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 .
This is response to Application 18/628331 filed on 04/05/2024 with Preliminary Amendment filed on 04/09/204. Claims 21-40 are pending in the office action.
Claims 1-20 have been canceled.
Claims 21-40 are newly added.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities:
As per claim 21: line 11, after “in a cache” inserts -- of the at least one quantum computers --.
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,977,957. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both claimed inventions disclose substantial similar inventions.
There are some different wordings such as quantum computer vs. quantum hardware.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date of claimed invention to recognize that both claimed inventions to be able yield similar results without undue experiment even different wordings (see the analysis as the follow).
As per claim 21: A system (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, l. 46), comprising:
one or more computing devices configured to implement a quantum computing service that provides access to one or more quantum computers, wherein the quantum computing service is configured to (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 47-50):
receive a first request comprising a first quantum computing program that is to be executed using at least one of the quantum computers (i.e., quantum hardware provider) (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 51-53);
generate one or more compiled files corresponding to one or more quantum functions included in the first quantum program that is in a format that is executable on a given one of the at least one quantum computers (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 54-58);
store, in a cache, at least one of the one or more compiled files (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 59-60);
receive a second request comprising a second quantum computing program that is to be executed using the given quantum computer (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 61-63);
determine whether the second quantum computing program includes at least one of the quantum functions corresponding to the compiled files stored in the cache (‘957, claim 1, col. 27, ll. 64-67); and
in response to a determination that the second quantum computing program includes a quantum function that has a corresponding compiled file in the cache (‘957, claim 1, col. 28, ll. 1-4),
obtain, from the cache, the compiled file of the quantum function (‘957, claim 1, col. 28, ll. 5-6);
compile the second quantum computing program using the compiled file of the quantum function obtained from the cache (‘957, claim 1, col. 28, ll. 7-9); and
provide the compiled second quantum computing program for execution on the given quantum computer (‘957, claim 1, col. 28, ll. 10-12).
As per claim 22: The system of claim 21, wherein, to determine whether the second quantum computing program includes at least one of the quantum functions, the quantum computing service is configured to determine whether the second quantum computing program references an identifier indicating at least one of the quantum functions in the cache (‘957, claim 2, col. 28, ll. 13-18).
As per claim 23: The system of claim 21, wherein: the first request is received from a first client of the quantum computing service; and the second request is received from the first client or from another client of the quantum computing service (‘957, claim 3, col. 28, ll. 19-22).
As per claim 24: The system of claim 21, wherein the quantum computing service is further configured to:
determine that the second quantum computing program includes another quantum function that does not have a corresponding compiled file stored in the cache (‘957, claim 4, col. 28, ll. 25-27);
generate a compiled file of the other quantum function that is in the format that is executable on the given quantum computer (‘957, claim 4, col. 28, ll. 28-30);
compile the second quantum computing program using the compiled file of the quantum function obtained from the cache and the generated compiled file of the other quantum function (‘957, claim 4, col. 28, ll. 31-34); and
store the compiled file of the other quantum function in the cache (‘957, claim 4, col. 28, ll. 35-36).
As per claim 25: The system of claim 21, wherein: at least one compiled file stored in the cache is associated with a validity period in connection with calibration of the given quantum computer (‘957, claim 5, col. 28, ll. 37-40); and the quantum computing service is configured to render the at least one compiled file invalid upon a determination of expiration of the validity period (‘957, claim 4, col. 28, ll. 41-43).
As per claim 26: A method (‘957, claim 6, col. 28, l. 44), comprising:
receiving, at a quantum computing service implemented using one or more computing devices, a request comprising a quantum computing program that is to be executed using a quantum computer made accessible by the quantum computing service (‘957, claim 6, col. 28, ll. 45-48);
determining, by the quantum computing service, whether the quantum computing program includes a quantum function that corresponds to a compiled file in a cache, wherein the compiled file is in a format that is executable on the quantum computer (‘957, claim 6, col. 28, ll. 49-53); and
responsive to determining that the quantum computing program includes the quantum function that corresponds to the compiled file in the cache, compiling, by the quantum computing service, the quantum computing program using the compiled file obtained from the cache (‘957, claim 6, col. 28, ll. 54-60); and
providing the compiled quantum computing program to the quantum computer for execution (‘957, claim 6, col. 28, ll. 61-62).
As per claim 27: The method of claim 26, wherein determining whether the quantum computing program includes the quantum function comprises determining whether the quantum computing program references an identifier indicating the quantum function in the cache (‘957, claim 7, col. 28, ll. 63-67).
As per claim 28: The method of claim 26, wherein: the quantum computing program is received from a first client of the quantum computing service; and the compiled file of the quantum function in the cache is associated with an indication specifying that the compiled file of the quantum function is allowed to be used to compile quantum computing programs received from another client of the quantum computing service (‘957, claim 8, col. 29, ll. 1-7).
As per claim 29: The method of claim 26, further comprising:
determining that the quantum computing program includes another quantum function that does not have a corresponding compiled file stored in the cache (‘957, claim 9, col. 29, ll. 9-11);
causing a compiled file of the other quantum function to be generated in the format that is executable on the quantum computer (‘957, claim 9, col. 29, ll. 12-14);
compiling the quantum computing program using the compiled file of the quantum function obtained from the cache and the generated compiled file of the other quantum function (‘957, claim 9, col. 29, ll. 15-18); and
storing the compiled file of the other quantum function in the cache (‘957, claim 9, col. 29, ll. 19-20).
