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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/05/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 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 of this title, 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 1-3, 11 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider (US 2009/0214028), hereon referred to as Schneider, in view of Hird et al. (US 2015/0019442), and hereon referred to as Hird.
In regards to claims 1, 11 & 19, Schneider discloses identifying that a cycle time has been achieved, wherein the cycle time is known by the first control system and the second control system (A first node generates a timestamp and transmits it to the second node; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3); generating one or more encryption keys responsive to identifying that the cycle time has been achieved, the one or more encryption keys being generated based at least in part on the session key and an identifier associated with the cycle time (A second node generates a MAC using the timestamp, a random value and a cryptographic key; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3); generating one or more encrypted messages by encrypting one or more messages based on the one or more encryption keys (A reply message is encrypted using the MAC and transmitted to the first node; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3); and communicating the one or more encrypted messages (The encrypted message is transmitted between the second and first node over a communication network; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3).
However, Schneider does not disclose generating a session key that includes a shared secret key that is known by a first control system and a second control system. In an analogous art Hird discloses generating a session key that includes a shared secret key that is known by a first control system and a second control system (A master key is stored in a portable device and transaction terminal before use; Paragraphs 0030-36; 0063-0070; Fig.1-3).
At the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings disclosed by Schneider, with the teachings disclosed by Hird regarding generating a session key that includes a shared secret key that is known by a first control system and a second control system;. The suggestion/motivation of the combination would have been to provide additional security between a user terminal and a transaction terminal (Hird; Paragraph 0004).
In regards to claim 2, Schneider discloses wherein the one or more encryption keys are generated by hashing the session key with the identifier associated with the cycle time (The MAC is generated using a hash function applied to the timestamp and cryptographic key; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3).
In regards to claims 3 & 20, Schneider discloses wherein the cycle time is a predetermined characteristic of one or more of a time, a location of a vehicle system, or one or more of a time of travel or a distance of travel of the vehicle system along a route (The timestamp can represent the time when the message was generated; Paragraphs 0023-0033; Figs.1-3).
Claims 5-7, 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Schneider and Hird, in view of Zaman et al. (US 2020/0021977), hereon referred to as Zaman.
In regards to claim 5, the combination of Schneider and Hird does not disclose wherein the cycle time is a repeating cycle time, and further comprising generating each of the one or more encryption keys by hashing the session key with a different identifier based on the repeating cycle time. In an analogous art Zaman discloses wherein the cycle time is a repeating cycle time, and further comprising generating each of the one or more encryption keys by hashing the session key with a different identifier based on the repeating cycle time (A plurality of keys are generated based on the sampled stochastic process; Paragraphs 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
At the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings disclosed by the combination of Schneider and Zaman, with the teachings disclosed by Zaman regarding wherein the cycle time is a repeating cycle time, and further comprising generating each of the one or more encryption keys by hashing the session key with a different identifier based on the repeating cycle time. The suggestion/motivation of the combination would have been to provide security and encryption of communication channels, in particular, to a physical layer secret key generation scheme exploiting randomness of the road surface and the driving behavior (Zaman; Paragraph 0002).
In regards to claim 6, Zaman discloses generating the one or more encrypted messages while a vehicle system is moving along a route (Messages can be generated while the vehicle is in motion; Paragraphs 0029; 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
In regards to claim 7, Zaman discloses generating a first encryption key of the one or more encryption keys by hashing the session key with a first identifier responsive to identifying a first achievement of the cycle time; and generating a second encryption key of the one or more encryption keys by hashing the session key with a second identifier responsive to identifying a second achievement of the cycle time (Multiple keys are generated from different sample segments; Paragraphs 0034; 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
In regards to claim 12, Zaman discloses generating one or more first encrypted messages by encrypting one or more messages based on the one or more first encryption keys; or generating one or more second encrypted messages by encrypting the one or more messages based on the one or more second encryption keys (Data is encrypted using encryption keys; Paragraphs 0037; 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
In regard to claim 13, Zaman discloses communicating the one or more first encrypted messages; or communicating the one or more second encrypted messages (Messages are transmitted using shared encryption keys; 0038; Paragraphs 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
In regards to claim 14, Zaman discloses wherein the first identifier of the plural different identifies is different than the second identifier of the plural different identifiers (Different samples corresponding to different timestamps/intervals can be used to generate different keys; Paragraphs 0033; 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
In regards to claim 15, Zaman discloses wherein the repeated cycle times are one or more predetermined characteristics of one or more of a time, a location of a vehicle system, or one or more of a time of travel or a distance of travel of the vehicle system along a route (The sampling can be conducted at a predetermined time; Paragraphs 0031; 0041-0053; Fig.1-3).
Claims 4, 8-10 & 16-18 rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Schneider and Hird, in view of Saed et al. (US 2015/0264017), hereon referred to as Saed.
In regards to claim 4, the combination of Schneider and Hird does not disclose wherein the first control system is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle system, and the second control system is configured to be disposed of-board the vehicle system. However, in an analogous art Saed discloses wherein the first control system is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle system, and the second control system is configured to be disposed of-board the vehicle system (The TMU can communicate wirelessly with a dispatcher; paragraphs 0030-0035).
At the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings disclosed by the combination of Schneider and Zaman, with the teachings disclosed by Saed regarding wherein the first control system is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle system, and the second control system is configured to be disposed of-board the vehicle system. The suggestion/motivation of the combination would have been to provide security for data communication transmitted to a controller vehicle (Saed; Paragraph 0002).
In regards to claims 8, Saed discloses receiving one or more received encrypted messages; and decrypting the one or more received encrypted messages based on one or more of the cycle time, the identifier associated with the cycle time, the one or more encryption keys, or the session key (The messages are received by the TMU; TMU uses a shared key with the dispatcher to decrypt the messages; Paragraphs 0026; 0051-0058; 0070-0077).
In regards to claim 9, Saed discloses comprising changing one or more control settings of a vehicle system responsive to decrypting the one or more received encrypted messages (The BCM sends the decrypted text to the corresponding control module; Paragraphs 0060-0070).
In regards to claim 10, the combination of Schneider, Zaman and Saed discloses wherein changing the one or more control settings of the vehicle system includes changing one or more of a brake setting or a propulsion setting of the vehicle system. (The elements presented in the claim(s) do not contain any additional features, do not present any inventive step or novelty not addressed/presented in the combination of Schneider, Zaman and Saed. Examiner takes official notice, that these elements are commonly known, minor design details that are derivable from the prior art and are well known, and obvious to an ordinary skill in the art. The additional features of these claims represent normal design options, which the skilled person would implement the combination of Schneider, Zaman and Saed, depending on the circumstances, without exercising any inventive activity).
In regards to claim 16, Saed discloses receiving one or more received encrypted messages from the second communication system, the one or more received encrypted messages configured to be encrypted based on the one or more first encryption keys; and decrypting the one or more received encrypted messages with the one or more first encryption keys (The encrypted messages are received by the TMU; the TMU uses a shared key with the dispatcher to decrypt the messages; Paragraphs 0055-0074).
In regards to claim 17, Saed discloses comprising changing one or more control settings of a vehicle system responsive to decrypting the one or more received encrypted messages (ECM or ECU performs the requested control functions; Paragraphs 0053-0068).
In regards to claim 18, Saed discloses wherein changing the one or more control settings of the vehicle system includes changing one or more of a brake setting or a propulsion setting of the vehicle system (ECM provides control over the engine of the vehicle and its related functions; Paragraphs 0052-0065).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARIF E ULLAH whose telephone number is (571)272-5453. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-5:30.
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/SHARIF E ULLAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2495