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 .
Summary
This action is responsive to the Applicant Arguments/Remarks filed on 02/03/2026. The amendment has been entered. Applicant has submitted Claims 1-14 for examination.
Examiner finds the following: 1) Claims 1-14 are rejected; 2) Claim 9 is objected to; and 3) no claims allowable.
Claim Interpretation
Generally: The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding “the first signal,” Examiner, upon review of the amended claims, was unable to find a direct reference in the specification to a/the “first signal.” Examiner acknowledges that such language is not required in the specification, and as such, based on information and belief, Examiner understands a/the “first signal” to relate to the “optical signal” introduced in [0046].
Response to Arguments and Remarks
Examiner respectfully acknowledges Applicant’s arguments, remarks, and amendments.
Applicant' s arguments with respect to claims 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.
Examiner notes that Applicant, on page 6 of the remarks, makes the following statement:
[A]mended claims 1 and 13 as a whole recite additional elements that integrate any abstract idea into a practical application and recite a specific improvement over prior systems on the basis of paragraphs [0089] and [0097] of the original specification, because amended claim 1 defines the structure "a spectrum shaping filter configured to remove or reduce a part of an amplitude component of a spectrum of the first signal in a frequency domain so as to be similar to a spectrum of the electric field information signal according to filter information generated based on the electric field information signal, and generate a reference signal from the first signal.”
Examiner notes that neither [0089] or [0097] discuss the first signal / optical signal. Applicant is invited to clarify the comment made here.
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.
The factual inquiries 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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanimura (US20180234184A1) in further view of Nogughi (US 20200052794 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Tanimura discloses:
An optical transmission line monitoring device that monitors an optical fiber transmission line by using an electric field information signal indicating an electric field of an optical signal received via the optical fiber transmission line by a second node in an optical transmission system in which the optical signal is transmitted from a first node to the second node via the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0039], transmission line monitoring device 3), the optical transmission line monitoring device comprising:
a first compensator configured to compensate for, in the electric field information signal, a first chromatic dispersion among a chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0042], “The characteristic compensation unit 33 reads the signal E0 from the memory 32 and compensates for deterioration due to the chromatic dispersion of the transmission line 9 and the nonlinear optical effect of the transmission line 9 for the signal E0”);
a nonlinear compensator configured to compensate for, in an output signal of the first compensator, a nonlinear distortion of the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0067], NLC 42, and FIG. 6, [0089]-[0090], showing how the operation of characteristic compensation unit 33, and how at St16, the operation can move to St24 and ultimately cycle back to St12. Examiner notes that cycle back after the first pass would restart the process to compensate using the already compensated signal);
a second compensator configured to compensate for, in an output signal of the nonlinear compensator, a remaining chromatic dispersion among the chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0071], CDC (#2) 41, and FIG. 6, [0089]-[0090], showing how the operation of characteristic compensation unit 33, and how at St16, the operation can move to St24 and ultimately cycle back to St12. Examiner notes that cycle back after the second pass would restart the process to compensate using the already compensated signal),
a generator configured to generate, based on the electric field information signal, a first signal indicating the electric field of the optical signal in the first node (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0038], “The digital signals Hi, Hq, Vi, and Vq are an example of a plurality of electric field signals indicating the optical electric field components of the optical signal So”); …
… a detector configured to detect and output, based on a correlation between an output signal of the second compensator and the reference signal, an optical power corresponding to the first chromatic dispersion (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0043], “the characteristic compensation unit 33 acquires the relationship between the compensation amount of chromatic dispersion (hereinafter referred to as “chromatic dispersion compensation amount”) Vcd when the quality of the signal E0 is the best and the compensation amount of deterioration due to the nonlinear optical effect (hereinafter referred to “nonlinear compensation amount”) γ, and outputs the relationship to the data generation unit 34”).
