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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. 2023/0019346 to Li et al. (hereinafter Li) in view of US Pub. 2022/0182804 to Han et al. (hereinafter Han).
In regard claim 1, Li teaches or discloses a protocol relay device connected to one or two or more user plane functions (UPFs) (see paragraphs [0049], and [0050], the relay device may be cooperated user equipment (CUE) in a network assisted UE cooperation (NAUC) communication scenario), the protocol relay device comprising:
a UPF container management unit that receives a connection request from the UPF, stores an internet protocol (IP) address according to an interface of a connection request source, and notifies the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0142], the relay device 1100 may include: an obtaining module 1101, configured to receive a data packet from a network device through a first link. A protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer; or a protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer, a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer, and an adaptation layer);
a control plane processing unit that determines, in a case where a packet-transmission-control-protocol request packet is received (see paragraphs [0068], a protocol stack that is in the relay device and that corresponds to the gNB or the user equipment may include a PHY layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) function), a UPF for performing transmission processing of a protocol data unit (PDU) session which is designated in the request packet, and notifies the UPF of a determination result (see paragraph [0132], the user equipment may deliver, to a same upper layer based on a preconfigured correspondence between a second bearer identifier and an upper layer of the second bearer, all data received through different second bearers. Data received by the user equipment through the RLC bearer may be an RLC service data unit (SDU) or a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU));
a user plane processing unit that identifies a session identification (ID) of user plane traffic received from a base station, executes network address translation on the user plane traffic based on the determination result, and transmits the user plane traffic to the corresponding UPF (see paragraphs [0056], [0057], [0081], and [0083], the bearer may be identified by using a bearer identifier. The bearer identifier may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer identity (SRB ID), a data radio bearer identity (DRB ID), a logical channel identifier (LCID), or a quality of service flow (QoS flow) identifier. The bearer may be identified by using a bearer index. The bearer index may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer index, a data radio bearer index, or a logical channel identifier (LCID) index. A bearer identifier of a PDCP bearer may be the DRB ID or the SRB ID. A bearer identifier of the RLC bearer may be the LCID. The relay device obtains the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment. The relay device processes the data of the user equipment based on the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment).
Li may not explicitly teach or disclose notifies the UPF of connection establishment.
However, Han teaches or discloses notifies the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0256], the first UPF network element may allocate a tunnel identifier to the fifth tunnel interface on the first UPF network element, that is, use the fifth tunnel interface as one end of the N6 tunnel connected to the first UPF network element, and then notify the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines the tunnel identifier of the fifth tunnel interface).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify relay communication method and related device of Li by including notifies the UPF of connection establishment suggested by Han. This modification would provide to communicate between different LANs in the same data network by using the 5GVN read in paragraph [0153].
In regard claim 3, Li teaches or discloses a protocol relay system (see Fig. 1) comprising: user plane functions (UPFs)
one or two or more UPFs (see Fig. 4); and
a protocol relay device connected to the UPFs (see Fig. 4), wherein
the UPF (see Fig. 4) includes a connection management unit that notifies the protocol relay device of a connection request and establishes a connection (see paragraph [0050], [0066], a protocol stack of the UPF may include a complete protocol stack, including, for example, a layer 1 (L1), a layer 2 (L2), an Internet protocol (IP) layer, a user datagram protocol (UDP) layer, and a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) layer, where L1 and L2 may refer to protocol stack layers in a wired transmission network (where for example, wired transmission is performed through an optical fiber)),
the protocol relay device includes a UPF container management unit that receives the connection request from the UPF, stores an IP address according to an interface of a connection request source, and notifies the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0142], the relay device 1100 may include: an obtaining module 1101, configured to receive a data packet from a network device through a first link. A protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer; or a protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer, a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer, and an adaptation layer),
a control plane processing unit that determines, in a case where a packet-transmission-control-protocol request packet is received (see paragraphs [0068], a protocol stack that is in the relay device and that corresponds to the gNB or the user equipment may include a PHY layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) function), a UPF for performing transmission processing of a PDU session which is designated in the request packet, and notifies the UPF of a determination result (see paragraphs [0132], the user equipment may deliver, to a same upper layer based on a preconfigured correspondence between a second bearer identifier and an upper layer of the second bearer, all data received through different second bearers. Data received by the user equipment through the RLC bearer may be an RLC service data unit (SDU) or a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU)), and
a user plane processing unit that identifies a session ID of user plane traffic received from a base station, executes network address translation on the user plane traffic based on the determination result, and transmits the user plane traffic to the corresponding UPF (see paragraphs [0056], [0057], [0081], and [0083], the bearer may be identified by using a bearer identifier. The bearer identifier may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer identity (SRB ID), a data radio bearer identity (DRB ID), a logical channel identifier (LCID), or a quality of service flow (QoS flow) identifier. The bearer may be identified by using a bearer index. The bearer index may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer index, a data radio bearer index, or a logical channel identifier (LCID) index. A bearer identifier of a PDCP bearer may be the DRB ID or the SRB ID. A bearer identifier of the RLC bearer may be the LCID. The relay device obtains the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment. The relay device processe `s the data of the user equipment based on the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment).
Li may not explicitly teach or disclose notifies the UPF of connection establishment.
