{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_substrate_denial72_20260805","research_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_light_screen_20260805","cell_id":"constraint_propagation_and_decoupling__computer_science","search_lanes":{"direct_problem_and_intervention":{"queries":["mechanical interlock patch panel network ports prevent incompatible connections","passive mechanical connector interlock multiple sockets mutual exclusion","network patch panel port blocker physical security locking ports","mechanical interlock plug sockets shared capacity token rail"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3"],"no_result_note":null},"synonyms_and_historical_terms":{"queries":["plugboard patchboard interlocking plugs mechanical linkage","telephone switchboard plug mechanical interlock jack exclusion","patent mechanical interlock electrical connector plurality receptacles prevents simultaneous connection","trapped key interlock exchange box multiple keys mechanical sequence manufacturer"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null},"products_practices_and_standards":{"queries":["official guidance malware analysis lab physically isolated network","official keyed LC fiber connector physically prevents improper network connections keyed patch panel","Panduit keyed LC system prevents unauthorized connections network security official","Rockwell trapped key interlock exchange unit"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC3","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null},"component_combination":{"queries":["patent patch panel connection constraints mechanical shutters ports","patent mechanical interlock receptacle only one plug at a time","multiple sockets interlock plate plug insertion patent","mechanical key transfer system mutual exclusion shared resource interlock"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC4"],"no_result_note":null}},"sources":[{"source_id":"SRC1","title":"Guide to Malware Incident Prevention and Handling for Desktops and Laptops (NIST SP 800-83 Rev. 1)","publisher":"National Institute of Standards and Technology","url":"https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/specialpublications/nist.sp.800-83r1.pdf","source_type":"OFFICIAL_GUIDANCE","claims_supported":["Active malware analysis should occur on test systems rather than production hosts to minimize possible damage.","An ideal active-analysis approach places malware on an isolated test system.","Isolation is therefore a visible operational requirement for malware-analysis environments."]},{"source_id":"SRC2","title":"EP2190075A1 — Multi-connector apparatus with connection-sequencing interlock mechanism","publisher":"European Patent Office via Google Patents","url":"https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2190075A1","source_type":"OTHER","claims_supported":["A passive sliding interlock plate can cover selected bays in a multi-connector header and enforce a predetermined insertion and removal sequence.","Insertion of connectors releases detents or blocks plate movement, physically changing which other connector bays are accessible.","The disclosed mechanism is a close mechanical precedent for plug-state-dependent access control across multiple connector bays."]},{"source_id":"SRC3","title":"Securing the Physical Layer Using Keyed Connectivity Solutions","publisher":"Panduit","url":"https://www.panduit.com/content/dam/panduit/en/products/media/6/16/316/8316/110788316.pdf","source_type":"FIRST_PARTY_PRODUCT","claims_supported":["Each physical network connection point can represent a potential security breach.","Keyed LC components mechanically prevent unlike-keyed connectors from mating and are intended to prevent cross-network patching errors.","Lock-in and blockout devices can retain installed connectors or physically block selected ports."]},{"source_id":"SRC4","title":"440T Trapped Key Interlock Exchange Unit Switch","publisher":"Rockwell Automation","url":"https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/products/hardware/safety-products/440t-exchange-unit.html","source_type":"FIRST_PARTY_PRODUCT","claims_supported":["Mechanical exchange units link multiple devices in interlocking sequences and support complex operating sequences.","Units are sold in different primary-key and secondary-key combinations.","Inserting primary keys can simultaneously release multiple secondary keys, providing passive physical propagation of a predefined state condition."]}],"problem_evidence":{"status":"PARTLY_SUPPORTED","finding":"The safety need is visible: NIST calls for isolated malware test systems, while Panduit identifies physical connection points as potential breaches and markets mechanical keying specifically against cross-network patching errors. The retained sources do not establish the prevalence of collective multi-port constraint violations in portable laboratories, nor do they quantify how often such violations remain invisible until an entire patch set is assembled.