Tanimura discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… a spectrum shaping filter configured to remove or reduce a part of an amplitude component of a spectrum of the first signal in a frequency domain so as to be similar to a spectrum of the electric field information signal according to filter information generated based on the electric field information signal, and generate a reference signal from the first signal; and …
However, Nogughi, in a similar field of endeavor (RECEPTION DEVICE, TRANSMISSION DEVICE, OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATION METHOD), discloses:
… a spectrum shaping filter configured to remove or reduce a part of an amplitude component of a spectrum of the first signal in a frequency domain so as to be similar to a spectrum of the electric field information signal according to filter information generated based on the electric field information signal, and generate a reference signal from the first signal (Nogughi, FIG. 9, {0081], “The band narrowing filter and the band narrowing parameter will be described. FIG. 9 illustrates images of spectral shapes when each band narrowing filter 32 shapes a signal spectrum. The top spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a spectral shape of a transmission original signal. The middle spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a filter characteristic of a band narrowing filter Htx(f). The bottom spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a shape of a signal spectrum after filter processing is applied by the band narrowing filter 32”); and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tanimura with the narrowing filter of Nogughi. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of narrowing filters as disclosed by Nogughi and how to use them to modify Tanimura. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as a use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(C)), specifically the use of a known filtering optical component in to filter and control portions of the spectrum as needed by the user.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 1, and Nogughi further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to shape the spectrum of the first signal (Nogughi, FIG. 9, {0081], “The band narrowing filter and the band narrowing parameter will be described. FIG. 9 illustrates images of spectral shapes when each band narrowing filter 32 shapes a signal spectrum. The top spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a spectral shape of a transmission original signal. The middle spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a filter characteristic of a band narrowing filter Htx(f). The bottom spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a shape of a signal spectrum after filter processing is applied by the band narrowing filter 32”); and …
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 2, and Nogughi further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to shape the part of the amplitude component of the spectrum of the first signal (Nogughi, FIG. 9, {0081], “The band narrowing filter and the band narrowing parameter will be described. FIG. 9 illustrates images of spectral shapes when each band narrowing filter 32 shapes a signal spectrum. The top spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a spectral shape of a transmission original signal. The middle spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a filter characteristic of a band narrowing filter Htx(f). The bottom spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a shape of a signal spectrum after filter processing is applied by the band narrowing filter 32”); and …
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 2, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to shape the first signal in the frequency domain according to filter information indicating a characteristic of the optical fiber transmission line to generate the reference signal (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0063], frequency domain filter 411, and FIG. 5, [0063], “The frequency domain filter 411 multiplies the signal E0 by a chromatic dispersion coefficient Kcd for a component of the frequency fn of the signal E0 output from the FFT unit 410. Here, the transfer function G of the frequency domain filter 411 is expressed by the above equation (1). In the equation (1), j represents an imaginary unit, C represents the light speed (299, 792, 458 (m/s)), and Fs represents the frequency of laser of the light source 11”).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 2, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to shape the first signal in the frequency domain according to filter information generated based on the electric field information signal to generate the reference signal (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0063], frequency domain filter 411, and FIG. 5, [0066], “The IFFT unit 412 converts the signal E0 output from the frequency domain filter 411 from a frequency domain signal to a time domain signal E1 which is then compensated by the CDC (#1) 41 and input to the NLC 42”).