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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed June 12, 2026, have been considered. The previous §112 rejections are withdrawn in view of the amendments are arguments directed to the same. However, Applicant’s arguments regarding the previous §103 rejections are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments focus on the newly recited limitations in the claims, specifically “wherein the reflectivity of the electrochromic device is adjusted based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator.” Applicant asserts that Yeo (US 2019/0146296) “does not disclose the claimed feature that the voltage controller determines a degree of attenuation by adjusting reflectivity of the electrochromic device based on measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator” (page 8 of the Reply). Applicant argues that Yeo teaches only general variable attenuation concepts, but not the specifically claimed features (page 8 of the Reply).
However, Yeo teaches, e.g., paragraph [0046],
a variable optical attenuator 100 may monitor a portion of optical power of input light using an electrochromic device having a transflective property that may adjust a reflectivity and a transmissivity by controlling a voltage and a light absorptivity. In addition, the variable optical attenuator 100 may adjust an intensity of light to be attenuated, or interchangeably referred to as an attenuation intensity of light to be output, by controlling a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device based on a result of the monitoring, and by adjusting the reflectivity and the transmissivity;
also paragraph [0064],
it is possible to attenuate output optical power of light to be reflected or transmitted after the light is input to an electrochromic device by adjusting a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device and changing a light absorptivity without a physical movement of a device configured to adjust an amount, or an intensity, of light;
both sections teaching and suggesting that the degree of attenuation provided by the electrochromic device is determined by adjusting reflectivity of the electrochromic device based on measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator; see also paragraphs [0007] and [0084]; and paragraph [0090] which teaches that “the variable optical attenuator may monitor input optical power by adding, between the lens 720 and the reflective electrochromic device 700, a filter 730 configured to split a portion of the input light and an optical detector 740 . . . [and] may adjust a reflectivity of the reflective electrochromic device 700 based on a result of the monitoring,” reasonably describing adjusting reflectivity of the electrochromic device based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator.
Applicant further argues that, despite the above-quoted teachings of Yeo, the previous rejection was based on “a selective reconstruction of scattered disclosures” of Yeo (page 8 of the Reply). This is further not persuasive. The cited portions of Yeo are related to the same or similar optical attenuation systems. For example, in the Summary section of Yeo, paragraphs [0008]–[0010] teach that “[t]he electrochromic device may attenuate an intensity of the input light by controlling a reflectivity and a transmissivity of the input light based on an element included in the electrochromic device and a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device” (suggesting that the reflectivity is controlled by a voltage) and “the variable optical attenuator may further include an optical detector configured to monitor a portion of the input light transmitted from the electrochromic device” and “the voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device may be determined based on a result of the monitoring of the light transmitted from the electrochromic device” (suggesting that the reflectivity is controlled based on a measurement or monitoring of the input light) and also that the monitoring of the input light as “monitoring total optical power of the input light by monitoring a portion of the optical power through a filter or a splitter” (suggesting that the monitored input light is monitored for optical power). All of these teachings together appear to reasonably combine to teach that the reflectivity of the electrochromic device is adjusted based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator. That is, these teachings of Yeo appear essentially the same as the newly claimed “wherein the reflectivity of the electrochromic device is adjusted based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator.”
Accordingly, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive, and the previous §103 rejections are maintained, modified in view of the amendments to the claims, as discussed above and set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6–9, and 13–16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0146296 to Yeo et al.
Regarding Claim 1, Yeo discloses (e.g., at least Fig. 7 and paragraphs [0087]–[0091]) a telecommunications network optical attenuator (e.g., paragraph [0003], variable optical attenuator is widely used in optic communication system) comprising an electrochromic device 700, wherein the optical attenuator is configured to reflect or refract an input optical signal using the electrochromic device (“the reflective electrochromic device 700 may control a reflectivity or reflectance of the input light and attenuate an intensity of the reflected light based on a voltage to be applied thereto,” paragraph [0088]), and wherein the electrochromic device is configured to provide adjustable optical attenuation levels (“the variable optical attenuator may monitor input optical power [and] may adjust a reflectivity of the reflective electrochromic device 700 based on a result of the monitoring,” paragraph [0090]; also see paragraph [0075]).
