DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is responsive to Applicant' s amendment filed May 9, 2025.
The objections to amended claims 1, 7 and 8 are withdrawn in view of the amendment of the claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant' s argument regarding the 35 USC 102 over Lelic et al. and 103 over Lelic et al. and further in view of Kajiya et al. rejections of claims have been considered but are not persuasive. Applicant argues, the limitation “wherein the optical attenuation amount is controlled to be more than a predetermined optical attenuation amount when an intensity of an optical signal having a minimum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals is less than an intensity of an optical signal having a maximum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals, the optical attenuation amount is controlled to be equal to the predetermined optical attenuation amount when an intensity of an optical signal having a minimum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals is equal to an intensity of an optical signal having a maximum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals, and the optical attenuation amount is controlled to be less than the predetermined optical attenuation amount when an intensity of an optical signal having a minimum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals is more than an intensity of an optical signal having a maximum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals.” Kajiya et al. teach with reference to the operation of the optical amplifier of Figs. 5 and 9, that the gain inclination control unit (16) (corresponding to processor in the claims of the instant Application) controls a gain inclination (tilt) to an optimum value by adjusting the attenuation of an output signal light attenuated by the variable optical attenuator (VOA 4), according to a gain inclination detected by the gain inclination detecting unit (7), which has detected the maximum wavelength and minimum wavelength from the wavelength-multiplexed signal light that is output from the optical amplifier ( 8th col. lines 59-67 and 9th col. lines 1-4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The clause “the at least one processor further configured to include the gain characteristic” appears to be incomplete, as the rest of the claim does not actually perform an action based on the gain characteristic (e. g. measuring; compare with the clause earlier in the claim, “wherein the at least one processor further configured to detect the tilt characteristic..”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 5 , 7-8 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lelic et al. (US 6,535,330) in view of Kajiya et al. (US 7,034,993).
With regard to claim 1, Lelic et al. disclose a method of operating an optical amplifier (see Fig. 1), comprising:
detecting a tilt characteristic, based on intensities of at least two optical signals (using photodiodes 41a and 41b) among a plurality of optical signals multiplexed into a wavelength division multiplexed optical signal (note that the two optical signals may be any signals in the spectrum, 5th col. lines 8-10);
attenuating an intensity of the wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical signal by an optical attenuation amount (with VOA (20) );
amplifying the attenuated wavelength division multiplexed optical signal, based on a gain characteristic associated with an intensity of the attenuated wavelength division multiplexed optical signal (gain determined by ratio circuit 26, gain transmitted to VOA control circuit 22, 3rd col. lines 53-64)); and
controlling the optical attenuation amount, based on the tilt characteristic and the gain characteristic (control circuit 22 and adjustment circuit 52 control VOA based on gain and tilt respectively, see also 4th col. lines 1-7,12-17, and 55-60).
Lelic et al. do not specifically disclose that the tilt characteristic is based on an intensity of an optical signal having a minimum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals and an intensity of an optical signal having a maximum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kajiya teach an optical amplifier with tilt control (Fig. 5), wherein the tilt measurement (gain inclination detection) is based on intensities of optical signals of a shortest wavelength and a longing wavelength of a wavelength-multiplexed signal (Fig. 3, 8th col. lines 59-67 and 9th col. lines 1-4). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, e. g. an optical engineer, before the effective filing date of the invention, to choose the wavelengths to be measured in the tilt controller and its method of operation, to be the shortest wavelength and a longing wavelength of a wavelength-multiplexed signal, since computing the tilt is based on dividing by the difference in wavelengths, so the accuracy of the measured tilt is improved by choosing wavelengths at the extremes of the multiplex wavelength signal range.
With regard to claim 5, the processor is further configured to control the optical attenuation so that the tilt of the amplified WDM optical signal is within a predetermined tilt range (such as shown in Lelic, Fig 4).
With regard to claim 7, Lelic discloses an optical coupler (37) is configured to branch a part of the WDM signal, and the processor (tilt set point circuit 50) is further configured to detect the tilt characteristic.
With regard to claim 8, the minimum and maximum wavelengths are obtained by a filter (Kajiya, 9th col. lines 4-6).
With regard to claims 10 and 11, Lelic et al. disclose as part of an optical equalizing amplifier (Fig. 1), a microprocessor configured to perform a method of operating an optical amplifier (4th col. lines 8-11). It is inherent that a microprocessor has at least one memory (non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing instructions (a program) and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions. Lelic discloses the method of operating an optical amplifier, comprising:
detecting a tilt characteristic, based on intensities of at least two optical signals (using photodiodes 41a and 41b) among a plurality of optical signals multiplexed into a wavelength division multiplexed optical signal (note that the two optical signals may be any signals in the spectrum, 5th col. lines 8-10);
attenuating an intensity of the wavelength division multiplexed optical signal by an optical attenuation amount (with VOA (20) );
amplifying the attenuated wavelength division multiplexed optical signal, based on a gain characteristic associated with an intensity of the attenuated wavelength division multiplexed optical signal (gain determined by ratio circuit 26, gain transmitted to VOA control circuit 22, 3rd col. lines 53-64)); and
controlling the optical attenuation amount, based on the tilt characteristic and the gain characteristic (control circuit 22 and adjustment circuit 52 control VOA based on gain and tilt respectively, see also 4th col. lines 1-7,12-17, and 55-60).
Lelic et al. do not specifically disclose that the tilt characteristic is based on an intensity of an optical signal having a minimum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals and an intensity of an optical signal having a maximum wavelength among the plurality of optical signals. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kajiya teach an optical amplifier with tilt control (Fig. 5), wherein the tilt measurement (gain inclination detection) is based on intensities of optical signals of a shortest wavelength and a longing wavelength of a wavelength-multiplexed signal (Fig. 3, 8th col. lines 59-67 and 9th col. lines 1-4). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, e. g. an optical engineer, before the effective filing date of the invention, to choose the wavelengths to be measured in the tilt controller and its method of operation, to be the shortest wavelength and a longing wavelength of a wavelength-multiplexed signal, since computing the tilt is based on dividing by the difference in wavelengths, so the accuracy of the measured tilt is improved by choosing wavelengths at the extremes of the multiplex wavelength signal range.
Claim(s) 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lelic et al. and Kajiya as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kelkar et al. (US 2002/0159135). Neither Lelic nor Kajiya specifically disclose that the processor is further configured to store an attenuation table associating the tilt characteristic, the gain characteristic and the optical attenuation amount with one another, and select the optical attenuation amount from the attenuation table, based on the tilt characteristic and gain characteristic. However, using a table of pre-calculated values of characteristic gain and tilt to determine control settings was well-known in the optical amplifier art; Kelkar teaches setting control parameters based on the gain and tilt characteristics obtained from a look-up table associating the values (para. [0112]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, e. g. an optical engineer, before the effective filing date of the invention, to apply the teaching of Kelkar to use a table to associate the values of gain, tilt characteristics and the optical attenuation amount to set by the optical equalizer of Lelic as modified by Kajiya, to avoid complex and lengthy calculations to obtain the optical attenuation.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to ERIC L BOLDA whose telephone number is 571-272-8104. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 8:30am to 5pm.
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/ERIC L BOLDA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645