DETAILED ACTION
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.
This Office Action is in response to the communication filed on 4/19/2024.
Claims 1-5 are pending for consideration.
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 7/11/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet preferably within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“decryption unit” in claim 1.
“an authentication unit” in claim 2.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof (see Fig. 10 of the Applicant’s specification and paragraphs 00146 and 00150, “In accordance with another aspect of this disclosure, and extra step of processing can be added to the Chacha20 cipher, to be used in the encryption unit 138a, and decryption unit 138b, of each D-transceiver 92, to encrypt/decrypt the packets of D-flows 22.”).
If applicant intends to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrases recited in the claims such as, “Deterministic Receiver”, “Authenticated Encrypted Deterministic Channels”, “deterministic packet switches”, “computer system bus interface”, “Receive-Queues”, “decryption unit”, “Reception Schedule”, “unauthorized data”, “authentication unit”, “message authentication code”, “unauthenticated data”, “authenticated data”, “allowable difference”, “optical-to-electrical”, are unclear if Applicant intends to mean something different than what's known in the art.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 are 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.
Regarding claim 1, this claim recites the limitation “a decryption unit operable to decrypt data that has been received from said forwarding-plane”. It is unclear the data recites in this limitation is the unauthorized data, authorized data or an encrypted data that has not been recited in the claim. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a controller, wherein said controller is operable to receive encrypted data from”. It is unclear the controller is received the encrypted data from the demultiplexer, bus interface unit, first memory, second memory, third memory or forwarding-plane. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “said RX-schedule specifies which RX-queue, if any has a reservation to receive data in each time-slot of said periodic scheduling-frame”. It is unclear that the data recited in this limitation is the encrypted data, decrypted data, unauthorized data, or authorized data. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "forwarding-plane and store said key(s) into said second memory". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "controller provides said secret keys". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein said controller provides…, to decrypt the data associated with each AEDC”. It is unclear that the data recited in this limitation is the encrypted data, decrypted data, unauthorized data, or authorized data. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a deterministic number of time-slot reservations for receiving data in sad periodic scheduling-frame”. It is unclear that the data recited in this limitation is the encrypted data, decrypted data, unauthorized data, or authorized data. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein data which fails the decryption process…will be classified as “unauthorized data”. It is unclear that the data recited in this limitation is the encrypted data, decrypted data, unauthorized data, or authorized data. Clarification is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein data which passes the decryption process, given that Quantum Safe ciphers are used”. It is unclear that the data recited in this limitation is the encrypted data, decrypted data, unauthorized data, or authorized data. Clarification is required.
Dependent claims 2-5 fail to cure this deficiency of independent claim 1 (set forth directly above) and are rejected accordingly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, and Claims Objection set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art has been incorporated into the record and does not disclose, individually or in reasonable combination, the features disclosed in claims 1-5 as a whole.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRANG T DOAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0740. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4 ET.
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/TRANG T DOAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2431