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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-10 are pending.
Priority
Applicant’s priority claims to PCT/US2019/067533 and provisional applications 62/841,644 and 62/782,810 are acknowledged.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The specification at ¶24 recites “This Application also claims priority to Portuguese provisional number [number not yet received from Portugal INPI as of filing date] filed on December 16, 2019”. However, no foreign priority claim or application has been filed and no amendment regarding the missing filing date has been submitted.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Regarding claim 3, the claim recites “publicizing a successive cancellation decoder”. However, the specification does not describe the procedure involved in this method step and therefore, does not enable a skilled artisan to make and use the invention, as claimed.
Regarding claim 7, the claim recites “and the generator matrix G is tuned”. However, the specification does not describe tuning the generator matrix G and therefore, does not enable a skilled artisan to make and use the invention, as claimed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 4-6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by “Physical Layer Encryption Algorithm Based on Polar Codes and Chaotic Sequences” by Lu et al. (Lu) (subject matter of the claimed invention disclosed in PCT/US2019/067533, filed 12/19/2019).
Regarding claim 1, Lu discloses a method for a computer (physical layer security provided on a wireless communication channel, p. 4381, ¶1) to provide physical-layer security in data transmission (PLS, p. 4381, ¶1), comprising: obtaining a pattern of frozen bit locations (p. 4384, equation (6),
x
1
N
=
u
1
N
G
N
(
A
)
⊕
u
A
c
G
N
(
A
c
)
, where
u
A
c
represents the location of the frozen bits); obtaining a message word (information bits
u
A
, p. 4384, §III-B); applying the pattern of frozen bit locations to the message word to generate a frozen-modified message word (modify plaintext sequence by chaotic sequences
Q
i
to obtain
P
i
, p. 4385, equation (12) having both message word bit locations and frozen bit locations (chaotic sequences contain frozen and information bits, p. 4385, equation (11)); multiplying the frozen-modified message word by a generator matrix G to generate a frozen-encoded word (ciphertext
C
i
is obtained from
P
i
and codeword
U
i
, p. 4385, equations (13) and (14)); and transmitting the frozen-encoded word on a data transmission medium (transmission on channel , p. 4386, Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 2, Lu discloses sharing, with an intended recipient, the pattern of frozen bit locations (frozen bits are known to the receiver when decoded, p. 4384, §C, ¶1; see also p. 4380, §I, ¶3, showing frozen bits are known to both parties and p. 4385 “the legitimate receiver extracts the same key, so the same chaotic sequence
Q
i
and initial sequence
P
0
are generated”).
Regarding claim 4, Lu discloses wherein applying the pattern of frozen bit locations comprises assigning a randomly generated value (chaotic sequences are pseudorandom, p. 4382, §II-B, ¶1) to one or more of the frozen bit locations (apply chaotic sequences to frozen bits, p. 4383, §III-A, ¶1 and p. 4383, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Lu discloses wherein the pattern of frozen bit locations is configured to allow a successive cancellation decoder tuned to a transmission channel (SC decoder decodes
U
i
'
to
P
i
, based on channel, where the error of the channel is represented by
Z
i
, p. 4385, right column; see also p. 4386, Fig. 8) to remove a level of errors from the received word (
Z
i
is within error correction range of the channel, thus errors are removed to apply the chaotic sequence, p. 4385, right column; see also p. 4386, Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 6, Lu discloses wherein the generator matrix G is a square matrix (
G
N
denotes a matrix of size (order)
N
×
N
, p. 4383, (4)) with both dimensions equal to the length of the frozen-modified message word (
u
1
N
denotes a code word of size N, p. 4384, (6); see also p. 4384, §C, ¶1 and (10)).1
Regarding claim 10, Lu discloses a method for a computer to provide physical-layer security in data transmission (physical layer security provided on a wireless communication channel, p. 4381, ¶1), comprising: obtaining a pattern of frozen bit locations (frozen bits, represented by chaotic sequences, p. 4385, equation (11)); receiving a received message word (ciphertext
C
i
, p. 4385, equation (15)); applying a successive cancellation decoder to the received message word to generate a successive-cancellation-decoded message word (SC decoder used to obtain sequence
P
i
, p. 4385, paragraph following equation (17)); applying the pattern of frozen bit locations to remove the frozen bits from the successive-cancellation-decoded message word to generate a decoded message word (
M
i
'
=
P
i
⊕
Q
i
⊕
Q
i
, p. 4385, equation (18)).
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu, as applied to claim 1, in view of “Samsung Licenses 5G Polar Coding Technology Developed by UC San Diego Engineers” by Kane.
Regarding claim 3, Lu lacks publicizing a successive cancellation decoder. However, Kane teaches that polar codes have been ratified as part of the 5G standard (p. 1), using a decoding algorithm based on successive-cancellation (p. 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lu to include publicizing a successive cancellation decoder. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to enable a particular decoding to be known as part of standardization efforts, as taught by Kane.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu, as applied to claim 1, in view of “Crypto Polar Codes based on Pseudorandom Frozen Bits Values and Indices “ to El-Sakka et al. (El-Sakka) and US 2007/0237332 A1 to Lyle.
