DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on 07/05/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending in the application and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 6-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ibars Casas (U.S. Publication 2021/0184795).
Regarding claims 1, 11, and 19, Ibars Casas discloses a method comprising: receiving, at a kernel executing on a parallel-processing unit (PPU), a first plurality of packets from a network interface [paragraphs 0079, 0091, 0095, 0430-0432, 0456; a kernel executing on a parallel processing unit receives packet data from a network interface controller]; extracting, by the kernel, one or more portions of a first digital signal from the first plurality of packets based at least on one or more digital signal processing policies matching the one or more portions of the first digital signal [paragraph 0087; the parallel processing unit extracts data from the incoming signal and performs operations on that data; the policy in this case is either a particular processing of the data that occurs, or simply the fact that any processing occurs; the policy “matches” the signal in that the signal includes data to be processed using the operations; in other words, the policy is that when data is received, it is processed; the signal “matches” the policy in that the signal received includes data that is to be processed]; based at least on the one or more digital signal processing policies, converting, by the kernel, the one or more portions of the first digital signal into a second digital signal using one or more signal-processing techniques [paragraphs 0072, 0074, 0087-0090; the data is converted by performing one or more operations on it; this conversion happens according to the policy as described above]; and transmitting, by the kernel, the second digital signal within a second plurality of packets to the network interface, wherein the second plurality of packets is further forwarded over the network interface to a remote client [Fig. 2; paragraphs 0065, 0079; the system includes uplink and downlink channels for receiving and transmitting data; the parallel processing unit processes data and then sends data to the network interface controller for transmission to remote systems; paragraphs 0430-0432, 0456; the network uses packets to communicate].
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising generating, by the kernel, the second plurality of packets using the second digital signal [Fig. 2; paragraphs 0065, 0079; the system includes uplink and downlink channels for receiving and transmitting data; the parallel processing unit processes data and then sends data to the network interface controller for transmission to remote systems; paragraphs 0430-0432, 0456; the network uses packets to communicate].
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of packets is received from the network interface via at least one of (i) a receive queue associated with the kernel or (ii) shared memory between the PPU and the network interface [paragraphs 0293, 0298; the parallel processor includes a command buffer to hold commands; paragraphs 0082; there is a shared memory connected to the network interface controller and the parallel processor for transferring data].
Regarding claim 7, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of packets is generated by the remote client from the first digital signal [paragraphs 0076, 0079; the remote radio unit sends the data to the parallel processing unit].
Regarding claim 8, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of packets is converted into the second digital signal by the remote client [paragraph 0091; the remote radio unit converts radio signals to be transferred to the network interface controller and the parallel processing unit].
Regarding claim 9, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more signal-processing techniques comprise at least one of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), an inverse FFT, a filter, a transformation, an enhancement technique, an upsampling technique, a downsampling technique, a modulation technique, a denoising technique, an equalization technique, a rate-conversion technique, a stabilization technique, or a compression technique [paragraphs 0070-0072].
Regarding claim 10, Ibars Casas discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first digital signal comprises at least one of an audio signal, an image, a video, or a sensor signal [paragraphs 0155, 0158].
Regarding claim 12, Ibars Casas discloses the one or more PPUs of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise initializing the kernel during a startup of a computing system that includes the one or more PPUs [paragraphs 0084-0085; kernels are initialized on the parallel processing units].
Regarding claim 15, Ibars Casas discloses the one or more PPUs of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise: extracting one or more portions of a third digital signal from a third plurality of packets received from the network interface [paragraph 0087; the parallel processing unit extracts data from the incoming signal]; converting the one or more portions of the third digital signal into a fourth digital signal using one or more additional signal-processing techniques [paragraphs 0072, 0074, 0087-0090; the data is converted by performing one or more operations on it]; and transmitting the fourth digital signal within a fourth plurality of packets to the network interface, wherein the fourth plurality of packets is further forwarded over the network interface to a second remote client [Fig. 2; paragraphs 0065, 0079; the system includes uplink and downlink channels for receiving and transmitting data; the parallel processing unit processes data and then sends data to the network interface controller for transmission to remote systems; paragraphs 0430-0432, 0456; the network uses packets to communicate].
Regarding claim 17, Ibars Casas discloses the one or more PPUs of claim 11, wherein the one or more portions of the first digital signal comprise at least one of a frequency band, a temporal portion of the first digital signal, or a channel [paragraphs 0086, 0093; the processing of the data includes detection of a frequency band as well as channel estimation].
Regarding claim 18, Ibars Casas discloses the one or more PPUs of claim 11, wherein the one or more PPUs comprise a graphics-processing unit (GPU) [paragraph 0067].
Regarding claim 20, Ibars Casas discloses the system of claim 19, wherein converting the one or more portions of the first digital signal into the second digital signal comprises: determining (i) the one or more signal-processing techniques [paragraphs 0072, 0074, 0087-0090; the data is converted by performing one or more operations on it] and (ii) a set of cores of the one or more PPUs based a receive queue associated with the first plurality of packets [paragraphs 0293, 0298; the parallel processor includes a command buffer to hold commands; paragraphs 0082; there is a shared memory connected to the network interface controller and the parallel processor for transferring data]; and executing the one or more signal-processing techniques on the set of cores to convert the one or more portions of the first digital signal into the second digital signal [paragraphs 0072, 0074, 0087-0090; the data is converted by performing one or more operations on it].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ibars Casas in view of Zhong (U.S Publication 2023/0043461).
Regarding claim 3, Ibars Casas does not explicitly disclose matching portions of the incoming signal to corresponding flow entries in a table and operating on the signal based on the matching entries. However, Zhong discloses a system similar to that of Ibars Casas in which packets of data are received over a network and processed. Zhong further discloses [paragraphs 0015-0016, 0033, 0036] a flow-to-core map table in which the incoming signals are mapped to a particular flow and the processing of the signals depends on the mapped flow. Such operation allows for efficient processing of network data and would therefore have been obvious in the system of Ibars Casas.
Regarding claim 4, Ibars Casas in view of Zhong discloses the method of claim 3, wherein converting the one or more portions of the first digital signal into the second digital signal comprises: determining (i) the one or more signal-processing techniques and (ii) a set of processing cores of the PPU based on the one or more flow entries [Zhong, paragraphs 0015-0016, 0033, 0036; the map table determines what processor will operate on the incoming data]; and executing the one or more signal-processing techniques on the set of processing cores to convert the one or more portions of the first digital signal into the second digital signal [Ibars Casas, paragraphs 0072, 0074, 0087-0090; the data is converted by performing one or more operations on it using different hardware].
Regarding claim 5, Ibars Casas in view of Zhong discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the one or more flow entries are defined via a control path associated with the PPU [Zhong, paragraphs 0015-0016, 0033, 0036; the map table determines what processor will operate on the incoming data].
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ibars Casas in view of Official Notice
Regarding claim 14, Ibars Casas does not explicitly disclose encoding the second signal in packets of overlapping portions of the signal. However, the examiner takes official notice that such practice and its benefits were notoriously well known in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the application. Such practice allows for efficient and redundant encoding of data and would therefore have been obvious in the system of Ibars Casas.
Conclusion
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/COREY S FAHERTY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2183
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