The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claims 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13 recites the limitations “the upper cable receiving portion” and “the lower cable receiving portion” which are not defined by claim 12 and appear to have been copied from claim 2 without proper revisions. For the purposes of this Action, the limitations are interpreted as “the first cable receiving portion” and “the second cable receiving portion”, respectively. Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 – 9, 12 – 21, and 23 – 29 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Holmberg et al (US 2007/0047894 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Holmberg discloses (Figs. 2A and 19; para. 0039 – 0042 and 0049 – 0055) a cable adapter tray 130 (para. 0042) configured to provide enhanced cable management, comprising (see annotated Fig. 19 below):
an adapter mounting portion 186 that is configured to receive an optical fiber cable adapter 128 that is configured to receive a cable connector 172 (“adapter mounts 186 that are arranged side by side in a staggered configuration, each adapter mount 186 accommodating six pairs of connectors 172” at para. 0052) attached to a cable 148 (para. 0046);
a perimeter portion 176 that is configured to extend around the adapter mounting portion 186 (as seen in Fig. 19);
an inner cable retention portion (defined by vertical portions of fingers 192; para. 0053) that is configured to be positioned between the perimeter portion 176 and the adapter mounting portion 186 (as seen in Fig. 19);
a cable receiving portion separator portion (a cable guide/channel defined/delimited by the fingers 192 and the perimeter portion 176) that is configured to extend between the perimeter portion 176 and the inner cable retention portion;
wherein the cable receiving portion separator portion (cable guide/channel) is configured to separate an area between the perimeter portion 176 and the inner cable retention portion into an upper cable receiving portion (in the orientation of Fig. 19) and a lower cable receiving portion;
wherein the upper cable receiving portion is configured to receive and retain one or more first (upper) cables 148;
wherein the lower cable receiving portion is configured to receive and retain one or more second (lower) cables 148; and
wherein the upper cable receiving portion is structurally configured to provide a first cable routing (curved/circular) path along a first (upper) side of the cable adapter tray 130 and the lower cable receiving portion is structurally configured to provide a second cable routing (curved/circular) path along an opposite (lower) second side of the cable adapter tray 130 so as to enhance organization of cables in the cable adapter tray 130 by providing two separate routing options (a spiral layout) for routing cables 148 in the cable adapter tray 130 (as seen in Fig. 19).
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Annotated Fig. 19.
Regarding claim 2, Holmberg teaches (see annotated Fig. 19 provided above for claim 1) that the upper cable receiving portion is a channel, and the lower cable receiving portion is a channel.
Regarding claim 3, Holmberg teaches (Figs. 19 and 20) that the adapter tray 130 includes a hinge portion (at least one of 180 and a hinge portion connecting two main parts 182,184 in Fig. 20) that is configured to be pivotally coupled with a receiving portion of a base portion such that the cable adapter tray is configured to pivot between an open position and a closed position (Figs. 2A, 6, and 20; para. 0050 – 0054).
Regarding claims 4 – 9, Holmberg teaches (see annotated Fig. 19 provided above for claim 1) that the cable adapter tray 130 further comprises an upper (and lower) cable receiving portion cable retaining portion (defined by top portions of fingers 192) that is configured to extend between the perimeter portion 176 and the inner cable retention portion (as denoted in annotated Fig. 19) and over the upper (and lower) cable receiving portion (channel/guide for cables 148), wherein the upper (and lower) cable receiving portion cable retaining portion comprises an upper (and lower) cable receiving portion access opening (a gap/opening between the top portions of fingers 192, and wherein the upper (and lower) cable receiving portion access opening is configured to allow a cable 148 to be inserted into the upper (and lower) cable receiving portion.
As an aside and relevant comment, it is also noted that the cable adapter tray 130 in Fig. 103 has a layout with a symmetry between the upper and lower portions, in full similarity with a cable adapter tray 202 in Fig. 2 of the instant application, the symmetry being reflected in the limitations of claims 4 – 9.
Regarding claims 12, 14, and 15, Holmberg teaches expressly all of the recited limitations, as detailed above for claim 1, with trivial/straightforward changes in the applied nomenclatures:
“a cable adapter tray” in claim 1 corresponds to “an adapter management device” in claim 12;
“an adapter mounting portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “an adapter receiving portion” in claim 12;
“an upper cable receiving portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “a first cable receiving portion” in claim 12;
“a lower cable receiving portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “a second cable receiving portion” in claim 12.
Claim 12 has a broader scope compared to claim 1, because some limitations of the latter are transferred to claims 13 and 14.
Regarding claims 13 and 16, Holmberg teaches expressly all of the recited limitations, as detailed above for claims 2 and 3, respectively, with the above-noted trivial/straightforward changes in the applied nomenclatures.
Regarding claims 17 – 21, Holmberg teaches expressly all of the recited limitations, as detailed above for claims 4 – 7 and 9, respectively, with the above-noted trivial/straightforward changes in the applied nomenclatures.
Regarding claims 23 and 25 – 27, Holmberg teaches expressly all of the recited limitations, as detailed above for claim 1, with trivial/straightforward changes in the applied nomenclatures:
“a cable adapter tray” in claim 1 corresponds to “an adapter management device” in claim 23;
“an adapter mounting portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “an adapter receiving portion” in claim 23;
“an upper cable receiving portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “a first cable receiving portion” in claim 26;
“a lower cable receiving portion” in claim 1 corresponds to “a second cable receiving portion” in claim 26.
Claim 23 has a broader scope compared to claim 1, because some limitations of the latter are transferred to claims 25 – 27.
Regarding claims 24, 28, and 29, Holmberg teaches expressly all of the recited limitations, as detailed above for claims 2, 4, 5, and 6, respectively, with the above-noted trivial/straightforward changes in the applied nomenclatures.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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 10, 11, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holmberg.
Regarding claim 10, 11, and 22, Holmberg considers (see annotated Fig. 19 provided above for claim 1) that the inner cable retention portion can have a generally circular shape that is enclosed into a circular shape defined by the perimeter portion 176 (para. 0053). Hence, Holmberg renders obvious that the inner cable retention portion can be parallel to the perimeter portion 176 at a majority, or at all, of locations of the inner cable retention portion, as a matter of a suitable/workable design choice that maintains a fixed width of the cable channel/guide (cable receiving portions) along the peripheral portion for consistent retainment of the cables.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 11,740,422 B2 Fig. 22
US 2011/0052133 A1 Figs. 1E, 2A
US 2022/0221675 A1 Fig. 3 (openings 96 for technician access to fiber-optic connectors; para. 0010 and 0057)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT TAVLYKAEV whose telephone number is (571)270-5634. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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/ROBERT TAVLYKAEV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
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