Prior art — US Patent 10877233

I will search the USPTO database for US patent 10877233 and identify the most relevant prior art. Since direct access to the USPTO database for live querying is not available through this interface, I will rely on the provided patent text and the Google Patents citation list to identify prior art and analyze its relevance.

Here's an analysis of the most relevant prior art cited within US patent 10877233:

Prior Art Analysis for US Patent 10877233

The following prior art documents are cited in US Patent 10877233 and are assessed for their potential to anticipate the independent claims (Claims 1, 8, and 15) under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

US20070237464A1: Electrical-optical active optical cable
- Full Citation: US20070237464A1 (Aronson Lewis B)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: October 11, 2007. Filing: April 10, 2006.
- Brief Description: This patent application describes an electrical-optical active optical cable. While it involves active cables, its core innovation lies in the conversion between electrical and optical signals. US10877233B1, in contrast, focuses on active electrical cables with electrical transit signals and pre-equalization.
- Potential Anticipation: Less likely to anticipate Claims 1, 8, or 15 directly, as the primary distinction is the use of optical rather than electrical conductors for the main signal transmission within the cable. However, the general concept of an "active cable" with embedded electronics could be considered a broad precursor to the active Ethernet cable disclosed in US10877233B1.
US20130343400A1: Link training and training frame for 100gbps ethernet
- Full Citation: US20130343400A1 (Lusted Kent C)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: December 26, 2013. Filing: June 22, 2012.
- Brief Description: This reference pertains to link training and training frames specifically for 100 Gbps Ethernet. It describes mechanisms for adapting transmit-side and receive-side equalization filters to combat channel non-idealities during a training phase. US10877233B1 also discusses a training phase during manufacturing to set initial equalization parameters, and the concept of adapting filter coefficients.
- Potential Anticipation: Could potentially anticipate aspects of Claims 8 and 15 related to "characterizing channel characteristics... to determine the transmit filter coefficient values" and "programming the DRR devices to use the transmit coefficient values," if the disclosed training methods in US20130343400A1 are interpreted to inherently involve storing these values. However, the explicit "preset pre-equalization" stored in nonvolatile memories and used upon power-on in US10877233B1 differentiates it.
US20140086264A1: Method for rapid pma alignment in 100gbase-kp4
- Full Citation: US20140086264A1 (Lusted Kent C)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: March 27, 2014. Filing: September 24, 2012.
- Brief Description: This patent application describes a method for rapid Physical Media Attachment (PMA) alignment in 100GBASE-KP4 Ethernet. It deals with lower-level physical layer operations related to signal transmission. While relevant to high-speed Ethernet, it doesn't appear to explicitly disclose the "preset pre-equalization" and storage in nonvolatile memory as a central feature for an active cable's DRR devices.
- Potential Anticipation: Unlikely to directly anticipate the core claims of US10877233B1 due to its specific focus on PMA alignment rather than the broader concept of preset pre-equalization for active electrical cables.
US20140146833A1: Pma-size training frame for 100gbase-kp4
- Full Citation: US20140146833A1 (Lusted Kent C)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: May 29, 2014. Filing: November 29, 2012.
- Brief Description: Similar to US20140086264A1, this reference focuses on PMA-size training frames for 100GBASE-KP4. It addresses training mechanisms at a specific layer of the Ethernet standard.
- Potential Anticipation: Unlikely to directly anticipate the core claims of US10877233B1 for similar reasons as US20140086264A1.
US20150334186A1: Coax Adaptor for Ethernet Physical Layer Transceiver
- Full Citation: US20150334186A1 (Safeciety LLC)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: November 19, 2015. Filing: May 15, 2014.
- Brief Description: This patent application describes a coax adaptor for an Ethernet Physical Layer Transceiver. It focuses on adapting coaxial cable for Ethernet, which involves different cable characteristics and equalization challenges than the twinaxial or twisted-pair conductors described in US10877233B1.
- Potential Anticipation: While dealing with physical layer transceivers and equalization, the specific application to a "coax adaptor" may differentiate it from the active Ethernet cable with preset pre-equalization over twin-axial conductors as claimed in US10877233B1.
US9322704B1: Composite active optical cables
