DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-8 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/18/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 10/18/2024. These drawings are accepted.
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)(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, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uchiyama et al. (WO 2022/074769, cited on IDS, with machine translation attached to this OA, see PTO-892).
As per claim 1, Uchiyama et al. teach a slice support availability checking method of a mobile communication system [Uchiyama, pg. 7, ¶ 2, Fig. 6 shows the base station sending a RRC Release message, including slice ID (NSSAI/SST information, see pg. 2, ¶ 9 and pg. 4, ¶s 8 and 9). The UE uses this information for future cell selection (see pg. 7, ¶ 8).], the method comprising the steps of:
transmitting, at a base station, a message comprising a first list and/or a second list [Uchiyama, pg. 7, ¶ 3, “In this case, gNB100A can recognize that the slice (S-NSSAI # 1) has been rejected by the Initial context setup request. The gNB100A can include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the RRC Release message sent to the UE200”, The RRC Release message contains an unsupported slice list (second list) and a supported S-NSSAI list (or a first list, see pg. 6, ¶ 5 and figs. 10 and 11). The RRC Release message is transmitted from the base station (gNB) to the UE (see fig. 6). See also fig. 3, element 220 (pg. 5, ¶ 5).]; and
determining, at a user equipment, whether a cell supports a network slice in an application area based on the presence or absence of the first list and the second list [Uchiyama, pg. 6, ¶ 8, “The UE200 considers both the cellReselectionPriority and servicetype notified by RRC Release based on the Slice ID (which may be SST) selected in the past or the Slice ID (which may be SST) notified by the paging message. A high frequency is selected, and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency), and cell selection may be performed”, The UE may perform slice selection of a slice that is listed in the S-NSSAI List. The UE contains slice selection (see fig. 3, element 240) and control (see fig. 3, element 250) units that select a slice for use in an area based on the NSSAI (first) list (see also pg. 5, ¶s 8-12). If selecting a slice from the first list after receiving a RRC Release, a UE may use a higher frequency for reselection (see pg. 6, ¶ 8).],
wherein the first list represents first network slices that the cell supports, and the second list represents second network slices that the cell does not support [Uchiyama, pg. 7, ¶ 3, “In this case, gNB100A can recognize that the slice (S-NSSAI # 1) has been rejected by the Initial context setup request. The gNB100A can include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the RRC Release message sent to the UE200”, The RRC Release message contains an unsupported slice list (second list) and a supported S-NSSAI list (or a first list, see pg. 6, ¶ 5 and figs. 10 and 11). The RRC Release message is transmitted from the base station (gNB) to the UE (see fig. 6).].
As per claim 2, Uchiyama et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 1. Uchiyama et al. also teach wherein the determining comprises determining, at the user equipment, whether the cell supports the network slice in accordance with the first list and the second list when the message includes the first list and the second list [Uchiyama, pg. 6, ¶ 8, “The UE200 considers both the cellReselectionPriority and servicetype notified by RRC Release based on the Slice ID (which may be SST) selected in the past or the Slice ID (which may be SST) notified by the paging message. A high frequency is selected, and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency), and cell selection may be performed”, The UE may perform slice selection of a slice that is listed in the S-NSSAI List. The UE contains slice selection (see fig. 3, element 240) and control (see fig. 3, element 250) units that select a slice for use in an area based on the NSSAI (first) list (see also pg. 5, ¶s 8-12). If selecting a slice from the first list after receiving a RRC Release, a UE may use a higher frequency for reselection (see pg. 6, ¶ 8).].
As per claim 8, Uchiyama et al. teach a user equipment in a mobile communication system [Uchiyama, fig. 3], comprising:
a receiver configured to receive, from a base station, a message comprising a first list and/or a second list [Uchiyama, pg. 7, ¶ 3, “In this case, gNB100A can recognize that the slice (S-NSSAI # 1) has been rejected by the Initial context setup request. The gNB100A can include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the RRC Release message sent to the UE200”, The RRC Release message contains an unsupported slice list (second list) and a supported S-NSSAI list (or a first list, see pg. 6, ¶ 5 and figs. 10 and 11). The RRC Release message is transmitted from the base station (gNB) to the UE (see fig. 6). See also fig. 3, element 220 (pg. 5, ¶ 5).]; and
a controller configured to determine whether a cell supports a network slice in an application area based on the presence or absence of the first list and the second list [Uchiyama, pg. 6, ¶ 8, “The UE200 considers both the cellReselectionPriority and servicetype notified by RRC Release based on the Slice ID (which may be SST) selected in the past or the Slice ID (which may be SST) notified by the paging message. A high frequency is selected, and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency), and cell selection may be performed”, The UE may perform slice selection of a slice that is listed in the S-NSSAI List. The UE contains slice selection (see fig. 3, element 240) and control (see fig. 3, element 250) units that select a slice for use in an area based on the NSSAI (first) list (see also pg. 5, ¶s 8-12). If selecting a slice from the first list after receiving a RRC Release, a UE may use a higher frequency for reselection (see pg. 6, ¶ 8).],
wherein the first list represents first network slices that the cell supports, and the second list represents second network slices that the cell does not support [Uchiyama, pg. 7, ¶ 3, “In this case, gNB100A can recognize that the slice (S-NSSAI # 1) has been rejected by the Initial context setup request. The gNB100A can include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the RRC Release message sent to the UE200”, The RRC Release message contains an unsupported slice list (second list) and a supported S-NSSAI list (or a first list, see pg. 6, ¶ 5 and figs. 10 and 11). The RRC Release message is transmitted from the base station (gNB) to the UE (see fig. 6).].
