DETAILED ACTION
This Non Final Office Action is in response to Application filed on 06/27/2024.
Claims 1-20 filed on 06/27/2024 are being considered on the merits.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings filed on 06/27/2024 are accepted.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. 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.
Claim 17 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 17, the phrase "cannot" render the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). The above phrase may suggest optionality, which can make a claim vague and difficult to enforce. Examiner recommends amending the limitation to “…responsive to determining that a first node is not operation or not able to be communicated with, calculating an alternative route that does not include the first node.”
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, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6-9, 11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Ozaki teaches a method for distributing random bitstreams for cryptographic key generation within a mesh network (Ozaki Figure 1 [0030] “The user [1] 107 distributes the plurality of pieces of distributed data 106 to a plurality of nodes (terminal node [1] 109, relay node [1] 111) and sends the distributed data to the quantum encryption communication network 120. The plurality of pieces of distributed data 106 is divided into a plurality of nodes (terminal node [2] 113, relay node [2] 114) after passing through the intermediate node 112, and is transmitted from each branch destination to the user [2] 115.”, Figure 1 120 illustrates mesh network where random data bit streams are distributed), the method comprising:
[[[generating random bitstreams at a plurality of nodes within the mesh network, wherein the plurality of nodes comprises at least two of the following types: terrestrial stations, satellites, or high-altitude aircraft]];
communicating the generated random bitstreams between the plurality of nodes to create a distributed pool of random bitstreams within the mesh network (Ozaki [0030] and Figure 1 illustrates distributing and communicating the random pieces of data 106 to different nodes within the mesh network 120);
transmitting at least a subset of the distributed pool of random bitstreams to at [[least two]] communication endpoints (Ozaki [0047-0049] and Figure 3 illustrates communicating generated prices of random data 106 (second random number key [1] and second random number key [2]) to endpoint 115);
independently from each other, generating a cryptographic key at the at least two communication endpoints using the transmitted at least a subset of the distributed pool of random bitstreams (Ozaki [0094, 0095] disclose each endpoint user 107 and 115 calculate the random number key independently based on 106 as disclosed in [0032]); and
establishing a secure communication channel between the at least two communication endpoints using the generated cryptographic key (Ozaki [0052] “The distribution/restoration unit 108 of the user [1] 107 delivers the generated or acquired random number key 102 to the encryption module (314), while the distribution/restoration unit 108 of the user [2] 115 also delivers the generated random number key 102 to the encryption module (315). The encryption module of the user [1] 107 encrypts the plaintext data 101 by using the received random number key 102 and transmits the encryption data 103 to the user [2] 115 via the Internet network 105 (316). On the other hand, the encryption module of the user [2] 115 decrypts the encryption data 103 received from the user [1] 107 via the Internet network 105 into the plaintext data 101 by using the random number key 102 received from the distribution/restoration unit 108 (317).”).
Ozaki does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Whelan discloses generating random bitstreams at a plurality of nodes within the mesh network (Whelan Col. 11 line 5-14 “Derivation of the initial-security key for the spot beam based authentication may use Diffie-Hellman techniques using agreed upon and well known public primitive root generator “g” and prime modulus “p”. The initiating device and the peer device each choose a random secret integer and exchange their respective ((g^(secret integer)) mod p). This exchange allows the initiating device and peer device to derive the shared initial-secret key using Diffie-Hellman.”), wherein the plurality of nodes comprises at least two of the following types: terrestrial stations, satellites, or high-altitude aircraft (Whelan (Col. 12 line 14-42 “The subject matter of this application is described primarily in the context of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites such as those implemented by Iridium satellites. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described here are readily applicable to other satellite systems, e.g., medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite systems or geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite systems…FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a satellite-based communication system 300, according to embodiments. In practice, a satellite based communication system 300 may comprise of at least one satellite 310 in orbit. In the interest of brevity, a single satellite is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments a system 300 comprises one or more satellites 310 in communication with one or more receiving devices 320. In some embodiments the satellites 310 may be embodied as LEO satellites such as those within the Iridium satellite constellation. Satellite(s) 310 orbit the earth in a known orbit and may transmit one or more spot beams 330 onto the surface of the earth in a known pattern. Each spot beam 330 may include information such as pseudorandom (PRN) data and one or more distinctive beam parameters (e.g. time, satellite ID, time bias, satellite orbit data, etc.). Receiving device(s) 320 may be implemented as communication devices such as satellite or cellular phones”, Col. 13 line 5-6 “…the receiving device 320 may be airborne, e.g., in an aircraft 325.”);
