DETAILED ACTION
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.
Re claim 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea, in this case, the estimation of the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, as could be performed or calculated by a human without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) measure a polarization characteristic of and optical signal transmitted through the transmission line; Fourier-transform the measured polarization characteristic; and estimate a polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, based on the Fourier-transform polarization characteristic, which are essentially just steps of an abstract idea of how to calculate fluctuation. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because once the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring within the transmission line is estimated, the system does not use said measurement into a practical application of the system. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because these pieces are performed to measure or calculate from said measurements the about of fluctuation within the system, however, beyond the calculation, which could be done by a human and is part of an abstract idea, such as to state significantly more beyond the abstract idea.
Re claim 2, the claim is dependent upon claim 1, and additionally recites “search for a peak in the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristic, and estimate a frequency of a position of the searched peak as the polarization fluctuation frequency”, such that they are additional steps towards another calculation, but the calculation does not add significantly more such as to overcome the 101 issues of the claim such that it also suffers from the 101 issues previously stated.
Re claim 3, the claim is dependent upon claim 1 and additionally recites “further comprising amplifying the optical signal and outputting an amplified optical signal” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 4, the claim is dependent upon claim 1 and additionally recites “wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to measure one or more of Stokes parameters as the polarization characteristic” such that they are additional steps towards another measurement, but the calculation does not add significantly more such as to overcome the 101 issues of the claim such that it also suffers from the 101 issues previously stated.
Re claim 5, the claim is dependent upon claim 4 and additionally recites “wherein the polarization characteristic is measured by a polarimeter”, which adds further details but does not add significantly more such as to overcome the 101 issues of the claim such that it also suffers from the 101 issues previously stated.
Re claim 6, the claim is dependent upon claim 4 and additionally recites “”a polarizer configured to transmit a component of the optical signal in a predetermined polarization direction; and a photodetector configured to detect an optical signal transmitted through the polarizer, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to compute one or more of the Stokes parameters, based on an optical signal detected by using the photodetector” ” such that they are additional steps towards another measurement, but the calculation does not add significantly more such as to overcome the 101 issues of the claim such that it also suffers from the 101 issues previously stated that the system is drawn to an abstract idea that is not integrated into a practical application and does not include significantly more.
Re claim 7, the claim is dependent upon claim 1, and additionally recites “wherein the optical signal is a signal having a wavelength different from a wavelength of a polarization multiplexed signal transmitted and received between an optical transmitter and an optical receiver, the signal being transmitted through the transmission line” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 8, the claim is dependent upon claim 1 and additionally recites “wherein the optical signal is inserted into the transmission line by using a multiplexer, and is branched from the transmission line by using a demultiplexer” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 9, the claim is dependent upon claim 8, and additionally recites “wherein the optical signal is inserted into the transmission line, transmitted over a predetermined span of the transmission line, and then branched from the transmission line” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 10, the claim is dependent upon claim 1, and additionally recites “a transmitter configured to transmit a polarization multiplexed signal; a receiver configured to receive a polarization multiplexed signal transmitted from the transmitter through a transmission line; the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus according to claim 1; and a light source configured to output the optical signal to the transmission line” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 11, the claim is dependent upon claim 10, and additionally recites “a set of the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus and the light source for each predetermined span in the transmission line” such as to add further details of the transmission system, but does not add significantly more as to overcome the 101 issues of this processing of the signal and determining of error to be that beyond an abstract idea without a practical application such that it also suffers from the 101 issue previously stated.
Re claim 13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea, in this case, the estimation of the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, as could be performed or calculated by a human without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) measure a polarization characteristic of . This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because once the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring within the transmission line is estimated, the system does not use said measurement into a practical application of the system. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because these pieces are performed to measure or calculate from said measurements the about of flu.
Re claim 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea, in this case, the estimation of the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, as could be performed or calculated by a human without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) measure a polarization characteristic of . This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because once the polarization fluctuation frequency occurring within the transmission line is estimated, the system does not use said measurement into a practical application of the system. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because these pieces are performed to measure or calculate from said measurements the about of flu. The incorporation of a computer readable medium is only within the preamble and does not reduce the issue of using said measuring into a practical application within the system nor is it significantly more than the judicial exception to implement the measurement through a computer.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 10-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato US PG PUB 2023/0119766.
