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 Statement filed on July 17, 2026 have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copy of form PTO-1449).
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s Amendment filed July 2, 2026 has been fully considered and entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-4 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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the recesses that are through-holes penetrating the base member in a vertical direction and having a bottom surface that is smoothly deepened as defined by claim 4 of the present application must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim 4 is 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.
Regarding claim 4; claim 4 depends from claim 1. Claim 1 defines “wherein the one or the plurality of recesses are through-holes penetrating the base member in a vertical direction of the base member” in lines 6-7 of the claim. Claim 4 then recites “wherein a bottom surface of the one or the plurality of recesses is formed”, however a through-hole in a vertical direction does not have a bottom surface, as the hole is a through-hole. Therefore claim 4 is unclear.
Claim 4 has not been further addressed with respect to prior art in view of the amendment to claim 1, which renders the subject matter of claim 4 indefinite.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sugawara et al. (US 2023/0305231 A1), hereafter Sugawara.
Regarding claims 1-3; Sugawara discloses a fusion splicer (see the title; see Figures 1-5; optical fusion splicer 10) for fusing and splicing one or a plurality of optical fibers (optical fibers F1) with another or other optical fibers (optical fibers F2), comprising:
a base member (groove formed unit 13) having one or a plurality of V-grooves (V-grooves 132; see Figures 3 and 4; see paragraph 55) in which the one or the plurality of optical fibers (F1, F2) are set,
wherein one or a plurality of recesses (through-hole 131; see Figures 1, 3, and 4) crossing the one or the plurality of V-grooves (132) are formed in the base member (13),
wherein the one or the plurality of recesses (131) are through-holes (see paragraph 55) penetrating the base member (13) in a vertical direction of the base member (13; see Figure 1), and
wherein the vertical direction is perpendicular to an upper surface (grooves 132 are in the upper surface) of the base member (13);
wherein a depth of the one or the plurality of recesses (131) is deeper than a depth of the one or the plurality of V-grooves (132);
wherein the one or the plurality of recesses (131) are formed so as to extend in a direction non-parallel with an extending direction of the one or the plurality of V-grooves (32; see Figure 3).
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yanagi et al. (EP 0 262 303 A), hereafter Yanagi.
Regarding claims 1-3; Yanagi discloses a fusion splicer (see the title and Figure 3) for fusing and splicing one or a plurality of optical fibers (1’) with another or other optical fibers (1’), comprising:
a base member (21) having one or a plurality of V-grooves (22a) in which the one or the plurality of optical fibers (1’) are set,
wherein one or a plurality of recesses (recess; see annotated Figure 3 below) crossing the one or the plurality of V-grooves (22a) are formed in the base member (21),
wherein the one or the plurality of recesses (recess; see Figure 3 annotated below) are through-holes penetrating the base member (21) in a vertical direction of the base member (see Figure 3), and
wherein the vertical direction is perpendicular to an upper surface of the base member (21; V-grooves 22a and fibers 1’ are supported by the upper surface of the base member);
wherein a depth of the one or the plurality of recesses (recess; see Figure 3 annotated below) is deeper than a depth of the one or the plurality of V-grooves (22a);
wherein the one or the plurality of recesses (recess; see Figure 3 annotated below) are formed so as to extend in a direction non-parallel with an extending direction of the one or the plurality of V-grooves (22a).
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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 MICHELLE R CONNELLY whose telephone number is (571)272-2345. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.
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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/MICHELLE R CONNELLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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