transmitting at least a subset of the distributed pool of random bitstreams to at least two communication endpoints (Whelan Col. 13 line 14-36 “The system depicted in FIG. 4C illustrates an embodiment in which two (or more) peer devices 320 may implement a two-way authentication technique to authentication each other. Referring briefly to FIG. 4C as described above a satellite 310 in orbit transmits one or more spot beams 330 onto the earth's surface. A first receiving device 320A may be configured to receive a signal from the spot beam. The first receiving device 320A may be configured to derive a security key, e.g., using a Diffie-Helman approach as described above, which incorporates PRN data from the spot beam. The PRN data is also transmitted to a second device 320B. In some embodiments the second device 320B may be outside the spot beam 330, in which case the PRN data may be transmitted by a computing device 440 coupled to the second device 320B via a communication network. The computing device 440 may be communicatively coupled to the satellite 310. By way of example, and not limitation, the computing device 440 may be a server that is separately coupled to the satellite 310 via a communication link. The computer 440 may be associated with a control network for satellite 310 and may thereby possess PRN data associated with the spot beam 330.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki to incorporate the teaching of Whelan to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of securing identifications of claimants using significant random number generators involving sensing, from sensors on a spacecrafts/satellites, a physical phenomenon, as recognized by (Whelan Col. 5 line 29-32 ).
Regarding claim 8, claim 8 recites similar limitations to claim 1, therefore rejected with the same rationale and motivation applied to claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, claim 15 recites similar limitations to claim 1, therefore rejected with the same rationale and motivation applied to claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 1.
Ozaki does not disclose the below limitation.
Whelan discloses wherein a first and second of the at least two communication endpoints are satellites in geosynchronous orbit and are both nodes in the mesh network (Whelan Col. 12 line 14-42 “The subject matter of this application is described primarily in the context of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites such as those implemented by Iridium satellites. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described here are readily applicable to other satellite systems, e.g., medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite systems or geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite systems…FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a satellite-based communication system 300, according to embodiments. In practice, a satellite based communication system 300 may comprise of at least one satellite 310 in orbit. In the interest of brevity, a single satellite is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments a system 300 comprises one or more satellites 310 in communication with one or more receiving devices 320. In some embodiments the satellites 310 may be embodied as LEO satellites such as those within the Iridium satellite constellation. Satellite(s) 310 orbit the earth in a known orbit and may transmit one or more spot beams 330 onto the surface of the earth in a known pattern. Each spot beam 330 may include information such as pseudorandom (PRN) data and one or more distinctive beam parameters (e.g. time, satellite ID, time bias, satellite orbit data, etc.). Receiving device(s) 320 may be implemented as communication devices such as satellite or cellular phones”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki to incorporate the teaching of Whelan to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of securing identifications of claimants using significant random number generators involving sensing, from sensors on a spacecrafts/satellites, a physical phenomenon, as recognized by (Whelan Col. 5 line 29-32 ).
Regarding claim 4, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 3, wherein communicating the generated random bitstreams comprises using quantum key distribution protocols to securely transmit the random bitstreams between nodes (Ozaki [0026] “…the quantum encryption communication network 120, a plurality of nodes each having a quantum key delivery function are coupled in a mesh shape in some sections or all sections.”, [0041] “Note that for internal data exchange between the QKD devices in each node for quantum key delivery in the quantum encryption communication network 120 (i.e. mesh network), such as data exchange between the QKD device 209 and the QKD device 210 in the relay node [1] 111, for example, it is assumed that some confidentiality protection measure is separately performed.”, where the random pieces of data 106 is communicated though the mesh network and is protected ).
Regarding claim 6, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising encrypting the transmitted at least a subset of the distributed pool of random bitstreams using a previously established secure channel before sending to the communication endpoints (Ozaki [0041] “Note that for internal data exchange between the QKD devices in each node for quantum key delivery in the quantum encryption communication network 120 (i.e. mesh network), such as data exchange between the QKD device 209 and the QKD device 210 in the relay node [1] 111, for example, it is assumed that some confidentiality protection measure is separately performed.”, where the random pieces of data 106 is communicated though the mesh network and is protected ).
