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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/16/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-9 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because
the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Independent claim 17, a method claim, recites three steps that can be performed in the mind of a person or practicably with pen and paper. The “acquiring a plurality of measurement values” is a step of data gathering, the “calculating an average value of measurement values …, determining a variance of the measurement values for each first time section, and determining a reference quality value based on the average value and the variance” are mathematical operations a person can perform in the mind or with pen and paper, the “determining whether the communication quality satisfies a required quality value based on the reference quality value” is an analysis or comparison a person can perform in the mind or with pen and paper, which just comparing the calculated result with “a required quality”. Independent claims 1 and 18 recite similar limitations, but add that there are “a communication device”, “a memory” and “instruction” to enable “one processor” to perform the steps (claim 1), and “a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program” for causing a communication device to execute the steps (claim 18), which do not impart patent eligibility to the claims; and the elements “processor” and “non-transitory computer-readable medium” etc. are merely limiting the performance of the mental process on a generic computer.
Thus, the independent claims recite a concept of gathering data, calculating an average, and analyzing it, which is similar to the idea held to be abstract in Electric Power Group (Elec. Power Grp., LLCv. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1351-52 (Fed.Cir.2016). Further, because the data is related to an optical communication network, does not make the concept not-abstract.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the optical communication network does not perform the acquiring, calculating and determining; and a processor does not prevent the claims from being considered to be directed to a mental process, and using a computer to gathering data and process/analyze data is considered to be well-understood, routine and conventional activity.
Dependent claims 2-9 recite limitations also directed to the abstract idea by further limiting the data processing, the calculation and analysis based on the data. Merely combining several abstract ideas does not render the combination any less abstract.
Claims 1-9 and 17-18 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Applicant’s Specification identifies that the communication device and method is for the analysis of communication quality of an optical communication network and comparing the calculated communication quality with a required quality so to change the communication setting in the optical communication network based on the control content received from the communication device (Figure 9, steps S14-S16; or Figure 16 steps S14 and S53-S54). However, the independent claims 1, 17-18 and dependent claims 2-9 do not recite a limitation directed to perform the change setting of the communication network based on the analysis and comparison.
Dependent claims 10-16 contain steps to “change a communication setting in the optical communication network so that the communication quality satisfies the required quality value”, and/or to “reduce a strength of an error correction code of a communication signal transmitted in the optical communication network or reduce a transmission output of another communication device that transmits the communication signal” etc., which are indicative of integration into a practical application. Thus, claims dependent claims 10-16 contain eligible subject matter when their parent claims are ineligible.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-16 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.
US 20210075674 A1
US 20210014144 A1
US 20200187054 A1
US 20180337727 A1
US 20170099229 A1
US 20170019795 A1
US 20160365934 A1
US 20120301139 A1
US 20120230671 A1
US 20120226727 A1
US 20110032835 A1
US 7684696 B1
US 20080193125 A1
US 20070270101 A1
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LI LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-1084. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am - 8 pm.
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, Kenneth Vanderpuye can be reached at (571)272-3078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LI LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634 December 25, 2025