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
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsugawa et al. (US10193791B2) in view of Shimizu (US8737836B2).
Regarding claim 1, Nakatsugawa et al. discloses An optical path design device (Fig. 2; Fig. 3; Fig. 1) for designing a path on a basis of a path demand in an optical network including an optical communication path in which one or more time-divided wavelength paths are set, the optical path design device comprising:
a demand acquisition circuitry (Fig. 3; the demand processing unit 51) configured to acquire the path demand (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 35-36; The demand processing unit 51 is a processing unit that analyzes the demand D in response to a demand request) indicating a start point and an end point of communication and a required communication capacity (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 37-41; the demand D includes demand information such as the node 2 that requests use of the optical NW, the starting point and the end point of a port, quality of service (QOS) parameters including a permissible delay and a request bandwidth);
a graph in which a plurality of nodes making up the optical network is connected by an existing edge (Fig. 1; the graph is shown illustrating a plurality of edge nodes and the respective communication links between the nodes) that is an edge indicating a wavelength path to which the path demand can be allocated among wavelength paths set in the optical communication path (Fig. 1; Fig. 8; Column 6, line 63-Column 7,line 1; Column 12, lines 29-34; The wavelength link storage unit 42 is an area in which information of each wavelength link is stored. The wavelength link storage unit 42 manages a section 42A, a free bandwidth amount 42C of each use wavelength 420 in the section 42A, and an operation start time 42D, in association with one another. The calculation unit 52A calculates the optimum route in which the demand is to be accommodated, based on the starting point, the end point, and the QOS parameters in the demand (step S12). The calculation unit 52A specifies the optimum route obtained by the calculation, as the candidate route (step S13)) and a new edge that is an edge indicating a candidate of a wavelength path that can be newly set (Fig. 8; Column 12, lines 41-53; When the demand cannot be accommodated in the sections on the candidate route (No in step S15), the calculation unit 52A checks the bypass route (step S16). The calculation unit 52A calculates the bypass route with the next minimum route cost for the demand (step S17)), and in which a transmission scheme (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 37-41; the demand D includes demand information such as the node 2 that requests use of the optical NW, the starting point and the end point of a port, quality of service (QOS) parameters including a permissible delay and a request bandwidth) and a frequency of a wavelength path (Fig. 1; Fig. 8; Column 6, line 63-Column 7,line 1; The wavelength link storage unit 42 is an area in which information of each wavelength link is stored. The wavelength link storage unit 42 manages a section 42A, a free bandwidth amount 42C of each use wavelength 420 in the section 42A, and an operation start time 42D, in association with one another) and a weight of the edge are set for each edge (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Column 7, lines 11-26; The degree of influence storage unit 43 is an area in which the degree of influence 43B is stored for each section 43A on the optimum route, which is the bypass factor, when it is difficult for the demand to be accommodated in the optimum route to which at least one or more wavelength links are set, and the bypass route accommodates the demand. The degree of influence 43B means the degree of inefficiency of the resource incurred by the section of the bypass factor. The degree of influence of the section becomes larger as the section generates a larger number of demands that are to be accommodated in the bypass route, due to insufficiency of the free bandwidth of the section. Further, the degree of influence 43B is an accumulated value of differences of the route cost between the optimum route and the bypass route, in association with the section on the optimum route, which is the bypass factor);
a search circuitry (Fig. 3; Calculation unit 52A) configured to search for a route from a start point to an end point indicated by the path demand for the graph on a basis of the weight (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Column 8, lines 20-28; The path request unit 54 requests the nodes 2 in the sections on the accommodation route to execute path setting in order to accommodate the demand D in the accommodation route determined in the route determination unit 52C. When the demand D cannot be accommodated in the section on the optimum route in the first decision unit 52B, the calculation unit 52A calculates the bypass route with a next minimum route cost to the optimum route); and
a design circuitry (Fig. 3; the evaluation unit 53A) configured to generate path design information for setting a wavelength path in the optical communication path by the transmission scheme related to the new edge included in the searched route, and for accommodating the path demand in the wavelength path at a frequency related to each edge included in the route (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Fig. 8; Column 8, lines 35-39; Column 13, lines 8-13; The path request unit 54 requests the nodes 2 of the sections on the accommodation route to execute path setting in order to accommodate the demand D in the accommodation route determined in the route determination unit 52C. When the accommodation route of the path setting is not the optimum route for the demand (No in step S22), the evaluation unit 53 stores the section of the bypass factor on the optimum route in the degree of influence storage unit 43 (step S23)).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose a graph generation circuitry configured to generate an auxiliary graph.
Shimizu discloses a graph generation circuitry configured to generate an auxiliary graph (Fig. 2; Fig. 1; Column 6, lines 16-21; The auxiliary graph creating unit 201 creates an auxiliary graph according to a detected current network state. The minimum weight path calculating unit 202 calculates a minimum weight path on the auxiliary graph created by the auxiliary graph creating unit 201, for example, based on the general Dijkstra's algorithm).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add an auxiliary graph creating unit, as taught by Shimizu, in the present system in order to simplify complex path setups by converting multidimensional constraints—such as wavelength availability, traffic demand, bypass path—into a mathematically tractable optimization problem. Such a modification would facilitate efficient path calculation and selection while also providing convenience for the users.
