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 .
Priority
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2023/083830, filed on Mar. 24, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210320863.1, filed on Mar. 29, 2022.
Specification
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.
The following title is suggested: COMMUNICATION METHOD, APPARATUS, AND DEVICE FOR DATA DELIVERY SERVICE REGISTRATION AND DISCOVERY.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
The claims lack the necessary physical articles or objects to constitute a machine or a manufacture within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 101. They are clearly not a series of steps or acts to be a process nor are they a combination of chemical compounds to be a composition of matter. As such, they fail to fall within a statutory category.
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) 1-5, 11-13 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20240298286 A1).
As to claim 1, Xu teaches a communication method, comprising:
sending, by an edge application server (EAS), a first message to an edge enabler server (EES) (fig. 6, “2. Edge Application Server Registration Request” ), wherein the first message is used to report a correspondence between the EAS and a service enabler architecture layer data delivery (SEALDD) server, and the correspondence between the EAS and the SEALDD server is used to query for the SEALDD server corresponding to the EAS (paragraph [0151], “the EAS 422 may transmit its EAS profile including the first list of associated EAS information (which may indicate the association of the EAS 422 with other EAS 423” and paragraph [0181], “the second network function (such as the EAS 422) is implemented as Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) server for the vertical application, and the third network function is implemented as Vertical Application Layer (VAL) server (such as the EAS 423, 424)”);
receiving, by the EES, the first message (paragraph [0110], “The EAS 422 sends an edge application server registration request to the EES 421”);
storing, by the EES, the correspondence between the EAS and the SEALDD server (paragraph [0113], “Upon successful authorization, the EES 421 stores the EAS Profile for later use”).
As to claim 2, Xu teaches receiving, by the EES, a first query message from a first network element, wherein the first query message comprises information about the EAS (paragraph [0122], “The EEC 411 sends an EAS discovery request to the EES 421”); and
sending, by the EES based on the correspondence between the EAS and the SEALDD server, information about the SEALDD server corresponding to the EAS to the first network element (paragraph [0129], “If the processing of the request was successful, the EES 421 sends an EAS discovery response to the EEC 411, which includes information about the discovered EASs 422, 423, 424”).
As to claim 3, Xu teaches sending, by the first network element, the first query message (paragraph [0122], “The EEC 411 sends an EAS discovery request to the EES 421”); receiving, by the first network element, the information about the SEALDD server corresponding to the EAS (paragraph [0129], “If the processing of the request was successful, the EES 421 sends an EAS discovery response to the EEC 411, which includes information about the discovered EASs 422, 423, 424”).
As to claim 4, Xu teaches wherein the first message is an EAS registration request message (paragraph [0110], “The EAS 422 sends an edge application server registration request to the EES 421”).
As to claim 5, Xu teaches wherein the first message comprises one or more of:
information about the SEALDD server, the information about the EAS, or a service type provided by the SEALDD server for the EAS (paragraph [0113], “For example, the information regarding the EAS profile in the above table 1 or table 2 may be included in the request”).
As to claim 11, Xu further teaches a communication system comprising:
an edge enabler server (EES); and an edge application server (EAS) in communication with the EES (fig. 6). Therefore, the limitations of claim 11 are substantially similar to claim 1. Please refer to claim 1 above.
As to claim 12, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar to claim 2. Please refer to claim 2 above.
As to claim 13, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar to claim 3. Please refer to claim 3 above.
As to claim 16, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar to claim 4. Please refer to claim 4 above.
As to claim 17, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar to claim 5. Please refer to claim 5 above.
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.
Claim(s) 6-10, 14-15 an 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20240298286 A1).
As to claim 6, Xu teaches wherein before the sending, by the EAS, the first message to the EES, the method further comprises:
receiving, by the EAS, a message for the service request message from the SEALDD server (paragraph [0167], “second network function (such as the EAS 422) may receive, from the third network function (such as the EAS 423 or 424), a registration request, for registering the third network function in the second network function”).
Xu does not explicitly teach sending a request message to the server.
