DETAILED ACTION
This communication responsive to the Application No. 18/497,180 filed on October 30, 2023. Claims 1-20 are pending and are directed towards AUTHENTICATION RELAY PROCEDURE FOR PASSIVE IOT.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/30/2023 and 06/20/2024 were Acknowledge. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 4-6, 8-9 and 16-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 4-6 and 19 recite the limitation "the estimated initial channel information.". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 8-9 recite the limitation "the estimated second channel information.". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 16 recites the limitation “receiving a first transmission signal from at least one IoT device” which has an Acronym. Acronym should be defined at least once in each independent claim.
Claims 17-20 are rejected by dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang et al. US 2021/0250171 A1 (hereinafter “Tang”)
As per claims 1 and 16, Tang teaches a network node, comprising:
a memory storing computer readable instructions; and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions (The memory 720 can store software programs and module. The processor 780 can execute various functional applications and data processing of the mobile phone by running the software programs and modules stored in the memory 720. Tang, para [0123]) to cause the network node to,
receive a first transmission signal from at least one Internet of Things (IoT) device in response to a first activation signal transmitted by an activator node (the terminal device can send the request information to the IoT platform, and the request information may request the IoT platform to return first activation information and target platform information. The request information may include the device identifier of the terminal device. The first activation information may be activation information associated with the device identifier of the terminal device. In addition, the first activation information may be time-sensitive. That is, the first activation information may be valid within a target period of time, and would be invalid if the target period of time is exceeded. If the first activation information is invalid, the terminal device may need to obtain the first activation information from the IoT platform again. Tang, para [0052])( the terminal device establishes a connection with the IoT device, and negotiate the first key, the second key, the first identifier, and the second identifier. Tang, para [0056] See Fig. 3 steps 301-304 and related paragraph),
determine an authentication test condition based on the received first transmission signal (the terminal device uses the first key to encrypt the first activation information and the target platform information to obtain a third ciphertext. In some embodiments, after receiving the first activation information and the target platform information returned by the IoT device, the terminal device may use the first key negotiated with the IoT device to encrypt the first activation information and the target platform information to obtain the third ciphertext. the terminal device sends the third ciphertext to the IoT device. the IoT device uses the second key to decrypt the third ciphertext to obtain the first activation information and the target platform information. Tang, para [0059]-[0062]), and
transmit a request to the activator node based on the determined authentication test condition, the request enabling the activator node to transmit a second activation signal generated based on the determined authentication test condition (after the IoT device decrypts the first activation information and the target platform information, the IoT device may generate the second activation information based on the first activation information. The second activation information may include the first activation information and the device identifier of the IoT device…after the IoT platform receives the second activation information sent by the IoT device, the IoT device may use the second activation information to verity the IoT device. Tang, para [0065-0069]).
As per claims 2 and 17, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1, wherein the network node is further caused to: set the authentication test condition to instruct the activator node to use a desired precoder to generate the second activation signal (the IoT device generates the second activation information… after the IoT device decrypts the first activation information and the target platform information, the IoT device may generate the second activation information based on the first activation information. The second activation information may include the first activation information and the device identifier of the IoT device. Tang, para [0064-0065]).
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.
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 nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3-9 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. US 2021/0250171 A1 (hereinafter “Tang”) in view of Hwang et al. US 2023/0180002 A1 (hereinafter “Hwang”).
As per claims 3 and 18, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1. Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the network node is further caused to: estimate initial channel information of the received first transmission signal; and determine the authentication test condition based on at least the estimated initial channel information.
However, Hwang teaches estimate initial channel information of the received first transmission signal (The PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information transmits random data that is needed for the authentication server 200 to estimate channel state information. Hwang, para [0025])( The channel state information estimation unit 130 estimates channel state information based on the data received from the authentication server 200. The channel state information estimation unit 130 may estimate at least one or more pieces of channel state information between channels by analyzing the random data using a module that analyzes channel state information such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a channel gain, and the like. Hwang, para [0033]); and
determine the authentication test condition based on at least the estimated initial channel information (The PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information estimates channel state information based on the random data or a part of a challenge signal received from the authentication server 200, and controls PUF information using the estimated channel state information to generate a secret key. Hwang, para [0026]).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the data transmitted by using the channels information.
As per claims 4 and 19, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1. Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the network node is further caused to: set the authentication test condition to instruct the activator node to use a desired precoder configured using the estimated initial channel information.
However, Hwang teaches set the authentication test condition to instruct the activator node to use a desired precoder configured using the estimated initial channel information (the channel state information estimation unit 130 may allow the device and the authentication server 200 to have the same channel state information value by preprocessing the channel state information that changes in real-time according to the environment such as time, space and the like. Hwang, para [0035])( he PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information may estimate at least one or more pieces of channel state information between channels by analyzing the random data using a module that analyzes channel state information such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a channel gain, and the like. Hwang, para [0042]).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the data transmitted by using the channels information.
As per claim 5, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1, wherein the network node is further caused to: set the authentication test condition to instruct the activator node to use a desired precoder configured to generate the second activation signal, the generated second activation signal being a matched filter (the IoT device can receive the first ciphertext, decrypt the first ciphertext based on the second key to obtain the first identifier and the target instruction, and determine whether the first identifier matches a second identifier stored locally and come to a matching result. The IoT device can further generate the second ciphertext based on the matching result and the second key, and send the second ciphertext to the terminal device through the IoT platform. The terminal device can decrypt the second ciphertext with the first key to obtain the decryption result, and perform the corresponding operation based on the decryption result. As such, when the terminal device and the IoT device communicate with each other, not only the data are encrypted by the negotiated keys, but also identifier(s) can be added during the encryption process, which can prevent unexpected communication from unauthorized devices and improve the security of data. Tang, para [0102]).