Regarding claim 7, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 1.
Ozaki does not disclose the below limitation.
Whelan discloses wherein the mesh network comprises a combination of geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellites and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites (Whelan Col. 12 line 14-42 “The subject matter of this application is described primarily in the context of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites such as those implemented by Iridium satellites. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described here are readily applicable to other satellite systems, e.g., medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite systems or geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite systems…FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a satellite-based communication system 300, according to embodiments. In practice, a satellite based communication system 300 may comprise of at least one satellite 310 in orbit. In the interest of brevity, a single satellite is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments a system 300 comprises one or more satellites 310 in communication with one or more receiving devices 320. In some embodiments the satellites 310 may be embodied as LEO satellites such as those within the Iridium satellite constellation. Satellite(s) 310 orbit the earth in a known orbit and may transmit one or more spot beams 330 onto the surface of the earth in a known pattern. Each spot beam 330 may include information such as pseudorandom (PRN) data and one or more distinctive beam parameters (e.g. time, satellite ID, time bias, satellite orbit data, etc.). Receiving device(s) 320 may be implemented as communication devices such as satellite or cellular phones”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki to incorporate the teaching of Whelan to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of securing identifications of claimants using significant random number generators involving sensing, from sensors on a spacecrafts/satellites, a physical phenomenon, as recognized by (Whelan Col. 5 line 29-32 ).
Regarding claim 9, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 8, wherein the cryptographic key generated at the communication endpoints is a symmetric key used for encrypting and decrypting messages (Ozaki [0052] “The distribution/restoration unit 108 of the user [1] 107 delivers the generated or acquired random number key 102 to the encryption module (314), while the distribution/restoration unit 108 of the user [2] 115 also delivers the generated random number key 102 to the encryption module (315). The encryption module of the user [1] 107 encrypts the plaintext data 101 by using the received random number key 102 and transmits the encryption data 103 to the user [2] 115 via the Internet network 105 (316). On the other hand, the encryption module of the user [2] 115 decrypts the encryption data 103 received from the user [1] 107 via the Internet network 105 into the plaintext data 101 by using the random number key 102 received from the distribution/restoration unit 108 (317).”, where key 102 is used for encryption and decryption, i.e. symmetric key).
Regarding claim 11, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 8.
Ozaki does not disclose the below limitation.
Whelan discloses wherein the mesh network comprises high-altitude balloons, airplanes or drones (Whelan Col. 12 line 14-42 “The subject matter of this application is described primarily in the context of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites such as those implemented by Iridium satellites. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described here are readily applicable to other satellite systems, e.g., medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite systems or geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite systems…FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a satellite-based communication system 300, according to embodiments. In practice, a satellite based communication system 300 may comprise of at least one satellite 310 in orbit. In the interest of brevity, a single satellite is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments a system 300 comprises one or more satellites 310 in communication with one or more receiving devices 320. In some embodiments the satellites 310 may be embodied as LEO satellites such as those within the Iridium satellite constellation. Satellite(s) 310 orbit the earth in a known orbit and may transmit one or more spot beams 330 onto the surface of the earth in a known pattern. Each spot beam 330 may include information such as pseudorandom (PRN) data and one or more distinctive beam parameters (e.g. time, satellite ID, time bias, satellite orbit data, etc.). Receiving device(s) 320 may be implemented as communication devices such as satellite or cellular phones”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki to incorporate the teaching of Whelan to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of securing identifications of claimants using significant random number generators involving sensing, from sensors on a spacecrafts/satellites, a physical phenomenon, as recognized by (Whelan Col. 5 line 29-32 ).
Claims 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1) and Low (US 20230232220 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 1.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not disclose the below limitation.
Low discloses wherein the generating of random bitstreams at the plurality of nodes comprises using quantum phenomena (Low [0030] “QRNG system 130 may include a set of QRNG appliances. Each QRNG appliance may generate a stream of quantum random numbers based on quantum phenomena. For example, each QRNG appliance may include a set of detectors that measure values for parameters associated with a particular quantum phenomenon…”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Low to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of generating random numbers that cannot be predicted because they are fundamentally random utilizing quantum events, as recognized by (Low [0015] ).