Re claim 1, Sato discloses a polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus comprising:
at least one memory storing instructions (functions and the procedures described in each of the aforementioned example embodiments may be provided by executing a program by a CPU or a DSP included in the estimation computation unit 260, 261, or 404 or the estimation unit 504. The program is recorded on a tangible and non-transitory recording medium ¶ [0098]), and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions (the estimation computation unit 260 is an electric circuit including a CPU or a DSP, ¶ [0046], such as state a processor to carry out the instructions )to:
measure a polarization characteristic of an optical signal transmitted through a transmission line (an analog signal indicating the amplitude of each of the XI signal, the XQ signal, the YI signal, and the YQ signal is branched from the output of the photoelectric converter 230 and is input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250. The signal input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is herein referred to as a “monitor signal.” The monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is an electric circuit including an analog-to-digital converter, converts the amplitude of the input monitor signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal to the estimation computation unit 260 ¶ [0046], such that it generates a measurement of the received signal);
Fourier-transform the measured polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may Fourier transform temporal fluctuation of the amplitude of the monitor signal (a waveform example on the left side in FIG. 6) by digital computation) ¶ [0058]); and
estimate a polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, based on the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may estimate polarization fluctuation speed, based on an acquired frequency spectrum (a waveform example on the right side in FIG. 6) ¶ [0058], such that is t based on the Fourier transformed polarization characteristic of the amplitude).
Re claim 10, Sato discloses a communication system comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a polarization multiplexed signal (the optical transmitter 10, Fig. 1, generates a polarization-multiplexed optical signal by polarization-combining modulated optical signals ¶ [0037]);
a receiver configured to receive a polarization multiplexed signal transmitted from the transmitter through a transmission line (The optical transmission channel 30 is an optical fiber, and the optical receiver 20 receives a polarization-multiplexed optical signal propagating through the optical transmission channel 30 ¶ [0038]);
the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 (The optical receiver 20 includes a polarization fluctuation estimation unit 200 ¶ [0038], wherein the polarization fluctuation estimation unit 200 includes a polarization de-multiplexing/signal conversion unit 800, a monitor signal acquisition unit 250, and an estimation computation unit 260 ¶ [0039], wherein the estimation computation unit 260 and acquisition unit 250 are used to rejected claim 1); and
a light source configured to output the optical signal to the transmission line (The optical transmitter 10 converts input transmission data into an inphase (hereinafter referred to as “I”) component and a quadrature (hereinafter referred to as “Q”) component of each of an X-polarization wave and a Y-polarization wave and drives an optical modulator by using the electric signals XI, XQ, YI, and YQ. Furthermore, the optical transmitter 10 generates a polarization-multiplexed optical signal by polarization-combining modulated optical signals. ¶ [0037], such that the optical modulators modulating optical signal require an optical source, which is considered a light source to generate the optical signal on the transmission line).
Re claim 11, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 10, which claim 11 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato discloses the communication system comprises a set of the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus (the optical receiver includes a polarization fluctuation estimating unit 200 ¶[0038], such that the system of estimating would monitoring the polarization fluctuation)and the light source for each predetermined span in the transmission line (The optical transmitter 10 converts input transmission data into an inphase (hereinafter referred to as “I”) component and a quadrature (hereinafter referred to as “Q”) component of each of an X-polarization wave and a Y-polarization wave and drives an optical modulator by using the electric signals XI, XQ, YI, and YQ. Furthermore, the optical transmitter 10 generates a polarization-multiplexed optical signal by polarization-combining modulated optical signals. ¶ [0037], such that the optical modulators modulating optical signal require an optical source, which is considered a light source to generate the optical signal on the transmission line, wherein the transmission line is predetermine transmission line).