Regarding claim 4, the present combination discloses The optical path design device according to claim 1, as described and applied above, wherein the graph generation circuitry sets the transmission scheme of the new edge to a transmission scheme for which a difference between a transmission distance and a distance of a wavelength path related to the new edge is the smallest among a plurality of transmission schemes (Shimuzu, Fig. 18; Column 15, lines 28-33; Assuming that traffic that has arrived is for communication from vs ϵ Vrouter to vd ϵ Vrouter (s≠d) with bandwidth b (bps), a path on which the increment in power consumption will become smallest (a minimum weight path) may be obtained by searching paths from node vEs,in to node vEd,out on the auxiliary graph, for example, using the Dijkstra's algorithm (In Dijkstra’s algorithm, the distance is the total sum of all edge weights along the entire path)).
Regarding claim 5, the present combination discloses The optical path design device according to claim 1, as described and applied above, wherein the graph generation circuitry sets the weight on a basis of the transmission scheme or the frequency (Nakatsugawa et al., Fig. 4; Fig. 8; Fig. 9; Column 14, lines 10-22; After adding the wavelength link to the nodes 2 related to the section of the bypass factor, the control unit 52D updates the wavelength link information in the wavelength link storage unit 42 (step S37). Further, the control unit 52D deletes and updates the section of the bypass factor and the degree of influence from the degree of influence storage unit 43 (step S38)).
Regarding claim 6, the present combination discloses The optical path design device according to claim 5, as described and applied above, wherein the graph generation circuitry unit provides the new edge for each transmission scheme or each frequency (Shimizu, Fig. 18; the generated auxiliary graph is shown with each wavelength), and the search circuitry unit searches for a route including a combination of edges having a smallest weight (Shimizu, Fig. 18; Column 15, lines 34-41; regarding a path from physical node 2 to physical node 4, a minimum weight path from vE2,in to vE4,out is searched. After the minimum weight path has been obtained, new lightpaths to be set are then obtained by tracing the obtained path. That is, a new lightpath to be set is obtained by selecting a longest continuous path segments within a new lightpath candidate layer of the same wavelength, from the obtained minimum weight path on the auxiliary graph).
Regarding claim 7, the present combination teaches a device that necessarily perform this method claim in light of the rejection as described and applied in Claim 1.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsugawa et al. (US10193791B2) and Shimizu (US8737836B2) in view of Valkanis et al. (Optica Publishing Group, 2021) and Machine Learning Lecture Notes (2021).
Regarding claim 2, the present combination discloses The optical path design device according to claim 1, as described and applied above.
However, the present combination does not expressly disclose reinforcement learning using a reward and state of the optical network simulated by a simulator that simulates a state of the optical network.
Valkanis et al. discloses reinforcement learning using a reward (Fig. 1; Page 26, left column, third paragraph; Page 27, left column, first paragraph; the traffic prediction (TP) system takes as input traffic measurements at the IP layer and uses reinforcement learning tools to create traffic matrices describing the predicted load for a specific period. The reinforcement-learning (RL) algorithms are constantly trained through the feedback offered by comparing their predictions with the real traffic values in the network (Reinforcement learning is the problem of getting an agent to act in the world so as to maximize its rewards. (see, Machine Learning Lecture Notes, Page 14, section, 1.5.3 Reinforcement learning, second paragraph)) and state of the optical network simulated by a simulator that simulates a state of the optical network (Fig. 3; Page 30, right column, Section, D. Evaluation of TPULA Mechanism Prediction Accuracy, first paragraph; the accuracy of the proposed TPULA mechanism was evaluated through simulations, using real traffic matrices from the GEANT core network).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the machine learning in the present combination in order to optimize the system setting using collected data from past experience and to predict the result.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsugawa et al. (US10193791B2) and Shimizu (US8737836B2) in view of Tanna et al. (US8768167B2).
Regarding claim 3, the present combination discloses The optical path design device according to claim 1, as described and applied above.
However, the present combination does not expressly disclose weight on a basis of a distance of the wavelength path.
Tanna et al. discloses weight on a basis of a distance of the wavelength path (Fig. 4; Column 5, lines 41-44; the RWA algorithm uses link weights such as geographic distance, preference for certain route paths, link exclusions, site exclusions, or any other user defined weights to distinctively rank the routes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add weight on a basis of a distance. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because reducing distance helps to reduce physical signal loss and prevents signal distortion over long optical fiber links.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsugawa et al. (US10193791B2) and Shimizu (US8737836B2) in view of Medhi (Von Neumann Architecture, 2012).
