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 prior art documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statements filed 07/11/2024 and 10/24/2024 have all been considered and made of record.
Joint Inventors
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regards to claim 13, the claim recites “…the plurality of fiber optic connection modules are configured to support three-port optical component density of ninety-six (96) three-port optical components per U space of the chassis, wherein a U space comprises a height of 1.75 inches and comprises a width of 19 inches or 23 inches.…”. The claim establishes physical dimensions for a “…U space…”, but does not provide any further bounds or information regarding what structure or region the term corresponds to with respect to the remainder of the apparatus of claim 1. The claim is indefinite because limitations create a great deal of confusion regarding the structure of the claimed device.
Examiner’s note: The term “U-space” is relied upon in the specification and dependent claim 21, but is not further defined beyond being a space being occupied by a pair of cassettes. For the purposes of further examination, examiner has generally interpreted the term as U-space as referring to any space occupied by any pair of cassettes.
Claims 14-21 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 13 on which they depend.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Livingston (US 10852501 B2).
With regards to claim 1, Livingston discloses a fiber optic connection module comprising:
a body structure comprising a floor and sidewalls (Livingston/Figs2&14-15/Body structure 128, floor 460, and sidewalls 112, 116, 140, and 144), the sidewalls including upper peripheral sidewall portions projecting upward relative to the floor and lower peripheral sidewall portions projecting downward relative to the floor, the floor having an upper surface and a lower surface (Figs14-15/Upper peripheral sidewall portions and Lower peripheral sidewall portions [Sidewall portions respectively above and below element 460], and the floor defining at least one opening (Figs14-15/At least one opening as indicated below), wherein the body structure further defines an upper cavity and a lower cavity, the upper cavity being bounded by the upper surface of the floor and the upper peripheral sidewall portions, and the lower cavity being bounded by the lower surface of the floor and the lower peripheral sidewall portions (Figs 14-15/Upper cavity and lower cavity [Unlabeled - Regions separated by element 460]);
a plurality of first fiber guide members projecting from the floor into the upper cavity and configured to retain a first plurality of optical fibers between the first fiber guide members and the upper peripheral sidewall portions (Figs14-15/First fiber guide members 472); and
a plurality of second fiber guide members projecting from the floor into the lower cavity and configured to retain a second plurality of optical fibers between the second fiber guide members and the lower peripheral sidewall portions (Figs14-15/Second fiber guide members 468);
wherein the upper cavity is configured to receive a plurality of first optical components and a plurality of first splices (Figs14-15/First optical components [Tubular sleeve elements indicated below - left arrow]; Column 5/Lines 13-14);
wherein the lower cavity is configured to receive a plurality of second optical components and a plurality of second splices (Figs14-15/Second optical components [Tubular sleeve elements indicated below - right arrow]; Column 5/Lines 13-14); and
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wherein the at least one opening defined by the floor is configured permit routing of optical fibers between the upper cavity and the lower cavity (Figs 14-15/Opening [Unlabeled - indicated below]).
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With regards to claim 2, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first optical components comprises a plurality of first three-port optical components, and the plurality of second optical components comprises a plurality of second three-port optical components (Figs14-15/First, second, and third ports as indicated below).
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With regards to claim 3, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein the sidewalls define a plurality of lateral openings each receiving a corresponding grommet configured to permit passage of an optical fiber through the sidewall (Fig15/Openings [as indicated below] and Grommet 484); and
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wherein each lateral opening of the plurality of lateral openings comprises a primary vertical slot into which the corresponding grommet is received, and the corresponding grommet comprises a secondary vertical slot that permits passage of an optical fiber through the sidewall (Fig15/Primary vertical slot [Unlabeled - vertical guide features near marker 116] and secondary vertical slot [Unlabeled - semicylinder region within element 484]).
