DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election
Applicant’s election without traverse of group II (claims 2-18) in the reply filed on 12/11/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1 and 19-22 stand withdrawn from consideration.
Specification Objection
The specification is objected to because line 1 of [0029] reads "Mach-Zender" instead of "Mach-Zehnder".
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)(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 2 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2018/0183513 A1.
Claim 2: discloses a circuit comprising (see mainly fig. 6A):
a plurality of optical paths (paths labeled 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 emerging from PIC 600);
one or more primary lasers 602;
a plurality of auxiliary lasers 604 and/or 606;
a single optical switch 608 configured between a primary laser input to each optical path and an output terminal of the optical path;
and at least one optical switch 608 (the same one) configured between an auxiliary laser input to each optical path and the output terminal of the optical path. It is noted that the present application provides for the possibility of using the same switch 114 to receive light from both a primary laser 104 and an auxiliary laser 112 for example in figs. 1C-1D.
Claim 4: At least some of the primary lasers 602 and the auxiliary lasers 604 are fixed-wavelength lasers (denoted in fig. 6A by "N fixed lasers" and "M fixed lasers" respectively).
Claim 5: At least one auxiliary laser 604 is a fixed-wavelength laser configured to output a same wavelength of light as one or more of the primary lasers 602 (there is both an auxiliary laser 604 and a primary laser 602 for each fixed wavelength λ1, λ2, λ3, and λ4 as labeled in fig. 6A; see also [0069]).
Claim 6: At one auxiliary laser 606 is a tunable-wavelength laser (note "M Tunable lasers" and "λx" labels in fig. 6A).
Claim 7: The circuit comprises a single optical switch 608 along each optical path between the auxiliary laser input and the optical path output terminal.
Claims 2, 4, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2023/0336248 A1.
Claim 2: '248 discloses a circuit comprising (see mainly fig. 2A):
a plurality of optical paths (paths entering PBRC 220);
one or more primary lasers 204-1;
a plurality of auxiliary lasers 204-2 and 204-3;
a single optical switch 240 configured between a primary laser input to each optical path and an output terminal of the optical path; and
at least one optical switch 240 configured between an auxiliary laser input to each optical path and the output terminal of the optical path. As described in [0049], variable coupler 240 can operate as a switch with a bar state connecting input 1 to output 1 and input 2 to output 2 or a cross state connecting input 1 to output 2 and input 2 to output 1. As to the designation of 204-2 and 204-3 as "auxiliary" lasers, it is noted that an intended manner of operation of a device does not patentably distinguish if the reference discloses all the recited structure (see e.g. MPEP 2114(II)).
Claim 4: At least some of the primary lasers and the auxiliary lasers are fixed-wavelength lasers (operating at wavelengths λ2-λ4 as labeled in fig. 2A).
Claim 8: The circuit comprises a plurality of optical switches (236 and 240) along each optical path between the auxiliary laser input and the optical path output terminal.
Claim 9: The optical switches are 2x2 optical switches (fig. 2A).
Claims 10, 13-15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5241610.
Claim 10: '610 discloses a circuit comprising (see mainly figs. 4A-4C and 6):
a plurality of optical paths (including eight fibers 1 through 4' in fig. 6);
a plurality of primary lasers ("LASER 1" through "LASER 4");
one or more auxiliary lasers ("B/U LASER", B/U short for back-up);
optical switches 105a-105d, 205a-205d, 305a-305d, 405a-405d arranged along the optical paths, the optical switches configured to switch light between adjacent optical paths.
Claim 13: Second output terminals of the optical switches are coupled to inputs of optical switches on the adjacent optical paths (for example, output terminals numbered "3" of switches 105a / 105b / 105c are coupled to inputs numbered "1" of switches 105b / 105c / 105d).
Claim 14: First output terminals of the optical switches are coupled to inputs of optical switches on the adjacent optical paths (for example, output terminals numbered "3" of switches 205a / 205b / 205c / 205d are coupled to inputs numbered "1" of switches 305a / 305b / 305c / 305d).
Claim 15: Second output terminals of the optical switches are coupled to inputs of optical switches on the adjacent optical paths (for example, output terminals numbered "4" of switches 205a / 205b / 205c / 205d are coupled to inputs numbered "2" of switches 305a / 305b / 305c / 305d).
Claim 18: The optical switches are 2x2 optical switches.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 11-12, and 16-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of their respective base claims and all applicable intervening claims.
Regarding claims 3 and 11-12, the applied references do not mention or suggest the recited connections between the optical switch(es) and a transform network in combination with all the other features of claims 2 or 10. Regarding claims 16 and 17, the only reference applied to base claim 10 (US 5241610) discloses only one auxiliary laser ("back-up laser") and not plural auxiliary lasers as recited. '610 appears to teach away from having multiple auxiliary lasers, in the interest of minimizing cost and complexity (see e.g. col. 5 lns. 54-57 and col. 6 lns. 9-13). '610 also does not disclose or suggest that its auxiliary laser is either a tunable wavelength laser as required by claim 16 or a comb laser as required by claim 17.
Conclusion
The additional references listed on the attached 892 form are considered generally relevant to the subject matter of this application. Several of them disclose other examples of systems having primary and auxiliary lasers.
Contact Information
Examiner: 571-272-2360
Examiner's direct supervisor: 571-272-2397
Official correspondence by fax: 571-273-8300
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/Michael Stahl/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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