Tang does not explicitly teach the generated second activation signal being a matched filter response to the estimated initial channel information.
However, Hwang teaches using estimated initial channel information to generate activation signal (The PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information transmits random data that is needed for the authentication server 200 to estimate channel state information. Hwang, para [0025]);(The PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information estimates channel state information based on the random data or a part of a challenge signal received from the authentication server 200, and controls PUF information using the estimated channel state information to generate a secret key. Hwang, para [0026]).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the data transmitted by using the channels information.
As per claim 6, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1, wherein the network node is further caused to: set the authentication test condition to instruct the activator node to use a desired precoder configured to generate the second activation signal (after the IoT device decrypts the first activation information and the target platform information, the IoT device may generate the second activation information based on the first activation information. The second activation information may include the first activation information and the device identifier of the IoT device. Tang, para [0065] Fig. 3)
Tang does not explicitly teach the generated second activation signal being a desired target channel associated with the estimated initial channel information.
However, Hwang teaches the generated second activation signal being a desired target channel associated with the estimated initial channel information (the channel state information estimation unit 130 may allow the device and the authentication server 200 to have the same channel state information value by preprocessing the channel state information that changes in real-time according to the environment such as time, space and the like. Hwang, para [0035])( the PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information transmits a response signal including the generated PUF-based secret key to the authentication server 200. At this point, the PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information may change the order of challenge signals or generate a new challenge signal by using PUF control signals based on channel state information. The PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information may perform encoding and decoding for data transmission when it transmits the response signal to the authentication server 200. Hwang, para [0046]).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the data transmitted by using the channels information.
As per claims 7 and 20, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1, wherein the network node is further caused to:
receive a second transmission signal from the at least one IoT device in response to the second activation signal transmitted by the activator node (the IoT platform may record the basic information of the IoT device (e.g., the device identifier of the IoT device. Of course, the basic information may also include other information, which is not limited in the present disclosure) in advance, then it may use the device identifier of the IoT device from the second activation information and the basic information of the IoT device entered in advance to determine whether the IoT device is registered. If the IoT device is registered, determine whether the time when the IoT platform receives the second activation information is within the target period of time. Since the activation information may be time-sensitive (i.e., the second activation information may only be valid within the target period of time and may be invalid over the target period of time), if the time when the second activation information is received is within the target period of time, the IoT platform may search for the first activation information from the target association list (the target association list may be an association list corresponding to the device identifier of the terminal device stored in the IoT platform). If the first activation information exists in the target association list, it is determined that the IoT device passes the verification. If the IoT device is not registered, the time when the second activation information is received is not within the target period of time, the IoT platform cannot locate the first activation information or at least one of the above situations and their combinations happens, it is determined that the IoT device fails the verification. Tang, para [0070] & Fig. 3); and
Tang does not explicitly teach estimate second channel information of the second transmission signal.
However, Hwang teaches estimate second channel information of the second transmission signal (The channel state information estimation unit 130 estimates channel state information based on the data received from the authentication server 200. The channel state information estimation unit 130 may estimate at least one or more pieces of channel state information between channels by analyzing the random data using a module that analyzes channel state information such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a channel gain, and the like. Hwang, para [0033]).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the data transmitted by using the channels information.
As per claims 8 and 20, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1. Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the network node is further caused to: authenticate the at least one IoT device based on the authentication test condition and the estimated second channel information.
However, Hwang teaches authenticate the at least one IoT device based on the authentication test condition and the estimated second channel information (A PUF-based IoT device authentication system 10 using channel state information exchanges information needed to authenticate a device and information on a result of processing authentication between the device and an authentication server, and performs authentication using channel state information of a wireless communication channel based on a physical unclonable function (PUF). …the PUF-based IoT device authentication system 10 using channel state information generates a PUF control signal based on RF characteristic information, which is wireless environment characteristic information that is unique when a device is in a specific location, and performs authentication between the device and the authentication server by transmitting a PUF-based secret key generated using the PUF control signal to the authentication server. Hwang, para [0022-0023])
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the system by authenticating the device using channels state information.
As per claim 9, Tang teaches the network node of claim 1. Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the network node is further caused to: forward the authentication test condition and the estimated second channel information to a network element; and receive results of an authentication of the at least one IoT device performed by the network element.
However, Hwang teaches forward the authentication test condition and the estimated second channel information to a network element (the PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information generates a secret key considering the characteristics of the channel state information based on the PUF control signal… the PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information transmits a response signal including the secret key. Hwang, para [0051-0052]& fig. 6); and
receive results of an authentication of the at least one IoT device performed by the network element (the authentication server 200 determines whether or not to authenticate…the authentication server 200 transmits an authentication result to the PUF-based IoT device 100 using channel state information. Hwang, para [0053-0054] & Fig. 6).
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 teaching of tang in view of Hwang. One would be motivated to do so, to enhance the security of the system by authenticating the device using channels state information.
Claims 10-15 have limitations similar to those treated in the above rejection, and are met by the references as discussed above, and are rejected for the same reasons (of anticipation\ and rationales) as used above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A. Peng et al. US 2021/0297246 A1 directed to IoT networking authentication system.
B. Schuler et al. US 2020/0005415 A1 directed to associate the IoT devices with an incident and manage access.
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Respectfully Submitted
/KHALID M ALMAGHAYREH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2492