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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 09 July, 2026 has been fully considered and entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 17: Claim 17 recites “a platform, the platform rotatably coupled to the spine at each of the third face and the fourth face”. The originally filed specification does not support this limitation. Fig. 3 shows two platforms 210, one coupled to the spine at the third face 113 and the other coupled to the spine at the fourth face 114. No single platform in the original disclosure is rotatably coupled to the spine at each of the third face and the fourth face. Therefore, claim 17 includes new matter.
Regarding claims 18-20: Claims 18-20 inherently contain all of the deficiencies of claim 17 and therefore also include new matter.
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 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 1-4, 8-13, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Daoud et al. (US Patent No. 6,226,436; hereinafter Daoud).
Regarding claim 1: Daoud disclosesA fiber optic closure (Fig. 9), wherein a reference coordinate system defines a mutually orthogonal vertical axis (vertical direction in Fig. 9), lateral axis (horizontal direction of Fig. 9), and transverse axis (into the page of Fig. 9), the closure comprising: a spine (Fig. 9, pedestal 210) extending along the vertical axis, the spine forming a first wall extending along the transverse axis (see annotated Fig. 9) and a second wall extending along the lateral axis (see annotated Fig. 9); a platform (Fig. 9, tray 180a; as applied to claims 10-15, tray 280a), the platform rotatably coupled to the spine at the second wall (the tray is rotatably coupled via bracket 131; as applied to claims 10-15, the tray is rotatably coupled via bracket 231), the platform configured to releasably attach to the second wall in a first position alongside the second wall along the vertical axis (see annotated Fig. 9, first position; also see col. 6, line 60-col. 7, line 6), and configured to rotate to a second position at an angle from the second wall between the vertical axis and the transverse axis (see col. 6, line 60-col. 7, line 6, while the two detents secure the trays in a vertical and horizontal position, the trays rotate between those positions when moving from one to the other, including through a second position at an angle from the second wall between the vertical axis and the transverse axis; additionally, col. 7, lines 59-end teach that the detents can secure the trays at other angles; as applied to claims 10-15, the trays 280 are also shown to be rotatably attached and the structure of brackets 231 additionally and upper holes 212 form a releasable attachment); and a tray assembly releasably attachable to the first wall of the spine (Fig. 9, tray assembly including upper bracket 231 and trays 280 along first wall is releasably attachable to the spine 210; as applied to claims 10-15, tray assembly including bracket 131 and any of trays 180 along first wall are also releasably attachable to the first wall of the spine).
Annotated Fig. 9:
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Regarding claim 2: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the closure comprising: a hinge interface to rotatably couple the platform to the spine at the second wall (see Fig. 9, bracket assembly 131 is a hinge interface to rotatably couple the platform to the spine at the second wall).
Regarding claim 3: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the closure comprising: a platform retention member positioned at the second wall of the spine (best shown in Fig. 6, stop, e.g. 152c), the platform retention member configured to fix the platform in the first position (see col. 8, lines 55-65).
Regarding claim 4: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the closure comprising: a flexible member coupled to the spine and the platform, the flexible member configured to retain the platform at the angle in the second position (see col. 6, line 60-col. 7, line 6; the detents and/or features of the tray that secure the tray at the detents must include a flexible member for the described force to enable rotation; additionally, “flexible” is a term of degree, and any material inherently has some flexibility).
Regarding claim 8: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the platform forming an open end (see Fig. 9, end of tray 180a proximate the hinge portion 160 is an open end) proximate to a first end (end proximate the hinge portion 160) and a closed end (as shown in Fig. 8, the opposite end has a wall, considered to form a closed end) proximate to a second end, the platform forming a retainer member at the closed end (the wall is considered to be a retainer member).
Regarding claim 9: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 8 (as applied above), the platform forming an opening (Fig. 8 shows a plurality of openings around the perimeter of the platform face, proximate to the retainer member) through a platform face proximate to the retainer member.
Regarding claim 10: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the spine comprising a tray retention member (Fig. 9, holes for fastening members 135; see col. 3, lines 42-45) positioned in a track (Fig. 9, a surface of pedestal 110 forms a track) formed by the spine, the tray retention member configured to releasably attach the tray assembly to the spine (Fig. 7, fasteners 135 are shown to be screws, therefore the holes are configured to releasably attach the tray assembly to the spine).
