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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 22, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 22, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding independent claims 1, 7, and 14, the Applicant amends these independent claims by partially reciting “wherein the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs and a priority value determined by the network node;” to overcome previously cited reference, Futaki (US 2024/0292467), and argues that Futaki fails to teach or suggest the newly added features. The Examiner studied Futaki again and this disclosure still reads on the currently amended claim because of the following reasons:
Paragraph 0152 of Futaki discloses that the intended network slice group may be specified by a slice group ID. The mapping of the network slice group to the network slices may be provided by the core network (e.g., AMF) to the UE 1 (NAS layer) via NAS signaling. This teachings of Futaki read on “the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs determined by the network node” of claim language because Futaki expressly discloses that the network slice group is provided by the core network (e.g., AMF), which is the “network node” of claim language, and the network slice group is identified by the slice group ID, which is the “NSAG IDs” of claim language.
Furthermore, paragraph 0152 of Futaki also discloses that the NAS layer indicates an intended network slice priority level to the RRC layer, and the mapping between the slice priority level and the network slices provided by the core network (e.g., AMF)0 to the UE 1 (NAS layer) via NAS signaling, in which it reads on the “priority value determined by the network node” of claim language because the mapping between the slice priority and the network slices is provided by the core network, which is the network node of claim language.
Therefore, it should be clear to the Applicant that Futaki still reads on the argued features of “the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs and priority value determined by the network node” because Futaki expressly discloses that the intended network slice group is specified by the slice group ID and the mapping of the network slice group to the network slice and the priority level is provided by the core network.
Regarding claim 20, the Applicant argues that selectively enabling or disabling performing a cell reselection procedure and/or a random access procedure is not based merely on the presence or absence of NSAG information but by an indication within the NSAG information. The Examiner respectfully disagrees because of the following reasons:
Firstly, claim merely recites the term “indication” without specifically identifying what is considered as an “indication” whether the user device should enable or disable the random-access procedure.
Secondly, paragraph 0131 of the present application specification (paragraph 0146 of the PG Pub) states that “the configuration message may indicate to enable the cell reselection procedure (e.g., explicit indication to enable the cell reselection procedure; implicit indication to enable the cell reselection procedure by presence of NSAG priority information for NSAGs provided in NASG information) and to disable the random-access procedure (e.g., explicit indication to disable the random-access procedure; implicit indication to disable the random-access procedure by absence of NSAG priority information for NSAGs provided in NASG information).
In light of the Applicant’s own disclosure, the Examiner’s interpretation of claim feature is consistent with the Applicant’s own specification. In other words, the presence or absence of the NSAG priority information is considered as an “indication” whether the user should enable or disable the random-access procedure.
Therefore, the presence of the NSAG priority information for the NSAGs as taught in Futaki reads on “an indication of whether the user device should enable or disable the random-access procedure” of claim language the presence of the NSAG priority value is an implicit indication to enable the cell reselection procedure and/or the random-access procedure.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 14, 2026 was filed after the mailing date of the Final Office Action on February 26, 2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(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) 1-3, 7-9, 14-16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Futaki et al. (hereinafter “Futaki”, US 2024/0292467).
Regarding claim 1, Futaki discloses a method for controlling a user device (i.e., UE 1 as shown in Fig 1 & control plane protocol stack 200 of the UE 1 as shown in Fig. 2), comprising:
receiving, by a first layer of the user device (i.e., NAS layer 202 as shown in Fig. 2 and as described in paragraphs 0066-0068), in accordance with the user device supporting a network slice access stratum group (NSAG) function (i.e., the intended network slice group is indicated to the AS layer of the UE by the NAS layer of the UE as described in paragraphs 0014, 0083, and 0101-0102), a configuration message from a network node (i.e., the first feature configured in the UE 1 by the core network (e.g., AMF) via NAS signaling as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0093-0094), the configuration message including NSAG information (i.e., receiving by the NAS layer 202 the intended network slice groups is specified by a slice group identifier (ID) as described in paragraph 0094), wherein the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs (i.e., a slice group identifier (ID) as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153) and a priority value determined by the network node (i.e., the network slice priority levels as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153);
performing, by a second layer of the user device (i.e., AS layer 208 as shown in Fig. 2 and as described in paragraphs 0066 and 0068-0069), a random access procedure in accordance with the NSAG information and a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) (i.e., the AS layer 28 performs random access procedure associated with determined feature combination as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0096-0098), wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a protocol data unit session for which an uplink user data packet is to be sent (i.e., the NAS layer is triggered for an access attempt based on an uplink user data packet to be sent for a PDU session using the suspended user plane resource. The access attempt relates to a particular network slice as described in paragraphs 0085-0086 and 0101).