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 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchiyama et al. (WO 2022/074769, cited on IDS, with machine translation attached to this OA, see PTO-892) in view of Inaba et al. (WO 2022/054267, cited on IDS, with machine translation attached to this OA, see PTO-892).
As per claim 3, Uchiyama et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 1. Uchiyama et al. also teach wherein the determining comprises performing, at the user equipment, any one of receiving slice support information indicating whether the cell supports the network slice from an access management apparatus and receiving the slice support information broadcast from the base station, when the message does not include the first list and the second list.
However, in an analogous art, Inaba et al. teach receiving the slice support information broadcast from the base station, when the message does not include the first list and the second list [Inaba, pg. 10, ¶ 4, Modification 6, “As a result, when a situation occurs in which it becomes difficult to provide a part or all of the network slices, for example, in the event of a disaster, the base station 20 performs cell selection or cell reselection processing in consideration of the network slices on the terminal 10. By transmitting information to prevent execution via system information, it is possible to quickly prevent the terminal 10 from falling into a state in which communication is not possible. Further, the terminal 10 is regarded as a "conventional base station 20 that does not support this function" and performs a conventional processing procedure, or "a base station 20 that supports this function but cannot provide a network slice (that is, a network slice). This information can also be used to determine whether to perform the processing by regarding it as a base station 20) connected to a core network that does not support”, Legacy cell reselection is supported for the excluded cell.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cell reselection of Uchiyama et al. to only accommodate legacy reselection as taught by Inaba et al. One would have been motivated to do this because varying cell reselection procedures to accommodate natural disasters maintains connectivity (Inaba, pg. 10, ¶ 4) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 4, Uchiyama et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 1. Uchiyama et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the determining comprises excluding, at the user equipment, the cell not listed in the first list from slice-specific cell reselection candidates when the message comprises the first list and the message does not comprise the second list.
However, in an analogous art, Inaba et al. teach excluding, at the user equipment, the cell not listed in the first list from slice-specific cell reselection candidates when the message comprises the first list and the message does not comprise the second list [Inaba, pg. 6, ¶ 5, “Based on the slice information acquired by the acquisition unit 103, the control unit 104 selects (cell selection) or reselects (cell selection) the cell to camp on from the cells that can provide the network slice supported by the terminal 10. Select). "Network slices supported by terminal 10" should be read as "network slices used by terminal 10", "network slices desired by terminal 10", or "network slices desired by terminal 10 to be registered". May be good. Further, the "network slice used by the terminal 10", the "network slice desired by the terminal 10", or the "network slice desired by the terminal 10" are among the network slices supported by the terminal 10. It may mean the slice / service type or S-NSSAI used by the terminal 10. In the present embodiment, the expressions "used by the terminal 10", "desired to be used by the terminal 10", and "desired to be registered by the terminal 10" can be interchanged with each other”, The acquisition unit of the terminal (see fig. 6, element 103) receives RRC messaging (e.g., a RRC Release, see pg. 7, ¶ 4) containing NSSAI information as a list, for potential slices that the terminal may select (see pg. 6, ¶ 4). Notably, the reference only uses a NSSAI (or first) list for the selection, and therefore does not comprise the second list (unsupported slice list) as taught by Uchiyama.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the RRC signaling of Uchiyama et al. to only include the RRC information as taught by Inaba et al. One would have been motivated to do this because exchanging parameters within RRC signals to achieve different results would allow for varying cell slices reselection procedure variants (see Inaba, pg. 7, ¶ 4) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 5, Uchiyama et al. in view of Inaba et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 4. Uchiyama et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the excluding comprises applying, at the user equipment, legacy cell reselection to the excluded cell.
However, in an analogous art, Inaba et al. teach wherein the excluding comprises applying, at the user equipment, legacy cell reselection to the excluded cell [Inaba, pg. 10, ¶ 4, Modification 6, “As a result, when a situation occurs in which it becomes difficult to provide a part or all of the network slices, for example, in the event of a disaster, the base station 20 performs cell selection or cell reselection processing in consideration of the network slices on the terminal 10. By transmitting information to prevent execution via system information, it is possible to quickly prevent the terminal 10 from falling into a state in which communication is not possible. Further, the terminal 10 is regarded as a "conventional base station 20 that does not support this function" and performs a conventional processing procedure, or "a base station 20 that supports this function but cannot provide a network slice (that is, a network slice). This information can also be used to determine whether to perform the processing by regarding it as a base station 20) connected to a core network that does not support”, Legacy cell reselection is supported for the excluded cell.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cell reselection of Uchiyama et al. to only accommodate legacy reselection as taught by Inaba et al. One would have been motivated to do this because varying cell reselection procedures to accommodate natural disasters maintains connectivity (Inaba, pg. 10, ¶ 4) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 6, Uchiyama et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 1. Uchiyama et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the determining comprises setting, at the user equipment, the cell not listed in the second list as one of the slice-specific cell reselection candidates when the message comprises the second list and the message does not comprise the first list.