Regarding claim 11: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 10 (as applied above), the tray assembly comprising: a tray panel (Fig. 7, bracket 131), wherein the tray panel is extending along the vertical axis when attached to the spine (Fig. 9 shows that the tray panel extends along the vertical axis when attached to the spine); and a plurality of tray plates (Fig. 9, trays 180a-180h) releasably attachable to the tray panel.
Regarding claim 12: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 11 (as applied above), the tray panel forming a slot, the slot receivable at the tray retention member at the spine (Fig. 3, top part of mounting plate 132 with holes 134 form slots that are receivable at the tray retention member at the spine).
Regarding claim 13: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the closure comprising: a routing panel (Fig. 9, a tray 180 is a routing panel attachable to the spine) attachable to the spine, the routing panel forming a passage below the platform along the vertical axis (Fig. 9 shows that trays 180 are below the platform 280 along the vertical axis; as described in col. 3, line 55-col. 4, line 6, the trays form a passage, said passage extends in 3 dimensions, including along the lateral axis), the passage extending along the lateral axis.
Regarding claim 15: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 13 (as applied above), the closure comprising: a tube holder (as best shown in Fig. 1, splice holders 182 are attachable to the routing panel) attachable to the routing panel, the tube holder forming a channel extending along the vertical axis (the tube holders extend in 3 dimensions, including along the vertical axis; additionally, the tube holders are not required by the claim to extend along the vertical axis when they are attached to the routing panel, since the claim only requires that they can be attachable; appropriate rotation of the tube holder will result in a channel along the vertical axis).
Regarding claim 16: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the closure comprising: an upper routing guide (see annotated Fig. 9, upper routing guide) comprising a wall (as shown in annotated Fig. 9, upper routing guide comprises a wall) forming a passageway (holes 112, best shown in Fig. 2) extending along the lateral axis, the upper routing guide positioned at a second end of the closure (the upper routing guide is positioned at a second end of the closure).
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.
Claims 5-7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daoud et al. (US Patent No. 6,226,436; hereinafter Daoud) in view of Bran de Leon et al. (US Patent No. 8,086,084; hereinafter Bran de Leon).
Regarding claim 5: Daoud disclosesThe fiber optic closure of claim 1 (as applied above), the platform comprising a platform face extending along the vertical axis and along the lateral axis when the platform is in the first position (the face of the platform shown in the first position in annotated Fig. 9 is a platform face extending along the vertical axis and along the lateral axis).
Daoud fails to teach that the platform comprises a spool extending from the platform face. However, fiber trays including spools are well known in the art, with spools providing structures for managing supporting fiber optic cables. For example, Bran de Leon, also related to fiber trays (see title, abstract, and Figs. 1-2), taught a fiber management structure including a plurality of spools which extend from the tray face, which corresponds to the claimed platform face (Fig. 2, spools 122, 124, and 126). To better manage and organize fibers within the platform, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the Daoud device by including on the platform a spool extending from the platform face, since it was taught by Bran de Leon and since it was well known in the art.
Regarding claim 6: Modified Daoud teaches the fiber optic closure of claim 5, as applied above. Bran de Leon further teaches including spool tabs 127 on the spools 122, 124, and 126 (see Fig. 2). In order to better manage and support the fibers using the spools, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include spool tabs on the spools of the modified Daoud device, since it was taught by Bran de Leon.
Regarding claim 7: Modified Daoud teaches the fiber optic closure of claim 5 (as applied above), as applied above, the platform comprising a platform tab extending from the platform face (see plurality of tabs extending from platform face shown in Daoud Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 14: Daoud discloses the fiber optic closure of claim 13, as applied above. Daoud fails to disclose that the routing panel comprises a routing panel spool extending along the lateral axis. . However, fiber trays including spools are well known in the art, with spools providing structures for managing supporting fiber optic cables. For example, Bran de Leon, also related to fiber trays (see title, abstract, and Figs. 1-2), taught a fiber management structure including a plurality of spools which extend from the tray face, which corresponds to the claimed platform face (Fig. 2, spools 122, 124, and 126). To better manage and organize fibers within the routing panel, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the Daoud device by including on the routing panel a spool extending in 3 dimensions, including along the lateral axis, since it was taught by Bran de Leon.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kirsten D Endresen whose telephone number is (703)756-1533. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday.
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/KIRSTEN D. ENDRESEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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