DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
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 .
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB).
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821-1.825. A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on compact disc or as a text file via the Office electronic filing system (EFS-Web.)
In this application the Abstract filed on 10/11/23 is not on a separate sheet The separate sheet should only contain the Abstract.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0326977 A1 to Gambetta et al. (hereinafter referred to as Gambetta’977) in view of U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0026551 A1 to Ducore et al.
As to claim 1, Gambetta’977 teaches a quantum computing system providing quantum processing as a service, the quantum computing system comprising:
a first quantum computing device including a plurality of qubits (One or More Quantum Computers 108); and
a queueing and optimizations ("QaO") server including at least one classical processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one classical processor (Server 102), cause the at least one classical processor to:
create a first job queue that includes a plurality of jobs configured to be executed on the first quantum computing device (Quantum Computer Program Queue 122);
receive, from a client device, a request for execution of a quantum program (“…In one or more embodiments, the communications component 112 can receive quantum computer programs from the one or more input devices 106 (e.g., via a direct electrical connection and/or through the one or more networks 104) and share the data with the various associate components of the dispatch component 110. For example, the communications component 112 can store received quantum computer programs (e.g., received from the one or more input devices 106) in one or more quantum computer program ques 122 stored in the one or more memories 116…” paragraph 0029); and
add (store) a first job entry to the first job queue for the request (Communications Component 112), the first job entry includes a quantum circuit (quantum computer programs) for a first job (“…In one or more embodiments, the communications component 112 can receive quantum computer programs from the one or more input devices 106 (e.g., via a direct electrical connection and/or through the one or more networks 104) and share the data with the various associate components of the dispatch component 110. For example, the communications component 112 can store received quantum computer programs (e.g., received from the one or more input devices 106) in one or more quantum computer program ques 122 stored in the one or more memories 116…” paragraphs 0029-0031).
perform an optimization process on the quantum circuit of the first job, the optimization process changes the quantum circuit to an updated quantum circuit (re-mapping operation) (“…An example re-mapping operation can include modifying one or more quantum circuits such that one or more quantum gates comprised within the quantum circuits use qubits in the assigned quantum computer 108 that are connected. For instance, the compiler component 402 can add one or more CX quantum gates to the subject quantum circuits to modify the originally developed quantum gates; thereby swapping the qubits targeted by the quantum circuits until compatibility with the parameters of the assigned quantum computer 108 is reached…Once the quantum circuits are adapted, the compiler component 402 can further compile the adapted quantum circuits to generate an adapted quantum computer program. The adapted quantum computer program can comprise the assigned quantum computer program modified to meet the operation requirements (e.g., as defined by the parameters) of the one or more assigned quantum computers 108. Further, the compiler component 402 can dispatch the adapted quantum computer program to the one or more assigned quantum computers 108 via a direct electrical connection, the one or more networks 104, and/or a cloud computing environment…” paragraph 0045/0046/0064);
transmit the updated quantum circuit to the first quantum computing device, thereby causing the updated quantum circuit to be executed by the first quantum computing device using the plurality of qubits (Compiler Component 402/Dispatch Component 110) (“…Once the quantum circuits are adapted, the compiler component 402 can further compile the adapted quantum circuits to generate an adapted quantum computer program. The adapted quantum computer program can comprise the assigned quantum computer program modified to meet the operation requirements (e.g., as defined by the parameters) of the one or more assigned quantum computers 108. Further, the compiler component 402 can dispatch the adapted quantum computer program to the one or more assigned quantum computers 108 via a direct electrical connection, the one or more networks 104, and/or a cloud computing environment…” paragraphs 0046/0047);
receive, from the quantum computing device, execution results from the execution of the updated quantum circuit (result data) (“…For example, the assessment component 602 can gather result data regarding performance of the one or more quantum computer programs (e.g., the one or more adapted quantum computer programs) on the one or more assigned quantum computers 108. The result data can be utilized by the dispatch component 110 (e.g., via the assignment component 302 and/or compiler component 402) to influence future assignment and/or adaptation processes. Example result data can include, but is not limited to: an observed quantum computing error rate, the quantum computer 108 utilized to execute the quantum computer program, the function of the executed quantum computer program executed, adaptations incorporated into the executed quantum computer program by the compiler component 402, a combination thereof, and/or the like…” paragraph 0055).
Gambetta’977 does not explicitly teaches transmit the execution results to the client device.