However, Xu further teaches sending, by a device, a service request message to the SEALDD server, wherein the service request message comprises information about the EAS and/or a service enabler architecture layer data delivery service type requested by the EAS (paragraph [0189], “the first network function may receive receiving, from a functional component of a User Equipment (UE) 401, a first message for discovering at least one second network function implementing Edge Application Server (EAS) in the EDN 402”); and
receiving, by the device, a response message for the service request message from the SEALDD server (paragraph [0208], “the first network function may transmit, to the functional component of the UE, a second message including information indicating a first list of associated EAS information”).
Therefore, based on the teachings of Xu, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate sending a request message to the server with receiving message from the SEALDD server in order to enable the EAS server to discover other EAS/SEALDD servers.
As to claim 7, Xu teaches receiving, by the SEALDD server, the service request message from the EAS (paragraph [0189], “first network function may receive receiving, from a functional component of a User Equipment (UE) 401, a first message for discovering at least one second network function implementing Edge Application Server (EAS) in the EDN 402”); and sending, by the SEALDD server, the response message for the service request message to the EAS (paragraph [0208], “the first network function may transmit, to the functional component of the UE, a second message including information indicating a first list of associated EAS information”). The limitations of claim 7 are rejected in view of the analysis of claim 6 above, and the rationale to combine, as discussed in claim 6, applies here as well.
As to claim 8, Xu teaches wherein before the sending, by the SEALDD server, the response message to the EAS, the method further comprises: determining, by the SEALDD server, to provide a service enabler architecture layer data service for the EAS (“first network function may perform an EAS discovery process to discover the EAS”).
As to claim 9, Xu teaches wherein the service request message comprises the service enabler architecture layer data delivery service type requested by the EAS, and the determining, by the SEALDD server, to provide a service enabler architecture layer data service for the EAS comprises: determining, by the SEALDD server, to provide, for the EAS, services of one or more types in the service enabler architecture layer data delivery service type requested by the EAS (paragraph [0194], “the information indicating the first list of associated EAS information may be included in the EAS profile of the second network function. The EAS profile of the second network function (such as EAS 422) may further include information indicating the EAS ID and information indicating the EAS endpoint of the second network function”).
As to claim 10, Xu teaches wherein the response message for the service request message comprises a service type provided by the SEALDD server for the EAS, and the service type provided by the SEALDD server for the EAS is one or more types in the service enabler architecture layer data delivery service type requested by the EAS (paragraph [0194], “the information indicating the first list of associated EAS information may be included in the EAS profile of the second network function. The EAS profile of the second network function (such as EAS 422) may further include information indicating the EAS ID and information indicating the EAS endpoint of the second network function” and paragraph [0208]).
As to claim 14, Xu teaches wherein the system further comprises the SEALDD server, configured to: send a response message for the service request message to the EAS (paragraph [0167], “second network function (such as the EAS 422) may receive, from the third network function (such as the EAS 423 or 424), a registration request, for registering the third network function in the second network function”).
Xu does not explicitly teach receiving a request message by the server.
However, Xu further teaches receive a service request message from the EAS, wherein the service request message comprises the information about the EAS and/or a service enabler architecture layer data delivery service type requested by the EAS (paragraph [0189], “the first network function may receive receiving, from a functional component of a User Equipment (UE) 401, a first message for discovering at least one second network function implementing Edge Application Server (EAS) in the EDN 402”); and
send a response message for the service request message to the EAS (paragraph [0208], “the first network function may transmit, to the functional component of the UE, a second message including information indicating a first list of associated EAS information”).
Therefore, based on the teachings of Xu, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate receiving a request message by the server with receiving message from the SEALDD server in order to enable the EAS server to discover other EAS/SEALDD servers.
As to claim 15, Xu teaches wherein before the sending, by the SEALDD server, the response message to the EAS, the method further comprises: determining, by the SEALDD server, to provide a service enabler architecture layer data service for the EAS (“first network function may perform an EAS discovery process to discover the EAS”).
As to claim 18, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar to claim 6. Please refer to claim 6 above.
As to claim 19, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar or broader in scope to claim 9. Please refer to claim 9 above.
As to claim 20, the limitations of the claim are substantially similar or broader in scope to claim 10. Please refer to claim 10 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDULKADER M ALRIYASHI whose telephone number is (313)446-6551. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM Alt, Friday, EST.
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, JOON HWANG can be reached at (571)272-4036. 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.
/Abdulkader M Alriyashi/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 1/8/2026