Yeo would have rendered obvious a voltage controller, wherein the voltage controller is configured to apply a voltage to the electrochromic device (e.g., ”reflective electrochromic device 700 may control a reflectivity or reflectance of the input light and attenuate an intensity of the reflected light based on a voltage to be applied thereto,” paragraph [0088], reasonably suggesting a “voltage controller” that applies the voltage).
Yeo further would have rendered obvious the voltage controller configured to: determine a degree of attenuation provided by the electrochromic device by adjusting reflectivity of the electrochromic device based on measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator (e.g., paragraph [0046],
a variable optical attenuator 100 may monitor a portion of optical power of input light using an electrochromic device having a transflective property that may adjust a reflectivity and a transmissivity by controlling a voltage and a light absorptivity. In addition, the variable optical attenuator 100 may adjust an intensity of light to be attenuated, or interchangeably referred to as an attenuation intensity of light to be output, by controlling a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device based on a result of the monitoring, and by adjusting the reflectivity and the transmissivity;
also paragraph [0064],
it is possible to attenuate output optical power of light to be reflected or transmitted after the light is input to an electrochromic device by adjusting a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device and changing a light absorptivity without a physical movement of a device configured to adjust an amount, or an intensity, of light;
both sections teaching and suggesting that the degree of attenuation provided by the electrochromic device is determined by adjusting reflectivity of the electrochromic device; see also paragraphs [0007] and [0084]; and paragraph [0090] which teaches that “the variable optical attenuator may monitor input optical power by adding, between the lens 720 and the reflective electrochromic device 700, a filter 730 configured to split a portion of the input light and an optical detector 740 . . . [and] may adjust a reflectivity of the reflective electrochromic device 700 based on a result of the monitoring”).
Yeo further would have rendered obvious wherein the reflectivity of the electrochromic device is adjusted based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator (noting that additionally paragraphs [0008]–[0010] teach that “[t]he electrochromic device may attenuate an intensity of the input light by controlling a reflectivity and a transmissivity of the input light based on an element included in the electrochromic device and a voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device” (suggesting that the reflectivity is controlled by a voltage) and “the variable optical attenuator may further include an optical detector configured to monitor a portion of the input light transmitted from the electrochromic device” and “the voltage to be applied to the electrochromic device may be determined based on a result of the monitoring of the light transmitted from the electrochromic device” (suggesting that the reflectivity is controlled based on a measurement or monitoring of the input light) and also that the monitoring of the input light as “monitoring total optical power of the input light by monitoring a portion of the optical power through a filter or a splitter” (suggesting that the monitored input light is monitored for optical power) – all of these teachings together appear to reasonably combine to teach that the reflectivity of the electrochromic device is adjusted based on the measurements of optical power at the optical attenuator).
Regarding Claim 3, Yeo would have rendered obvious a photovoltaic cell, wherein the photovoltaic cell is configured to generate electrical power from a portion of the input optical signal (e.g., optical detector 740, or 140, “optical detector 140 extracts input optical power of the input light that is initially input to the inputter 110 by monitoring the light transmitted from the electrochromic device 130,” paragraph [0075], reasonably suggesting a device such as a photovoltaic cell, capable of extracting optical power to generate electrical power).
Regarding Claim 6, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein the power generated by the photovoltaic cell is used by the voltage controller (where the specific power source is not discussed in Yeo; however, using available power in the immediate vicinity which has no other apparent use after being used to detect the intensity of the incoming optical signal would have been obvious as a matter of design choice, to maximize efficiency and reduce wasted energy).
Regarding Claim 7, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein a voltage applied to the electrochromic device by the voltage controller is determined based on the level of electrical power generated by the photovoltaic cell (e.g., paragraphs [0075] and [0090]).