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 2, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to control a filter to filter the reference signal in a frequency domain so as to increase the correlation (Tanimura, FIG. 4, [0079], “the parameter adjustor 40 acquires the relationship between the chromatic dispersion compensation amount Vcd and the nonlinear compensation amount γ by changing the dispersion compensation amount Vcd of the CDC (#1) 41 every predetermined amount ΔVcd and adjusting the nonlinear compensation amount γ of the NLC 42 every chromatic dispersion compensation amount Vcd such that the Q value becomes the smallest”) until the correlation is maximized (Tanimura, FIG. 6, [0086], “the parameter adjustor 40 sets the nonlinear compensation amount γ to 0 (operation St15). Next, the parameter adjustor 40 compares the nonlinear compensation amount γ with a predetermined valueγy_max (operation St16). When γ≤γ_max (“Yes” in operation St16), the parameter adjustor 40 causes the NLC 42 to compensate for the deterioration due to the nonlinear optical effect with respect to the signal E1 with the nonlinear compensation amount γ (operation St17)”).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 1, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the generator is configured to generate the first signal by reconfiguring an electric field of the optical signal at the first node based on transmission data recovered from the electric field information signal (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0043], “the characteristic compensation unit 33 acquires the relationship between the compensation amount of chromatic dispersion (hereinafter referred to as “chromatic dispersion compensation amount”) Vcd when the quality of the signal E0 is the best and the compensation amount of deterioration due to the nonlinear optical effect (hereinafter referred to “nonlinear compensation amount”) γ, and outputs the relationship to the data generation unit 34”).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 1, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the detector is configured to output a corresponding optical power while changing an amount of the first chromatic dispersion to create a power profile indicating an optical power with respect to a plurality of chromatic dispersion amounts (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0038], “The digital signals Hi, Hq, Vi, and Vq are an example of a plurality of electric field signals indicating the optical electric field components of the optical signal So”).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 8, and Tanimura further discloses:
… further comprising:
a span detector configured to detect one span or a plurality of spans constituting the optical fiber transmission line using the power profile (Tamimura, FIG. 1, [0053], “The transmission line 9 is divided into a plurality of sections, that is, spans #0 to #N, by the optical amplifiers 91 to 94,” and FIG. 1, [0059], “the characteristic compensation unit 33 may detect information related to the power at the position P on the transmission line 9 by using the chromatic dispersion compensation amount Vcd corresponding to the portion 901 which adds the chromatic dispersion on the transmitting device 1 side, the nonlinear compensation amount γ corresponding to the portion 902 which adds the nonlinear optical effect, and the chromatic dispersion compensation amount Vcd_max-Vcd corresponding to the portion 903 which adds the chromatic dispersion on the receiving device 2 side”),
a calculator configured to calculate a dispersion coefficient of the optical fiber transmission line by dividing a chromatic dispersion amount estimated based on the power profile by a corresponding span length for the one span or each span of the plurality of spans detected (Tamimura, FIG. 1, [0057], “Since the chromatic dispersion amount per unit distance of the transmission line 9 is determined by, for example, the type of the optical fiber (e.g., single mode fiber (SMF)), the total chromatic dispersion amount Vcd_max of the transmission line 9 may be calculated in advance by the length of the transmission line 9”), and
an estimator configured to estimate a type of an optical fiber constituting the optical fiber transmission line based on the dispersion coefficient for the one span or each span of the plurality of spans detected (Tamimura, FIG. 1, [0057], “Since the chromatic dispersion amount per unit distance of the transmission line 9 is determined by, for example, the type of the optical fiber (e.g., single mode fiber (SMF)), the total chromatic dispersion amount Vcd_max of the transmission line 9 may be calculated in advance by the length of the transmission line 9”).
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Tanimura and Nogughi discloses Claim 1, and Tanimura further discloses:
… wherein the spectrum shaping filter is configured to adjust an I/Q distortion of the first signal to generate the reference signal (Tanimura, FIG. 4, [0081], “a combination of the chromatic dispersion compensation amount Vcd and the nonlinear compensation amount γ when the Q value becomes the smallest is recorded in the parameter recorder 46”).