Re claim 12, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 10, which claim 12 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato discloses in another embodiment wherein wherein the receiver comprises a polarization fluctuation compensation filter configured to compensate for polarization fluctuation in the transmission line (The optical receiver 21 includes a polarization fluctuation estimation unit 203, an ADC 270, and a demodulation unit 280. The ADC 270 may be included in the polarization fluctuation estimation unit 203. The polarization fluctuation estimation unit 203 includes a selection unit 290, and the demodulation unit 280 includes a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) equalizer 281, wherein the MIMO equalizer 281 is an adaptive equalizer with an X-polarization signal and a Y-polarization signal as inputs. By updating tap coefficients of an FIR filter (hxx, hxy, hyx, and hyy in FIG. 11) in accordance with the following equation (1) described in PTL 2, the MIMO equalizer 281 compensates for polarization fluctuation of an X-polarization complex signal and performs polarization de-multiplexing of the X-polarization signal and the Y-polarization signa; ¶ [0076]), and the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus controls a coefficient of the polarization fluctuation compensation filter, based on the estimated polarization fluctuation frequency (The selection unit 290 selects a step-size parameter μ used by the MIMO equalizer 281, based on an estimated value of polarization fluctuation speed estimated by an estimation computation unit 260 or 261. The MIMO equalizer 281 eliminates unnecessary polarization components included in X-polarization signals (an XI signal and an XQ signal) and Y-polarization signals (a YI signal and a YQ signal) that are converted into digital signals by the ADC 270, based on the step-size parameter μ. The MIMO equalizer 281 thus provides the X-polarization signals and the Y-polarization signals that are polarized-wave-separated minutely for the input of the next processing in the demodulation unit 280 ¶ [0075], such that the estimation is used to inform the compensation filter coefficients).
At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato before him or her, to modify the optical receiver of the original embodiment to include the equalizer of the embodiment within Fig. 11 because it combines prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, reducing or compensation for polarization fluctuations.
Re claim 13, Sato discloses a polarization fluctuation monitoring method comprising:
measuring a polarization characteristic of an optical signal transmitted through a transmission line (an analog signal indicating the amplitude of each of the XI signal, the XQ signal, the YI signal, and the YQ signal is branched from the output of the photoelectric converter 230 and is input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250. The signal input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is herein referred to as a “monitor signal.” The monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is an electric circuit including an analog-to-digital converter, converts the amplitude of the input monitor signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal to the estimation computation unit 260 ¶ [0046], such that it generates a measurement of the received signal);
Fourier-transforming the measured polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may Fourier transform temporal fluctuation of the amplitude of the monitor signal (a waveform example on the left side in FIG. 6) by digital computation) ¶ [0058]); and
estimating a polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, based on the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may estimate polarization fluctuation speed, based on an acquired frequency spectrum (a waveform example on the right side in FIG. 6) ¶ [0058], such that is t based on the Fourier transformed polarization characteristic of the amplitude).
Re claim 14, Sato discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute processing of:
acquiring a polarization characteristic of an optical signal transmitted through a transmission line (an analog signal indicating the amplitude of each of the XI signal, the XQ signal, the YI signal, and the YQ signal is branched from the output of the photoelectric converter 230 and is input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250. The signal input to the monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is herein referred to as a “monitor signal.” The monitor signal acquisition unit 250 is an electric circuit including an analog-to-digital converter, converts the amplitude of the input monitor signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal to the estimation computation unit 260 ¶ [0046], such that it generates a measurement of the received signal);
Fourier-transforming the acquired polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may Fourier transform temporal fluctuation of the amplitude of the monitor signal (a waveform example on the left side in FIG. 6) by digital computation) ¶ [0058]); and
estimating a polarization fluctuation frequency occurring in the transmission line, based on the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristic (the estimation computation unit 260 may estimate polarization fluctuation speed, based on an acquired frequency spectrum (a waveform example on the right side in FIG. 6) ¶ [0058], such that is t based on the Fourier transformed polarization characteristic of the amplitude).
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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ryu US PG PUB 2025/0015894.
Re claim 2, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 1, which claim 2 is dependent. Furthermore, while Sato discloses the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristics specifically the amplitude of the signal, Sato does not disclose search for a peak in the Fourier-transformed polarization characteristic, and estimate a frequency of a position of the searched peak as the polarization fluctuation frequency.