Ducore teaches transmit the execution results (Results 108) to the client device (user or user entity) (“…Servers 106A and 106B may refer to two of multiple, on the order of hundreds to thousands, servers hosted on cloud-based infrastructure 105 that are configured to receive, at least, programs 107 and 109 from a user or user entity via network 104. Servers 106A and 106B may be further configured to receive and/or store partial or complete results 108 and 110 of the execution of programs 107 and 109, respectively, and return such results to the user or user entity, also via network 104. Neither of servers 106A and 106B is limited to receiving only hybrid programs, classical programs, or quantum programs…Results 108 may refer to iterative or cumulative results from the execution of one or more classical computing programs executed on one or more of CPU 115A-115M. In addition, or alternatively, results 108 may include results 113 from the execution of hybrid program 112 on one or more of CPU 115A-115M and one or more of QPU 120A-120N. Further still, results 113 may include iterative or cumulative results of execution of hybrid program 112. Results 108 may be stored on server 106 and/or returned to the user or user entity via network 104…” paragraphs 0030/0034/0036).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the system of Gambetta with the teaching of Ducore because the teaching of Ducore would improve the system of Gambetta by providing a technique for returning the result of the execution to a client for user consumption.
As to claim 2, Gambetta’977 teaches the quantum computing system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one classical processor to manage a plurality of job queues for job execution on one or more quantum computing devices including the first quantum computing device (Quantum Computer Program Queues 122).
As to claim 4, Gambetta’977 teaches the quantum computing system of claim I further comprising a plurality of quantum computing devices that includes the first quantum computing device, wherein the first job queue supports execution of jobs on any of the quantum computing devices of the plurality of quantum computing devices (One or More Quantum Computers 108).
As to claims 8 and 15, see the rejection of claim 1 above, expect for a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
Gambetta’977 teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium (Memory 116).
As to claim 9, see the rejection of claim 2 above.
As to claims 11 and 17, see the rejection of claim 4 above.
Claims 3, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0326977 A1 to Gambetta et al. (hereinafter referred to as Gambetta’977) in view of U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0026551 A1 to Ducore et al. as applied to claims 2, 9 and 15 above, and further in view of U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0296120 A1 to Khan.
As to claim 3, Gambetta’977 as modified by Ducore teaches the quantum computing system of claim 2, however, it is silent with reference to wherein the plurality of job queues includes one or more virtual job queues, wherein each virtual job queue of the one or more virtual job queues is assigned to a particular user account, wherein the first job queue is a physical job queue that includes jobs from the one or more virtual job queues.
Khan teaches wherein the plurality of job queues (Memory Pool 234/ Physical Address 262) includes one or more virtual job queues (Virtual Buffers 220), wherein each virtual job queue of the one or more virtual job queues is assigned to a particular user account (word bit width), wherein the first job queue is a physical job queue that includes jobs from the one or more virtual job queues (“…FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementation of an apparatus 200 that may be enabled to perform all or part of a process 300 (FIG. 3) which may include obtaining at least one memory access request 240 from at least one of a plurality of client processes 214, wherein the memory access request 240 may specify at least one virtual address 242 associated with at least one of a plurality of virtual buffers 220 related to an operatively segmented memory pool 234. Process 300 may further include generating at least one (e.g., physical) address 262 associated with the memory pool 234 based, at least in part, on at least one virtual address 242 using at least one of a plurality of interfaces 218. Here, for example, at least one of the plurality of interfaces 218 may be capable of operatively serving at least one of a plurality of client processes 214. Process 300 may further include accessing at least a portion of at least one of the virtual buffers 220 operatively associated with at least one physical address 262. Here, for example, such accessing may comprise performing, based at least in part on a word bit width associated with at least one of the plurality of client processes 214, at least one of: a data packing operation (230) as part of a write operation; and/or a data unpacking operation (226) as part of a read operation…” paragraphs 0050/0051/0055).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the system of Gambetta’977 with the teaching of Ducore because the teaching of Ducore would improve the system of Gambetta’977 by providing a memory-based, simulated, or algorithmic storage space that acts as an intermediary to manage data, images, or processes without relying on physical, hardware-based, or traditional storage methods.
As to claim 10, see the rejection of claim 3 above.
As to claim 16, see the rejection of claims 2 and 3 above.
Claims 6, 13 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0326977 A1 to Gambetta et al. (hereinafter referred to as Gambetta’977) in view of U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0026551 A1 to Ducore et al. as applied to claims 1, 8 and 15 above, and further in view of C.N. No. 108734299 A to Dukatz et al.
As to claim 6, Gambetta’977 as modified by Ducore teaches the quantum computing system of claim 1, however, it is silent with reference to wherein the instructions further cause the at least one classical processor to:
determine an estimated time to execution for the first job; and
configure the optimization process for the first job based on the estimated time to execution.