Regarding Claim 13, Tanimura discloses:
An optical transmission line monitoring method that monitors an optical fiber transmission line in an optical transmission system in which an optical signal is transmitted from a first node to a second node via the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0039], transmission line monitoring device 3), the optical transmission line monitoring method comprising:
generating an electric field information signal indicating an electric field of the optical signal received via the optical fiber transmission line by the second node (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0038], “The digital signals Hi, Hq, Vi, and Vq are an example of a plurality of electric field signals indicating the optical electric field components of the optical signal So”);
generating a second electric field information signal by compensating for, in the electric field information signal, a first chromatic dispersion among a chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0042], “The characteristic compensation unit 33 reads the signal E0 from the memory 32 and compensates for deterioration due to the chromatic dispersion of the transmission line 9 and the nonlinear optical effect of the transmission line 9 for the signal E0”);
generating a third electric field information signal by compensating for, in the second electric field information signal, a nonlinear distortion of the optical fiber transmission line (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0067], NLC 42, and FIG. 6, [0089]-[0090], showing how the operation of characteristic compensation unit 33, and how at St16, the operation can move to St24 and ultimately cycle back to St12. Examiner notes that cycle back after the first pass would restart the process to compensate using the already compensated signal);
generating a fourth electric field information signal by compensating for, in the third electric field information signal, a remaining chromatic dispersion among the chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber transmission line node (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0071], CDC (#2) 41, and FIG. 6, [0089]-[0090], showing how the operation of characteristic compensation unit 33, and how at St16, the operation can move to St24 and ultimately cycle back to St12. Examiner notes that cycle back after the second pass would restart the process to compensate using the already compensated signal);
generating, based on the electric field information signal, a first signal indicating the electric field of the optical signal in the first node (Tanimura, FIG. 5, [0071], CDC (#2) 41, and FIG. 6, [0089]-[0090], showing how the operation of characteristic compensation unit 33, and how at St16, the operation can move to St24 and ultimately cycle back to St12. Examiner notes that cycle back after the second pass would restart the process to compensate using the already compensated signal);…
… generating a reference signal from the first signal (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0043], “the characteristic compensation unit 33 acquires the relationship between the compensation amount of chromatic dispersion (hereinafter referred to as “chromatic dispersion compensation amount”) Vcd when the quality of the signal E0 is the best and the compensation amount of deterioration due to the nonlinear optical effect (hereinafter referred to “nonlinear compensation amount”) γ, and outputs the relationship to the data generation unit 34”); and
detects and outputs, based on a correlation between the fourth electric field information signal and the reference signal, an optical power corresponding to the first chromatic dispersion (Tanimura, FIG. 2, [0043], “the characteristic compensation unit 33 acquires the relationship between the compensation amount of chromatic dispersion (hereinafter referred to as “chromatic dispersion compensation amount”) Vcd when the quality of the signal E0 is the best and the compensation amount of deterioration due to the nonlinear optical effect (hereinafter referred to “nonlinear compensation amount”) γ, and outputs the relationship to the data generation unit 34”).
Tanimura discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… removing or reducing a part of an amplitude component of a spectrum of the first signal in a frequency domain so as to be similar to a spectrum of the electric field information signal according to the filter information generated based on the electric field information signal; and …
However, Nogughi, in a similar field of endeavor (RECEPTION DEVICE, TRANSMISSION DEVICE, OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATION METHOD), discloses:
… removing or reducing a part of an amplitude component of a spectrum of the first signal in a frequency domain so as to be similar to a spectrum of the electric field information signal according to the filter information generated based on the electric field information signal (Nogughi, FIG. 9, {0081], “The band narrowing filter and the band narrowing parameter will be described. FIG. 9 illustrates images of spectral shapes when each band narrowing filter 32 shapes a signal spectrum. The top spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a spectral shape of a transmission original signal. The middle spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a filter characteristic of a band narrowing filter Htx(f). The bottom spectrum in FIG. 9 illustrates a shape of a signal spectrum after filter processing is applied by the band narrowing filter 32”); and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tanimura with the narrowing filter of Nogughi. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of narrowing filters as disclosed by Nogughi and how to use them to modify Tanimura. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as a use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(C)), specifically the use of a known filtering optical component in to filter and control portions of the spectrum as needed by the user.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD A REVERMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0079. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kara Geisel can be reached at (571) 272-2416. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAD ANDREW REVERMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2877
/Kara E. Geisel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2877