DETAILED ACTION
1. The following Office Action is based on the application filed on October 7, 2024, having claims 1-25 and drawing figures 1-16.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
3. Figures 1-3 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
In addition to Replacement Sheets containing the corrected drawing figure(s), applicant is required to submit a marked-up copy of each Replacement Sheet including annotations indicating the changes made to the previous version. The marked-up copy must be clearly labeled as “Annotated Sheets” and must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change(s) to the drawings. See 37 CFR 1.121(d)(1). Failure to timely submit the proposed drawing and marked-up copy will result in the abandonment of the application.
Specification
4. The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “Quality of Service, QoS” recited in line 2 of the abstract must be written as “Quality of Service (QoS)” the first time it is recited in the abstract.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
5. Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “so as” recited in line 4 of claim 6 must be deleted to render the claim affirmative. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-6 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kodaypak et al. (US 2018/0359337 A1).
For claim 1, Kodaypak discloses a device (Fig 9, computer 902) comprising: a processor circuit (Fig 9, processing unit 904); and a memory circuit (Fig 9, system memory 906); wherein the memory circuit is arranged to store instructions for the processor circuit [0065];
wherein an application server (Fig 2, application server(s) AS 214) is arranged to provide a first set of services to at least one transceiver in a portion of a network ([0031] UEs transmit service request to application server(s) for one or more services including streaming and emergency service); the service may be for a specific location in the network (localized service));
wherein the network comprises a plurality of transceivers (Fig 2, UEs 202),
wherein the first set of services requires a first Quality of Service at the portion of the network ([0031] based on the type of service requested a specific Quality of Experience (QoE) is required for the service);
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to acquire a status of the portion of the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network);
wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the first Quality of Service can be achieved at the portion of the network based on the status of the network ([0031] based on network status/load, it is determined whether a core network slice needs to be updated/modified in order to handle the requested service QoE (quality of experience);
wherein the processor is configured to notify the application server if the first Quality of Service cannot be achieved ([0031] it is determined whether a core network slice needs to be updated/modified in order to handle the requested service QoE (quality of experience).
For claim 1, Kodaypak does not expressly disclose the application server is configured to modify the first set of services to provide a second set of services when the first Quality of Service cannot be achieved; wherein the second set of services requires a second Quality of Service at the portion of the network; and wherein the second Quality of Service is lower in quality than the first Quality of Service.
However, Kodaypak discloses the processing circuit may update/modify a pre-dedicated network slice or instantiate a new network slice based on network conditions to achieve a required QoE/QoS to handle the service request [0031], wherein [0047] the new network slice may perform better with a second type of service rather than a first type of service. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to provide a second/different set/type of services instead of the requested first set/type of services in the communication network of Kodaypak at the time of the invention based on the updated allocated network slice and network conditions.
For claim 2, Kodaypak discloses the processor circuit is arranged to acquire the status in response to one of: a request from the application server, an event in the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network), and an expiry of one of a plurality of periodic intervals.
For claim 3, Kodaypak discloses the event in the network is selected from the group consisting of at least one of: a failure of at least one entity in the network, a malfunction of at least one entity in the network, a degradation or improvement of radio coverage in the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance/coverage, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network), a handover of a transceiver from one cell of the network to another cell of the network, and at least transceiver connecting to or disconnecting from the network.
For claim 4, Kodaypak discloses the event in the network is selected from the group consisting of: a change in the network (network event), an overload in the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network), and a degradation or improvement in achievable Quality of Service.
For claim 5, Kodaypak discloses the processor circuit is arranged to request a status report from the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network), and wherein the processor circuit is arranged to determine whether the first Quality of Service can be achieved based at least upon the status report ([0031] it is determined whether a core network slice needs to be updated/modified in order to handle the requested service QoE (quality of experience).
For claim 6, Kodaypak discloses the network is arranged to collect at least one data related to the at least one status report from at least one network device, and wherein the network is arranged to process the at least one data so as to create the status report ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network).
For claim 11, Kodaypak discloses the network is arranged to collect data related to a status of one or more entities of the network, wherein the network is arranged to process the data for creating a status report, and wherein the processor circuit is arranged to receive the status report from the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network; a data reception component 302 receives the status report of the network),.
For claim 12, Kodaypak discloses the status of the network comprises at least one of: a signal traffic load in the network, resources in the network, congestion in the network, interference of at least a portion of user devices within the network, and achievable Quality of Service in the network ([0034], network status information (load, performance, event data) is collected, wherein the status information is triggered/requested by when the UE sends a service request from a radio access point in the network and [0031] achievable QoE in the network)
For claim 13, Kodaypak discloses the processor circuit is arranged to signal that the Quality of Service can be fulfilled or cannot be fulfilled in response to a notification from the core network of a Quality of Service change or a network event, and wherein the network event caused a change in achievable Quality of Service ([0031] and [0042] the core network provides a trigger/signal to indicate whether the requested service QoE/QoS can be met based on network attributes including load, latency, and access point locations; these changes may affect the achievable QoE/QoS).
For claim 14, Kodaypak discloses the processor device is arranged to receive a push notification from a core network, and wherein the push notification indicates that an event occurred ([0031] and [0042] the core network provides a trigger/signal to indicate whether the requested service QoE/QoS can be met based on network attributes including load, latency, and access point locations; these changes may affect the achievable QoE/QoS).
For claim 15, Kodaypak discloses the push notification informs the processor circuit of at least one of: a critical event ([0034] and [0042], network status information includes event data or weather data) and a warning.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 7-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Elisabeth B Magloire whose telephone number is (571)272-5601. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM-5 PM ET.
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, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at 571-272-8586. 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.
/ELISABETH BENOIT MAGLOIRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