Regarding claim 10, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 8.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Low discloses wherein the secure communication channel established is used for financial transactions (Low [0030] discloses “…generate a stream of quantum random numbers based on quantum phenomena…”, [0001, 0026] further discloses device connection for financial transaction with higher degree of security).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Low to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of having higher degree of security to safeguard the financial transactions, as recognized by (Low [0001] ).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1) and McGinley (US 20240073253 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the method of claim 1.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
McGinley discloses wherein the method further comprises selecting, at the communication endpoints, a subset of the distributed pool of random bitstreams to use in generating a cryptographic key based on synchronization signals within the mesh network (McGinley “[0064] Another resource adaptive protocol may be using knowledge of shared functionality 742 between the sending node and the receiving node. For example, the shared functionality may be time synchronization between the sending node and the receiving node. The time synchronization may be used to select a seed to generate the same encryption key (e.g., a symmetric key) that is shared data for both the sending node 710 and receiving node 750.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of McGinley to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of providing precise time synchronization between sending and receiving nodes to implicitly derive initial values for low overhead encryption, as recognized by (McGinley [0021] ).
Claims 12-14 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1) and Ji (US 20150163840 A1)
Regarding claim 12, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 8.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the mesh network is configured to perform operations to automatically establish connections between nodes by executing a discovery protocol that identifies neighboring nodes based on signal strength and node capacity (Ji (US 20150163840 A1) [0045] Discovery component 410 can employ various existing or potential discovery protocol associated with identifying a LAN or personal area network (PAN) in order to identify a device serving as a cellular network access point. In an aspect, discovery component 410 can activate a WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. transceiver of device 400 to scan for and identify one or more other devices emitting WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. signals indicating their respective identities as a cellular network access point devices. The signals can also include information indicating signal strengths of the cellular connections of the respective devices, information indicating connection parameters for connecting to the respective devices, and/or information regarding their respective ability to service cellular data communications for device 400 (e.g., based on load capacity or battery level of the respective devices). Discovery component 410 can also determine strengths of signals received from the respective devices.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Ji to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing network load during crowded events, as recognized by (Ji Abstract ).
Regarding claim 13, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 12.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the discovery protocol comprises operations of broadcasting beacon signals from nodes, with other nodes responding to the beacons to establish bidirectional communication links based on received signal quality indicators (Ji (US 20150163840 A1) [0045] Discovery component 410 can employ various existing or potential discovery protocol associated with identifying a LAN or personal area network (PAN) in order to identify a device serving as a cellular network access point. In an aspect, discovery component 410 can activate a WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. transceiver of device 400 to scan for and identify one or more other devices emitting WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. signals indicating their respective identities as a cellular network access point devices. The signals can also include information indicating signal strengths of the cellular connections of the respective devices, information indicating connection parameters for connecting to the respective devices, and/or information regarding their respective ability to service cellular data communications for device 400 (e.g., based on load capacity or battery level of the respective devices). Discovery component 410 can also determine strengths of signals received from the respective devices.”, [0046] “…discovery component 410 can send out a request beacon requesting any surrounding devices that are serving as cellular network access points to respond and identify themselves. The request beacon can include request the surrounding devices to provide information regarding signal strengths of the cellular connections of the respective devices, information indicating connection parameters for connecting to the respective devices, and/or information regarding their respective ability to service cellular data communications for device 400 (e.g., based on load capacity or battery level of the respective devices). Discovery component 410 can receive and process responses to the request beacon containing the information requested. Discovery component 410 can also determine strengths of signals received from the respective devices in response to the response beacon.”, [0047] “…local connection component 404 can facilitate connecting device 400 to a device, identified by discovery component 410”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Ji to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing network load during crowded events, as recognized by (Ji Abstract ).
