DETAILED ACTION
This first non-final action is in response to applicant’s original filing on 11/01/2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered as follows.
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 .
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 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.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 11/01/2024 are accepted.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/01/2024 has been placed in the application file, and the information referred therein has been considered as to the merits.
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 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shaw et al. (US 20160150467 A1, IDS submitted 11/01/2024, hereinafter Shaw) in view of Gopalakrishnan et al. (US 20060288086 A1, hereinafter Gopalakrishnan).
As to Claim 10:
Shaw discloses at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions to be executed by at least one processor (e.g. Shaw “computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on a computer and/or computer” [0076]; executed by processor [0079]; “computer-readable storage media can be implemented in connection with any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions” [0084]), wherein execution of the instructions cause a small cell of a telecommunications network (e.g. “the edge device can be a femtocell” [0023]; “A network edge device can be a device located at a logical edge of a wireless network associated with a wireless service provider, e.g., a device located at an edge of a radio access network (RAN), such as, a NodeB, a femtocell, a picocell” [0051]) to:
receive a first connection request of a wireless device to access the telecommunications network (e.g. Shaw user equipment accessing network [0014]; wireless device [0098]; “Authentication can refer to determinations regarding whether the user requesting a service from the telecom network is authorized to do so within this network or not” [0099]);
receive device profile data including information to authenticate the wireless device (e.g. Shaw receive “a locker profile associated with a user profile for a UE. The locker profile can comprise an identifier that can facilitate determination of relevant ANDSF information. The locker profile can further comprise location information, motion information, time information, predicted location information, schedule information, an encryption key, financial information, billing information, information related to a process in execution on the UE” [0018]; “Edge ANDSF component 110 can receive device information 122. Device information 122 can comprise information related to a UE, a user or user profile associated with the UE” [0022]);
provide the wireless device access to the telecommunications network (e.g. Shaw “The user profile can comprise information facilitating pre-authentication of a device to an access network resource” [Abstract]; “Authentication can refer to determinations regarding whether the user requesting a service from the telecom network is authorized to do so within this network or not” [0099]);
But Shaw does not specifically disclose:
relay, to an upstream node, the first connection request of the wireless device;
receive, from the upstream node, device profile data including information to authenticate the wireless device;
cache the device profile data;
receive a second connection request of the wireless device to access the telecommunications network; and
bypass the upstream node to authenticate the wireless device based on the cached profile data.
However, the analogous art Gopalakrishnan does disclose relay, to an upstream node, the first connection request of the wireless device (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “When a subscriber begins a new session, typically the edge device accesses a AAA server to authenticate the subscriber's profile… a service selection request is then sent from the edge device to the AAA server for authentication” [0006]), receive, from the upstream node, device profile data including information to authenticate the wireless device (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “and then loads the subscriber's profile into a cache memory located in the edge device. The subscriber is then presented with the authenticated services in the form of a dashboard or home page that includes indications of what services have been authorized for the subscriber's account… and a subscriber service profile is returned to the edge device for storage locally” [0006]), cache the device profile data (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “when a subscriber desires to access a service, such as the Internet 122 or a corporate Intranet 123, a service profile 130 is cached from the AAA server 120 to the edge device 110. Thus, as a particular service is accessed, a corresponding service profile 130.sub.1 . . . 130.sub.n is cached for each service active on the edge device 110” [0027]; “the current version of the service profile will be cached on the edge device in act 310” [0029]); receive a second connection request of the wireless device to access the telecommunications network (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “Once a version has been cached, the process moves to query 320, where a new session has requested the same service as that of act 300. In this case, the process moves to query 330” [0030]), and bypass the upstream node to authenticate the wireless device based on the cached profile data (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “The next time a user initiates a new session (i.e., the next time a user logs on or goes online), the subscriber's new session will be launched with the latest version of a given service profile” [0036]; “a subscriber may re-access a service, perhaps as a result of re-launching their browser or re-accessing an Intranet during the same session” [0039]). Shaw and Gopalakrishnan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in subscriber profile authentication.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Shaw and Gopalakrishnan before him or her, to modify the disclosure of Shaw with the teachings of Gopalakrishnan to include relay, to an upstream node, the first connection request of the wireless device; receive, from the upstream node, device profile data including information to authenticate the wireless device; cache the device profile data; receive a second connection request of the wireless device to access the telecommunications network; and bypass the upstream node to authenticate the wireless device based on the cached profile data as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been so that stability of sessions may be ensured as newer versions of service profiles may include changes in parameters that may induce erratic or unpredictable behavior in sessions launched with previous versions (Gopalakrishnan [0040]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Shaw and Gopalakrishnan to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
As to Claim 11:
Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan discloses the computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, further causing the small cell (e.g. Shaw femtocell [0023]; [0051]) to disable the cached profile data at the small cell upon ending of a time period (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “where a subscriber's session goes offline. It is contemplated that this may occur when a subscriber… session times out after a period of inactivity” [0033]; “When a particular session goes offline, the process then moves to query 410, where the services associated with the session are examined to determine if this session is the last session to utilize a particular version of a service profile. If this session was the last to use a particular version, then there is no longer a need to maintain this version and it may be purged in act 420” [0034]). The Examiner supplies the same rationale for the combination of references Shaw and Gopalakrishnan as in Claim 10.