With regards to claim 4, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein:
the upper peripheral sidewall portions comprise an upper sidewall edge distal from the floor (Figs14-15/Upper sidewall edge [Unlabeled - upper edges of element 128]);
the lower peripheral sidewall portions comprise a lower sidewall edge distal from the floor (Fig9/Lower sidewall edge [Unlabeled - lower edges of element 128]); and
the fiber optic connection module further comprises:
a plurality of upper fiber retention members projecting inward from the upper peripheral sidewall portions proximate to the upper sidewall edge (Fig14/Plurality of upper fiber retention members [as indicated below]); and
a plurality of lower fiber retention members projecting inward from the lower peripheral sidewall portions proximate to the lower sidewall edge (Fig14/Plurality of lower fiber retention members [as indicated below]).
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With regards to claim 6, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein:
each first fiber guide member comprises a first fiber retaining tab projecting outwardly and being substantially parallel to the floor (Fig15); and
each second fiber guide member comprises a second fiber retaining tab projecting outwardly and being substantially parallel to the floor (Fig15).
With regards to claim 7, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, further comprising mechanical interlocking features along exterior surfaces of two opposing sidewalls and configured permit the fiber optic connection module to be removably engaged to an adjacent fiber optic connection module in a side-by-side configuration (Figs13&18/Interlocking features 232).
With regards to claim 8, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface of the floor comprises a first plurality of recesses configured to receive portions of the plurality of first optical components (Figs15&17), and the lower surface of the floor comprises a second plurality of recesses configured to receive portions of the plurality of second optical components (Figs15&17).
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 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.
Claims 9-19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Livingston (US 10852501 B2).
With regards to claims 9-10, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, but is silent regarding the upper cavity having a height of less than 5 mm, the lower cavity having a height of less than 5 mm, the body structure having a total height of no greater than 10 mm, and the body structure having a width of less than 80 mm and a length of less than 100 mm. However, Livingston does disclose elements 536 as each having a length of 1.3 mm (Fig18; Column 9/Lines 8-10) and it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the upper cavity of Livingston to have a height of less than 5 mm, the lower cavity to have a height of less than 5 mm, the body structure to have a total height of no greater than 10 mm, and the body structure to have a width of less than 80 mm and a length of less than 100 mm since doing so would reduce the volume of space occupied by the module.
With regards to claim 11, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1. Livingston does not disclose the fiber optic connection module as being configured to receive a first group of nine three-port optical components in the upper cavity and nine three-port optical components in the lower cavity. However, Livingston does disclose the fiber optic connection module as being configured to receive a first group of four three-port optical components in the upper cavity and four three-port optical components in the lower cavity (Figs14-15), and it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the module of Livingston to receive groups of nine three-port optical components in the upper and lower cavities rather than groups of 4 since doing so would facilitate increased data transmission density.
With regards to claim 12, Livingston discloses a cassette comprising a plurality of fiber optic connection modules according to claim 1 (Fig12/Cassette 432), with the fiber optic connection modules of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules being arranged in a side-by-side configuration; and wherein: the plurality of fiber optic connection modules comprises four fiber optic connection modules (Fig12). Livingston does not disclose each fiber optic connection module of the four fiber optic connection modules as being configured to receive a first group of nine three-port optical components in the upper cavity and nine three-port optical components in the lower cavity. However, Livingston does disclose the fiber optic connection module as being configured to receive a first group of four three-port optical components in the upper cavity and four three-port optical components in the lower cavity (Figs14-15), and it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the module of Livingston to receive groups of nine three-port optical components in the upper and lower cavities rather than groups of four since doing so would facilitate increased data transmission density.
With regards to claim 13, Livingston discloses a fiber optic apparatus, comprising:
a chassis configured to be disposed in an equipment rack (Fig12/Chassis 392);
a plurality of cassettes supported by the chassis and extendable relative to the chassis (Fig12/Cassettes 432 and 436); and
a plurality of fiber optic connection modules configured to be installed in the plurality of cassettes (Fig12/Connection modules 100), wherein each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules comprises a body structure including an upper cavity and a lower cavity separated by a floor defining at least one opening configured to permit routing of optical fibers between the upper cavity and the lower cavity (Figs 14-15/Floor 460, Upper cavity and lower cavity [Unlabeled - Regions separated by element 460], Opening [Unlabeled - indicated below]), and each of the upper cavity and the lower cavity is configured to receive multiple three-port optical components and multiple splices (Figs14-15/Receiving elements 472 and 468);
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wherein the plurality of cassettes and the plurality of fiber optic connection modules are configured to support three-port optical component density of ninety-six (96) three-port optical components per U space of the chassis (Figs12&14-15/U-space [Space occupied by element 392 - Each space contains more than 6 instances of element 100, themselves supporting at least 16 optical components apiece]).
