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 .
Detailed Action.
Applicant’s election with traverse of claims in response/amendment submitted on3/16/26 is acknowledged (note that the applicant’s arguments are presented in the last page of the claims with no SIGNATURE).with the traversal is on the ground(s) that the application was not filed national stage of under PCT rules and that the examination of the entire application can be made without serious burden. Upon review of the applicant’s remarks the examiner called Mr. Wittmann on 5/11/26 and through messaging with an associate (Ms. Fan) the examiner can still alternatively make to manifest substantially similar restriction to that of requirement under PCT Rules, and stated to Ms. Fan that in any case there would have been still restriction requirement between the product and the method claims. Wittmann called the examiner and stated that the examiner can proceed with an office action, however, the applicant maintains the same arguments and new arguments once the office action is presented. (see interview summary). Noting that the cited inventions present significant burden on the examiner to examine both inventions as it requires different search strings and/or search in different class/subclasses. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
The examiner, however, notes to the applicant that at the time of allowance, if the applicant incorporates all missing limitations of the base claim 1, including any allowable subject matter, then the examiner may incorporate the method claims for allowance.
The examiner below presents still (alternative) reason for restriction requirement mere for purpose of clarification to the applicant.
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions II and I are related as process and apparatus for its practice. The inventions are distinct if it can be shown that either: (1) the process as claimed can be practiced by another and materially different apparatus or by hand, or (2) the apparatus as claimed can be used to practice another and materially different process. (MPEP § 806.05(e)). In this case .
In this case invention I can be practiced using different method and/or steps of such as after threading/inserting the fiber through the ferrule applying the glue and fascinating the fiber by curing or mere having the ferrule that is molded with an optical fiber therein.
Group I, claim(s) claims 1-6 and 11-15, drawn to a fiber connecting apparatus, including
a first fiber connector comprising a first fiber ferrule having a central axis through-hole structure, wherein the first fiber ferrule is configured to allow a first fiber to pass therethrough; a second fiber connector comprising a second fiber ferrule having a central axis through-hole structure, the second fiber ferrule is configured to allow a second fiber to pass therethrough; and a pair of adapters, comprising a first adapter and a second adapter opposite to and connected and fastened to each other, and two adapters in the pair of adapters are configured to plug and unplug the first fiber connector and the second fiber connector, to implement docking between the first fiber and the second fiber inside the pair of adapters, wherein a head of the first fiber ferrule comprises a first fiber limiting structure, and the first fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the first fiber in the first fiber ferrule; and/or a head of the second fiber ferrule comprises a second fiber limiting structure, and the second fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the second fiber in the second fiber ferrule classified in G02B 6/3869. and/or
fiber connecting apparatus, comprising: a first fiber ferrule comprising a first fiber which is packaged in the first fiber ferrule; a second fiber ferrule comprising a second fiber which is packaged in the second fiber ferrule; and a ferrule matching sleeve configured to connect the first fiber ferrule and the second fiber ferrule, to dock the first fiber and the second fiber, wherein the first fiber ferrule and the second fiber ferrule are configured to rotate in the ferrule matching sleeve by any angle in a circumferential direction, and wherein a head of the first fiber ferrule comprises a first fiber limiting structure, and the first fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the first fiber in the first fiber ferrule; and/or a head of the second fiber ferrule comprises a second fiber limiting structure, and the second fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the second fiber in the second fiber ferrule.
Group II, claim(s) claims 7-10 , drawn to a fiber ferrule preparation method, including obtaining a ferrule with a groove structure on a head; threading a fiber into the ferrule; cutting a facet of the fiber that is threaded out of the ferrule flat; coating a side surface of the fiber that is threaded out of the ferrule with a material having a bonding attribute; and accommodating, by the groove structure, the material having the bonding attribute, and fastening a head of the fiber in a fiber ferrule after bonding and curing classified in G02B 6/3897
Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply: As stated above each invention is has limitation(s) that is directed toward an invention that would require search in different class/subclass(s) than that of other group invention(s) and because each of the above inventions defining an invention that is distinct that that of the other and requiring a different search. Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of an invention to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected invention. The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention. Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
The prior art documents submitted by Applicant(s) in the information Disclosure Statement(s) have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copy of form(s) PTO-1449).
