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 statements (IDS's) submitted comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statement; please see attached forms PTO-1449.
Drawings
The drawings submitted have been reviewed and determined to facilitate understanding of the invention. The drawings are accepted as submitted.
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, 6, and 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2009/0202214 to Holmberg et al. (hereinafter “US1”).
Regarding Claim 1, US1 describes a fiber optic cable assembly (see Figs 3-6 and 16-21), comprising:
a fiber optic cable including a plurality of subunit cables, at least one of the plurality of subunit cables including at least one optical fiber (see [0005]-[0006], [0034], [0036]-[0037]); and
at least one terminal (500, 600) along a length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the at least one terminal comprises:
a housing (200, 520, 620, 720, 820) including a plurality of wall portions (see Figs 3-6, 18-21), the plurality of wall portions defining an inlet portion (232) and a main body portion (including 212, 502), the inlet portion including an inlet through which the fiber optic cable enters the housing (see [0037]), and the main body portion including a plurality of connection ports (514), at least one of the plurality of connection ports being optically coupled to at least one optical fiber (see [0056]).
Regarding Claim 2, US1 describes the inlet portion enclosing a volume and the main body portion encloses a volume greater than the volume of the inlet portion (see Figs 8-10).
Regarding Claim 6, US1 describes the inlet defining an axis and each of the plurality of connection ports defining an axis, and the axis of the inlet is perpendicular to at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection ports (see Figs 20, 21).
Regarding Claim 8, US1 describes the axis of the inlet and the at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection port are in different planes (see Figs 20, 21).
Regarding Claim 9, US1 describes the inlet including an axis and each of the plurality of connection ports including an axis, and the axis of the inlet is parallel to at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection ports (see Fig 17).
Regarding Claim 10, US1 describes the axis of the inlet and the at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection port are in different planes (see Fig 17).
Regarding Claim 11, US1 describes the main body portion including a storage space (280) and a portion of the at least one subunit cable is coiled in the storage space adjacent the connection ports (at 292, see [0044] and Figs 6, 12, 18).
Regarding Claim 12, US1 describes the least one terminal forming a terminal end of the fiber optic cable assembly (see [0034]).
Regarding Claim 13, US1 describes the at least one terminal including a first terminal and a second terminal and at least one subunit of the fiber optic cable passes through the first terminal and enters the second terminal (see Abstract and [0037]).
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2008/0170833 to Castonguay et al. (hereinafter “US2”).
Regarding Claim 19, US2 describes a set of first and second fiber optic cable (cables 132 from 124 to the different terminals 136, as shown in Fig 7) that each comprise:
a fiber optic cable (132) including a plurality of subunit cables, at least one of the plurality of subunit cables including at least one optical fiber (see [0063]); and
at least one terminal (136) along a length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the at least one terminal comprises:
a housing (142, see Figs 8A-8D) including a plurality of wall portions, the plurality of wall portions defining an inlet portion (150) and a main body portion (defined by 144), the inlet portion including an inlet through which the fiber optic cable enters the housing (see [0065]), and the main body portion including a plurality of connection ports (154, 156), at least one of the plurality of connection ports being optically coupled to at least one optical fiber (see [0065]),
wherein the fiber optic cable of the first fiber optic cable assembly has a first length from a first one or more connectors to a first terminal of the at least one terminal (see Fig 7),
wherein the fiber optic cable of the second fiber optic cable assembly has a second length from a second one or more connectors to a second terminal of the at least one terminal (see Fig 7), and
wherein the first length is different from the second length (see Fig 7, where the terminals are located at different locations, requiring different lengths of the fiber optic cables 132).
Regarding Claim 20, US2 describes that the first terminal forms a terminal end of the first fiber optic cable assembly, and the second terminal forms a terminal end of the second fiber optic cable assembly (see Fig 7).
Claims 1-2, 12, 14-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WIPO International Publication WO 2021/247709 to Anderson et al. (hereinafter “WO1”).
Regarding Claim 1, WO1 describes a fiber optic cable assembly (see Figs 25-29), comprising:
a fiber optic cable (110) including a plurality of subunit cables, at least one of the plurality of subunit cables including at least one optical fiber (see Pg 23, Par 2); and
at least one terminal (104, 300) along a length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the at least one terminal comprises:
a housing (302) including a plurality of wall portions (see Figs 25-27), the plurality of wall portions defining an inlet portion (310) and a main body portion (central portion as shown in Fig 26), the inlet portion including an inlet through which the fiber optic cable enters the housing (see Pg 23, Par 2), and the main body portion including a plurality of connection ports (118, 306), at least one of the plurality of connection ports being optically coupled to at least one optical fiber (see Pg 23, Par 2).