Livingston is silent regarding a U space comprising a height of 1.75 inches and a width of 19 inches or 23 inches. However, Livingston does disclose elements 536 as each having a length of 1.3 mm (0.05 in) (Fig18; Column 9/Lines 8-10) and it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure a U-space of Livingston to have a height of 1.75 inches and a width of 19 inches or 23 inches since doing so would improve the apparatus’ compatibility with equipment racks with widths equal to or approaching 2 ft.
With regards to claim 14, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality of cassettes and the plurality of fiber optic connection modules are configured to support three-port optical component density of one hundred forty-four (144) three-port optical components per U space of the chassis (Figs12&14-15/U-space [Space occupied by element 392 - Each space contains 12 instances of element 100, themselves supporting at least 16 optical components apiece]).
With regards to claim 15, Livingston discloses she fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein:
for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules, the body structure further comprises sidewalls (Sidewalls 112, 116, 140, and 144), and mechanical interlocking features along exterior surfaces of two opposing sidewalls and configured permit the fiber optic connection module to be removably engaged to an adjacent fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules (Figs13&18/Interlocking features 232);
each cassette of the plurality of cassettes is configured to receive multiple fiber optic connection modules of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules arranged in a side-by-side configuration (Fig18).
With regards to claim 16, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules, the body structure further comprises sidewalls including upper peripheral sidewall portions projecting upward relative to the floor and lower peripheral sidewall portions projecting downward relative to the floor (Figs14-15/Upper peripheral sidewall portions and Lower peripheral sidewall portions [Sidewall portions respectively above and below element 460]), the floor having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper cavity is bounded by the upper surface of the floor and the upper peripheral sidewall portions, and the lower cavity is bounded by the lower surface of the floor and the lower peripheral sidewall portions (Figs14-15).
With regards to claim 17, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 16, wherein for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules, a plurality of first fiber guide members project from the floor into the upper cavity and are configured to retain a first plurality of optical fibers between the plurality of first fiber guide members and the upper peripheral sidewall portions (Figs14-15/First fiber guide members 472), and a plurality of second fiber guide members project from the floor into the lower cavity and are configured to retain a second plurality of optical fibers between the plurality of second fiber guide members and the lower peripheral sidewall portions (Figs14-15/Second fiber guide members 468).
With regards to claim 18, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 16, wherein, for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules:
the upper peripheral sidewall portions comprise an upper sidewall edge distal from the floor (Figs14-15/Upper sidewall edge [Unlabeled - upper edges of element 128]);
the lower peripheral sidewall portions comprise a lower sidewall edge distal from the floor (Fig9/Lower sidewall edge [Unlabeled - lower edges of element 128]);
a plurality of upper fiber retention members project inward from the upper peripheral sidewall portions proximate to the upper sidewall edge (Fig14/Plurality of upper fiber retention members [as indicated below]); and
a plurality of lower fiber retention members project inward from the lower peripheral sidewall portions proximate to the lower sidewall edge (Fig14/Plurality of lower fiber retention members [as indicated below]).
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With regards to claim 19, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein, for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules: the sidewalls define a plurality of lateral openings, each lateral opening of the plurality of lateral openings comprises a primary vertical slot into which a corresponding grommet is received (Fig15/Primary vertical slot [Unlabeled - vertical guides features near marker 116], openings [as indicated below], and grommet 484), and
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the corresponding grommet comprises a secondary vertical slot that permits passage of an optical fiber through the sidewall (Fig15/Secondary vertical slot [Unlabeled - semicylinder region within element 484]).
