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 .
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “5G”. It should read “5th generation (5G)”.
Claim 1 recites “configuring the set of CP functions, the set of UP functions, …”. It should read “configuring the set of 5G or later generation CP functions, the set of 5G or later generation UP functions, …”. This same objection applies to Claims 17 & 19.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim interpretation
Claim interpretation regarding the phrase “such that” which is recited in Claims 1-3, 7, 9, 11, 17, 19-20:
The clause “such that” raises a question as to the limiting effect of the language in a claim as used. The determination of whether each of these clauses is a limitation in a claim depends on the specific facts of the case.
For example, Claim 3 recites “… further comprising configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports linear scalability by enabling addition of multiple SoCs that each contain at least an instance of the UPF and an instance of the gNB.”
Does this mean that any prior art that teaches “SoC configuration” would read on the claim, because
any “SoC configuration” in itself will “support linear scalability” in any manner taught by a reference or ?
any “SoC configuration” in itself must “support linear scalability” in the specific manner claimed, i.e. by enabling addition of multiple SoCs that each contain at least an instance of the UPF and an instance of the gNB. ?
As the phrase “such that” is open to different interpretations of being limiting, it is recommended that this language be amended. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim(s) 3, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports linear scalability by enabling addition of multiple SoCs that each contain at least an instance of the UPF and an instance of the gNB.”. This renders the claim unclear as there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which element “that” is referring back to. Should it read, for example, “configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports linear scalability by enabling addition of multiple SoCs, wherein each of the multiple SoCs contain at least an instance of the UPF and an instance of the gNB.” ?
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are: between the non-transitory computer-readable medium, physical computing processor, computing device, System-on-Chip. This renders the claim unclear as there is no structural relationships/connections recited between these elements.
All dependents are also rejected as having the same deficiencies as the claims from which they depend.
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.
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter.
Claim 19 recites “A System-on-Chip comprising: a set of 5G or later generation core control plane (CP) functions, a set of 5G or later generation core user plane (UP) functions, a User Plane Function (UPF), and a gNodeB (gNB) for implementing radio access network functionality, wherein the set of CP functions, the set of UP functions, the UPF, and the gNB are configured to communicate with each other within the SoC such that the SoC enables a dedicated 5G or later generation network.” which can be interpreted entirely as software.
The specification supports this: [0043] Accordingly, the various embodiments may be entirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware aspects.
Therefore, Claims 19-20 are rejected as being software per se which is not one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter.
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)(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) 1-10, 12-14, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 11,847,205 B1 (Marquardt).
Regarding Claim 1:
Marquardt teaches A method comprising:
integrating, on a single System-on-Chip (SoC), a set of 5G or later generation core control plane (CP) functions, a set of 5G or later generation core user plane (UP) functions, a User Plane Function (UPF), and a gNodeB (gNB) for implementing radio access network functionality; (Col 3 ln 43-49, The UE comprises an antenna, a cellular transceiver, sub-systems of the UE, and a system-on-chip (SoC). The SoC may embed instruction code of a kernel of a 5G core network as a 5G micro-kernel on the UE. The 5G micro-kernel includes executable instructions that may be executed on the UE in a trusted security zone (TSZ) in order to create VNFs of the 5G core network. Col 13 ln 20-26: gnodeb, Col 15 ln 32-42, Fig 6A & 6B: UPF, core functions, core UPFs.)
and configuring the set of CP functions, the set of UP functions, the UPF, and the gNB to communicate with each other within the SoC (Col 6 ln 16-45, The system taught herein instantiates a 5G micro network at the UE from a reduced instruction set of a 5G core network to provide a private network domain. 5G macro network require large processing and storage capabilities in a cloud computing environment to provide 5G services. … Further, using a reduced instruction set on the SoC may instantiate a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs such as, for example, from an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF) and a User Plane Function (UPF).) such that the SoC implements a dedicated 5G or later generation network. (Col 6 ln 16-45, instantiating a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs provisioned on the UE may allow various UEs having processing and transmission hardware to instantiate 5G micro networks and readily provide 5G services to subscribers of the 5G micro network. The system taught herein allow subscribers of the 5G micro network to communicate data associated with functions/services that are provided within the private network domain of the UE without needing to connect to a 5G macro network for receiving 5G services.)