As to Claim 12:
Shaw discloses a network access node (NAN) (e.g. Shaw system including communication framework [0075]) comprising:
a network interface (e.g. Shaw network interface [0090]);
a wireless transceiver system for exchanging wireless communications signals using a wireless telecommunications protocol (e.g. Shaw air interface e.g. of UMTS network [0075]; wireless communication network interface [0090]; [0091]);
a processor (e.g. Shaw processor [0078]); and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions (e.g. Shaw memory [0077]; [0078]; “computer-readable storage media can be implemented in connection with any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions” [0084]) which, when executed by the processor, cause the NAN to:
receive, at the network interface, a first connection request from a wireless device to access a telecommunications network, wherein the first connection request includes an indication of a subscriber (e.g. Shaw “Edge ANDSF component 110 can receive device information 122. Device information 122 can comprise information related to a UE, a user or user profile associated with the UE” [0022]; user equipment accessing network [0014]; wireless device [0098]; “Authentication can refer to determinations regarding whether the user requesting a service from the telecom network is authorized to do so within this network or not” [0099]);
obtain subscriber profile data based on the indication of the subscriber (e.g. Shaw receive “a locker profile associated with a user profile for a UE. The locker profile can comprise an identifier that can facilitate determination of relevant ANDSF information. The locker profile can further comprise location information, motion information, time information, predicted location information, schedule information, an encryption key, financial information, billing information, information related to a process in execution on the UE” [0018]; “Edge ANDSF component 110 can receive device information 122. Device information 122 can comprise information related to a UE, a user or user profile associated with the UE” [0022]);
grant, to the wireless device, access to the telecommunications network (e.g. Shaw “The user profile can comprise information facilitating pre-authentication of a device to an access network resource” [Abstract]; “Authentication can refer to determinations regarding whether the user requesting a service from the telecom network is authorized to do so within this network or not” [0099]);
But Shaw does not specifically disclose:
transmit, an upstream node of the telecommunication network, the first connection request of the wireless device;
obtain, from the upstream node of the telecommunication network, subscriber profile data based on the indication of the subscriber;
cache the subscriber profile data for a set time period;
receive, during the set time period, a second connection request from the wireless device to access the telecommunications network;
authenticate the subscriber based on the cached profile data without subsequent communication with the upstream node to authenticate the subscriber in response to the second connection request.
However, the analogous art Gopalakrishnan does disclose transmit, an upstream node of the telecommunication network, the first connection request of the wireless device (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “When a subscriber begins a new session, typically the edge device accesses a AAA server to authenticate the subscriber's profile… a service selection request is then sent from the edge device to the AAA server for authentication” [0006]), obtain, from the upstream node of the telecommunication network, subscriber profile data based on the indication of the subscriber (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “and then loads the subscriber's profile into a cache memory located in the edge device. The subscriber is then presented with the authenticated services in the form of a dashboard or home page that includes indications of what services have been authorized for the subscriber's account… and a subscriber service profile is returned to the edge device for storage locally” [0006]), cache the subscriber profile data for a set time period (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “when a subscriber desires to access a service, such as the Internet 122 or a corporate Intranet 123, a service profile 130 is cached from the AAA server 120 to the edge device 110. Thus, as a particular service is accessed, a corresponding service profile 130.sub.1 . . . 130.sub.n is cached for each service active on the edge device 110” [0027]; “the current version of the service profile will be cached on the edge device in act 310” [0029]), receive, during the set time period, a second connection request from the wireless device to access the telecommunications network (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “Once a version has been cached, the process moves to query 320, where a new session has requested the same service as that of act 300. In this case, the process moves to query 330” [0030]), authenticate the subscriber based on the cached profile data without subsequent communication with the upstream node to authenticate the subscriber in response to the second connection request (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “The next time a user initiates a new session (i.e., the next time a user logs on or goes online), the subscriber's new session will be launched with the latest version of a given service profile” [0036]; “a subscriber may re-access a service, perhaps as a result of re-launching their browser or re-accessing an Intranet during the same session” [0039]). Shaw and Gopalakrishnan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in subscriber profile authentication.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Shaw and Gopalakrishnan before him or her, to modify the disclosure of Shaw with the teachings of Gopalakrishnan to include transmit, an upstream node of the telecommunication network, the first connection request of the wireless device, obtain, from the upstream node of the telecommunication network, subscriber profile data based on the indication of the subscriber, cache the subscriber profile data for a set time period, receive, during the set time period, a second connection request from the wireless device to access the telecommunications network, authenticate the subscriber based on the cached profile data without subsequent communication with the upstream node to authenticate the subscriber in response to the second connection request as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been so that stability of sessions may be ensured as newer versions of service profiles may include changes in parameters that may induce erratic or unpredictable behavior in sessions launched with previous versions (Gopalakrishnan [0040]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Shaw and Gopalakrishnan to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
As to Claim 13:
Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan discloses the NAN of claim 12, wherein the subscriber profile data is cached at the NAN for a time period (e.g. Gopalakrishnan “where a subscriber's session goes offline. It is contemplated that this may occur when a subscriber… session times out after a period of inactivity” [0033]; “When a particular session goes offline, the process then moves to query 410, where the services associated with the session are examined to determine if this session is the last session to utilize a particular version of a service profile. If this session was the last to use a particular version, then there is no longer a need to maintain this version and it may be purged in act 420” [0034]). The Examiner supplies the same rationale for the combination of references Shaw and Gopalakrishnan as in Claim 12.
