DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in the Instant Application.
Claims 1-20 are rejected (Non-Final Rejection).
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 .
Priority
The Instant Application does not claim priority to any earlier filed applications and has an effective filing date of 27 June 2023
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 28 November 2023 was 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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable by UCHIYAMA et al.(“Uchiyama”), United States Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0259464.
As per claim 1, Uchiyama discloses a method comprising:
generating an intermediate representation of a neural network, wherein the neural network is comprised of a plurality of layers ([0079] and [0080] wherein the neural network is split according to layers, each layer having different output data sizes and computation delay);
extracting, via a profiler of a splitter device, a plurality of neural network features based on the intermediate representation ([0080] and [0125] wherein for each layer, a computational delay is estimated and output size is determined);
selecting, via a classifier of the splitter device, one or more heuristics based on the neural network features ([0141]-[0143] wherein the splitter can choose between one or more heuristics by selecting one or more splitting modes);
determining one or more device characteristics of the one or more devices, wherein the one or more devices are connected to the splitter device ([0101] wherein the device capability (computation handler acting as the devices in the prior art) is determined);
determining a plurality of slices ([0141] wherein the slices (recognized as the range of layers) is determined) based on the neural network features, the one or more heuristics and the device characteristics ([0141] wherein the neural network features (execution delay of the ML in the prior art), the heuristics (a particular switching mode), and the device characteristics (load of the devices in the prior art) are used determine what layers are in each slice as shown in [Fig. 11])wherein each slice of the plurality of slices is associated with at least one of the devices, and
wherein each of the plurality of slices is associated with one or more of the plurality of layers ([0162] wherein slices (sets of layers in the prior art) are assigned to devices (nodes in the prior art)); and
generating the plurality of slices ([0079] and [0187] wherein the rangers of layers is distributed and generated on the different devices).
As per claim 2, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising:
transmitting each of the plurality of slices to the associated device of the one or more devices ([0187] wherein distribution of different ranges for the slices is described).
As per claim 3, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the classifier is comprised of a classifier neural network ([Fig. 2] wherein an image of a cat is classified as a cat).
As per claim 4, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more device characteristics of the one or more devices comprising:
querying the one or more connected devices; and receiving, based on the query, the device characteristics ([0120] wherein the instructions to acquire the device characteristic (such as capability and load in the prior art).are the query, and the information is received in return).
As per claim 5, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more devices are heterogenous devices ([0065] wherein at least a smart phone and a cloud server are described, heterogenous devices).
As per claim 6, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more heuristics includes minimizing a latency ([0141] wherein the latency (delay in the prior art) is minimized).
As per claim 7, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more heuristics includes maximizing a throughput ([0141]-[0142] and [Fig. 11] wherein the Splitting mode table describes maximizing throughput in case different situations occur).
As per claim 8, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein each slice of the plurality of slices is associated with only one device ([Fig. 11] wherein each slice is associated with a device (node in the prior art)).
As per claim 9, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the slices of the plurality of slices are associated with a first device of the one or more devices ([0065] wherein there is a situation where all lawyers are performed by the communication terminal, meaning all layers are performed by the first device).
As per claim 10, Uchiyama discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the slices are comprised of instructions for transmitting results associated with an execution of slice to a subsequent device ([0117] wherein the slices handler of a range, is instructed on who to transmit the results for subsequent computation). .
As per claim 11, Uchiyama discloses a splitter device comprising: at least one processor ([0290]),and at least one memory coupled to the processor ([0290]), wherein the processor is configured to perform the method of claim 1. Thus, claim 11 is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning as claim 1.
As per claim 12, claim 12 is the device that performs the method of claim 2 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 13, claim 13 is the device that performs the method of claim 3 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 14, claim 14 is the device that performs the method of claim 4 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 15, claim 15 is the device that performs the method of claim 5 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 16, claim 16 is the device that performs the method of claim 6 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 17, claim 17 is the device that performs the method of claim 7 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 18, claim 18 is the device that performs the method of claim 8 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 19, claim 196 is the device that performs the method of claim 9 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
As per claim 20, claim 20 is the device that performs the method of claim 10 and is rejected for the same rationale and reasoning.
Conclusion
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/KANNAN SHANMUGASUNDARAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2168