providing, by the first layer to the second layer (i.e., the NAS layer 202 passes information about a first feature to the AS layer 208 as described in paragraphs 0085-0086 and 0092), information to selectively enable or disable performing the random-access procedure based on priority of one or more network slice groups (i.e., the NAS layer 202 indicates an intended network slice group or a particular network slice priority level to the RRC layer 203 as described in paragraphs 0101-0102, 0108-0109, and 0152-0153).
Regarding claims 2, 8, and 15, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, Futaki also discloses wherein the user device is in 5G Mobility Management (5GMM) connected mode with Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive indication (i.e., the UE is in 5GMM_Connected mode with RRC inactive indication as described in paragraph 0100).
Regarding claims 3, 9, and 16, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, Futakiv also discloses wherein the network node is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (i.e., AMF as described in paragraph 0067).
Regarding claim 7, Futaki discloses a method for a network node, comprising:
sending, by a network node (i.e., AMF), a configuration message to a user device, in accordance with the user device supporting a network slice access stratum group (NSAG) function (i.e., the intended network slice group is indicated to the AS layer of the UE by the NAS layer of the UE as described in paragraphs 0014, 0083, and 0101-0102), the configuration message including NSAG information (i.e., the first feature configured in the UE 1 by the core network (e.g., AMF) via NAS signaling as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0093-0094), wherein the configuration message comprises an indication of whether the user device should enable or disable a random-access procedure (i.e., the NAS layer 202 indicates an intended network slice group or a particular network slice priority level to the RRC layer 203 as described in paragraphs 0101-0102, 0108-0109, and 0152), wherein the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs (i.e., a slice group identifier (ID) as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153) and a priority value determined by the network node (i.e., the network slice priority levels as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153), and wherein the NSAG information is used for:
performing, by the network node, the random-access procedure taking into account the NSAG information and a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) in accordance with the configuration message with the user device (i.e., the AS layer 28 performs random access procedure associated with determined feature combination as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0096-0098).
wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a protocol data unit session for which an uplink user data packet is to be sent (i.e., the NAS layer is triggered for an access attempt based on an uplink user data packet to be sent for a PDU session using the suspended user plane resource. The access attempt relates to a particular network slice as described in paragraphs 0085-0086 and 0101).
Regarding claim 14, Futaki discloses a user device (i.e., UE 1 as shown in Fig 1 & control plane protocol stack 200 of the UE 1 as shown in Fig. 2), comprising:
at least one processor (i.e., baseband processor 1103 & application processor 1104), and at least one memory including computer program code (i.e., memory 1106 including program as described in paragraph 0174-0177), wherein the computer program code is configured to cause the user device, when executed with the at least one processor, to:
receive, by a first layer of the user device (i.e., NAS layer 202 as shown in Fig. 2 and as described in paragraphs 0066-0068), in accordance with the user device supporting a network slice access stratum group (NSAG) function (i.e., the intended network slice group is indicated to the AS layer of the UE by the NAS layer of the UE as described in paragraphs 0014, 0083, and 0101-0102), a configuration message from a network node (i.e., the first feature configured in the UE 1 by the core network (e.g., AMF) via NAS signaling as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0093-0094), the configuration message including NSAG information (i.e., receiving by the NAS layer 202 the intended network slice groups is specified by a slice group identifier (ID) as described in paragraph 0094), wherein the NSAG information comprises one or more NSAG IDs (i.e., a slice group identifier (ID) as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153) and a priority value determined by the network node (i.e., the network slice priority levels as described in paragraphs 0094-0095 and 0152-0153); and
perform, by a second layer of the user device (i.e., AS layer 208 as shown in Fig. 2 and as described in paragraphs 0066 and 0068-0069), a random access procedure in accordance with the NSAG information and a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) (i.e., the AS layer 28 performs random access procedure associated with determined feature combination as described in paragraphs 0085-0086, and 0096-0098), wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a protocol data unit session for which an uplink user data packet is to be sent (i.e., the NAS layer is triggered for an access attempt based on an uplink user data packet to be sent for a PDU session using the suspended user plane resource. The access attempt relates to a particular network slice as described in paragraphs 0085-0086 and 0101); and
providing, by the first layer to the second layer (i.e., the NAS layer 202 passes information about a first feature to the AS layer 208 as described in paragraphs 0085-0086 and 0092), information to selectively enable or disable performing the random-access procedure based on priority of one or more network slice groups (i.e., the NAS layer 202 indicates an intended network slice group or a particular network slice priority level to the RRC layer 203 as described in paragraphs 0101-0102, 0108-0109, and 0152).
