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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 7 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious the contact portion being a roller as claimed in claim 3 or a cutout portion as claimed in claim 7. The closest relevant prior art of record, Nakada (JP 2008225006A), teaches that contact portion is a block as seen in fig. 8 and that the lid portion 51 does not have a cutout portion that surrounds the contact portion as claimed. Thus, with no teaching from the prior art, and without the benefit of applicant's teachings, there is no motivation for one of ordinary skill in the art to combine/modify the prior art of record in a manner so as to create the claimed invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of a reinterpretation of the structures as amended.
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 including a base portion (base of 1B) and a lid portion (51) disposed to cover a part (its over base 1B at 5) of the base portion;
a turning portion (2) attached to the base portion; and
a contact portion (5) rotatably attached (via hinge 50 with respect to lid 51) to the lid 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 wherein the contact portion is arranged at a position facing (the far side of 5 in fig. 8) the first holding portion or the second holding portion (fig. 1), and the contact portion is contactable (in the groove of 5) 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.
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 5) 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).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 1-571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAD H SMITH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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