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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Instant independent claims 1, 13 and 18 all conclude with the limitations “processing said DAS signal to improve a linearity of the DAS signal using said amplitude-normalization trace.” The instant filed disclosure fails to provide adequate written description of the “processing” (i.e. calculations, mathematical manipulations, etc.) of the “amplitude-normalization trace(s)” to “improve a linearity of the DAS signal.” The is a complete lack of any information on any aspects of “linearity” or, conversely “non-linearity” in regards to the DAS signal, thus indicating a lack of possession of the claim limitations. All other claims are similarly rejected due to their dependency from instant independent claims 1, 13 and 18.
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.
Claims 1-20 are 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. Instant independent claims 1, 13 and 18 all conclude with the limitations “processing said DAS signal to improve a linearity of the DAS signal using said amplitude-normalization trace.” The instant filed disclosure fails and description and/or instructions in regards to this “processing” (i.e. calculations, mathematical manipulations, etc.), and, as such, it is unclear as to what actually constitutes any improvement in any linearity of the DAS trace(s), rendering the claims indefinite. Furthermore, it is unclear as to what are the “metes-and-bounds” of the term “improve” in regards to any linearity of the DAS trace(s), what amount of improvement occurs, from some alleged standard level to some unknown improved level, or to exactly what constitutes any improvement, rendering the claims indefinite. All other claims are similarly rejected due to their dependency from instant independent claims 1, 13 and 18.
Conclusion
Due to the presence of rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112, a thorough search and consideration of the prior art could not be reasonably made by the Examiner. As such, once Applicant amends the pending claimed invention to obviate these rejections, another search and consideration of the prior art will be performed by the Examiner, resulting in prior art rejection, which would result in a Final Office Action. That being said, as best understood, the closest prior art reference to the claimed invention is U.S. 2020/0393290 to Chen et al., which teaches many of the recited aspects within the claims regarding DAS signals via C-OTDR and reflected/back-reflected light including Rayleigh scattering or any other type light back-reflectors and grouping of DAS signals and associated time lapses.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is invited to review PTO form 892 accompanying this Office Action listing Prior Art relevant to the instant invention cited by the Examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner John Fitzgerald whose telephone number is (571) 272-2843. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM E.S.T. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor John Breene, can be reached at telephone number (571) 272-4107. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. The central fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOHN FITZGERALD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855