Regarding claim 8, Nakatsugawa et al. discloses the process comprising (Fig. 2; Fig. 3; Fig. 1):
acquiring the path demand (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 35-36; The demand processing unit 51 is a processing unit that analyzes the demand D in response to a demand request) indicating a start point and an end point of communication and a required communication capacity (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 37-41; the demand D includes demand information such as the node 2 that requests use of the optical NW, the starting point and the end point of a port, quality of service (QOS) parameters including a permissible delay and a request bandwidth);
generating a graph, in which a plurality of nodes making up the optical network is connected by an existing edge (Fig. 1; the graph is shown illustrating a plurality of edge nodes and the respective communication links between the nodes) that is an edge indicating a wavelength path to which the path demand can be allocated among wavelength paths set in the optical communication path (Fig. 1; Fig. 8; Column 6, line 63-Column 7,line 1; Column 12, lines 29-34; The wavelength link storage unit 42 is an area in which information of each wavelength link is stored. The wavelength link storage unit 42 manages a section 42A, a free bandwidth amount 42C of each use wavelength 420 in the section 42A, and an operation start time 42D, in association with one another. The calculation unit 52A calculates the optimum route in which the demand is to be accommodated, based on the starting point, the end point, and the QOS parameters in the demand (step S12). The calculation unit 52A specifies the optimum route obtained by the calculation, as the candidate route (step S13)) and a new edge that is an edge indicating a candidate of a wavelength path that can be newly set (Fig. 8; Column 12, lines 41-53; When the demand cannot be accommodated in the sections on the candidate route (No in step S15), the calculation unit 52A checks the bypass route (step S16). The calculation unit 52A calculates the bypass route with the next minimum route cost for the demand (step S17)), and in which a transmission scheme (Fig. 3; Fig. 1; Column 7, lines 37-41; the demand D includes demand information such as the node 2 that requests use of the optical NW, the starting point and the end point of a port, quality of service (QOS) parameters including a permissible delay and a request bandwidth) and a frequency of a wavelength path (Fig. 1; Fig. 8; Column 6, line 63-Column 7,line 1; The wavelength link storage unit 42 is an area in which information of each wavelength link is stored. The wavelength link storage unit 42 manages a section 42A, a free bandwidth amount 42C of each use wavelength 420 in the section 42A, and an operation start time 42D, in association with one another) and a weight of the edge are set for each edge (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Column 7, lines 11-26; The degree of influence storage unit 43 is an area in which the degree of influence 43B is stored for each section 43A on the optimum route, which is the bypass factor, when it is difficult for the demand to be accommodated in the optimum route to which at least one or more wavelength links are set, and the bypass route accommodates the demand. The degree of influence 43B means the degree of inefficiency of the resource incurred by the section of the bypass factor. The degree of influence of the section becomes larger as the section generates a larger number of demands that are to be accommodated in the bypass route, due to insufficiency of the free bandwidth of the section. Further, the degree of influence 43B is an accumulated value of differences of the route cost between the optimum route and the bypass route, in association with the section on the optimum route, which is the bypass factor);
searching for a route from a start point to an end point indicated by the path demand for the graph on a basis of the weight (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Column 8, lines 20-28; The path request unit 54 requests the nodes 2 in the sections on the accommodation route to execute path setting in order to accommodate the demand D in the accommodation route determined in the route determination unit 52C. When the demand D cannot be accommodated in the section on the optimum route in the first decision unit 52B, the calculation unit 52A calculates the bypass route with a next minimum route cost to the optimum route); and
generating path design information for setting a wavelength path in the optical communication path by the transmission scheme related to the new edge included in the searched route, and for accommodating the path demand in the wavelength path at a frequency related to each edge included in the route (Fig. 4; Fig. 3; Fig. 8; Column 8, lines 35-39; Column 13, lines 8-13; The path request unit 54 requests the nodes 2 of the sections on the accommodation route to execute path setting in order to accommodate the demand D in the accommodation route determined in the route determination unit 52C. When the accommodation route of the path setting is not the optimum route for the demand (No in step S22), the evaluation unit 53 stores the section of the bypass factor on the optimum route in the degree of influence storage unit 43 (step S23)).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose generating an auxiliary graph.
Shimizu discloses generating an auxiliary graph (Fig. 2; Fig. 1; Column 6, lines 16-21; The auxiliary graph creating unit 201 creates an auxiliary graph according to a detected current network state. The minimum weight path calculating unit 202 calculates a minimum weight path on the auxiliary graph created by the auxiliary graph creating unit 201, for example, based on the general Dijkstra's algorithm).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add an auxiliary graph creating unit, as taught by Shimizu, in the present system in order to simplify complex path setups by converting multidimensional constraints—such as wavelength availability, traffic demand, bypass path—into a mathematically tractable optimization problem. Such a modification would facilitate efficient path calculation and selection while also providing convenience for the users.
The present combination, however, does not expressly disclose A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute processes.
Medhi discloses A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Fig. 2.1; the memory) storing a program for causing a computer to execute processes (Fig. 2.1; Page 1, last paragraph; Page 2, third paragraph; the computer’s memory is used to store program instructions and data. Once the program is in the memory, the operation system then schedules the CPU to begin executing the program instructions. Each instruction to be executed must first be retrieved from memory).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system software on a computer-readable storage medium (or the processor and memory). The motivation would have been to fully automate the communication system that runs on computer software.
Conclusion
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JAI M. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 2634
/JAI M LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2634
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