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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 11,092,751 to Gniadek et al.
Gniadek discloses in the abstract and figure 2, a ferrule comprising:
A ferrule main body (31) having:
A connection end surface (unlabeled termination surface of 31 or 32 in figure 2); and
Fiber holes disposed in a first direction and through which a plurality of optical fibers are inserted (see background, column 1, lines 20-35); and
A protruding portion protruding from the ferrule main body in the first direction, wherein the connection end surface faces forward in a longitudinal direction of the fiber holes,
The protruding portion has a protruding portion rear surface facing rearward in the longitudinal direction of the fiber holes, and
A distance in the longitudinal direction between the protruding portion rear surface and the connection end surface is shorter than the distance in the longitudinal direction between the protruding portion rear surface and a rear end of the ferrule main body.
These three bullet points above describe an “enlarged” ferrule housing area (applicant’s 20 in figure 1). The claims appear to attempt to define the location of this area to be on the connection end face surface that abuts another similar ferrule connector portion (applicant figure 3A). However, as currently claimed, only one ferrule connector is claimed. Further, the descriptions for the protruding portion’s forward and rear directions are still met by the prior art’s ferrule connectors (31 or 32) as they would have front and rear portions that face the claimed directions even though the protruding portion is on the opposing side of the connection end face (prior art figure 2).
As to claim 2, guide pins and associated holes are disclosed (42a, 42b; figure 2).
As to claim 3, a “claw” (20; figure 2) connects the connection end surface to another ferrule where the protruding portion receives a pressing force by the claw (spring arms 21a and 21d).
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.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gniadek in view of US 2022/0373742 to Kim et al.
Gniadek discloses the invention as claimed except for the protruding portion being on the same plane as the connection end surface with a protruding portion dimension at least 0.3mm larger than that of the ferrule main body. With respect to the 0.3mm dimension, Gniadek’s protrusion is clearly larger than the rest of the ferrule housing and appears at least 0.3mm.
Further, the location of the protruding portion being moved to the same plane as the connection end face is well known depending on the connector-type. This is also shown in applicant IDS document JP2015-512531 (figures 31-32).
Kim discloses a ferrule with an additional protruding portion that may be optionally added (140, 340; figure 1) to add an optional bracket dimensioned to fit tightly.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to size and locate a protruding portion as taught by Kim in Gniadek as a matter of obvious design choice for relocation of disclosed structure and to properly secure a ferrule end face to minimize transmission errors.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 6,669,375 (spring 26).
US 2008/0193086 (figure 2).
US 2016/0091670 (spring end 72C).
US 2017/0227718 (spring bracket 100).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eric K Wong whose telephone number is (571)272-2363. The examiner can normally be reached M-Tu, Th-F 8A-6P.
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 Hollweg can be reached on 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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ERIC K. WONG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2874
/Eric Wong/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874