The applicant is kindly asked in next response to make sure the claims are submitted in separate sheets than that of the applicant’s remarks.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 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.
Claims 1-6 and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Kobayashi” et. al. US 6358874 B1.
Regarding claim 1, Kobayashi teaches a fiber connecting apparatus (see figs. 1-13), comprising: a first fiber connector 10 (see at least figs. 9 and 10) comprising a first fiber ferrule 4/1 having a central axis through-hole structure (shown in at least fig. 4), wherein the first fiber ferrule is configured to allow a first fiber 5 to pass therethrough; a second fiber connector 10 comprising a second fiber ferrule having a central axis through-hole structure (shown in at least fig. 9), the second fiber ferrule is configured to allow a second fiber 1 to pass therethrough (shown in at least fig. 9); and a pair of adapters 30, comprising a first adapter 30/32 and a second adapter 30/32 opposite to and connected and fastened to each other (shown in at least fig. 9), and two adapters in the pair of adapters are configured to plug and unplug the first fiber connector 10 and the second fiber connector 10, to implement docking between the first fiber and the second fiber inside the pair of adapters (shown in at least fig. 9-10).
However, with regard to figs.9 and 10 Kobayashi does not explicitly state that wherein a head of the first fiber ferrule comprises a first fiber limiting structure, and the first fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the first fiber in the first fiber ferrule; and/or a head of the second fiber ferrule comprises a second fiber limiting structure, and the second fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the second fiber in the second fiber ferrule. Nonetheless, Kobayashi teaches that the optical fiber end can be adhered to the inner surface of the ferrule which it forms fiber limiting structure as by applying an adhesive/glue/epoxy by an ordinary skill in the art which is extremely conventional.
[[see Col. 1]] For the optical connector member, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a pair of ferrules 1 and 1 are used, each which has a through hole along the axis thereof, and a rear end of the ferrule is held in the backing body 2 or a flange member. Each end portion of a pair of two optical fibers to be connected is inserted through the hole and adhered to inner surface of the ferrule, of which the optical end surface is adjusted so as to form a face with together an end face of the ferrule.
Thus it would have been obvious to an ordinary artisan skilled in the art when the invention was made before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify one or both of the limiting portions of the ferrule/fiber interface with extremely convention adhering compound such as adhesive/glue to form a stable optical structure for optical coupling of the connectors. .
The statements advanced in rejection of claim 1, above, as to the applicability and disclosure of the combined references and the motivation are incorporated herein in rejection of the following claims as follows:
2. (Original) The fiber connecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first fiber limiting structure and/or the second fiber limiting structure are/is a groove structure on the head of a fiber ferrule in a central axis direction, and the groove structure is configured to accommodate a material having a bonding attribute, to fasten the head of fiber in the fiber ferrule (see analogous arguments as stated in claim 1 is applicable in rejection of claim 2). .
3. (Original) The fiber connecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a first key is disposed on the first fiber connector, a first component configured to fasten the first fiber connector is disposed on the first adapter in the pair of adapters, at least two first keyways are provided on a side wall of the first component, the first key is able to be embedded into each of the at least two first keyways, and the at least two first keyways are distributed in a circumferential direction of the first component (see at least figs. 8 and 13 with plurality of keyways/keys).
4. (Original) The fiber connecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first adapter and the second adapter in the pair of adapters are connected together by using flanges on respective outer edges of the first adapter and the second adapter (shown in figs. 9-10).
With regard to claim 5, Kobayashi teaches wherein fiber in a fiber ferrule (see figs, 9-10 and at least col. 1-2), however does not teach that the fiber is a microstructure fiber. Nonetheless, such microstructure fiber is extremely conventional in the art used in the connectors (i.e., see US 8175437 B2).and thus can easily by an used by an ordinary skilled in the art for optical coupling.
With regard to claim 5, Kobayashi teaches a fiber in a fiber ferrule being an all-solid fiber (see figs. 4-10, col. 1-4). however Kobayashi does not teach a method step in which a ferrule-side facet of the all-solid fiber is polished and plated with an anti-reflection film. Nonetheless, such polishing and plated with an anti-reflection film is extremely conventional in the art (i.e., see US 20030123837 A1) and thus can easily by an used by an ordinary skilled in the art for optical coupling.
