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 with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 3-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Evans et al (US 2021/0011229 A1). Evans teaches:
1. An optical connection component (100’, Figs. 1G-H) comprising:
a plurality of cores (110, cores 1 through 7) that transmit optical signals along a first direction (left to right);
a clad (100) having a smaller refractive index than a refractive index of the plurality of cores (110) and integrally surrounding the plurality of cores (P0063, 0069);
a first surface (101) extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction and in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction (see Fig. 1G); and
a second surface (102) extending in the second direction and the third direction and arranged with the first surface along the first direction (see Fig. 1G), wherein
each of the plurality of cores (1 through 7) extends from the first surface (101) to the second surface (102) along the first direction and is bent in the third direction at least once between the first surface and the second surface (see Figs. 1G-H),
the plurality of cores (110) are arranged in a single row along the second direction on each of the first surface (101) and the second surface (102) (see Figs. 1G-H), and
an order in which the plurality of cores (110) are arranged on the first surface (101) as a whole and an order in which the plurality of cores (110) are arranged on the second surface (102) as a whole are different from each other (see the indexing numbers 1-7 on each side in Fig. 1G).
3. The optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the number of times that each of the plurality of cores (110) is bent in the third direction is the same for all of the cores (see Fig. 1G-H; one bends each).
4 and 7. The optical connection component according to claim 1,
wherein the plurality of cores (110) constitute a first group (1-2) including at least one core but not all of the plurality of cores, and a second group (5-6) including the cores that do not belong to the first group among the plurality of cores and a third group (3-4) including the cores that do not belong to the first and second groups (1-2, 5-6),
an order in which the cores of the first group (1-2) are arranged on the first surface (110) is the same as an order in which the cores of the first group are arranged on the second surface (102) (1-2 are in order from 1 to 2 going from bottom to top at 110 and then 1-2 are in order from 1 to 2 going top to bottom at 102), and
an order in which the cores of the second group (5-6) are arranged on the first surface (101) is the same as an order in which the cores of the second group (5-6) are arranged on the second surface (102) (5-6 are in order from 5 to 6 going from bottom to top at 110 and then 5-6 are in order from 5 to 6 going bottom to top at 102),
and an order in which the cores of the third group (3-4) are arranged on the first surface (101) is the same as an order in which the cores of the third group (3-4) are arranged on the second surface (102) (see Fig. 1G) (3-4 are in order from 3 to 4 going from bottom to top at 110 and then 3-4 are in order from 3 to 4 going top to bottom at 102).
5. The optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the number of times that each of the plurality of cores (110) is bent in the third direction is 1 (see Fig. 1G).
6. The optical connection component according to claim 4,
wherein a rearrangement portion (this can be defined as a line bisecting the at the middle from 105 to 1-6, creating two halves) at which an order of the plurality of cores in the second direction is changed is provided between the first surface (101) and the second surface (102),
the plurality of the cores (110) belonging to the first group (1-4) are bent in the third direction between the first surface (101) and the rearrangement portion (middle), and
the plurality of the cores (110) belonging to the second group (5-7) are bent in the third direction between the rearrangement portion and the second surface (102) (see Fig. 1G, the bends occur on both sides of the rearrangement portion and between each surfaces).
8 and 9. The optical connection component according to claim 7,
wherein a plurality of rearrangement portions (this can be defined as two lines next to each other bisecting the at the middle from 105 to 1-6, creating two halves) at which an order of the plurality of cores (110) in the second direction is changed are provided between the first surface (101) and the second surface (102) (see Fig. 1G), and
among the plurality of rearrangement portions, a position of the rearrangement portion at which the cores (110) belonging to the first group (1-2) are bent in the second direction (see Fig. 1G), a position of the rearrangement portion at which the cores belonging to the second group (5-6) are bent in the second direction (see Fig. 1G), and a position of the rearrangement portion at which the cores belonging to the third group (3-4) are bent in the second direction are different from each other in the first and third direction (see Fig. 1G).
10 and 11. An optical wiring (Fig. 2A) comprising:
the optical connection component (100’) according to claim 1; and
a plurality of optical fiber arrays (part of 220; one array can be two fibers, the second array can be the next two fibers and a third array can be the next two fibers) that holds a plurality of optical fibers (235) optically connected to the plurality of cores (110) of the optical connection component (100’).
12. The optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the optical connection component (100’) is rectangular plate-shaped (see Figs. 1G-H).
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Evans.
Evans teaches the optical connection component of claim 1 and also:
2. The optical connection component according to claim 1, further comprising:
a third surface (104) connecting the first surface (101) and the second surface (102) each other and extending in the first direction and the second direction (see Fig. 1G-H),
wherein a first distance from the third surface (104) to the plurality of cores (110) on the first surface (101) and a second distance from the third surface (104) to the plurality of cores (101) on the second surface (102) are different from each other (see Fig. 1H at SZ).
Evans does not teach expressly a difference between the first distance and the second distance is 10 µm or more.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to try a distance a of 10 µm or more since this and since it has been held that “it is obvious to try - choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success” is a rationale for arriving at a conclusion of obviousness. In re KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. A distance 10 µm or more from the top of the component would a predictable distance for the cores to be in line to be able to couple to the cores of the external fibers.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN A LEPISTO whose telephone number is (571)272-1946. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hollweg can be reached on 571-270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN A LEPISTO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874