network slice selection function network element or a network slice admission control function network element.’ (LIANG – Paragraph [0004]: In case that the slice resource is limited and the PDU session is maintained, this may cause additional UEs to fail to register this S-NSSAI and request a S-NSSAI for a PDU session when Network Slice Admission Control (NSAC) is deployed; Paragraph [0060]: In an embodiment, the network (architecture) further comprises Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF). The NSSF supports the following functionalities: selecting the set of Network Slice instances serving the UE; determining the allowed NSSAI and, if needed, the mapping to the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) S-NSSAIs; determining the configured Network Slice Selection Assistant Information (NSSAI): Paragraph [0083]: FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure… In this embodiment, the NSACF for the number of UEs or the number of PDU sessions per network slice may be the same or different).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Regarding claim 10, HU and LI teach, The method according to claim 9, HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘wherein the communication apparatus is configured to store the load information of the first network slice instance,’ (LAING – Paragraph [0083]: In this embodiment, the NSACF for the number of UEs or the number of PDU sessions per network slice may be the same or different; Paragraph [0105]: If EAC (Early Admission Control) mode is deactivated, the AMF performs NSAC after the registration completion. The NSACF updates the current number of UEs registered for the S-NSSAI, i.e. increases or decrease the number of UEs registered per network slice based on the
information provided by the AMF in the update flag parameter. This step is performed if NSACF is deployed; Paragraphs [0108]-[0109]: When AMF detects overload of an S-NSSAI, the AMF can check the UE contexts in which the allowed NSSAI includes such overloaded S-NSSAI… If NSACF is deployed, the AMF also sends a Nnsacf_NSAC_NumOfUEsUpdate_Request message to the NSACF to decrease the number of UEs registered per network slice; Paragraph [0125]: Step 701: Receiving, by a first policy control node (e.g. PDU-PCF) from one or more network slice access control nodes (e.g. NASCF), a first notification (e.g., the notification in Step 310 described above) corresponding to a number of PDU sessions in association with a network slice),
‘and the communication apparatus is a network slice selection function network element or a network slice admission control function network element.’ (LAING – Paragraph [0004]: In case that the slice resource is limited and the PDU session is maintained, this may cause additional UEs to fail to register this S-NSSAI and request a S-NSSAI for a PDU session when Network Slice Admission Control
(NSAC) is deployed; Paragraph [0060]: In an embodiment, the network (architecture) further comprises Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF). The NSSF supports the following functionalities: selecting the set of Network Slice instances serving the UE; determining the allowed NSSAI and, if needed, the mapping to the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) S-NSSAIs; determining the configured Network Slice Selection Assistant Information (NSSAI): Paragraph [0083]: FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure… In this embodiment, the NSACF for the number of UEs or the number of PDU sessions per network slice may be the same or different).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Regarding claim 13, HU teaches, ‘A communication method, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0006]: According to a first aspect, this application provides a session establishment method, applied to an SMF network element):
‘and determining a second network slice instance for the second session, wherein the first network slice instance and the second network slice instance correspond to the same network slice’ (Paragraphs [0097]-[0098]: The SD (slice differentiator) is used to distinguish between different slice instances of a same slice type. One slice instance may have one or more slice types. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a first slice instance, a second slice instance, and a third slice instance are all eMBB-type slices; Paragraph [0123]: the SMF network element 11 may perceive, by using the N4 interface session response message or the node-level heartbeat message, running statuses and/or load information of the slice instances deployed in the plurality of second UPF network elements. When a slice instance is overloaded, the SMF network element 11 no longer selects a second UPF network element corresponding to the overloaded slice instance to perform session establishment processing, but selects another second UPF network element with light load to perform session establishment
processing).
