Prior art

The current task is being conducted as of April 26, 2026. Please note a minor chronological discrepancy: previous sections of this analysis were generated with a "Today's date" of 2026-05-23. This difference in date does not impact the prior art analysis, as the relevant dates for prior art determination (publication and priority dates of the cited patents) are static.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 7904686

The following patent citations for US7904686 have been reviewed to identify the most relevant prior art for potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102. The assessment of anticipation is based on available titles and abstracts; a conclusive legal determination would require a full review of each patent's specification and claims. The core innovation of US7904686 involves applying a mapping function to data block numbers contained in a file's index node (inode) to derive mapped addresses for data in a storage device, thereby enhancing data security by obfuscating the actual physical locations.

Here are the details for each cited patent:

1. US7430585B2

• Full Citation: US7430585B2, titled "Secure processing unit systems and methods".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-08-20; Publication Date: 2008-09-30.
• Brief Description: This patent describes systems and methods for secure processing units. It focuses on isolating sensitive information and processes within a secure environment, potentially through architectural means, rather than specifically on file system block remapping. The abstract mentions memory partitions and secure processing.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While broadly related to data security, the abstract of US7430585B2 does not explicitly disclose applying a mapping function to file system inode data block numbers to derive mapped physical addresses for security purposes. Therefore, direct anticipation of the specific mechanism of US7904686's claims is not clearly indicated from the title and abstract. It may be relevant for broader concepts of data security in computing systems, but its focus appears more on hardware-based security and memory isolation.

2. US20040153718A1

• Full Citation: US20040153718A1, titled "Stored memory recovery system".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-10-19; Publication Date: 2004-08-05.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for recovering data from stored memory, particularly after system failures or data corruption. It might involve knowledge of how data blocks are organized and addressed for recovery purposes, but its primary focus is on integrity and recovery rather than security through obfuscation.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The focus on "recovery" suggests an understanding of data storage organization but does not directly teach applying a mapping function to inode data block numbers to obscure physical addresses for security against unauthorized access. Thus, it is unlikely to directly anticipate the core security mechanism of US7904686.

3. US20030120938A1

• Full Citation: US20030120938A1, titled "Method of securing software against reverse engineering".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-11-27; Publication Date: 2003-06-26.
• Brief Description: This patent describes methods to prevent reverse engineering of software. Techniques often involve obfuscating code, data, or program flow. The abstract discusses converting program instructions into a different format and using a virtual machine to execute them. While this specifically mentions instruction transformation, the general goal of securing software against unauthorized analysis aligns with obfuscating data locations.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant. If Mullor's method of "securing software against reverse engineering" involves transforming or mapping the logical addresses of software components (which could be analogous to data block numbers from an inode) to different physical storage addresses to prevent reconstruction or unauthorized access, it could potentially anticipate the core elements of Claims 1, 9, 17, and 18 of US7904686. Claims 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, which elaborate on read/write operations, the nature of the mapping function, complexity levels, and prevention of copying, would also be potentially anticipated if the fundamental mapping for security is disclosed. A detailed review of US20030120938A1's specification would be crucial to determine if it explicitly teaches the file system specific elements (inode data block numbers) and the purpose of securing data files in this manner.

4. US20070250719A1

• Full Citation: US20070250719A1, titled "Digital information protecting method and apparatus, and computer accessible recording medium".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-03-19; Publication Date: 2007-10-25.
• Brief Description: This patent broadly covers methods and apparatuses for protecting digital information on computer-readable recording media. The abstract mentions dividing digital information into multiple units and storing redundant information across different storage media for fault tolerance and recovery, which also helps protect against loss or unauthorized access.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While focused on "digital information protecting," the abstract highlights redundancy and distributed storage for fault tolerance and recovery, which are distinct from the security-through-obfuscation mechanism of US7904686. It does not explicitly mention applying a mapping function to inode data block numbers to obscure physical addresses on a single storage device for security against direct inode access. Thus, direct anticipation of US7904686's specific claims is not evident.

5. US7024583B2

• Full Citation: US7024583B2, titled "Method and apparatus for detecting file system corruption".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-10-31; Publication Date: 2006-04-04.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a method for detecting corruption in a file system by maintaining a directory tree cache and comparing it against the actual directory structure. This involves an understanding of file system structures like inodes and data blocks for integrity checking.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is relevant to file system operation and data block management, but its objective is "detecting file system corruption," not providing data security by obfuscating data block addresses using a mapping function. It does not appear to anticipate the specific security mechanism of US7904686.

6. US20060080520A1

• Full Citation: US20060080520A1, titled "Memory overflow management".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-10-07; Publication Date: 2006-04-13.
• Brief Description: This patent addresses memory overflow issues, typically related to buffer overflows and preventing malicious code execution or data corruption by managing memory access. The abstract describes monitoring memory allocation and usage to detect potential overflows.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on memory protection at a programmatic level to prevent overflows, which is distinct from the file system block remapping for data security described in US7904686. It does not appear to anticipate any of the claims of US7904686.

7. US20080022396A1

• Full Citation: US20080022396A1, titled "Memory data protection device and IC card LSI".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2006-05-30; Publication Date: 2008-01-24.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a device for protecting data in memory, especially in contexts like IC cards. The abstract mentions providing a secure region in memory for storing cryptographic key data and controlling access to this region.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference directly concerns "memory data protection." If it teaches a method of protecting data by remapping or obfuscating the addresses of data blocks in memory (which serves as a storage device) using a function, and if this function is applied to block numbers that are part of a file system-like structure or logical data organization, it could potentially anticipate the core aspects of Claims 1, 9, 17, and 18. However, the explicit link to "index node" (inode) in a general file system context is not clear from the abstract.

8. US20080034264A1

• Full Citation: US20080034264A1, titled "Dynamic redundancy checker against fault injection".
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2006-07-12; Publication Date: 2008-02-07.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for detecting faults caused by malicious fault injection, using dynamic redundancy checking. Its focus is on fault tolerance and integrity against attacks, often at a hardware or low-level software layer.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is directed toward fault detection and tolerance, not the specific method of obfuscating file system data block addresses for security against unauthorized copying as taught by US7904686. It is unlikely to anticipate any of the claims.

Based on this analysis, US20030120938A1 (Mullor) appears to be the most relevant prior art for potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, given its explicit focus on "securing software against reverse engineering," a goal that aligns closely with US7904686's aim of preventing unauthorized reconstruction of files by obscuring their data block locations. The specific mechanisms would need to be compared in a full patent review.