Dukatz teaches wherein the instructions further cause the at least one classical processor to:
determine an estimated time to execution for the first job (prediction module 120 may include prediction data from the historic time period. prediction data); and
configure the optimization process for the first job based on the estimated time to execution (“…For example, prediction module 120 may include prediction data from the historic time period. prediction data can be compared with the current condition and optimizing task target, to determine the current optimal task and the task corresponding to the target is seen with the previously optimized tasks and corresponding task target are similar. For example, the system 100 may include a period of interest (for example, a particular one of the days in the interest period of 24 hours) of the prediction data. In this example, the similar one day later time in this week, the system 100 can use the time period of interest prediction data to determine the current condition and optimizing a mission objective of the interest period whether the conditions and optimization task with previous similar period of interest. if determining the current condition and optimizing a mission objective of interest period and the previous period of condition of interest and similar optimization the mission objective, the system 100 can be the previous result of the optimization task of previously seen as the future prediction points until the prediction point is the actual result of current calculation…”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the system of Gambetta’977 and Ducore with the teaching of Dukatz because the teaching of Dukatz would improve the system of Gambetta’977 and Ducore by providing a technique for optimally processing tasks/jobs.
As to claims 13 and 19, see the rejection of claim 6 above.
Claims 7, 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub. No. 20200326977 A1 to Gambetta et al. (hereinafter referred to as Gambetta’977) in view of U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0026551 A1 to Ducore et al. as applied to claims 1, 8 and 15 above, and further in view of U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0401427 A1 to Gambetta et al. (hereinafter referred to as Gambetta’427).
As to claim 7, Gambetta’977 teaches the quantum computing system of claim 1, however it is silent with reference to wherein the instructions further cause the at least one classical processor to:
upon receiving the execution results from the execution of the updated quantum circuit, create a second job on the first job queue as an iteration of the first job, and
perform an optimization process on another quantum circuit of the second job prior to execution of the second job.
Gambetta’427 teaches wherein the instructions further cause the at least one classical processor to:
upon receiving the execution results from the execution of the updated quantum circuit, create a second job (second job request) on the first job queue as an iteration of the first job (First Job Request 101 );
perform an optimization process on another quantum circuit (second quantum program) of the second job prior to execution of the second job (one or more second partial data results) (“…In an embodiment, the quantum computer system 100 can be configured to receive from the requesting entity 102 an instruction to continue executing the first job request 101 if the requesting entity 102 determines that the one or more first partial data results 120 is as expected. In an embodiment, the quantum computer system 100 can be configured to receive from the requesting entity 102 a second job request, the second job request modifying the first job request 101 based on the one or more first partial data results 120. The second job request can include instructions to execute a plurality of times a second quantum program on the quantum computer 100, execute the second job request, and send to the requesting entity 102 the one or more second partial data results of the executed second job request corresponding to the one or more executions of the second quantum program. In an embodiment, the quantum computer system 100 can be configured to send to the requesting entity 102 the one or more first partial data results at selected time intervals…” paragraphs 0021/0024).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the system of Gambetta’977 and Ducore with the teaching of Gambetta’427 because the teaching of Gambetta’427 would improve the system of Gambetta’977 and Ducore by providing a technique for using partial or complete execution of a task to determine and perform a related or subtask to allow for compact processing.
As to claims 14 and 20, see the rejection of claim 7 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 12 and 18 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of records, (U.S. Pub. No. 20200326977 A1 to Gambetta et al. and U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0026551 A1 to Ducore et al.), taken alone or in combination do not specifically disclose or suggest the claimed recitations (claims 5, 12 and 18), when taken in the context of claims as a whole.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0117511 A1 to Reinhardt et al. and directed to systems and methods for scheduling usage time for programs that can be executed on a hybrid computing system including a quantum processing unit (QPU) and a central processing unit (CPU).
U.S. Pat. No. 11,194,554 B2 issued to Gambetta et al. and directed to a quantum adaptive execution method based on quantum circuits dependencies and intermediate results generated by previous quantum circuit.
C.N. No. 111165052 A to Kilos et al. and directed to job processing in a quantum computing enabled cloud environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 11,270,220 B2 issued to Richardson et al. and directed to service for managing quantum computing resources.
U.S. Pat. No. 11,194,573 B2 issued to Smith et al. and directed to streaming execution for a quantum processing system.
U.S. Pat. No. 11,086,665 B2 issued to Griffin et al. and directed to scheduling services for quantum computing.
U.S. Pub. No. 2022/0188680 A1 to Nation et al. and directed to quantum circuit optimization routine evaluation and knowledge base generation.
U.S. Pub. No. 2021/0158232 A1 to Bolt et al. and directed to Quantum computing task translation supporting multiple quantum computing technologies.
U.S. Pub. No. 2018/0365585 A1 to Smith et al. and directed to a handling system that allows user requests to access distributed quantum computing resources.
U.S. Pub. No. 2021/0012233 A1 to Gambetta et al. and directed to systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer program products to facilitate adaptive compilation of quantum computing jobs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES E ANYA whose telephone number is (571)272-3757. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fir. 9-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KEVIN YOUNG can be reached at 571-270-3180. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHARLES E ANYA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2194