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 .
Response to the Preliminary Amendment
The preliminary amendment dated 10/02/2025 amending the specification, drawings, and the claims have been fully considered and are entered. Claims 1-20 are examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
As to claims 1 and 11, it is unclear how an identifier can indicate an event. The step of “sending” is also ambiguous because it appears to send the exact same information that is received in the first request, that is, the first identifier. The claim is, thus, reduced to receiving a request comprising a first ID and sending a response (notification) comprising the first ID that indicates that the EAS of the first one more terminals changes, which is ambiguous and does not seem to have any meaningful purpose. Appropriate correction or explanation is required.
Dependent claims are rejected for the same reasons.
As to claims 6 and 16, it is analogously unclear how an identifier can indicate an event. The step of “receiving” is also ambiguous because it appears to receive the exact same information that is sent in the first request, that is, the first identifier. The claim is, thus, reduced to sending a request comprising a first ID and receiving a response (notification) comprising the first ID that indicates that the EAS of the first one more terminals changes, which is ambiguous and does not seem to have any meaningful purpose. Appropriate correction or explanation is required.
Dependent claims are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US 2025/0287294 A1).
As to claim 1, Xu teaches a method, comprising:
receiving, by a core network device [NEF of a network device], first request information from an application function network element [AF] (Fig. 16 step 2), wherein the first request information comprises a first identifier [transaction ID], the first identifier indicates an event that an edge application server (EAS) of one or more terminal devices changes, and the first request information is used to subscribe to the event that the EAS of the one or more terminal devices changes [subscribing to receive EAS deployment information] (par. [0158], [0208]-[0213]); and
sending, by the core network device [NEF], first notification information to the application function network element [AF], wherein the first notification information comprises the first identifier, and the first notification information indicates that the EAS of the one or more terminal devices changes [NEF responds to AF with Nnef_TrafficInfluence response in step 3b] (Fig. 16, par. [0210]-[0220]).
As to claim 2, Xu teaches that the first notification information indicates that the EAS of the one or more terminal devices changes comprises: the first notification information indicates to migrate an application of the one or more terminal devices to a first EAS, and the first EAS is an EAS selected for the one or more terminal devices [notification of EAS deployment changes of traffic influence requested by the AF for the application] (par. [0158], [0168], [0173]); and the method further comprises:
receiving, by the core network device, second notification information from the application function network element, wherein the second notification information indicates that the first EAS supports application migration (par. [0017]-[0019]);
configuring, by the core network device, a user plane path for the first EAS (par. [0042], [0172]); and
sending, by the core network device, third notification information to the application function network element, wherein the third notification information comprises the first identifier, and the third notification information indicates that the user plane path of the first EAS is already configured (par. [0185]).
As to claim 3, Xu teaches that the receiving, by the core network device, the first request information from the application function network element comprises:
receiving, by a session management function network element through a network exposure function network element, the first request information from the application function network element (par. [0158], [0172]); and
wherein the sending, by the core network device, the first notification information to the application function network element comprises: sending, by the session management function network element through the network exposure function network element, the first notification information to the application function network element (par. [0176], Fig. 16).
As to claim 4, Xu teaches that the first request information further comprises a second identifier, and the second identifier indicates the one or more terminal devices [group ID] (par. [0179]).
As to claim 5, Xu teaches that the second identifier comprises a group identifier of a terminal device group comprising the one or more terminal devices, or the second identifier comprises a terminal device identifier of the one or more terminal devices (par. [0179], [0205], [0217], [0218], [0221]).
As to claim 6, Xu teaches a method, comprising:
sending, by an application function network element [AF], first request information to a core network device [NEF of a network device] (Fig. 16 step 2), wherein the first request information comprises a first identifier [transaction ID], the first request information is used to subscribe to an event that an edge application server (EAS) of one or more terminal devices changes, and the first identifier indicates the event that the EAS of the one or more terminal devices changes [subscribing to receive EAS deployment information] (par. [0158], [0208]-[0213]); and
receiving, by the application function network element [AF], first notification information from the core network device [NEF], wherein the first notification information comprises the first identifier, and the first notification information indicates that the EAS of the one or more terminal devices changes [NEF responds to AF with Nnef_TrafficInfluence response in step 3b] (Fig. 16, par. [0210]-[0220]).
As to claims 7-10, Xu teaches all the elements, as discussed per corresponding method claims 2-5 above.
As to claim 11, Xu teaches an apparatus, comprising at least one processor coupled to at least one memory storing instructions and configured to execute the instructions (Figs. 21 and 23) to cause the apparatus to perform the steps as discussed per claim 1 above.
As to claims 12-15, Xu teaches all the elements, as discussed per corresponding method claims 2-5 above.
As to claim 16, Xu teaches an apparatus, comprising at least one processor coupled to at least one memory storing instructions and configured to execute the instructions (Figs. 21 and 22) to cause the apparatus to perform the steps as discussed per claim 6 above.
As to claims 17-20, Xu teaches all the elements, as discussed per corresponding method claims 2-5 above.
Related Prior Art
Mihaly et al. (US 2025/0193757 A1) is directed to coordinating seamless service continuity to Edge Application Server (EAS) at relocation in a cellular communications system (abstract). In particular, Mihaly teaches a process for an EAS change in Fig. 5A (par. [0092]-[0099] that is substantially analogous to the pending claims.
Mas Rosique et al. (US 2023/0337056 A1) is directed to a Session Management Function, SMF, determining that a first data path for a Packet Data Unit, PDU, session between an application client and a first edge application server, EAS, should be relocated from a first local PDU session anchor, PSA, and a first uplink classifier and branching point, ULCL/BP, to a second PSA and a second ULCL/BP (abstract). In particular, Mas Rosique teaches AF subscribing to notifications of UP path change (par. [0113], Fig. 6), and receiving notifications of UP path change (par. [0116]-[0118], Fig. 6) that is substantially analogous to the pending claims.
Each of these references anticipates at least the independent claims 1, 6, 11, and 16 and can be used in the future rejection of the pending claims.
Conclusion
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/OLEG SURVILLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
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