Claims 14, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan as applied to Claim 12, and further in view of IRIE et al. (US 20100082622 A1, hereinafter IRIE).
As to Claim 14:
Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan discloses the NAN of claim 13, but does not specifically disclose:
wherein the time period is variable and depends on a condition of the telecommunications network including a network load or time of day.
However, the analogous art IRIE does disclose wherein the time period is variable and depends on a condition of the telecommunications network including a network load or time of day (e.g. IRIE “Depending on the search frequency or the view frequency, the cache effective period is set. For example, like the following as "Given that the view frequency is equal to or less than five times, the cache effective period is three days; given that the view frequency is six to ten times, the cache effective period is ten days; and given that the view frequency is equal to or more than eleven times, the cache effective period is twenty days", the cache effective period is determined depending on the view frequency or the search frequency” [0123]). Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in user network services.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE before him or her, to modify the combination of Shaw and Gopalakrishnan with the teachings of IRIE to include wherein the time period is variable and depends on a condition of the telecommunications network including a network load or time of day as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been depending on the search frequency or the view frequency, the cache effective period is set (IRIE [0123]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
As to Claim 16:
Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan discloses the NAN of claim 13, but does not specifically disclose:
wherein the time period is variable and depends on a frequency with which the wireless device or the subscriber accesses the telecommunications network at the NAN.
However, the analogous art IRIE does disclose wherein the time period is variable and depends on a frequency with which the wireless device or the subscriber accesses the telecommunications network at the NAN (e.g. IRIE “Depending on the search frequency or the view frequency, the cache effective period is set. For example, like the following as "Given that the view frequency is equal to or less than five times, the cache effective period is three days; given that the view frequency is six to ten times, the cache effective period is ten days; and given that the view frequency is equal to or more than eleven times, the cache effective period is twenty days", the cache effective period is determined depending on the view frequency or the search frequency” [0123]). Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in user network services.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE before him or her, to modify the combination of Shaw and Gopalakrishnan with the teachings of IRIE to include wherein the time period is variable and depends on a frequency with which the wireless device or the subscriber accesses the telecommunications network at the NAN as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been depending on the search frequency or the view frequency, the cache effective period is set (IRIE [0123]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
As to Claim 17:
Shaw in view of Gopalakrishnan and IRIE discloses the NAN of claim 16, wherein the time period increases as the frequency increases (e.g. IRIE “Depending on the search frequency or the view frequency, the cache effective period is set. For example, like the following as "Given that the view frequency is equal to or less than five times, the cache effective period is three days; given that the view frequency is six to ten times, the cache effective period is ten days; and given that the view frequency is equal to or more than eleven times, the cache effective period is twenty days", the cache effective period is determined depending on the view frequency or the search frequency” [0123]). The Examiner supplies the same rationale for the combination of references Shaw, Gopalakrishnan, and IRIE as in Claim 16.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 are allowed.
The prior art does not teach individually nor in combination at least the following features of independent Claim 1:
“relaying, to a unified data management (UDM) node, the connection request;
in response to receiving the indication of the authentication: fetching entity profile data from the entity profile stored at the UDM node,
establishing a session for the UE to access the wireless telecommunications network, and caching the entity profile data at the wireless transceiver node;
disconnecting the UE from the wireless transceiver node; receiving a reconnection request of the UE to access the wireless telecommunications network; and
in response to receiving the reconnection request, authenticating the network entity based on the cached profile data stored at the wireless transceiver node to grant the UE access to the wireless telecommunications network” [Claim 1].
Claims 15 and 18-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Ushiki et al. (US 20030196118 A1)
ZHOU et al. (US 20140073317 A1)
Fan et al. (US 8750098 B2)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kenneth Chang whose telephone number is (571)270-7530. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am-5:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taghi Arani can be reached at 571-272-3787. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KENNETH W CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2438
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