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC3"]},"closest_prior_art":[{"name":"EP2190075A1 multi-connector connection-sequencing interlock","source_ids":["SRC2"],"overlap":"Uses a passive movable plate, connector-actuated detents, and physical coverage of selected bays to make disallowed connector sequences inaccessible in a multi-bay assembly.","remaining_difference":"It enforces a fixed make-first/break-last sequence and requires plate movement; it does not disclose arbitrary graph-like exclusion propagation, consumable shared-port capacity, removable constraint-separated cassettes, or a passive recomposition gauge."},{"name":"Panduit Keyed LC connectivity, lock-in, and blockout system","source_ids":["SRC3"],"overlap":"Physically prevents specified cross-network mismating and can block selected patch ports without relying on software.","remaining_difference":"Its restrictions are static connector-to-port compatibility and separately installed blockers; one plug does not dynamically close other ports, consume a shared-capacity token, or propagate chained exclusions."},{"name":"Rockwell Automation 440T trapped-key exchange units","source_ids":["SRC4"],"overlap":"Embodies predefined multi-device dependencies and more complex operating sequences in passive mechanical key-exchange hardware, including one-to-many state release.","remaining_difference":"It transfers coded keys between safety devices rather than having network-plug insertion directly propagate shutters and capacity state across sockets; it also lacks the proposed cassette-boundary representation and docking go/no-go test."}],"prior_art_disposition":"ADJACENT_PRIOR_ART","contrastive_claim_remaining":"For a fixed, predeclared constraint table, an insertion-driven passive linkage can automatically make every prohibited multi-port network patch subset physically unreachable, including chained exclusions and finite shared-uplink capacity, while preserving every allowed subset in at least one insertion order and allowing mechanically independent cassettes to be configured separately and recomposed with a passive boundary-pin gauge. The retained art separately shows multi-bay connector sequencing, static keyed network separation, and mechanical multi-device key exchange, but not this combined behavior.","contrastive_claim_falsifier":"The claim is falsified if an earlier public system discloses the combined plug-actuated multi-port constraint propagation, finite-capacity blocking, constraint-respecting cassette separation, and passive recomposition check, or if the proposed fixture permits any prohibited subset, rejects an allowed subset in every insertion order, couples a purportedly independent cassette, or accepts incompatible cassette boundary states.","gates":{"adequate_source_search":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"The bounded search covered the proposal directly, patch-panel and plugboard terminology, connector and trapped-key interlocks, keyed and blocked network-port products, official malware-isolation guidance, patents, and combinations of multi-bay shutters, sequencing, mutual exclusion, and shared-resource tokens. Exactly four opened sources from four publishers were retained, including official guidance and first-party sources.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"]},"supported_problem":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"Official guidance establishes the need for isolated malware test systems, and first-party physical-layer documentation explicitly recognizes cross-network patching errors and connection points as security exposures. Evidence is partial because the sources do not measure the proposal's narrower collective-constraint failure mode.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC3"]},"distinct_testable_claim":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"The remaining claim is operationally distinct from the closest art and can be evaluated against a finite constraint table by observing port accessibility, token state, insertion order, cassette independence, and gauge acceptance.","source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"]},"bounded_next_test":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"The proposed eight-socket nonconductive fixture permits exhaustive testing of all 256 occupancy subsets, relevant insertion orders, cassette recomposition states, insertion force, and 100 manual cycles, with explicit pass conditions and rollback. This is bounded mechanical-feasibility evidence rather than a network deployment.","source_ids":[]},"no_obvious_safety_or_authority_stop":{"status":"PASS","rationale":"The first test is de-energized, nonconductive, bench-bound, subject to guarded reset and force limits, and explicitly excludes live, production, classified, externally routed, and safety-critical networks. The laboratory safety engineer defines the finite constraint set and authorizes only the prototype; separate reviews remain required for deployment.","source_ids":["SRC1"]}},"screen_survival":true,"world_novelty_boundary":"This coarse, bounded public-web search found adjacent prior art but no retained source disclosing the complete combination. It cannot establish world novelty, patentability, freedom to operate, market size, prevalence, expert acceptance, production practicality, or realized safety value; unindexed patents, non-English materials, internal engineering systems, and domain-specific interlock practices may contain closer art."}