With regards to claim 21, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality of cassettes comprises two cassettes per U-space, and the plurality of fiber optic connection modules comprises four fiber optic connection modules per cassette (Fig 12/Cassettes 432 and 436, and connection modules 100).
Claims 5 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Livingston (US 10852501 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 13 respectively, above in view of Kim (US 6144792 A).
With regards to claim 5, Livingston discloses the fiber optic connection module of claim 1, wherein:
the sidewalls comprise four sidewalls (Sidewalls 112, 116, 140, and 144);
the body structure comprises a rectangular shape and four corners defined by the four sidewalls (Fig1).
Livingston is silent regarding the body structure further comprising curved corner transition walls inset from corners of the module. However, the practice of incorporating curved corner transition walls inset from corners of a module exists in the art as exemplified by Kim.
Livingston and Kim are considered to be analogous in the field of optical connection modules. Livingston discloses an optical connection module with four corners, a floor separating all wall portions into upper and lower wall portions, and ports disposed near every corner of the module. Kim teaches an optical connection module wherein
the body structure further comprises corner transition walls that are proximate to, and inset from the four corners (Kim/Fig2/Corner transition walls [Unlabeled - two sections of one instance of transition walls indicated below]);
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each corner transition wall of the corner transition walls comprises a curved shape and merges into two adjacent sidewalls of the sidewalls (Kim/Fig2); and
wherein each corner transition wall of the corner transition walls defines a transition wall opening configured to permit passage of an optical fiber through the corner transition wall (Kim/Fig2/Wall openings 54 and 56).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add curved wall portions inset from corners of the connection module to the connection module of Livingston as suggested by Kim since doing so would facilitate protection and routing of elements within the module.
Livingston and Kim do not specifically disclose the corner transition walls as being disposed at all four corners of the module. However, Livingston and Kim do disclose corner transition walls as being disposed at two corners of the module, and it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dispose corner transition walls at all four corners of the optic module of Livingston and Kim since doing so would further facilitate protection and routing of elements within the module.
With regards to claim 20, Livingston discloses the fiber optic apparatus of claim 13, wherein, for each fiber optic connection module of the plurality of fiber optic connection modules:
the sidewalls comprise four sidewalls (Sidewalls 112, 116, 140, and 144);
the body structure comprises a rectangular shape and four corners defined by the four sidewalls (Figs 14-15).
Livingston is silent regarding the body structure further comprising curved corner transition walls inset from corners of the module. However, the practice of incorporating curved corner transition walls inset from corners of a module exists in the art as exemplified by Kim.
Livingston and Kim are considered to be analogous in the field of fiber optic apparatuses. Livingston discloses an optical connection module with four corners, and a floor separating all wall portions into upper and lower wall portions. Kim teaches an optical connection module wherein
the body structure further comprises corner transition walls that are proximate to, and inset from the four corners (Kim/Fig2/Corner transition walls [Unlabeled - two sections of one instance of transition walls indicated below]), and
each corner transition wall of the corner transition walls comprises a curved shape and merges into two adjacent sidewalls of the sidewalls (Kim/Fig2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add curved wall portions inset from corners of the connection module to the connection module of Livingston as suggested by Kim since doing so would facilitate protection and routing of elements within the module.
Livingston and Kim do not specifically disclose the corner transition walls as being disposed at all four corners of the module. However, Livingston and Kim do disclose corner transition walls as being disposed at two corners of the module, and it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dispose corner transition walls at all four corners of the optic module of Livingston and Kim since doing so would further facilitate protection and routing of elements within the module.
Conclusion
This prior art, made of record, but not relied upon, is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure since the following references have similar structure and/or use similar structure and/or similar optical elements to what is disclosed and/or claimed in the instant application:
Gonzales (US 7418184 B1) [Fig1]
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Marc E Manheim whose telephone number is (703)756-1873. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30am - 5pm E.T., Monday - Tuesday and Thursday - Friday.
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, Thomas A Hollweg can be reached at (571) 270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARC E MANHEIM/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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