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 .
Claim Objection
Claim 1 is objected to because its last line recites "terminals" instead of "terminal" (only one second connecting terminal is introduced in line 7).
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is indefinite because lines 7 and 8 each recites "the optical module" (singular), but they do not identify which one of the multiple optical modules from line 3 is being further limited. Claims 2-10 are rejected by dependence from claim 1. Claim 1 could potentially be clarified by replacing "the optical module" in line 7 with "a first optical module of said optical modules" and inserting "first" before "optical module" in line 8.
Claim 10 is further indefinite because line 2 recites "the optical module" (singular), but does not identify which one of the multiple optical modules from base claim 1 is being further limited. Claim 10 could potentially be clarified by replacing "the optical module" in line 2 with "one of said optical modules".
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 1-2, 5-6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2012/0163757 A1.
Claim 1: '757 discloses an active optical cable, comprising (see mainly figs. 1-2):
an optical cable 16;
optical modules 2A / 2B, which are provided at each of two ends of the optical cable, and optically coupled with the optical cable, wherein at least one optical module is detachably connected to the optical cable;
a first connecting terminal 17A connected to one end of the optical cable and optically coupled to the optical cable, and a second connecting terminal 10A connected to (a first) optical module 2A (of said optical modules) and optically coupled to the (first) optical module, wherein the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal are optically coupled with each other;
a connecting sleeve 8A which is connected between the optical cable and the second connecting terminal, and maintains the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal in an optically coupled state, wherein at least one of the optical cable and the second connecting terminals is detachably connected to the connecting sleeve.
Claim 2: The connecting sleeve 8A comprises a first accommodating space, and a first port (the visible port in fig. 2) and a second port (on opposite side of 8A facing 10A) arranged at both ends of the first accommodating space, wherein the optical cable enters the first accommodating space through the first port, and the second connecting terminal 10A enters the first accommodating space through the second port, and wherein the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal maintain an optical coupling state within the first accommodating space;
the connecting sleeve 8A further comprises at least one first positioning structure 15 for positioning the position of the second connecting terminal, and the first positioning structure positions the second connecting terminal based on a width or a thickness of the second connecting terminal ([0026]).
Claim 5: The connecting sleeve 8A further comprises at least one second positioning structure 15 for positioning the optical cable, and the optical cable comprises a third positioning structure 21 that is matched with the second positioning structure, the second positioning structure and the third positioning structure being positioned with each other through a concave-convex matching structure.
Claim 6: The second positioning structure 15 is at least one first positioning groove arranged on an inner wall of the first accommodating space, and the third positioning structure is a second positioning protrusion 21 that is matched with the first positioning groove.
Claim 10: The active optical cable further comprises an optical module box base 6A, and (one of said optical modules) 10A and the connecting sleeve 8A both are installed on the optical module box base ([0023], [0026]); and the connecting sleeve 8A further comprises a fixed flange (visible in fig. 2) configured to position a position of the connecting sleeve on the base of the optical module box.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 7-9 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 claim 1 and all applicable intervening claims, and if the rewriting avoids the indefiniteness issue mentioned above. The applied '757 reference does not disclose or suggest the opposing elastic plates to clamp the second connecting terminal as required by claim 3, or the first connecting terminal buckle structure required by claim 7, in combination with all the elements of their ancestor claims.
Conclusion
The additional references listed on the attached 892 form disclose other examples of active optical cable structures.
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