The statements advanced in rejection of claim 1, above, as to the applicability and disclosure of the combined references and the motivation are incorporated herein in rejection of the following claims as follows:
Regarding claims 11, Kobayashi teaches a fiber connecting apparatus (see figs. 1-10), comprising:
a first fiber ferrule 4/1 comprising a first fiber 5 which is packaged in the first fiber ferrule (se figs. 2-19); a second fiber ferrule 4/1 comprising a second fiber 5 which is packaged in the second fiber ferrule (see figs. 9-10); and a ferrule matching sleeve (3) configured to connect the first fiber ferrule and the second fiber ferrule, to dock the first fiber and the second fiber (shown in figs 3 and 9-10 and col. 7), wherein the first fiber ferrule and the second fiber ferrule are configured to rotate in the ferrule matching sleeve by any angle in a circumferential direction (see at least col. 2, and col. 12 , 4th parag.),
However, with regard to figs.9 and 10 Kobayashi does not explicitly state that wherein a head of the first fiber ferrule comprises a first fiber limiting structure, and the first fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the first fiber in the first fiber ferrule; and/or a head of the second fiber ferrule comprises a second fiber limiting structure, and the second fiber limiting structure is configured to fasten a head of the second fiber in the second fiber ferrule. Nonetheless, Kobayashi teaches that the optical fiber end can be adhered to the inner surface of the ferrule which it forms fiber limiting structure as by applying an adhesive/glue/epoxy by an ordinary skill in the art which is extremely conventional.
12. (Original) The fiber connecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first fiber limiting structure and/or the second fiber limiting structure are/is a groove structure in a central axis direction, and the groove structure is configured to accommodate a material having a bonding attribute, to fasten the head of fiber in a fiber (see analogous arguments as stated in claim 11 is applicable in rejection of claim 12). .
ferrule.
With regard to claim 13, Kobayashi teaches wherein fiber in a fiber ferrule (see figs, 9-10 and at least col. 1-2), however does not teach that the fiber is a microstructure fiber. Nonetheless, such microstructure fiber is extremely conventional in the art used in the connectors (i.e., see US 8175437 B2).and thus can easily by an used by an ordinary skilled in the art for optical coupling.
With regard to claim 14, Kobayashi teaches a fiber in a fiber ferrule being an all-solid fiber (see figs. 4-10, col. 1-4). however Kobayashi does not teach a method step in which a ferrule-side facet of the all-solid fiber is polished and plated with an anti-reflection film. Nonetheless, such polishing and plated with an anti-reflection film is extremely conventional in the art (i.e., see US 20030123837 A1) and thus can easily by an used by an ordinary skilled in the art for optical coupling.
15. (Original) The fiber connecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a second key is disposed on the second fiber connector, a second component configured to fasten the second fiber connector is disposed on the second adapter in the pair of adapters, at least two second keyways are provided on a side wall of the second component, the second key is able to be embedded into each of the at least two second keyways, and the at least two second keyways are distributed in a circumferential direction of the second component (clearly shown in at least figs 14 and 2).
Citation of Relevant Prior Art
Prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. In accordance with MPEP 707.05 the following references are pertinent in rejection of this application since they provide substantially the same information disclosure as this patent does. These references are:
JP 2001042163 A
US 9664863 B2
US 6254278 B1
US 8175437 B2
US 20200310041 A1
US 20170139158 A1
US 20180329156 A1
US 20190265418 A1
US 20150177467 A1
US 9726831 B2
US 8447154 B2
US 20200371297 A1
JP 2003098385 A
US 20090003775 A1
US 20010010741 A1
US 20220269013 A1
US 20260110855 A1
JP H0634849 A
US 6358874 B1
US 7241056 B1
US 20250383509 A1
US 20250224570 A1
US 20230280542 A1
US 20230168436 A1
US 20140178013 A1
US 5187768 A
US 7397991 B1
US 5136681 A
US 11378758 B2
US 20160324402 A1
US 20170354323 A1
US 20170035275 A1
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEH C KIANNI whose telephone number is (571)272-2417. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-19.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hollweg can be reached on571-270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KAVEH C KIANNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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