Regarding Claim 2, WO1 describes the inlet portion enclosing a volume and the main body portion encloses a volume greater than the volume of the inlet portion (see Fig 26).
Regarding Claim 12, WO1 describes the least one terminal forms a terminal end of the fiber optic cable assembly (see Figs 25-27).
Regarding Claim 14, WO1 describes the at least one terminal including a hanger system (322) for coupling the terminal to a cable tray (102).
Regarding Claim 15, WO1 describes the hanger system including a bracket (322) configured to couple the housing to a bottom wall of the cable tray (via 328).
Regarding Claim 17, WO1 describes the hanger system configured to be secured to the cable tray with the plurality of connection ports being positioned at an elevation of the cable tray (see Fig 29).
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.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US2.
Regarding Claim 1, US2 describes a fiber optic cable assembly (see Figs 10A-10C), comprising:
a fiber optic cable (132) including a plurality of subunit cables, at least one of the plurality of subunit cables including at least one optical fiber (see [0063], [0067], [0069]); and
at least one terminal (136, 180) along a length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the at least one terminal comprises:
a housing (shown in Figs 10A-10C) including a plurality of wall portions (188), the plurality of wall portions defining an inlet portion (194) and a main body portion (shown in Figs 10A-10C), and the main body portion (larger portion including separated fibers as shown in Figs 10A and 10B) including a plurality of connection ports (184/186), at least one of the plurality of connection ports being optically coupled to at least one optical fiber (see [0069]).
US2 does not describe the optical fiber assembly where the inlet portion including an inlet through which the fiber optic cable enters the housing. The described inlet portion is a multi-fiber connector.
US2 describes another cable assembly (see Figs 8A-8B), comprising:
a fiber optic cable (12) including a plurality of subunit cables, at least one of the plurality of subunit cables including at least one optical; and
at least one terminal (140) along a length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the at least one terminal comprises:
a housing (142) including a plurality of wall portions, the plurality of wall portions defining an inlet portion (150) and a main body portion (defined by 144), the inlet portion including an inlet through which the fiber optic cable enters the housing (see [0065]), and the main body portion including a plurality of connection ports (154, 156), at least one of the plurality of connection ports being optically coupled to at least one optical fiber (see [0065]).
It is well-known in the art that multi-fiber connectors, such as that used in terminal 180 of US2, may be used interchangeably with direct cable inputs, such as that used in terminal 140 of US2 (see US2 at [0065]: “The FDT 140 defines a direct cable input as compared to the multi-fiber connector input of the embodiment of FIGS. 9A-9C described below”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the direct cable input of terminal 140 of US2 in the in terminal 180 of US2. The motivation for doing so would have been to make a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding Claim 2, US2 describes the inlet portion enclosing a volume and the main body portion encloses a volume greater than the volume of the inlet portion (see Figs 8A, 10A).
Regarding Claim 3, US2 describes the housing including a neck portion (adjacent 182 as shown in Figs 10A-10B) between the inlet portion and the main body portion and the neck portion defines a gap between the inlet portion and the main body portion (see Figs 10A-10B).
Regarding Claim 4, US2 describes the housing as asymmetric (see Figs 10A-10C).
Regarding Claim 5, US2 describes the neck portion offset from a centerline of the main body portion of the housing (see Figs 10A-10B).
Regarding Claim 6, US2 describes the inlet defining an axis (190) and each of the plurality of connection ports defines an axis (parallel to 192), and the axis of the inlet is perpendicular to at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection ports (see Fig 10B).
Regarding Claim 7, US2 describes the axis of the inlet and the at least one axis of one of the plurality of the connection ports in the same plane (see Figs 10A-10C).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16 is 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.
Claim 18 is allowed.
Claim 16 describes the plurality of connection ports arranged in an array, the array defining a plane that divides the housing, and the plane of the array is parallel to a plane of the bottom wall when the terminal is coupled to the cable tray.
Claim 18 describes the sidewall of the cable tray is received in a gap between the inlet portion and the main body portion.
These limitations represent subject matter not described or reasonably suggested, in conjunction with the further limitations of the present claims, by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art cited in the attached form PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art describes optical fiber cables and terminal devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY RAHLL whose telephone number is (571)272-2356. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:00pm.
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 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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/JERRY RAHLL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874