Regarding Claim 17:
Marquardt teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium that has instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one physical (Col 5 ln 32-35) computing processor, (Col 19-20 ln 38-67, 1-22, The computer program product may comprise one or more computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therein to implement the functionality disclosed above. … the processor 702 may process the executable instructions and/or data structures by accessing the computer program product.) cause a computing device to perform operations comprising:
integrating, on a single System-on-Chip (SoC), a set of 5G or later generation core control plane (CP) functions, a set of 5G or later generation core user plane (UP) functions, a User Plane Function (UPF), and a gNodeB (gNB) for implementing radio access network functionality; (Col 3 ln 43-49, The UE comprises an antenna, a cellular transceiver, sub-systems of the UE, and a system-on-chip (SoC). The SoC may embed instruction code of a kernel of a 5G core network as a 5G micro-kernel on the UE. The 5G micro-kernel includes executable instructions that may be executed on the UE in a trusted security zone (TSZ) in order to create VNFs of the 5G core network. Col 13 ln 20-26: gnodeb, Col 15 ln 32-42, Fig 6A & 6B: UPF, core functions, core UPFs.)
and configuring the set of CP functions, the set of UP functions, the UPF, and the gNB to communicate with each other within the SoC (Col 6 ln 16-45, The system taught herein instantiates a 5G micro network at the UE from a reduced instruction set of a 5G core network to provide a private network domain. 5G macro network require large processing and storage capabilities in a cloud computing environment to provide 5G services. … Further, using a reduced instruction set on the SoC may instantiate a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs such as, for example, from an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF) and a User Plane Function (UPF).) such that the SoC implements a dedicated 5G or later generation network. (Col 6 ln 16-45, instantiating a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs provisioned on the UE may allow various UEs having processing and transmission hardware to instantiate 5G micro networks and readily provide 5G services to subscribers of the 5G micro network. The system taught herein allow subscribers of the 5G micro network to communicate data associated with functions/services that are provided within the private network domain of the UE without needing to connect to a 5G macro network for receiving 5G services.)
Regarding Claim 19:
Marquardt teaches A System-on-Chip (Col 3 ln 43-49, a system-on-chip (SoC)) comprising:
a set of 5G or later generation core control plane (CP) functions, a set of 5G or later generation core user plane (UP) functions, a User Plane Function (UPF), and a gNodeB (gNB) for implementing radio access network functionality, (Col 3 ln 43-49, The UE comprises an antenna, a cellular transceiver, sub-systems of the UE, and a system-on-chip (SoC). The SoC may embed instruction code of a kernel of a 5G core network as a 5G micro-kernel on the UE. The 5G micro-kernel includes executable instructions that may be executed on the UE in a trusted security zone (TSZ) in order to create VNFs of the 5G core network. Col 13 ln 20-26: gnodeb, Col 15 ln 32-42, Fig 6A & 6B: UPF, core functions, core UPFs.)
wherein the set of CP functions, the set of UP functions, the UPF, and the gNB are configured to communicate with each other within the SoC (Col 6 ln 16-45, The system taught herein instantiates a 5G micro network at the UE from a reduced instruction set of a 5G core network to provide a private network domain. 5G macro network require large processing and storage capabilities in a cloud computing environment to provide 5G services. … Further, using a reduced instruction set on the SoC may instantiate a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs such as, for example, from an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF) and a User Plane Function (UPF).) such that the SoC implements a dedicated 5G or later generation network. (Col 6 ln 16-45, instantiating a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs provisioned on the UE may allow various UEs having processing and transmission hardware to instantiate 5G micro networks and readily provide 5G services to subscribers of the 5G micro network. The system taught herein allow subscribers of the 5G micro network to communicate data associated with functions/services that are provided within the private network domain of the UE without needing to connect to a 5G macro network for receiving 5G services.)
Regarding Claims 2, 18, 20:
Marquardt teaches the inventions of claims 1, 17, 19 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a standardized interface protocol on the SoC or pre-configuring network parameters such that the SoC enables plug-and-play deployment of the dedicated 5G or later generation network when connected to an enterprise network. (Col 6 ln 16-45, instantiating a 5G micro network from a minimal number of VNFs provisioned on the UE may allow various UEs having processing and transmission hardware to instantiate 5G micro networks and readily provide 5G services to subscribers of the 5G micro network. The system taught herein allow subscribers of the 5G micro network to communicate data associated with functions/services that are provided within the private network domain of the UE without needing to connect to a 5G macro network for receiving 5G services. Col 16 ln 32-34, The operating system software 604 may provide a variety of drivers for the handset hardware with standardized interfaces.)
