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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 and 4 – 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakada (JP 2008225006A).
In Re claim 1, ‘006 teaches a pitch conversion device comprising: a main body portion (4) configured to allow an optical fiber to be arranged thereon; and a turning portion (2) configured to be attached to the main body portion, wherein the turning portion includes a first holding portion (21a) configured to hold a plurality of the optical fibers at a first pitch (P1), and a second holding portion (21b) configured to hold a plurality of the optical fibers at a second pitch (P2), the turning portion rotates around an axis passing through an inside thereof in a state of being attached to the main body portion (par. 0018), and a position at which the optical fibers are held is changeable to the first holding portion or the second holding portion depending on a rotation angle of the turning portion (as the turning portion rotates the lateral positions of the fibers change, figs. 1 and 4).
In Re claim 2, ‘006 teaches a contact portion (23) attached to at least one of the main body portion and the turning portion, wherein the contact portion is arranged at a position facing the first holding portion or the second holding portion (fig. 1), and the contact portion is contactable with the optical fibers such that a holding state of the optical fibers held by the first holding portion or the second holding portion is maintained (par. 0021).
In Re claim 4, ‘006 teaches wherein the main body portion includes a first arrangement portion (groove in 4) having a width corresponding to the first holding portion and a second arrangement portion (groove in 6) having a width corresponding to the second holding portion, and the first holding portion or the second holding portion is arranged between the first arrangement portion and the second arrangement portion (fig. 8).
In Re claim 5, ‘006 teaches wherein the turning portion has an outer circumferential surface having a circular cross section (par. 0021, fig. 1), the first holding portion and the second holding portion are arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the turning portion (fig. 1), the first holding portion is provided with a plurality of grooves at a first pitch, and the second holding portion is provided with a plurality of grooves at a second pitch (figs. 1 and 4).
In Re claim 6, ‘006 teaches wherein a plurality of grooves (21c) having a pitch of an intermediate value between a value of the first pitch and a value of the second pitch are provided between the first holding portion and the second holding portion in a circumferential direction of the turning portion (fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakada (JP 2008225006A) in view of Lee et al. (U.S. Patent # 5,611,017).
‘006 teaches the device of claim 1 but is silent to a roller member as claimed.
‘017 teaches two roller members (36 and 38) that cooperate to secure optical fibers (30).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the contact portion (23) of ‘006 to make it a roller such as that of 36 or 38 of ‘017 as a means to secure the optical fibers onto the turning portion with minimal resistance thus allowing for minimal stress on the optical fibers as a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5.
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/CHAD H SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874