Regarding claim 14, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the system of claim 12.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the discovery protocol further comprises an exchange of node capability data, including available bandwidth and power resources (Ji (US 20150163840 A1) [0045] Discovery component 410 can employ various existing or potential discovery protocol associated with identifying a LAN or personal area network (PAN) in order to identify a device serving as a cellular network access point. In an aspect, discovery component 410 can activate a WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. transceiver of device 400 to scan for and identify one or more other devices emitting WiFi and/or Bluetooth.TM. signals indicating their respective identities as a cellular network access point devices. The signals can also include information indicating signal strengths of the cellular connections of the respective devices, information indicating connection parameters for connecting to the respective devices, and/or information regarding their respective ability to service cellular data communications for device 400 (e.g., based on load capacity or battery level of the respective devices). Discovery component 410 can also determine strengths of signals received from the respective devices.”, [0019] “the cellular network can mediate selection of a subset of UEs present at a crowded event to serve as cellular network access points. According to this aspect, the cellular network can assign devices as cellular network access points based on a variety of factors, such as battery life, signal strength, location and network congestion...The cellular network can also favor selection of user devices with better signal strength than others because UEs consume significantly more energy and suffer reduced effective bit rate when the signal strength is poor.”, where bandwidth is associated with the network congestion and bit rate).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Ji to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing network load during crowded events, as recognized by (Ji Abstract ).
Regarding claim 16, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 15.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the operations further comprise executing a reconfiguration protocol that reroutes data transmission paths in response to node unavailability, maintaining network connectivity by identifying alternative pathways through operational nodes (Ji [0016] “…The connection sharing scheme involves having devices that have successfully established direct data connections with the cellular network open up their connections for sharing with other devices in their vicinity. Accordingly, some of the UEs present at a crowded event can act as cellular network access points for other UEs in their vicinity.”, [0018], and [0056] “…device 500 can automatically switch in and out of the role of a cellular network access point depending on cellular network conditions (e.g., network load as associated with a crowded event). For example, in an aspect, when local connection component 404 cannot establish an indirect connection to the cellular network via another device serving as a cellular network access point, network connection component 406 can establish a direct cellular data connection with the cellular network. At this time, device 500 can elect to or automatically become a cellular network access point for other devices. According to this aspect, the user of device 500 can have previously authorized device 500 to automatically be enabled as a cellular network access point device. Still in other aspects, discussed infra, the cellular network can facilitate and/or control when and how long device 500 serves as a cellular network access point.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Ji to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing network load during crowded events and device unavailability, as recognized by (Ji Abstract ).
Regarding claim 17, Ozaki in view of Whelan and Ji teaches the non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 16.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the operations of executing the reconfiguration protocol comprises monitoring an operational status of the nodes within the mesh network, and responsive to determining that a first node is not operation or cannot be communicated with, calculating an alternative route that does not include the first node (Ji [0016] “…The connection sharing scheme involves having devices that have successfully established direct data connections with the cellular network open up their connections for sharing with other devices in their vicinity. Accordingly, some of the UEs present at a crowded event can act as cellular network access points for other Ues in their vicinity.”, [0018], and [0056] “…device 500 can automatically switch in and out of the role of a cellular network access point depending on cellular network conditions (e.g., network load as associated with a crowded event). For example, in an aspect, when local connection component 404 cannot establish an indirect connection to the cellular network via another device serving as a cellular network access point, network connection component 406 can establish a direct cellular data connection with the cellular network. At this time, device 500 can elect to or automatically become a cellular network access point for other devices. According to this aspect, the user of device 500 can have previously authorized device 500 to automatically be enabled as a cellular network access point device. Still in other aspects, discussed infra, the cellular network can facilitate and/or control when and how long device 500 serves as a cellular network access point.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Ji to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing network load during crowded events and device unavailability, as recognized by (Ji Abstract ).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1), Ji (US 20150163840 A1) and Meredith (US 20210281438 A1).
Regarding claim 18, Ozaki in view of Whelan and Ji teaches the non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 17.
Ozaki in view of Whelan and Ji does not disclose the below limitation.