However, Han teaches or discloses notifies the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0256], the first UPF network element may allocate a tunnel identifier to the fifth tunnel interface on the first UPF network element, that is, use the fifth tunnel interface as one end of the N6 tunnel connected to the first UPF network element, and then notify the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines the tunnel identifier of the fifth tunnel interface).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify relay communication method and related device of Li by including notifies the UPF of connection establishment suggested by Han. This modification would provide to communicate between different LANs in the same data network by using the 5GVN read in paragraph [0153].
In regard claim 5, Li teaches or discloses a protocol relay method of a protocol relay device connected to one or two or more UPFs, the method including causing the protocol relay device to execute:
a step of receiving a connection request from the UPF, and storing an IP address according to an interface of a connection request source (see paragraphs [0142], the relay device 1100 may include: an obtaining module 1101, configured to receive a data packet from a network device through a first link. A protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer; or a protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer, a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer, and an adaptation layer);
a step of determining, in a case where a packet-transmission-control-protocol request packet is received (see paragraphs [0068], a protocol stack that is in the relay device and that corresponds to the gNB or the user equipment may include a PHY layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) function), a UPF for performing transmission processing of a PDU session which is designated in the request packet, and notifying the UPF of a determination result (see paragraphs [0132], the user equipment may deliver, to a same upper layer based on a preconfigured correspondence between a second bearer identifier and an upper layer of the second bearer, all data received through different second bearers. Data received by the user equipment through the RLC bearer may be an RLC service data unit (SDU) or a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU)); and
a step of identifying a session ID of user plane traffic received from a base station, executing network address translation on the user plane traffic based on the determination result, and transmitting the user plane traffic to the corresponding UPF (see paragraphs [0056], [0057], [0081], and [0083], the bearer may be identified by using a bearer identifier. The bearer identifier may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer identity (SRB ID), a data radio bearer identity (DRB ID), a logical channel identifier (LCID), or a quality of service flow (QoS flow) identifier. The bearer may be identified by using a bearer index. The bearer index may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer index, a data radio bearer index, or a logical channel identifier (LCID) index. A bearer identifier of a PDCP bearer may be the DRB ID or the SRB ID. A bearer identifier of the RLC bearer may be the LCID. The relay device obtains the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment. The relay device processes the data of the user equipment based on the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment).
Li may not explicitly teach or disclose a step of notifying the UPF of connection establishment.
However, Han teaches or discloses a step of notifying the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0256], the first UPF network element may allocate a tunnel identifier to the fifth tunnel interface on the first UPF network element, that is, use the fifth tunnel interface as one end of the N6 tunnel connected to the first UPF network element, and then notify the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines the tunnel identifier of the fifth tunnel interface).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify relay communication method and related device of Li by including a step of notifying the UPF of connection establishment suggested by Han. This modification would provide to communicate between different LANs in the same data network by using the 5GVN read in paragraph [0153].
In regard claim 7, Li teaches or discloses a protocol relay program causing a computer to execute:
a procedure of receiving a connection request from one or two or more UPFs, storing an IP address according to an interface of a connection request source, and notifying the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0142], the relay device 1100 may include: an obtaining module 1101, configured to receive a data packet from a network device through a first link. A protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer; or a protocol stack of the relay device consists of a physical layer, a hybrid automatic repeat request function of a media access control layer, and an adaptation layer);
a procedure of determining, in a case where a packet-transmission-control-protocol request packet is received (see paragraphs [0068], a protocol stack that is in the relay device and that corresponds to the gNB or the user equipment may include a PHY layer and a hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) function), a UPF for performing transmission processing of a PDU session which is designated in the request packet, and notifying the UPF of a determination result (see paragraphs [0132], the user equipment may deliver, to a same upper layer based on a preconfigured correspondence between a second bearer identifier and an upper layer of the second bearer, all data received through different second bearers. Data received by the user equipment through the RLC bearer may be an RLC service data unit (SDU) or a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU)); and
a procedure of identifying a session ID of user plane traffic received from a base station, executing network address translation on the user plane traffic based on the determination result, and transmitting the user plane traffic to the corresponding UPF (see paragraphs [0056], [0057], [0081], and [0083], the bearer may be identified by using a bearer identifier. The bearer identifier may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer identity (SRB ID), a data radio bearer identity (DRB ID), a logical channel identifier (LCID), or a quality of service flow (QoS flow) identifier. The bearer may be identified by using a bearer index. The bearer index may include one or more of a signaling radio bearer index, a data radio bearer index, or a logical channel identifier (LCID) index. A bearer identifier of a PDCP bearer may be the DRB ID or the SRB ID. A bearer identifier of the RLC bearer may be the LCID. The relay device obtains the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment. The relay device processes the data of the user equipment based on the routing information bearer identifier from the data of the user equipment).
Li may not explicitly teach or disclose notifying the UPF of connection establishment.
However, Han teaches or discloses notifying the UPF of connection establishment (see paragraphs [0256], the first UPF network element may allocate a tunnel identifier to the fifth tunnel interface on the first UPF network element, that is, use the fifth tunnel interface as one end of the N6 tunnel connected to the first UPF network element, and then notify the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines the tunnel identifier of the fifth tunnel interface).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify relay communication method and related device of Li by including notifying the UPF of connection establishment suggested by Han. This modification would provide to communicate between different LANs in the same data network by using the 5GVN read in paragraph [0153].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, 6, and 8 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHIRIN SAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3082. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri, 10:30am - 5pm.
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/PHIRIN SAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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