Regarding Claim 3:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports linear scalability by enabling addition of multiple SoCs (ie. multiple subsystems) that each contain at least an instance of the UPF and an instance of the gNB. (Col 3-4 ln 63-67, 1-3, a scaled down 5G communication network may be provided inside the UE. Multiple sub-systems within the UE may connect to the 5G communication network and create a 5G communication domain. These sub-systems may be managed by the 5G micro-kernel in order to provide communication channels for each subsystem within the UE and to exterior communication networks.) Marquardt teaches on multiple subsystems within the SoC, and the phrase “that each …” renders the claim indefinite {see 112(b) rejection section above}. Further, the claim language “such that” raises the question as to the limitation following the phrase as being further limiting (part of the claim). As such, Marquardt teaches on this limitation, for configuring the SoC. {see Claim Interpretation section above}
Regarding Claim 4:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a hardware-based secure enclave within the SoC that isolates cryptographic operations or stores authentication vectors. (Col 4 ln 7-9, A trusted security zone (TSZ) provides chipsets with a hardware root of trust, a secure execution environment for applications, and secure access to peripherals. Col 8 ln 61-64, The 5G micro-kernel 116 may use user data such as subscriber/customer profile information, customer authentication number, and encryption keys for connection with the 5G communication network 120.)
Regarding Claim 5:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a shared memory architecture within the SoC that enables direct data exchange between network functions. (Col 9 ln 26-32, FIG. 2, the UE 102 is described according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the OS 114 and the 5G micro-kernel 116 may be embedded within the memory 112. In an embodiment, the memory 112 may comprise a portion associated with the normal execution mode 202 and a portion associated with the trusted security zone (TSZ) execution mode 204.)
Regarding Claim 6:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising providing an interface on the SoC for integration with enterprise IT systems for key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring or billing functions. (Col 16 ln 32-34, The operating system software 604 may provide a variety of drivers for the handset hardware with standardized interfaces. Col 19 ln 29-36, Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part, by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments may comprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterprise as well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a third party provider.)
Regarding Claim 7:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports automated deployment processes that facilitate consistent user experience and service level agreement performance across multiple enterprise installations. (Col 19 ln 27-36, Cloud computing may comprise providing computing services via a network connection using dynamically scalable computing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part, by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments may comprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterprise as well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a third party provider.)
Regarding Claim 8:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a real-time resource allocation algorithm on the SoC that dynamically adjusts computing resources between different network functions based on current network load or user demand. (Col 19 ln 27-36, Cloud computing may comprise providing computing services via a network connection using dynamically scalable computing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part, by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments may comprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterprise as well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a third party provider.)
Regarding Claim 9:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising configuring the SoC such that the SoC supports deployment of multiple radio dots (ie. SoC multiple subsystems). (Col 3-4 ln 63-67, 1-3, a scaled down 5G communication network may be provided inside the UE. Multiple sub-systems within the UE may connect to the 5G communication network and create a 5G communication domain. These sub-systems may be managed by the 5G micro-kernel in order to provide communication channels for each subsystem within the UE and to exterior communication networks.)
Regarding Claim 10:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a self-discovery protocol on the SoC that automatically detects network topology (Col 8-9 ln 64-67, 1-2, The 5G services may include aggregating data traffic, authenticating subscribers and devices, applying personalized policies and managing the mobility of the subscribers before routing the traffic to subscribers within the UE 102 or external networks such as the communication network 128 or to the Internet 126. Col 16 ln 6-9, The NEF 570 securely exposes the services and capabilities provided by network functions. The NRF 571 supports service registration by network functions and discovery of network functions by other network functions.)
Regarding Claim 12:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising implementing a virtualization layer on the SoC that partitions network resources into multiple isolated virtual networks. (Col 9 ln 2-8, FIG. 1 is depicted with a single virtualized 5G communication network 120, it is to be appreciated that the 5G RATs and the VNFs may be separated into multiple virtual 5G networks that can support network slicing using different radio access networks (RANs) or various types of services for certain customer segments. Col 19 ln 27-36, virtualization software may be employed by the computer system 700 to provide the functionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to the number of computers in the computer system 700. For example, virtualization software may provide twenty virtual servers on four physical computers. Cloud computing may comprise providing computing services via a network connection using dynamically scalable computing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part, by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments may comprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterprise as well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a third party provider.)
