DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-2, 4-5 and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huen et al (US Pub 20130010675) in view of Kowalevicz et al (US Pub 20230090667).
Regarding Claim 1. Huen discloses a communication system comprising
a plurality of communication devices (Fig 3, where a system (100) comprises a plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13)), each including a first transceiver configured to transmit and receive first optical signals and a second transceiver configured to transmit and receive second optical signals (Fig 3, Fig 4, where each of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) includes a first transceiver (e.g. Tx2 / Rx2) (as shown in Fig 4) configured to transmit and receive first optical signals and a second transceiver (e.g. Tx4 / Rx4) (as shown in Fig 4) configured to transmit and receive second optical signals).
Huen fails to explicitly disclose the first optical signals being counterclockwise first circularly polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals and the second optical signals being clockwise second circularly polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals, and wherein the plurality of communication devices is arranged in such a way that, among a first transceivers and a second transceivers, transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the communication devices and another communication device that is a communication counterpart.
However, Kowalevicz discloses
first optical signals being counterclockwise first circularly polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals and second optical signals being clockwise second circularly polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals (Fig 2, where a first transceiver (i.e. for left hand circular polarization) transmits and receives first optical signals that are counterclockwise first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals and where a second transceiver (i.e. for right hand circular polarization) transmits and receives second optical signals that are clockwise second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals as spatial optical signals), and
wherein a plurality of communication devices is arranged in such a way that, among a first transceivers and a second transceivers, transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the communication devices and another communication device that is a communication counterpart (Fig 1, Fig 2, where a plurality of communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) (as shown in Fig 1) is arranged in such a way that, among first transceivers (i.e. for left hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2) and second transceivers (i.e. for right hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2), transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other (as shown in Fig 1) between each of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) and another communication device of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) that is a communication counterpart).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) as described in Huen, with the teachings of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) as described in Kowalevicz. The motivation being is that as shown communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) can be arranged in such a way that, among first transceivers (i.e. for left hand circular polarization) which transmit and receive counterclockwise first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals and second transceivers (i.e. for right hand circular polarization) which transmit and receive clockwise second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals, transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) and another of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) that is a communication counterpart and one of ordinary skill in the art can implement this concept into the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) as described in Huen and have the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) be arranged in such a way that, among first transceivers (e.g. Tx2 / Rx2) which transmit and receive counterclockwise first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals and second transceivers (e.g. Tx4 / Rx4) which transmit and receive clockwise second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals, transmission/ reception parts that transmit and receive circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) and another of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) that is a communication counterpart i.e. as an alternative so as to have the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) with a known technique of known communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) for the purpose of optimally communicating data via free space optics which includes left and right hand circular polarization optical signals and which technique implements the benefits of using left and right hand circular polarization optical signals into the system which includes for example multipath interference reduction, signal reliability enhancement and higher throughput and which modification is being made because the systems are similar and have overlapping components (e.g. optical communication devices) and which modification is a simple implementation of a known concept of known communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) into other similar communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13), namely, for their improvement and for optimization and which modification yields predictable results.
Regarding Claim 2. Huen as modified by Kowalevicz also discloses the communication system, wherein
in the communication devices, a direction in which the first circularly polarized optical signals are transmitted and received by the first transceiver is opposite to a direction in which the second circularly polarized optical signals are transmitted and received by the second transceiver (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where in the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13), a direction in which the first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) are transmitted and received by the first transceiver (e.g. Tx2 / Rx2) (as shown in Fig 4) is opposite to a direction in which the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) are transmitted and received by the second transceiver (e.g. Tx4 / Rx4) (as shown in Fig 4)),
at least three communication devices among the plurality of communication devices is arranged on the same straight line (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where at least three communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) among the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) are arranged on the same straight line),
the at least three communication devices arranged on the same straight line are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the at least three communication devices and adjacent another one of the communication devices (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where the at least three communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) arranged on the same straight line are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the at least three communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) and another adjacent one of the communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9)), and
the at least three communication devices arranged on the same straight line are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals rotating in different directions face each other between each of the at least three communication devices and at least one other neighboring communication device of the communication devices with one communication device interposed therebetween (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where the at least three communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) arranged on the same straight line are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) rotating in different directions face each other between each of the at least three communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) and at least one other neighboring communication device of the communication devices (e.g. A7, A8, A9) with one communication device (e.g. A8) being interposed therebetween).
