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 on 3/31/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding applicant’s argument “Schricker does not describe the adhesive layer embedding the optical fibers, or the adhesive layer wrapping outer surfaces of the optical fibers so that optical fibers in a same optical fiber layer and optical fibers in adjacent optical fiber layers are fixedly connected”, Examiner respectfully asserts that cited fig 3A of ‘179 by the applicant shows that the optical fibers 40 are embedded in or wrapped by, to some degree, in adhesive layer 30 as the claim does not recite fully embedded or fully wrapped by the adhesive or to any degree upon which the fibers are embedded or wrapped by the adhesives layer. Furthermore, fig. 3B shows the optical fibers 40 being fully embedded or wrapped by the adhesive 30.
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, 2, 4, 5, 7 – 12, 16, 17, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schricker (U.S. Patent # 5,878,179).
In Re claim 1, ‘179 teaches an optical fiber board structure (figs. 2 – 4) configured for use with an optical fiber connection between optical communication boards or an optical fiber connection between an optical chip on an optical communication board and an optical connector, the optical fiber board structure comprising:
M optical fiber layers (40a and 40b) stacked along a thickness direction (vertical) of the optical fiber layers, wherein each optical fiber layer, of the M optical fiber layers, includes a plurality of optical fibers (40a and 40b), the plurality of optical fibers are arranged side by side (figs. 2 – 4), or at least some optical fibers, of the plurality of optical fibers, are arranged in a cross manner (figs. 3A – 4), and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and a connecting part including a first adhesive material (30 or 50), wherein (a) the first adhesive material embeds the optical fibers in the M optical fiber layers, or (b) the first adhesive material wraps outer surfaces of the optical fibers in the M optical fiber layers, so that optical fibers in a same optical fiber layer and optical fibers in adjacent optical fiber layers are fixedly connected (figs. 2 – 4, through at least the adhesive or the adhesive and the adjacent layers are fixedly connected can mean that the fibers are connected to each other or connected through other structures such as 60 as the first adhesive can be interpreted as each layer of adhesive in the different layers).
In Re claim 2, ‘179 teaches a connecting part as claimed (30, 45 or 50).
In Re claim 4, ‘179 teaches connecting parts as claimed (any two layers of 50 or 30, fig. 2).
In Re claim 5, ‘179 teaches adhesive (50).
In Re claim 7, ‘179 teaches a pressure sensitive adhesive (30, col. 4, lines 50 – 54).
In Re claims 8 and 9, ‘179 teaches an upper cover that is a second adhesive (adhesive portion 30) that at least partially fills (as any part of the adhesive to the left or right of the top or bottom apex of each fiber is partially filling a gap, figs. 2 – 4).
In Re claim 16, ‘179 teaches an optical fiber interconnection board, comprising: a substrate (10); and an optical fiber board structure (interpreted as made up of the structure subsequently per the last clause of the claim), wherein the optical fiber board structure comprises:
M (2) optical fiber layers stacked along a thickness direction of the optical fiber layers, wherein
each of M optical fiber layers (40a and 40b) are separately formed, M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the M optical fiber layers includes a plurality of first optical fibers (40) laid on a plane, and the
substrate is adjacent to and connected to a first optical fiber layer in the M optical fiber layers of the optical fiber board structure (figs. 2 – 4);
and a connecting part including a first adhesive material (top or bottom 30 or 50), wherein (a) the first adhesive material embeds the optical fibers in the M optical fiber layers, or (b) the first adhesive material wraps outer surfaces of the optical fibers in the M optical fiber layers, so that optical fibers in a same optical fiber layer and optical fibers in adjacent optical fiber layers are fixedly connected (figs. 2 – 4, through at least the adhesive or the adhesive and the adjacent layers are fixedly connected can mean that the fibers are connected to each other or connected through other structures such as 60 as the first adhesive can be interpreted as each layer of adhesive in the different layers).
In Re claim 17, ‘179 teaches wherein the substrate includes a back adhesive layer (bottom 30), and the substrate is adjacent to and connected to the first optical fiber layer by using the back adhesive layer.
In Re claim 20, ‘179 teaches a first protective adhesive (upper 30) forming an upper cover (its part of upper item 5 which consists of upper 10, 20 and 30) as an outermost entity of the optical fiber board structure (figs. 2 – 4).