- Full Citation: US9322704B1 (Superior Essex International LP)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: April 26, 2016. Filing: October 18, 2013.
- Brief Description: This patent describes composite active optical cables, again focusing on optical transmission. Like US20070237464A1, it is distinct from the all-electrical nature of the cable in US10877233B1.
- Potential Anticipation: Unlikely to directly anticipate the claims of US10877233B1 due to the primary use of optical fiber for data transmission.
WO2018161273A1: Ethernet link extension method and device
- Full Citation: WO2018161273A1 (Credo Technology Group Ltd.)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: September 13, 2018. Filing: March 8, 2017.
- Brief Description: This international patent application, by the same assignee as US10877233B1, describes an "Ethernet link extension method and device." The description of US10877233B1 explicitly refers to this PCT application regarding auto-negotiation implementation. This suggests a related field of invention. The background of US10877233B1 mentions active Ethernet cables with "hard-wired data recovery and remodulation (DRR) chips in the cable connectors" to offer "affordable high-bandwidth data transport."
- Potential Anticipation: This is a strong candidate for prior art. Given the shared assignee and the description in US10877233B1, it is highly probable that WO2018161273A1 or its national counterparts cover aspects of active Ethernet cables with DRR devices. The extent to which it discloses "preset pre-equalization using transmit filter coefficient values stored in nonvolatile memories" would be key to determining direct anticipation of Claims 1, 8, and 15 of US10877233B1. Further detailed review of WO2018161273A1 would be necessary to confirm exact claim overlap.
US20200280329A1: Active 1:N breakout cable
- Full Citation: US20200280329A1 (Credo Technology Group Limited)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: September 3, 2020. Filing: March 1, 2019.
- Brief Description: This patent application describes an "Active 1:N breakout cable." Breakout cables are explicitly discussed in US10877233B1 as an embodiment (e.g., FIG. 2). While the filing date is prior to US10877233B1, the publication date is after US10877233B1's priority date (June 21, 2019). Therefore, this would only be prior art if it shares a common earlier priority date with US10877233B1 or if its content predates the invention of US10877233B1 through other means (e.g., public disclosure).
- Potential Anticipation: Could anticipate aspects related to active breakout cables, which are an embodiment of US10877233B1. The question of whether it specifically discloses "preset pre-equalization using transmit filter coefficient values stored in nonvolatile memories" would be crucial.
US20200280458A1: Active ethernet cable
- Full Citation: US20200280458A1 (Credo Technology Group Limited)
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: September 3, 2020. Filing: March 1, 2019.
- Brief Description: This patent application is also by the same assignee and is titled "Active ethernet cable," directly aligning with the subject matter of US10877233B1. Similar to US20200280329A1, the publication date is after the priority date of US10877233B1.
- Potential Anticipation: Given the title and shared assignee, this is a very strong candidate for prior art. It likely covers many aspects of active Ethernet cables, and a detailed comparison of its disclosure with the specific claims of US10877233B1 regarding "preset pre-equalization using transmit filter coefficient values stored in nonvolatile memories" would be critical to determine direct anticipation.

Most Relevant Prior Art:

Based on the available information, the following are the most relevant prior art documents:

WO2018161273A1 (Credo Technology Group Ltd.): This is highly relevant due to the shared assignee and the explicit reference in US10877233B1 to it for auto-negotiation. It likely covers foundational aspects of active Ethernet link extension, which could include the architecture of DRR devices and general equalization strategies. The extent to which it teaches "preset transmit filter coefficients stored in nonvolatile memories" is critical for direct anticipation.
US20130343400A1 (Lusted Kent C): This reference is relevant for its discussion of link training and adaptation of transmit/receive equalization filters in high-speed Ethernet, which directly relates to the equalization aspects of US10877233B1.
US20200280458A1 (Credo Technology Group Limited): Although published after the priority date, if it shares an earlier priority date or represents an earlier public disclosure by the same entity, its title "Active ethernet cable" makes it directly relevant to the claimed invention.

A definitive assessment of anticipation would require a detailed claim-by-claim comparison with the full disclosures of these prior art documents.