Regarding claim 8, Lu lacks secretively sharing the pattern of frozen bit locations with a desired recipient. However, El-Sakka teaches increasing security in polar coding (p. 160, §I, ¶1, ¶3; see also p. 162, §IV, ¶2) by generating the frozen bits and locations using a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG, p. 162, ¶1; see also p. 162, Fig. 2), where the PRNG is primed using seeds (secret keys, p. 162, ¶3, Fig. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lu to share the pattern of frozen bit locations with a desired recipient by establish a shared seed enabling secure shared knowledge of the frozen bit locations, as taught by El-Sakka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to increase security, as taught by El-Sakka. As modified, Lu is silent regarding secretly sharing the pattern. However, Lyle teaches producing the same secret value on both sides of a communication using a PRNG by initializing both sides with the same seed (¶87) and teaches that the seeds can be shared through a key exchange function, such as employing a very secure channel between the source and recipient or delivering the key securely to both sides (exchanging secretively) (¶88). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Lu such that the pattern of frozen bit locations is shared secretively with a desired recipient. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to utilize a known method of establishing a common key on either side of the communication, as taught by Lyle.
Regarding claim 9, Lu lacks secretively sharing with a desired recipient a seed for setting bit values or at least one of the frozen bit locations; and using that seed to set bit values at frozen bit locations. However, El-Sakka teaches increasing security in polar coding (p. 160, §I, ¶1, ¶3; see also p. 162, §IV, ¶2) by generating the frozen bits and locations using a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG, p. 162, ¶1; see also p. 162, Fig. 2), where the PRNG is primed using seeds (secret keys, p. 162, ¶3, Fig. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lu to share a seed for setting bit values or at least one of the frozen bit locations and use that seed to set bit values at frozen bit locations, as taught by El-Sakka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to increase security, as taught by El-Sakka. As modified, Lu is silent regarding secretly sharing the seed. However, Lyle teaches producing the same secret value on both sides of a communication using a PRNG by initializing both sides with the same seed (¶87) and teaches that the seeds can be shared through a key exchange function, such as employing a very secure channel between the source and recipient or delivering the key securely to both sides (exchanging secretively) (¶88). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Lu such that the seed is shared secretively with a desired recipient. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to utilize a known method of establishing a common key on either side of the communication, as taught by Lyle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20180351693 A1 (JANG; Min et al.) teaches polar encoding, including agreeing on the position and location of frozen bits between a transmitter and receiver (¶62).
“Probabilistically shaped multi-level coding with polar codes for fading channels” (İşcan, Onurcan, Ronald Böhnke, and Wen Xu) teaches an
N
×
N
matrix and codeword = length
N
(p. 3) (relevant to claim 6).
“Polar coding for the general wiretap channel” (Y. -P. Wei and S. Ulukus) teaches that an eavesdropper Eve’s signal is degraded (channel noise) compared to legitimate receiver Bob (§1) (relevant to claim 7).
“Frozen Bit Selection Scheme for Polar Coding Combined with Physical Layer Security” (H. Cao, M. Johnston and S. le Goff) teaches an eavesdropper’s signal degraded compared to an intended recipient (second to last page, §III) (relevant to claim 7) and teaches feedback to Alice from Bob regarding frozen bits as a way to agree on frozen bits (second to last page, §III) (relevant to claims 8-9).
“How to achieve the capacity of asymmetric channels” (Mondelli, Marco, Rüdiger Urbanke, and S. Hamed Hassani) teaches “First, consider Gallager’s mapping and let W′ be defined as in (9). Then, if we use polar codes in order to achieve the symmetric capacity of W′, the values of the frozen bits have to be chosen randomly and shared between the transmitter and the receiver.”)(p. 25, §E) (relevant to claims 8-9).
US 20200021979 A1 (Segev; Jonathan et al. ) teaches “In some embodiments, a random seed may be exchanged before the measurement phase, for example, in the negotiation phase between the transmitter and receiver. The random seed may be sent by an encrypted protocol. Using the same random seed, the transmitter and the receiver may generate the same sounding sequence synchronously” (¶98) (relevant to claims 8-9).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J SIMITOSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-3841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:00-3:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carl Colin can be reached at 571-272-3862. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Simitoski/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2493
October 30, 2025
1 US 20190268094 A1 (GE; YIQUN et al.) is also cited for teaching polar encoding, where a polar code having codewords of length
N
=
2
m
and a generator matrix of size (order)
2
m
, denoted by
G
2
⨂
m
, such that, for example, a codeword of size 8 utilizes a generator matrix of order 8 (¶¶31-32).
See also US 20170353193 A1 (Jang; Min et al.), ¶47.