As per claim 30: The method of claim 26, further comprising:
determining that a remaining one or more quantum functions in the quantum computing program have corresponding compiled files stored in the cache (‘957, claim 10, col. 29, ll. 22-24);
obtaining, from the cache, the compiled files of the remaining one or more quantum functions (‘957, claim 10, col. 29, ll. 25-26); and
compiling the quantum computing program using the compiled files of the quantum function and of the remaining one or more quantum functions, obtained from the cache (‘957, claim 10, col. 29, ll. 27-29).
As per claim 31: The method of claim 26, further comprising:
recognizing that at least one compiled file that is stored in the cache is associated with a validity period in connection with calibration of the quantum computer (‘957, claim 11, col. 29, ll. 31-34); and
rendering the at least one compiled file invalid upon a determination of expiration of the validity period (‘957, claim 11, col. 29, ll. 35-36).
As per claim 32: The method of claim 26, wherein: the quantum computer is a quantum computer of a quantum hardware provider, made accessible by the quantum computing service; and at least a portion of the cache that is used to store the compiled file of the quantum function resides in an edge computing device, located at a premise of the quantum hardware provider (‘957, claim 12, col. 29, ll. 37-40).
As per claim 33: The method of claim 26, further comprising:
generating a translated file of the quantum function, based on a translation of the quantum computing program, from a generic representation to a native representation that is specific to the quantum computer (‘957, claim 13, col. 29, ll. 41-46); and
storing the translated file of the quantum function, in the native representation, into the cache (‘957, claim 13, col. 29, ll. 47-48).
As per claim 34: One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing program instructions that, when executed on or across one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to (‘957, claim 14, col. 29, ll. 48-52):
receive, via an interface, a request comprising a quantum computing program that is to be executed using a quantum computer (‘957, claim 14, col. 29, ll. 53-56);
determine whether the quantum computing program includes one or more quantum functions that have corresponding compiled files in a cache, wherein the corresponding compiled files are in a format that is executable on the quantum computer (‘957, claim 14, col. 29, ll. 57-61);
responsive to determining that the quantum computing program includes a given quantum function that has a corresponding compiled file in the cache (‘957, claim 14, col. 29, ll. 62-64),
compile the quantum computing program using the compiled file obtained from the cache (‘957, claim 14, col. 30, ll. 1-3); and
provide the compiled quantum computing program to the quantum computer for execution (‘957, claim 14, col. 30, ll. 4-6).
As per claim 35: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein, to determine whether the quantum computing program includes the one or more quantum functions, the program instructions cause the one or more processors to determine whether the quantum computing program references an identifier indicating at least one of the quantum functions in the cache (‘957, claim 15, col. 30, ll. 7-14).
As per claim 36: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein: the quantum computing program is received from a first client; and the compiled file in the cache is associated with an indication specifying that the compiled file of the given quantum function is allowed to be used to compile quantum computing programs received from another client (‘957, claim 16, col. 30, ll. 15-21).
As per claim 37: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein the program instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
determine that the quantum computing program includes another quantum function that does not have a corresponding compiled file stored in the cache (‘957, claim 17, col. 30, ll. 25-27);
generate a compiled file of the other quantum function in the format that is executable on the quantum computer (‘957, claim 17, col. 30, ll. 28-31);
compile the quantum computing program using the compiled file of the quantum function obtained from the cache and the generated compiled file of the other quantum function (‘957, claim 17, col. 30, ll. 32-35); and
store the compiled file of the other quantum function in the cache (‘957, claim 17, col. 30, ll. 36-37).
As per claim 38: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein the program instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
determine that a remaining one or more quantum functions in the quantum computing program have corresponding compiled files stored in the cache (‘957, claim 18, col. 30, ll. 41-43);
obtain, from the cache, the compiled files of the remaining one or more quantum functions (‘957, claim 18, col. 30, ll. 44-45); and
compile the quantum computing program using the compiled files of the quantum function and of the remaining quantum functions, obtained from the cache (‘957, claim 18, col. 30, ll. 46-48).
As per claim 39: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein the program instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
recognize that at least one compiled file in the cache is associated with a validity period in connection with calibration of the quantum computer (‘957, claim 19, col. 30, ll. 53-56); and
render the at least one compiled file invalid upon a determination of expiration of the validity period (‘957, claim 19, col. 30, ll. 57-58).
As per claim 40: The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 34, wherein: the quantum computer is a quantum computer of a quantum hardware provider, made accessible to the one or more processors executing the program instructions; and at least a portion of the cache that is used to store the compiled file of the quantum function resides in an edge computing device, located at a premise of the quantum hardware provider (‘957, claim 20, col. 30, ll. 58-63).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-40 would be allowable if filed a proper Terminal Disclaimer or rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under Double Patenting set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not teach the combination limitations, comprise: determining, by the quantum computing service, whether the quantum computing program includes a quantum function that corresponds to a compiled file in a cache, wherein the compiled file is in a format that is executable on the quantum computer; responsive to determining that the quantum computing program includes the quantum function that corresponds to the compiled file in the cache, compiling, by the quantum computing service, the quantum computing program using the compiled file obtained from the cache; and providing the compiled quantum computing program to the quantum computer for execution.
Conclusion
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NGHIA M. DOAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2851
/NGHIA M DOAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851
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