DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
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. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Each of claims 1, 10 and 19, and thus each of claims 2-9, 11-18 and 20 by way of dependence, recites “adjust a result of subtracting a reference value… from the second sum.” This language is ambiguous in light of the specification. It’s not clear what the limiting effect is, if any, of “adjust”, relative to subtracting. Further, the claim to subtracting a reference value from the second sum does not seem to reflect the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the intended scope of the claim is unclear. Applicant’s fig. 6 shows adder 610 performing two additions and a subtraction, not a subtraction from the second addition in particular, as the claim language states. Also, neither the subtraction nor the output of the adder 610 is then adjusted. It’s not clear if the intended adjustment is considered to be the first sum’s contribution to the adder, or if it is intended to be something done to the adder’s output, and if so, what that intended action. Further, thet term “reference value” implies a static value, but in the disclosure the “bin reference”, which seems to be the supporting subject matter, is the opposite – it reflects the current accumulator at each expiration of a bin collection period. Thus, it is effectively a rolling/cycling accumulation, not a fixed “reference value.”
Each of claim 2 and 11 recites storing the second sum in the reference register. This is the register that has the “reference value” in claim 1 and 10. There is no disclosure of storing a summed output back into the reference register. In Applicant’s fig. 6, the supporting subject matter for “second sum” would be the second addition occurring in adder 610, but adder 610 does not feed any result back into the bin reference 608, and the disclosure does not use the phrase “second sum” at all. Thus, it’s not clear what the intended scope is.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter, as the intended scope is best understood by the examiner in light of the 112(b) rejections: The primary reason for the allowability of the claims is the inclusion, in all the claims, of the respective summations of the first historical interval sum of PM data and the later (second) intervals’ PM data, and subtracting from the second summation a rolling/cycling register’s value, followed by adjusting the result of the subtracting. This was not found in the prior art. The closest prior art is “Bernard” (US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0185631), which has the OLT using an OMCI command to retrieve PM data collected by the ONU in different time intervals.
Conclusion
Additional prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0045201 – ONU power monitoring over time intervals.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0163504 – related to the Bernard reference mentioned above.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0034411 – For PON and other network types, compiling history of operating conditions, including from ONUs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN M CORS whose telephone number is (571)272-3028. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth Vanderpuye can be reached at 571-272-3078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN M CORS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634