However, in an analogous art, Inaba et al. teach wherein the determining comprises setting, at the user equipment, the cell not listed in the second list as one of the slice-specific cell reselection candidates when the message comprises the second list and the message does not comprise the first list [Inaba, pg. 10, ¶ 6, Modification 7, “More specifically, in cell selection, the acquisition unit 103 acquires system information including information indicating a cell that is allowed to camp on when there is no cell that can provide a network slice supported by the terminal 10. You may try to do it. Further, in the cell selection, if there is no cell capable of providing the network slice supported by the terminal 10, the control unit 104 camps on the cell that is allowed to camp on, which is indicated by the system information at the time of cell selection. You may try to do it. As a result, the terminal 10 camps on the cell in which the information is transmitted in the system information, so that communication can be performed even if there is no cell capable of providing the network slice supported by the terminal 10. become”, The acquisition unit of the terminal (see fig. 6, element 103) receives RRC messaging (e.g., a RRC Release, see pg. 7, ¶ 4). The received messaging may indicate that no cell supports cell slice selection (which alternatively embodies the second list of Uchiyama).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the RRC signaling of Uchiyama et al. to only include the RRC information as taught by Inaba et al. One would have been motivated to do this because exchanging parameters within RRC signals to achieve different results would allow for varying cell slices reselection procedure variants (see Inaba, pg. 7, ¶ 4) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 7, Uchiyama et al. teach the slice support availability checking method according to claim 1. Uchiyama et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting, at the base station, the message comprising the first list and/or the second list and an area type representing the application area [Examiner Note: The rejection under Uchiyama relies on RRC signalling, which contains the first list and second list (see rejection). The examiner does acknowledge that Uchiyama shows an alternative embodiment with SIB signalling containing the first list and an application area (including PLMN identity). See pg. 6. That said, this embodiment cannot be considered the same embodiment as the cited RRC embodiment under anticipation.].
However, in an analogous art, Inaba et al. teach wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting, at the base station, the message comprising the first list and/or the second list and an area type representing the application area [Inaba, pg. 11, ¶ 1, “Slice information may be defined for each PLMN (mobile network). Specifically, the slice information included in the system information may indicate a network slice that can be provided in a cell for each PLMN (mobile network). Further, the control unit 104 performs cell selection or cell reselection based on the slice information from the cells of the mobile network selected by the terminal 10 and which can provide the network slice supported by the terminal 10. You may do so. This makes it possible to set different slice information for each PLMN when RAN sharing that shares a radio access network is performed among a plurality of PLMNs”, The RRC information may be further modified to include PLMN (or application area) information.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the RRC signaling of Uchiyama et al. to only include the RRC information as taught by Inaba et al. One would have been motivated to do this because exchanging parameters within RRC signals to achieve different results would allow for varying cell slices reselection procedure variants (see Inaba, pg. 7, ¶ 4) with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The reference, Basu Mallick (US PG Pub 2025/0088947), teaches data structures for Cell IDs in an allow list and a block list, respectively (see figs. 6 and 7, and ¶s 0041, 0096, 0135, and 0137).
The reference, Basu Mallick (US PG Pub 2025/0008390), teaches slice info information elements (IEs, see figs. 6A and 6B), where slice information is used for slice reselection (see fig. 12, ¶s 0198 and 0199).
The reference, Starsinic et al. (US PG Pub 2024/0381240), teaches slice reselection, where a slice is reselected based on its availability in a tracking area (or application area, see fig. 2, step 208, ¶ 0168).
The reference, Won et al. (US PG Pub 2024/0188024), teaches different service areas within a registration area, where each service area has its own list of allowed and blocked NSSAIs (see fig. 7, ¶s 0144 and 0145).
The reference, Ishii (US PG Pub 2023/0262591), teaches a cell reselection procedure, where the reselection method considers whether a chosen slice supports a serving cell (see fig. 9B, ¶ 0144).
The reference, Venkataraman (US PG Pub 2021/0368421), teaches configuring NSSAI allow and NSSAI rejected lists between the UE and AMF (see fig. 6, step 630, and ¶s 0109 and 0110).
The reference, Prabhakar et al. (US PG Pub 2021/0297844), teaches roaming lists, where NSSAIs are listed by what PLMNs support them (see ¶s 0138-0141).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Paul H. Masur whose telephone number is (571)270-7297. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 4:30 AM to 5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rebecca Song can be reached at (571) 270-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Paul H. Masur/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2417
Prosecution Insights