Meredith teaches wherein the operations of calculating the alternative route comprises utilizing a consensus mechanism among neighboring nodes to collaboratively select a new routing path (Meredith [0051] “The administrative component 200 can facilitate an agreement between neighboring access point devices that allows one access point device (e.g., access point device 214) to utilize the other access point device (e.g., access point device 306) in the case of one of the access point device (e.g., access point device 214) failing. The administrative component 200 can leverage the agreement to execute connectivity based on the agreement. For example, because the agreement has been performed in advance, if the first access point fails (e.g., access point device 214), it can know that there is a second access point (e.g., access point device 306) that it can leverage for communication with the UE 102 by establishing a tunnel through to the second access point (e.g., access point device 306) via the second access point device's ISP 302 (e.g., wired and/or wireless). “).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Ji to incorporate the teaching of Meredith to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of selecting a rout in response to a failed or failing device, as recognized by (Meredith [0051] ).
Claims 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1), Ji (US 20150163840 A1), Meredith (US 20210281438 A1) and Baptist (US 20180018222 A1).
Regarding claim 19, Ozaki in view of Whelan, Ji and Meredith teaches the non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 18.
Ozaki does not explicitly disclose the below limitation.
Ji discloses wherein the operations of executing the reconfiguration protocol comprises employing a weighted routing algorithm that utilizes the current network load, node energy levels, and [[historical reliability data]] to select the new routing path (Ji [0019] “…the cellular network can mediate selection of a subset of UEs present at a crowded event to serve as cellular network access points. According to this aspect, the cellular network can assign devices as cellular network access points based on a variety of factors, such as battery life, signal strength, location and network congestion. User devices serving as cellular network access points for other devices can experience high energy drain and may run out of battery power. To cater for this issue, the devices that serve as access points can periodically rotate among the pool of devices located at the crowded event, as direct by the cellular network. The cellular network can also favor selection of user devices with better signal strength than others because UEs consume significantly more energy and suffer reduced effective bit rate when the signal strength is poor. In an aspect, the cellular network can provide billing based incentives to users for participating in an opportunistic cellular connection sharing scheme.”).
Ozaki in view of Whelan, Ji and Meredith not disclose the below limitation.
Baptist discloses wherein the operations of executing the reconfiguration protocol comprises employing a weighted routing algorithm that utilizes…historical reliability data to select the new routing path (Baptist discloses [0042] “…the sending DS processing unit 102 determines one or more of communications requirements (e.g., a reliability level) and routing path quality of service information (e.g., reliability history, a future reliability estimate). The sending DS processing unit 102 selects a set of routing paths of the plurality of routing paths to produce a selected set of routing paths based on the communications requirements and the routing path quality of service information. ”, [0043] “The sending DS processing unit 102 determines a path assignment scheme based on the communications requirements and the routing path quality of service information.”, in e.g. claim 7 “ selecting the particular alternate routing path based, at least in part, on historical reliability of data transmissions between the relay unit and a processing unit in the particular alternate routing path.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Ji to incorporate the teaching of Baptist to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of selecting a rout that satisfies a performance threshold, as recognized by (Baptist ).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki (US 20230336330 A1) in view of Whelan (US 9465582 B1) and Osann (US 20070153817 A1).
Regrading claim 20, Ozaki in view of Whelan teaches the non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 15.
Ozaki in view of Whelan does not disclose the below limitation.
Osann discloses wherein the mesh network's nodes use directional antennas to establish focused communication beams (Osann [0081] “FIG. 12 demonstrates how directional or sector antennas can be utilized to focus a relatively narrow beam of radiated energy 1202 traveling between buildings 1103 to implement the communications link between relay radios 1201 on adjacent mesh nodes 1203. As shown, each directional antenna can be adapted to have a horizontal beam width of less than 90 degrees. In this manner, each mesh node may cover less than the entire horizontal 360 degrees in order to focus and reduce the waste of radiation into certain unwanted directions. In some embodiments, each directional antenna can be focused to have a horizontal beam width of less than 45 or even less than 30 degrees so as to further increase effectiveness of the network.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ozaki in view of Whelan to incorporate the teaching of Osann to utilize the above feature, with the motivation of reducing the waste of radiation into certain unwanted directions, as recognized by (Osann [0081] ).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Chan (US 20240403448 A1) discloses distributing portions of randomly generated system access key across nodes of the secure database network.
Sun (US 20240406004 A1) discloses radio access network node authentication using radio resource control signal messages.
Ajtai (US 20070189515 A1) discloses computing the public and the private key using a number of random bits that distributed among a plurality of participants.
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/BASSAM A NOAMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2497