Regarding Claim 4. Huen as modified by Kowalevicz also discloses the communication system, wherein
each of the communication devices includes at least two pairs, each including the first transceiver and the second transceiver from and to which first circularly polarized optical signals and second circularly polarized optical signals are transmitted and received in opposite directions (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where each of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) includes at least two pairs (i.e. of transmitters and receivers Txs / Rxs) (as shown in Fig 4), and each includes the first transceiver (e.g. Tx2 / Rx2 or Tx3 / Rx3) and the second transceiver (e.g. Tx4 / Rx4 or Tx1 / Rx1) from and to which first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals and second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) are transmitted and received in opposite directions),
the plurality of communication devices is arranged in a lattice pattern (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) is arranged in a lattice (mesh) pattern),
the plurality of communication devices arranged in the lattice pattern are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the plurality of communication devices and adjacent another one of the communication devices (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) arranged in the lattice (mesh) pattern are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) rotating in the same direction face each other between each of the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) and another adjacent one of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13)), and
the plurality of communication devices arranged in the lattice pattern are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals rotating in different directions face each other between each of the plurality of communication devices and at least one other neighboring communication device of the communication devices with one communication device interposed therebetween (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, where the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) arranged in the lattice (mesh) pattern are arranged in such a way that the transmission/reception parts that transmit and receive the circularly polarized optical signals (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) rotating in different directions face each other between each of the plurality of communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) and at least one other neighboring communication device of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) with one communication device being interposed therebetween).
Regarding Claim 5. Huen as modified by Kowalevicz also discloses the communication system, wherein each of the first transceiver and the second transceiver of each of the communication devices includes:
a transmission device configured to transmit at least one of the first circularly polarized optical signals or the second circularly polarized optical signals as a spatial optical signal to the another communication device that is the communication counterpart (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where each of the first transceiver (i.e. for left hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2) and the second transceiver (i.e. for right hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2) of each of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) includes: a transmission device (e.g. 232, 234, 208a, 208b, 204) configured to transmit at least one of the first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals or the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals as a spatial optical signal to the another communication device of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) that is the communication counterpart); and
a reception device configured to convert a circularly polarized optical signal to be received into linearly polarized light, among the first circularly polarized optical signals or the second circularly polarized optical signals transmitted as spatial optical signals from the another communication device that is the communication counterpart, receive the linearly polarized light, and output a signal corresponding to the received spatial optical signal (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where each of the first transceiver (i.e. for left hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2) and the second transceiver (i.e. for right hand circular polarization) (as shown in Fig 2) of each of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) includes: a reception device (e.g. 226, 230, 204) configured to convert (i.e. via 204) a circularly polarized optical signal to be received into linearly polarized light, among the first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals or the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals transmitted as spatial optical signals from the another communication device of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) that is the communication counterpart, receive the linearly polarized light, and output (i.e. via 226, 230) a signal corresponding to the received spatial optical signal), and wherein
each of the communication devices includes a communication control device configured to control the transmission device to transmit the first circularly polarized optical signals and the second circularly polarized optical signals as the spatial optical signals to the another communication device that is the communication counterpart, and acquires the signal output from the reception device (Huen Fig 3, Fig 4, Fig 5, where each of the communication devices (e.g. A1 to A13) includes a communication control device (as shown in Fig 4, Fig 5) being configured to control for data transmission the transmission device (e.g. 232, 234, 208a, 208b, 204) (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2) to transmit the first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signals and the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signals as the spatial optical signals to the another communication device of the communication devices (e.g. 102, 104) that is the communication counterpart, and acquire for data reception the signal output from the reception device (e.g. 226, 230, 204) (as shown in Kowalevicz Fig 2)).
Regarding Claim 8. Huen as modified by Kowalevicz also discloses the communication system, wherein the transmission device includes:
a light source configured to emit the linearly polarized light (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where the transmission device (e.g. 232, 234, 208a, 208b, 204) includes a light source (i.e. 232, 234) configured to emit the linearly polarized light);
a first circular polarizer configured to convert the linearly polarized light emitted from the light source into the first circularly polarized optical signal (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where the transmission device (e.g. 232, 234, 208a, 208b, 204) includes a first circular polarizer (i.e. 208b, 204) being configured to convert the linearly polarized light emitted from the light source (i.e. 232, 234) into the first circularly (LHC) polarized optical signal); and
a second circular polarizer configured to convert the linearly polarized light emitted from the light source into the second circularly polarized optical signal (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where the transmission device (e.g. 232, 234, 208a, 208b, 204) includes a second circular polarizer (i.e. 208a, 204) being configured to convert the linearly polarized light emitted from the light source (i.e. 232, 234) into the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signal), and
the first circularly polarized optical signal and the second circularly polarized optical signal are transmitted in different directions (Kowalevicz Fig 1, Fig 2, where the first circularly (LCH) polarized optical signal and the second circularly (RHC) polarized optical signal are transmitted in different directions (i.e. as shown in Huen Fig 3)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6-7 and 9-10 are 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.
Conclusion
The additional prior art considered pertinent to the Applicant’s disclosure and not relied upon is the following:
Bermak (US Pub 20190074901) and more specifically Fig 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to DIBSON J SANCHEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0868. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 10:00-6:00.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, Kenneth Vanderpuye can be reached on 5712723078. 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.
/DIBSON J SANCHEZ/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634