Regarding Claim 8, Yeo would have rendered obvious a photodiode sensor configured to monitor an output optical signal reflected by the electrochromic device (e.g., optical detector 140/740, Figs. 7 and 8, paragraphs [0090] and [0094], where a photodiode sensor is a well-known type of optical detector, and the illustration in Figs. 7 and 8 appears to be a photodiode, such that selecting a photodiode specifically as the generically recited optical detector would have been an obvious selection, e.g., MPEP §§ 2144.06–07).
Regarding Claim 9, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein a voltage applied to the electrochromic device by the voltage controller is determined by the monitoring results of the photodiode sensor (e.g., paragraphs [0075], [0090], and [0094]).
Regarding Claim 13, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein, if no voltage is applied to the electrochromic device for a time period, the electrochromic device is configured to provide a resting optical attenuation level (not explicitly described, but the general nature of liquid crystals within the electrochromic device is such that without a voltage applied, a natural or resting state of the crystals, and thus the optical attenuation, would occur; regardless, setting a default condition would have been obvious as a matter of design choice to ensure that the state of the system is known).
Regarding Claim 14, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein the resting optical attenuation level is the same as a minimum optical attenuation level of the electrochromic device (where the resting liquid crystal state is typically a normally on or normally off state, and selecting between the two states to have the resting state provide minimal optical attenuation would have been obvious as a matter of design choice, and obvious to try, with only two configurations, both yielding predictable results).
Regarding Claim 15, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein the input optical signal has a wavelength of approximately 1550 nanometers, nm (where Yeo does not explicitly disclose the wavelength of input light, but Yeo does teach filtering to yield desired wavelengths from within the input light, e.g., paragraph [0012], suggesting that the device of Yeo is capable of handling a wide range of input light, including the claimed 1550 nm).
Regarding Claim 16, Yeo would have rendered obvious wherein the optical attenuation level range of the electrochromic device is between approximately 10% attenuation and approximately 90% attenuation (where selecting a working range for the optical attenuator would have been obvious in view of specific design needs, and would yield predictable results, absent evidence of criticality or otherwise unobvious results).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeo in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0128371 to Einicke et al.
Regarding Claim 4, Yeo does not explicitly disclose wherein the portion of the input optical signal used by the photovoltaic cell to generate electrical power is provided by a Power over Fibre (PoF) source.
Einicke teaches, in an optical communication device, that a battery may be trickle charged using an optical fiber input, including a power over fibre (e.g., paragraphs [0039] and [0060]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify the device of Yeo such that the portion of the input optical signal used by the photovoltaic cell to generate electrical power is provided by a Power over Fibre (PoF) source, as suggested by Einicke, as a suitable means for keeping the battery charged during use (e.g., also, MPEP §§ 2144.06–07).
Claims 5 and 10–12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeo in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0081625 to Suh.
Regarding Claim 5, Yeo does not explicitly disclose a buffer battery, wherein the electrical power generated by the photovoltaic cell is used to charge the buffer battery.
Suh discloses a variable optical attenuator using liquid crystals, similar to Yeo, and teaches that a battery may be used to generate the voltage that controls the attenuator (e.g., paragraph [0061]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify the device of Yeo to include a buffer battery, wherein the electrical power generated by the photovoltaic cell is used to charge the buffer battery, as suggested by Suh, as a suitable configuration for driving the attenuator (e.g., MPEP §§ 2144.06–07), and where it is well known that batteries may be rechargeable.
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Yeo and Suh would have rendered obvious including a battery (e.g., paragraph [0061] of Suh, to drive the attenuator).
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Yeo and Suh would have rendered obvious wherein the power from the battery is used by the voltage controller (e.g., paragraph [0061] of Suh, using a battery as the power source to drive the attenuator).
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Yeo and Suh would have rendered obvious wherein the battery is configured to be recharged periodically (where Yeo and Suh appear silent regarding the specific rechargeability of the battery, but periodically recharging a battery is well-known and a predictable use of a battery, absent evidence of criticality or otherwise unobvious results by using a rechargeable battery as opposed to a non-rechargeable battery).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN CROCKETT whose telephone number is (571)270-3183. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am to 5pm.
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/RYAN CROCKETT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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