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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 recites: “The visualization device according to any one of claim 2” in line 1; Claim 6 recites: “The visualization device according to any one of claim 1” in line 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 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.
Claim(s) 1, 6, 7, 8, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matz et al. (US2004/0037556 A1) in view of Hirota et al. (WO2020/203333 A1; translation: US 2023/0166502 A1, IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Matz et al. teach a visualization device (fig. 2, system 160) for visualizing a specific optical fiber (fig. 2, one of fiber optic paths 132, 134, 142, 144) from a plurality of optical fibers (fiber optic paths 132, 134, 142, 144), the visualization device comprising: a signal change detection unit, including one or more processors paragraph configured to detect a change occurring in an optical signal when a physical stimulus is applied to each optical fiber(paragraphs 0075 – 0087).
Matz et al. do not specifically teach a display control unit, including one or more processors, configured to display identification information indicating an optical fiber in which a change has occurred in the optical signal. However, it is well known in the art to include a display, including a control unit, including one or more processors, configured to display identification information indicating an optical fiber information. For example, Hirota et al. disclose a display, including a control unit, including one or more processors, configured to display identification information indicating an optical fiber information (Hirota: paragraphs 0018 – 0021). Therefore, it is obvious before the filing of invention to include a display unit, as taught by Hirota et al., in the system of Matz, in order to visually display the identified optical fiber.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 6, Matz et al. teaches that the changes is a light reception level (0018).
Claim 13 is rejected for the same reason.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 9-12, 14-18 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 the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Masuda et al. (US2019/0372665 A1) disclose a measurement system and measurement method to improve an inspection efficiency of an optical transmission line.
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/QUAN ZHEN WANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2685