Regarding claim 20, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above. Futaki also discloses wherein the NSAG information further comprises an indication of whether the user device should enable or disable the random-access procedure (i.e., Note: Implicit indication to enable by presence of NSAG priority information for NSAGs provided in NASG information and implicit to disable by absence of NSAG priority information for NSAGs provided in NASG information. Since the first feature indicates one or more network slice priority levels as described in paragraph 0095, it means that the random access is enabled. The Examiner’s interpretation is consistent with paragraph 0131 of the Applicant’s own Specification (paragraph 0146 of the PG Pub)).
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.
Claim(s) 4-5, 10-11, 13, and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Futaki in view of Starsinic et al. (hereinafter “Starsinic”, US 2024/0381240).
Regarding claims 4, and 17, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose features of these claims.
In a similar endeavor, Starsinic discloses methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for supporting network slicing serving area. Starsinic also discloses setting, by the user device, a NSAG bit showing the ability of the user device to support a NSAG function (i.e., the WRTU 102 sends a Registration Request to an AMF 182 indicating that the WTRU is capable of receiving and understanding the contents of an Information Element that contains SSSA information as described in paragraph 0128).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited references, and arrive at the present invention.
The motivation/suggestion for doing so would have been to enable the UE to register with a network as desired.
Regarding claim 10, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose features of these claims.
In a similar endeavor, Starsinic discloses methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for supporting network slicing serving area. Starsinic also discloses receiving, from the user device, a NSAG bit showing the ability of the user device to support a NSAG function (i.e., the WRTU 102 sends a Registration Request to an AMF 182 indicating that the WTRU is capable of receiving and understanding the contents of an Information Element that contains SSSA information as described in paragraph 0128).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited references, and arrive at the present invention.
The motivation/suggestion for doing so would have been to enable the UE to register with a network as desired.
Regarding claims 5, 11, and 18, Futaki and Starsinic disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. Starsinic also discloses wherein the NSAG bit is in the 5GMM capability information element (IE) of a registration request message (i.e., the SSSA information support indication is encoded in an Information Element such as a UE 5GMM Core Network Capability Information Element as described in paragraph 0128).
Regarding claim 13, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose features of these claims.
In a similar endeavor, Starsinic discloses methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for supporting network slicing serving area. Starsinic also discloses wherein the network node sends the NSAG information in a configuration update command message or in a registration accept message (i.e., the WTRU receives a Registration Accept message from the network entity as described in paragraph 0028).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited references, and arrive at the present invention.
The motivation/suggestion for doing so would have been to enable the UE to register with a network as desired.
Claim(s) 6, 12, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Futaki in view of Da Silva et al. (hereinafter “Da Silva”, US 2020/0314700).
Regarding claims 6, 12, and 19, Futaki discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose features of this claim.
In a similar endeavor, Da Silva discloses resume request followed by release and redirect. Da Silva also discloses wherein an uplink user data packet is to be sent with suspended user-plane resources (i.e., an uplink user data packet to be sent for a PDU session with suspended user-plane resource as described on page 14 of the Specification).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited references, and arrive at the present invention.
The motivation/suggestion for doing so would have been to indicate that the UE has transitioned to inactive state.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WAYNE CAI whose telephone number is (571)272-7798. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 7:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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/Wayne H Cai/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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