HU does not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘learning, by an access and mobility management function network element, that a first network slice instance is congested, wherein the first network slice instance is configured to serve a first session;’ (LI – Paragraph [0330]: based on the real-time network statistics… NWDA (Network Data Analytics) may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded… NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet);
‘and receiving an establishment request message corresponding to a second session,’ (LI – Paragraph [0097]: A single N1 Non Access Stratum (NAS) connection is used for both Registration Management and Connection Management (RM/CM) and for Session Management (SM)-related messages and procedures for a UE. The single N1 termination point is located in Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The AMF forwards SM related NAS information to the Session Management Function (SMF). AMF handles the RM/CM part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE. SMF handles the Session Management part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE; Paragraph [0170]; If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session; Paragraph [0188]: in step 1, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF; Paragraph [0206]: The AMF could read this information from the NWDA during a PDU session establishment procedure and use it to select an SMF),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with HU because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into HU is that LI provides core network analytics and management procedures, specifically detailing how core network elements like the AMF and SMF learn network metrics (e.g., congestion, overload levels) and perform real-time mitigation actions by detecting session-level/slice congestion and notifying network entities to establish a new session or select alternative network slice instances. This is to modify HU’s session establishment method by incorporating LI’s teachings of AMF network slice congestion learning and signaling the SMF to trigger a second session (See Paragraph [0097], [0330], LI).
HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘deleting a correspondence between an identifier of a network slice associated with the first session and an identifier of the first network slice instance;’ (LIANG – Paragraph [0111]: In an embodiment, when a NF detects the overload of a network slice, it initiates the network slice release procedure; Paragraph [0113]: In this embodiment, the AMF detects the overload of a network slice and checks whether resources of such slices are used by the UE (whether there is any PDU session associated with such S-NSSAI). The AMF removes such S-NSSAI from the allowed NSSAI if it is not used by the UE);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Regarding claim 14, HU, LI and LIANG teach, The method according to claim 13, further comprising: HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘sending indication information to a session management function network element corresponding to the first session, wherein the indication information is useable to trigger establishment of the second session.’ (LIANG – Paragraph [0102]: If all applications or some critical applications related with the overloaded slice have stopped and the load threshold has been reached, the PCF can initiate the URSP update procedure to the UE or trigger the AMF to update the allowed NSSAI. If the PCF triggers the AMF to update the allowed NSSAI, the PCF may inform the AMF of the overloaded S-NSSAI or send updated allowed NSSAI to the
AMF which doesn't include the overloaded S-NSSAI. When the AMF receives the notification from the PCF, the AMF triggers the User Configuration Update procedure to send the updated allowed NSSAI to the UE, which doesn't include the overloaded S-NSSAI; Paragraph [0111]: In an embodiment, when a NF detects the overload of a network slice, it initiates the network slice release procedure).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Regarding claim 15, HU, LI and LIANG teach, The method according to claim 14, HU and LI do not explicitly teach but LIANG teaches, ‘wherein the indication information is useable to indicate that the first network slice instance is congested.’ (LIANG - Paragraph [0102]: If all applications or some critical applications related with the overloaded slice have stopped and the load threshold has been reached, the PCF can initiate the URSP update procedure to the UE or trigger the AMF to update the allowed NSSAI. If the PCF triggers the AMF to update the allowed NSSAI, the PCF may inform the AMF of the overloaded S-NSSAI or send updated allowed NSSAI to the AMF which doesn't include the overloaded S-NSSAI. When the AMF receives the notification from the PCF, the AMF triggers the User Configuration Update procedure to send the updated allowed NSSAI to the UE, which doesn't include the overloaded S-NSSAI; Paragraph [0113]: In this embodiment, the AMF detects the overload of a network slice and checks whether resources of such slices are used by the UE (whether there is any PDU session associated with such S-NSSAI). The AMF removes such S-NSSAI from the allowed NSSAI if it is not used by the UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIANG with HU and LI because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIANG into HU and LI is that LIANG provides the specific operational step where an AMF detects slice overload and cleans up stored slice mappings by removing the overloaded network slice identifier (S-NSSAI) from the active allowed slice list (allowed NSSAI). This yields the predictable result of preventing UEs from attempting repeated session requests on congested slices, freeing up system memory/resources, and maintaining strict slice admission control across 5G core networks (See Paragraphs [0004], [0110], [0113], LIANG).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
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/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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