DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on Feb. 16, 2026 has been entered.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 14 recites angled side walls that are at a temperature of about 100°C to 200°C. The limitation of “walls at to a temperature of 100-200°C” is interpreted as a manner of operating the apparatus and thus does not infer any further structural limitations to the apparatus.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takei et al. (2014/0144188) in view of Kusunoki (JP 2013173628 machine translation provided). Takei et al. (2014/0144188). Takei discloses a lathe system for producing an optical fiber preform, the lathe system comprising a rotating bait rod 38 ([0040]), a burner box 20 configured to deposit silica-containing soot on the rotating bait rod ([0041]), a hood 46 configured to direct airflow within the lathe system through an exhaust, and a perforated floor comprising a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of holes that extend from the top surface to the bottom surface, such as filter 30, configured to expel air within the lathe system as a plurality of air jets from a bottom portion of the lathe system to a top portion of the lathe system ([0042], [0039], figure 1). However, Takei doesn’t specify dimensions of the holes. Kusunoki also teaches a lathe system for producing an optical fiber preform, the lathe system comprising a rotating bait rod 15, a burner box, and an exhaust 27 (figure 1, page 2). Like Takei, Kusunoki also teaches a filter, mesh 23, comprising a plurality of holes for expelling air through the lathe, the plurality of holes each comprising a length in the thickness direction of at least 0.19mm (bottom two passages on page 2). While the filter of Kusunoki is a wire mesh, it still comprises a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of holes extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. At some portions of the wire mesh, the thickness of the wire mesh would be twice the wire diameter (2 x 0.19 mm = 0.38 mm) and at other portions of the wire mesh, the thickness is the wire diameter, 0.19 mm; thereby providing for a length of the holes that varies between 0.38mm and 0.19mm, which falls within the claimed range of 0.05mm to 1.00mm. Kusunoki teaches the filter having these dimensions successfully provides for rectified clean air into the lathe. Accordingly, for this reason, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have adapted the perforated floor of Takei to have a similar thickness (and length for the holes) as that of Kusunoki, as Kusunoki teaches predictable success for providing rectified clean air in the lathe during deposition.
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takei et al. (2014/0144188) in view of Nunome (JP2009280444 machine translation provided) and Kusunoki (JP 2013173628 machine translation provided). Takei et al. (2014/0144188). Regarding claims 21-22, Takei discloses a lathe system for producing an optical fiber preform, the lathe system comprising a rotating bait rod 38 ([0040]), a burner box 20 configured to deposit silica-containing soot on the rotating bait rod ([0041]), a hood 46 configured to direct airflow within the lathe system through an exhaust, and a perforated floor comprising a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of holes that extend from the top surface to the bottom surface, such as filter 30, configured to expel air within the lathe system as a plurality of air jets from a bottom portion of the lathe system to a top portion of the lathe system ([0042], [0039], figure 1). However, Takei doesn’t specify dimensions of the holes. Nunome also teaches a system for producing an optical fiber preform, and like Takei, the system comprises a filter comprising a plurality of holes for expelling air through the system (last paragraph on page 3). Nunome specifies the filter is a plate comprising a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of holes extending from the top surface to the bottom surface (figures 2-3). While Nunome suggests a thickness of the plate (correlating to the length of the holes) of 3-10 mm, Nunome also teaches the thickness should be selected as appropriate according to the size of the preform body (2nd passage on page 7). Others in the art has suggested other thickness for air filters for lathe systems, such as Kusunoki.
Kusunoki teaches a lathe system for producing an optical fiber preform, the lathe system comprising a rotating bait rod 15, a burner box, and an exhaust 27 (figure 1, page 2). Like Takei, Kusunoki also teaches a filter, mesh 23, comprising a plurality of holes for expelling air through the lathe, the plurality of holes each comprising a length in the thickness direction of at least 0.19mm (bottom two passages on page 2). While the filter of Kusunoki is a wire mesh, it still comprises a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of holes extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. At some portions of the wire mesh, the thickness of the wire mesh would be twice the wire diameter (2 x 0.19 mm = 0.38 mm) and at other portions of the wire mesh, the thickness is the wire diameter, 0.19 mm; thereby providing for a length of the holes that varies between 0.38mm and 0.19mm, which falls within the claimed range of 0.05mm to 1.00mm. Kusunoki teaches the filter having these dimensions successfully provides for rectified clean air into the lathe. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have tried a filter with holes having a length of about 0.4mm, as Nunome teaches the length of the holes is a variable and should be sized based on the size of the preform being manufactured, and Kusunoki teaches predictable success for providing rectified clean air in the lathe during deposition with holes having a length of about 0.4 mm.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14, and 16-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art teaches a lathe system comprising a hood for expelling air within the lathe system through an exhaust and a perforated floor configured to expel air within the lathe system from a bottom portion of the lathe system to a top portion. The prior art also teaches a hood comprising angled side walls connected to a manifold, the manifold connected to an exhaust, and a slot being positioned between the manifold. However, the prior art fails to suggest a slot having a varying width along a length of the hood.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed Feb. 16, 2026, with respect to Takei and Kusunoki have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues Kusunoki teaches a wire mesh the length of 0.31mm corresponds to a diameter of the holes and not a length of the holes. In response, the wire mesh is made of braided wires made into a lattice shape. Since the wires have a diameter of 0.19mm, some portions of the mesh would comprise of two overlapping wires, making the thickness of the mesh twice as large as the wire diameter (0.38mm) and some portions of the mesh would be just the thickness of the wire (0.19mm). Accordingly, the holes have a length in the range of 0.19mm to 0.38mm, which satisfies the claimed range of 0.05 mm to 1.00 mm.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUEENIE S DEHGHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8209. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30.
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/QUEENIE S DEHGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741
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