However, Ryu disclosed the phase variation amplitude width is obtained as the amplitude value of a frequency component which gives a peak in the Fourier transform result of the optical receiver output current ¶ [0129], wherein the result of the Fourier transform is analyzed, and a frequency indicating a protruding peak value and a frequency of another protruding component are decided as the variation frequencies. For example, the variation of the amplitude value is observed while changing the frequency of the measurement data obtained by the Fourier transform. The frequency at which the amplitude value rapidly varies is decided as the variation frequency ¶ [0281].
Sato and Ryu are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, optical transmission signals. At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato and Ryu before him or her, to modify the polarization fluctuation estimation system of Sato to include the ability to search for the peak of Ryu because it combines prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, enabling the identification of signals or frequencies that are suffering from the greatest about of variability.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sun et al (herein Sun) US PG PUB 2019/0280910.
Re claim 3, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 1, which claim 3 is dependent. However, Sato does not explicitly disclose amplifying the optical signal and outputting an amplified optical signal.
However, Sun discloses an optical pre-amplifier or semi-conductor optical amplifier (SOA) can be used prior to the optical receiver element and, alternatively or in combination with the recovered clock and data extracted at the receive terminal, can be used for multi-hop spans for use in extending network reach, having a generic, large bandwidth range of operation for providing data-rate invariant operation.
Sato and Sun are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, transmission of polarization multiplexed signals. At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato and Sun before him or her, to modify the optical transmission of Sato to include the optical amplifier prior to the receiver of Sun because it combines prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, enabling the signal to transmitted along an extended network path.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato as applied to claim1 above, and further in view of Oda et al (herein Oda) US PG PUB 2011/0249971.
Re claim 4, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 1, which claim 4 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to measure one or more of Stokes parameters as the polarization characteristic.
However, Oda discloses the respective polarimeters 5021 to 502M+N monitor a Stokes parameter expressing the polarization state of the respective optical signals demultiplexed by the demultiplexer 501. The respective fluctuation detection circuits 5031 to 503M+N detect the speed (frequency) of polarization fluctuations in the optical signal, based on a change in the Stokes parameter monitored by the respective polarimeters 5021 to 502M+N, to determine whether polarization scrambling has been performed, and transmit the determination result thereof to the information collection section 53 ¶ [0055], such that the system is able to measure polarization fluctuations of multiple signals.
Sato and Oda are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, optical transmission signals with polarized optical signals. At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato and Oda before him or her, to modify the measuring or tracking of polarization fluctuation of Sato to include the monitoring of the stokes parameter of Oda because it combines a prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, enabling the system to track or detection the speed or frequency of polarization fluctuations.
Re claim 5, Sato and Oda disclose all the elements of claim 4, which claim 5 is dependent. Furthermore, Oda discloses wherein the polarization characteristic is measured by a polarimeter (The respective polarimeters 5021 to 502M+N monitor a Stokes parameter expressing the polarization state of the respective optical signals ¶ [0055]).
Re claim 7, Sato discloses all the elements of claim 1, which claim 7 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato does not explicitly disclose wherein the optical signal is a signal having a wavelength different from a wavelength of a polarization multiplexed signal transmitted and received between an optical transmitter and an optical receiver, the signal being transmitted through the transmission line. However, Oda discloses in order to achieve an increase in capacity of communication systems, polarization multiplexing digital coherent communication has been introduced. In the polarization multiplexing digital coherent communication, state of polarization (SOP) fluctuation may occur in a transmitted signal. ¶ [0003].
Sato and Oda are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, optical transmission system. At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato and Oda before him or her, to modify the transmission system of Sato to include additional wavelengths of Oda because it combines prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, enables the system to increase capacity of the system.
Re claim 8, Sato and Oda disclose all the elements of claim 1, which claim 8 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato does not explicitly disclose wherein the optical signal is inserted into the transmission line by using a multiplexer, and is branched from the transmission line by using a demultiplexer.
