DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1-19 are pending in the application.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. 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
3. Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim appears to have a typo as the limitations is recited “…. of any one of claim 8.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crosier (US Pat. 10,430,159) in view of Goldburt et al (hereafter Goldburt)(US Pat. 5585694).
Crosier and Goldburt were cited in the IDS filed 06/13/2023
6. As to claim 1, Crosier discloses a method for generating a series of random numbers (abstract), comprising:
operating a circuit comprising a discharge lamp (fig. 7 discharge tube 312); and
converting an analog current-noise signal in said circuit caused as a result of said operating to a digital data signal (column 1, lines 22-34), wherein said digital data signal constitutes a series of random numbers (column 8, lines 38-44 the gas discharge tube 312 may produce or generate a randomly variable voltage at the second terminal 322 which has an average value over time of approximately half the voltage applied to the first and third terminals 320, 322, or approximately Vcc/2..; and column 7, lines 22-25 and column 8, lines 57-60).
Crosier does not teach or suggest the discharge lamp is a low-pressure cold cathode.
However, Goldburt discloses the discharge lamp is a low-pressure cold cathode (column 3, lines 39-41).
7. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Crosier by incorporating the low-pressure cold cathode discharge lamp, as in Goldburt, for the benefit of providing an improved low pressure discharge lamp having cold-cathode discharge electrodes (Goldburt, column 3, lines 39-41).
8. As to claims 2, 5 and 16, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said converting said analog current-noise signal to a digital data signal comprises: converting said analog current-noise signal to an analog voltage signal that is representative of the variation of the analog current-noise signal; and digitizing said analog voltage signal, thereby generating said digital data signal (Crosier, fig 7, ADC 316 and column 7, lines 48-50).
9. As to claim 3, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said converting said analog current-noise signal to an analog voltage signal is performed using a transimpedance unit configured to receive said analog current-noise signal and to generate and output an analog voltage signal that is representative of the variation of the received analog current-noise signal and wherein said digitizing is performed with a digitizer that is configured to receive said analog voltage signal and to generate and output a digital data signal that is representative of the variation of said analog current-noise signal. (Crosier fig. 7).
10. As to claims 4, 7, and 15, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said glow discharge lamp is operated at a voltage of greater than 60 V and said transimpedance unit is operated at a voltage of not more than about 12 V and wherein said digital data signal has a data rate of not less than 1 Gigasample / s (Goldburt column 1, lines 52-56).
11. As to claims 6 and 17, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said digitizer is selected from the group consisting of an Analog-to-Digital Converter and a comparator (Crosier fig. 7, ADC 316).
12. As to claims 8 and 18, Crosier discloses a random number generator circuit (abstract and fig. 7), comprising:
a. a discharge lamp (fig 7 discharge tube 312), having: a first lamp electrode (fig. 7 first terminal 320), and a second lamp electrode (fig. 7 third terminal 322);
b. a first line for providing electrical connection between said first lamp electrode and a first electrode of an electrical power supply (column 7, lines 28-30;
c. a second line for providing electrical connection between said second lamp electrode and a second electrode of an electrical power supply (column 7, lines 30-32); and
d. electrically connected to a line selected from the group consisting of said first line and said second line, a transimpedance unit (column 4, lines 6-9) configured to:
receive from said selected line an analog current-noise signal caused as a result of the operation of said glow discharge lamp (16), and
to generate and output an analog voltage signal that is representative of the variation of said received analog current-noise signal (column 7, line 22-column 8, line 9).
13. Crosier does not disclose the discharge lamp is a low-pressure cold-cathode glow discharge lamp. However, Goldburt discloses the discharge lamp is a low-pressure cold cathode (column 3, lines 39-41).
14. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Crosier by incorporating the low-pressure cold cathode discharge lamp, as in Goldburt, for the benefit of providing an improved low pressure discharge lamp having cold-cathode discharge electrodes (Goldburt, column 3, lines 39-41).
As to claims 9 and 10, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses also comprising a power supply and said power supply is a low-noise power supply (Crosier fig 7, Vcc).
15. As to claim 11, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses operate with an AC power supply and further including a filter to remove the frequency of said AC power supply and all harmonics thereof (Crosier column 7, lines 22-47).
16. As to claims 12 and 13, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said transimpedance unit is connected to said selected line through a third line that is electrically connected to said selected line and to said transimpedance unit; and a current filter on said third line configured to allow only the analog current-noise current signal to reach said transimpedance unit (Crosier column 7, lines 22-47).
17. As to claim 14, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein said current filter is a coupling capacitor on said third line (Crosier column 7, lines 22-47).
18. As to claim 19, the combination of Crosier and Goldburt discloses wherein high-voltage components of said circuit are located on a first high-voltage face of the PCB and low-voltage components of said circuit are located on a second low-voltage face of the PCB different from said high-voltage face (Crosier column 5, lines 19-42 high and low voltage).
Conclusion
19. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Pat. 6,542,014 – related to a physical random number generator adapted to generate the true random numbers by taking out thermal noises generated from a thermal noise generating element such as a resistor or a diode Men no electric current is supplied to the thermal noise generating element and amplifying it by means of an amplifier. A physical random number generator according to the invention can suitably be used for personal identification, coding and other purposes in computer telecommunications and mail-order business because it can perfectly eliminate frauds. A physical random number generator according to the invention is also suitable for generating the probability in various game machines.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL D YAARY whose telephone number is (571)270-1249. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5:30.
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/MICHAEL D. YAARY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2151