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 .
This Office Action is in response to the communications for the present US application number 18/903,869 last filed on October 01st, 2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined, directed to COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 5-9, 12-16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2019/0394814 A1 to Bakker, Jan (referred to hereafter as “Bakker”).
As to claim 1, Bakker further discloses a communication method, comprising:
receiving, by a first device, a non-access stratum (NAS) message transmitted by a second device (Bakker discloses of overall system that can accept NAS REGISTRATION ACCEPT messages from a UE, such as with respect to emergency situations, e.g., Bakker: ¶¶ 25),
wherein the NAS message comprises a first information element (IE), the first IE comprises a first information element identifier (IEI), and the first IE carries a second IE (the NAS message would contain additional elements or IEs. In the example with the emergency message, that can contain at least two or more IEs or URNs, with at least one that has an identifier. The emergency IE type can be further identified using labels/identifiers (e.g., Bakker: ¶¶ 19, 24-33, 35-38 and Table 1 for reference and pages 4-5 with the example and notes following).
As to claim 2, Bakker further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the second IE comprises a second IEI, and a type of the second IE is determined based on the first IEI and the second IEI (Emergency service types example, e.g., Bakker: ¶¶ 17 and 19 and Table 1).
As to claim 5, Bakker further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the NAS message is a registration accept message (e.g., Bakker: ¶¶ 25 and 30).
As to claim 6, Bakker further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first IE is an IE of a type 6 (e.g., Bakker: ¶ 38).
As to claim 7, Bakker further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the second IE is an IE of a type 6 or a type 4 (e.g., Bakker: ¶ 38).
As to claim 8, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 1 as Bakker also discloses of the system that can carry out the claimed steps (e.g., Bakker: ¶¶ 262-265).
As to claim 9, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 2.
As to claim 12, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 5.
As to claim 13, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 6.
As to claim 14, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 7.
As to claim 15, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 1.
As to claim 16, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 2.
As to claim 19, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 6.
As to claim 20, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 7.
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 3, 10, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. US No. US 2019/0394814 A1 to Bakker in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2019/0174449 A1 to Shan et al. (referred to hereafter as “Shan”).
As to claim 3, Bakker does not fully further disclose of the method according to claim 1, wherein the first IE or an IE carried in the first IE or both are IEs that are allowed to be ignored by the first device (Bakker does not explicitly describe of when the system can ignore various IE parts of a request from a UE.
Shan more expressly discloses of a similar scope and context wherein in an emergency scenario, an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) can ignore unknown or unsuccessfully registration responses while continuing with the rest of what’s available in an emergency call/request (e.g., Shan: ¶¶ 125 and 230).
Based on Shan’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present application, to combine and incorporate Shan’s teachings, such that in the resulting combined system, in the case of emergencies, can ignore unknown IEs and proceed with processing what’s available in the request).
As to claim 10, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 3.
As to claim 17, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 3.
Claims 4, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. US No. US 2019/0394814 A1 to Bakker in view of U.S. Patent No. US 10,349,257 B1 to Bakker et al. (referred to hereafter as “BakkerB1”).
As to claim 4, Bakker does not fully further disclose of the method according to claim 1, wherein the first IE is an IE of a type 6, and a value range of the first IEI is 70 to 7F in hexadecimal (While Bakker discloses that the Extended Emergency Number List IE is a type 6 IE (¶ 38), Bakker does not expressly disclose about the use of hexadecimals.
In a different but similar scenario, BakkerB1 more expressly disclosed about the use of hex digits (e.g., BakkerB1: col. 28, ll. 52).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present application, to combine and incorporate this hexadecimal functionality, to increase overall functionality. The incorporation of the use of hex digits, along with the type 6 IE aspect, would also mean that the range is between 70-7F (as based upon what was explained from the filed Specifications ¶ [0062]).
As to claim 11, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 4.
As to claim 18, see the similar corresponding rejection of claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xiang Yu whose telephone number is (571)270-5695. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-3:00 (PST/PDT).
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, Emmanuel Moise can be reached at (571)272-3865. 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.
/Xiang Yu/Examiner, Art Unit 2455