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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claims 1, 2, 3, and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al (US 2022/0029797) in view of Tomita et al. (US 2019/0190707), and further in view of Maeda et al. (US 8,204,231), and further in view of Khan (US 2015/0213433).
Regarding claims 1, 10, and 11, Tanaka teaches a key management server device (and corresponding system and method) comprising processing circuitry configured to:
Receive a quantum key distribution (QKD) key, and store the QKD keys in memory (Key management server device is configured to share a bit string by quantum key distribution (i.e., bit string received by router and stored in storage control module. Key management server supplies encryption key to router. Please note that the “router” of Tanaka is being interpreted as the key management server device) – see abstract, figure 2, and figure 6)
Identify QKD keys to be specified as targets for shaping processing with a partner key management server device, by exchanging identification information of the QKD keys with the partner management server device (Router requests encryption key with key length specified, and key management server device supplies key identifier – see figure 4).
Based on the identification information of the QKD keys, the key is identical with the partner key management server device (Request encryption key having same length as packet – see figure 6).
Perform shaping processing for shaping key lengths of QKD keys to a fixed length by performing the division of the QKD key or the coupling of the QKD key with the part of the QKD key that is not used in previous shaping processing (Key management server devices transmit and receive a control signal for generating the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key, for example, a key identifier for identifying each key and a length of key- see [0024]. When receiving a request to read the encryption key having a specified key length from the encryption processing module, the storage control module of the router reads the encryption key having the specified key length from the storage and inputs the encryption key and the key identifier to the encryption processing module) – see [0030].
Tanaka does not teach that the key is generated through a key distillation process for QKD.
Tomita teaches that in QKD, a key distillation process is executed for the quantum cryptographic key transmitted from the sender to the recipient which includes error correction, and confidentiality enhancement.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tanaka by generating the key using QKD key distillation in order to enhance confidentiality and correct errors, based upon the beneficial teachings provided by Tomita. These modifications would result in better security for the system.
Tanaka and Tomita do not teach that the QKD keys are received from a number of key generation nodes and stored in respective memories.
Maeda teaches multiple keys being transmitted from multiple nodes and stored in respective memories – see abstract, figures 1a and 2, and column 3 lines 10-28.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tanaka and Tomita by receiving multiple keys from multiple key generation nodes and storing them in respective memories, in order to manage the keys easily and stably (see column 3 lines 24-28), based upon the beneficial teachings provided by Maeda. These modifications would result in better key management for the system.
Tanaka, Tomita, and Maeda do not teach performing numbering in such a way that order of dividing a QKD is identical with the partner device (or coupling a QKD key with a part of a QKD key that is not used on a previous shaping processing).
Khan teaches that for longer length keys, more keysets may be generated, for example, by incrementing a counter, and concatenating and dividing up keysets in appropriate sized keys in the same order – see [0104].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tanaka, Tomita, and Maeda by incrementing a counter in order to generate the matching key size, based upon the beneficial teachings provided by Khan. These modifications would result in better key management for the system.
Regarding claim 2, Tanaka teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to provide the QKD shaped keys shaped to have the fixed length, to a user application (the routers encrypt and decrypt packets and forward them to the network - see figure 6).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka teaches that the identification information of the QKD keys contains identifiers of the QKD keys (see figure 5 which shows key identifier and key value). In addition, Maeda teaches multiple keys being transmitted from multiple nodes – see figures 1a and 2. Therefore, the combination of Tanaka and Maeda reasonably suggests that the identifier would include identifiers of the key generation node that generated the QKD keys.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Tanaka, Maeda, and Khan reasonably suggests:
The processing circuitry is configured to identify with the partner key management server device, QKD keys each stored in one of the plurality of memories (Maeda teaches multiple keys each stored on nodes/storage – see abstract, figures 1a and 2, and column 3 lines 10-28. Tanaka teaches key identifiers – see figure 4).
The identification information of the QKD keys contains identifiers of the QKD keys and identifiers of key generation nodes that generate the QKD keys (See Tanaka figure 4 key identifiers and Maeda figures 1a and 2. The combination reasonably suggests that the node and the key would be identified)
The processing circuitry is configured to perform the division (or the coupling) in the order, on QKD keys having an identical identifier of a key generation node contained in identifiers of the QKD keys (Tanaka teaches the division of the key to the desired key length – see [0030] and identification of keys – see figure 4. Maeda teaches the multiple nodes – see figures 1a and 2. And Khan teaches processing the keys in the same order based on a counter – see [0104].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claims 4-6: The prior art teaches requesting the numbering (see Tanaka figure 4 – specify key length), sending the identification information (see Tanaka figure 4 – key identifier) the ordering/numbering/counter to make identical as discussed above regarding Khan. However, the prior art does not teach or suggest the limitations of claim 4 as a whole. For example, the prior art does not teach or suggest receiving a notification from the partner key management server device that the QKD key identified by the identification information exists, in combination with the other claim limitations.
Claims 7-8 are also 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claims 7-8: The prior art teaches the plurality of nodes/memories from Maeda, as discussed above, as well as the order of keys, from Khan, as discussed above. However, the prior art does not teach or suggest the limitations of claim 7 as a whole. For example, the prior art does not teach or suggest sequentially referring to the plurality of memories according to specification order information indicating order of reading, and identifying the QKD keys to be specified as the targets for the shaping processing, in combination with the other claim limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA C LEWIS whose telephone number is (571)270-7724. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7am-2pm.
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, Farid Homayounmehr can be reached at 571-272-3739. 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.
/LISA C LEWIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2495