However, Oda discloses FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a communication system according to the present disclosure. The communication system 10 includes a transmitter 11, a receiver 15, a polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus 20, and a light source 30. The transmitter 11 and the receiver 15 are connected to each other via a transmission line 13. The transmitter 11 outputs a polarization multiplexed signal to the transmission line 13. The receiver 15 receives the polarization multiplexed signal transmitted from the transmitter 11 via the transmission line 13. ¶ [0030], and then The WDM light repeatedly transmitted on the optical transmission line 2 is input to the optical reception device 4, and the optical reception device 4 amplifies the WDM light to a required level by a pre-amplifier 41 and demultiplexes the WDM light to optical signals having respective wavelengths l1 to lM+N by a demultiplexer 42. Then the optical reception device 4 receives the (polarization scrambled) optical signals output from the demultiplexer 42 and having respective wavelengths l1 to l M by optical receivers (RX) 43-1 to 43-M corresponding to the respective wavelengths, and receives the (non-polarization scrambled) optical signals having respective wavelengths l.M+1 to l M+N by respective optical receivers (RX) 44-1 to 44-N corresponding to the respective wavelengths. ¶ [0035].
Re claim 9, Sato and Oda discloses all the elements of claim 8, which claim 9 is dependent. Furthermore, Sato does not explicitly disclose wherein the optical signal is inserted into the transmission line, transmitted over a predetermined span of the transmission line, and then branched from the transmission line (In FIG. 1, in the optical communication system of the first embodiment, WDM light in which, for example, a polarization scrambled optical signal and a non-polarization scrambled optical signal are multiplexed, is transmitted from an optical transmission device 1 to an optical transmission line 2, and the WDM light is repeatedly transmitted, while being amplified by an optical repeater 3 arranged on the optical transmission line 2, and is received by an optical reception device 4. ¶ [0031], wherein Fig. 1 discloses that the combined signals are input via the multiplexer 16 and then are branched via demultiplexer 42).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato and Oda as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Davis et al (herein Davis) US PG PUB 2004/0036876.
Re claim 6, Sato and Oda discloses all the elements of claim 4, which claim 6 is dependent. Furthermore, Oda discloses the polarization fluctuation monitoring apparatus further comprising:
a polarizer configured to transmit a component of the optical signal in a predetermined polarization direction (example (C) illustrated in the third stage in FIG. 6 includes a demultiplexer 511, M+N splitters 5121 to 512M+N, 2x(M+N) polarizers 513A1, 513B1 to 513AM+N, and 513BM+N, ¶ [0057], such that these polarization are able to separate or pass through a certain polarization); and
a photodetector configured to detect an optical signal transmitted through the polarizer (photodiodes (PD) 514A1, 514B1 to 514AM+N, and 514BM+N, and M+N fluctuation detection circuits 5151 to 515M+N ¶ [0057], such that the photodetector would receive the output of the polarization, Fig. 6(c)).
Oda does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to compute one or more of the Stokes parameters, based on an optical signal detected by using the photodetector from the polarization. However, Davis discloses A Stokes polarimeter is a device for determining the SOP of light incident thereon by measuring the components of the Stokes vector of Eq. (1). In terms of the Poincar sphere, the Stokes polarimeter determines the components of the Stokes vector by measuring the projections along the orthogonal axes of the Poincar sphere. For example, passing the light through a horizontal linear polarizer is equivalent to measuring the projection of the Stokes vector along the horizontal axis. As another example, for measurements of circular polarization components, a quarterwave plate can be utilized to convert circular polarization components into a linear polarization, from which a linear polarizer may then be used to determine the projection. In general, multiple measurements must be made in order to obtain all four components of the Stokes vector ¶ [0011].
Sato, Oda, and Davis are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, optical signals that have been polarized. At the time filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Sato, Oda, and Davis before him or her, to modify the system that measures polarization fluctuations of Sato and Oda to include the system that measures the Stokes parameters based on signals output by a polarizer of Davis because it combines prior art elements, according to known methods, to yield predictable results, in this case, it enables the system to monitor the polarization state of the signals being received.
Conclusion
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TANYA MOTSINGER
Examiner
Art Unit 2637
/TANYA T MOTSINGER/ Examiner, Art Unit 2635
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