Regarding Claim 13:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising integrating edge computing capabilities within the SoC to support low-latency applications. (Col 13 ln 38-48, at least some of the application servers 559 may be located close to the network edge (e.g., geographically close to the UE 552 and the end user) to deliver so-called "edge computing.")
Regarding Claim 14:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches further comprising optimizing the integrated functions to support massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) for IoT devices. (Col 9 ln 18-25, The 5G micro-kernel 116 may scale up/down the quantity of VNFs of the UE 102 to provide multiple virtualized 5G communication networks that support network slicing, ultra-reliable low-latency communications (uRLLC) and enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) or massive Internet of-Things (IoT) within the 5G communication network 120 of the UE 102.) mMTC is a key component of mIoT.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 11,847,205 B1 (Marquardt) in view of US 20210092603 A1 (Yang).
Regarding Claim 11:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches on configuring the SoC 5G with public and private networks (Col 13 ln 22-50, Col 16 ln 35-43). However, Marquardt is silent on configuring the gNB such that the gNB supports both public and private spectrum operations.
Yang teaches, in the same field of endeavor, on techniques to protect a subscriber identity, Abstract.
Yang also teaches configuring the gNB such that the gNB supports both public and private spectrum operations. ([0038]a cellular wireless network entity, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) or next generation Node (gNodeB or gNB), is configured with a network public key and a network secret key.)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date, to modify Marquardt per Yang to include configuring the gNB such that the gNB supports both public and private spectrum operations. This would have been advantageous as discussed above, as it would allow the modified system to provide flexible implementation of communications between disparate networks, allowing for transparent and secure communications.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 11,847,205 B1 (Marquardt) in view of US 20210200579 A1 (Li).
Regarding Claim 15:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches on implementation of trust services (Col 3-4 ln 40-67, 1-31). However, Marquardt is silent on further comprising implementing Quality of Service (QoS) management functionality at a hardware level within the SoC.
Li teaches, in the same field of endeavor, on methods for dynamic prioritization of interconnect traffic in a system-on-chip, Abstract.
Li also teaches further comprising implementing Quality of Service (QoS) management functionality at a hardware level within the SoC. ([0025] In SoC 100, QoS control logic 180 may represent a logic to take the input from both OS kernel 132 and SoC hardware and to generate SoC interconnect-level QoS output 190 based on the inputs according to a programmable algorithm. The algorithm may be statically configured at boot up and dynamically generate QoS output 190 at runtime.)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date, to modify Marquardt per Li to include further comprising implementing Quality of Service (QoS) management functionality at a hardware level within the SoC. This would have been advantageous as discussed above, as it would allow the modified system to provide assurance of desired security and quality requirements.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 11,847,205 B1 (Marquardt) in view of US 20230197779 A1 (Nabors).
Regarding Claim 16:
Marquardt teaches the invention of claim 1 as described.
Marquardt teaches on configuring the SoC 5G with public and private networks (Col 13 ln 22-50, Col 16 ln 35-43). However, Marquardt is silent on implementing an interface within the SoC to support interoperability with legacy 3G or 4G systems.
Nabors teaches, in the same field of endeavor, an integrated circuit structure includes a device layer within a cell boundary, Abstract.
Nabors also teaches implementing an interface within the SoC to support interoperability with legacy 3G or 4G systems. ([0125] The communication chip 1306 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including … wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing device 1300 may include a plurality of communication chips 1306. [0134] mobile computing platform 1500 may be any of a tablet, a smart phone, laptop computer, etc. and includes … a chip-level (SoC) or package-level integrated system 1510. [0135] The RFIC 1525 has an output coupled to an antenna to provide to implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols including any wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. Each of these board-level modules may be integrated within a single IC (SoC) coupled to the package substrate of the packaged device 1577.)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date, to modify Marquardt per Nabors to include implementing an interface within the SoC to support interoperability with legacy 3G or 4G systems. This would have been advantageous as discussed above, as it would allow the modified system to provide seamless communications regardless of implemented wireless protocol.
Conclusion & Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL J HACKENBERG whose telephone number is (571)272-5417. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Glenton B Burgess can be reached at (571)272-3949. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL J HACKENBERG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454
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