In Re claim 21, ‘179 teaches a second protective adhesive (lower 30 of figs. 2 or 4) forming a lower cover (its part of lower item 5 which consists of lower 10, 20 and 30) as the outermost entity of the optical fiber board structure.
In Re claim 10, ‘179 teaches a manufacturing method of an optical fiber board structure, the method comprising: disposing a plurality of first optical fibers (40b) on a first surface (top) of a substrate (10); coating the plurality of first optical fibers with a first layer of first adhesive material (top 30 or 50), wherein the first layer of the first adhesive material covers upper surfaces of the plurality of first optical fibers (figs. 2 – 4); disposing a plurality of second optical fibers (40a) on the first layer of the first adhesive material; and bonding the plurality of second optical fibers to the first layer of the first adhesive material (col. 2, lines 28 – 34, col. 4, lines 50 – 54, col. 5, lines 20 – 30), wherein (a) the first adhesive material embeds at least the plurality of first optical fibers, or (b) the first adhesive material wraps outer surfaces of at least the plurality of first optical fibers, so that optical fibers in a same layer and optical fibers in adjacent layers are fixedly connected (figs. 2 – 4, through at least the adhesive or the adhesive and the adjacent layers are fixedly connected can mean that the fibers are connected to each other or connected through other structures such as 60 as the first adhesive can be interpreted as each layer of adhesive in the different layers).
In Re claim 11, ‘179 teaches coating the plurality of first optical fibers with the first layer of the first adhesive material in a form of forming an upper surface of the first adhesive material as a horizontal surface (figs. 2 – 4).
In Re claim 12, ‘179 teaches wherein the first adhesive material is a-pressure-sensitive adhesive (col. 4, lines 50 – 54, col. 5, lines 20 – 30), and bonding the plurality of second optical fibers to the first layer of the first adhesive material comprises: disposing the plurality of second optical fibers on the first layer of the first adhesive material in a semi-cured state of the first layer of the first adhesive material; and in a process of disposing the plurality of second optical fibers, applying a downward pressure to the plurality of second optical fibers, so that the plurality of second optical fibers are bonded to the first layer of the first adhesive material (col. 2, lines 28 – 34, col. 4, lines 50 – 54, col. 5, lines 20 – 30).
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.
Claims 6, 13 – 15, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schricker (U.S. Patent # 5,878,179).
In Re claims 6, 18 and 19, ‘179 teaches a first connecting part (30 or 50), the second connecting part (30 or 50) is a solid-state adhesive product (col. 4, lines 47 – 56) disposed between adjacent optical fiber layers (figs. 2 – 4), and fibers in a same layer are fixedly connected by the first connecting part (figs. 2 – 4),
but ‘179 is silent to the second connecting part is a clamping mechanism disposed outside the M optical fiber layers.
‘179 teaches applying pressure to permanently attach the fibers to the adhesive tape (col. 4, lines 50 – 58).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a clamping mechanism as a second connecting part to clamp both top and bottom of the laminated structure of figs. 2 – 4 so as to ensure adequate pressure to obtain permanent attachment between the layers as a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp.
In Re claims 13 and 14, ‘179 teaches the layers of fibers and adhesives as seen in figs. 2 – 4, but is silent to more layers as claimed. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add many more layers to figs. 2 – 4 so as to allow for a more robust communication assembly for a greater use in industry as a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp.
In Re claim 15, ‘179 teaches a pressure sensitive adhesive (lower 30, col. 4, lines 50 – 56), but is silent to the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer covering a substrate body of the substrate, and stripping the substrate body of the substrate from the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.
It is well known in the art to have a base substrate, a substrate body, for which all other layers are applied so as to ensure a uniform and expedited process of manufacture, especially when applying pressure to ensure the pressure sensitive adhesives bonds the fiber together, whereby the substrate is removed from the rest of the optical fiber board structure, after pressure is removed from the structure.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the structure of ‘179 to include a substrate body below substrate layer 10 whereby it is stripped from the other layers making up 5 and 45 of fig 3 after pressure has been applied, thus allowing for uniformity of adhesion between the fiber layers thereby making a more reliable structure as a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp.
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 CHAD SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 1-571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAD H SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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