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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0341219 to Zhou et al.
In regards to claim 1, Zhou recites an optical module (Figures 1-6), comprising a housing (10), and a circuit board (20) and an optical assembly (not labeled) disposed in the housing, wherein the housing has an optical port (13), an adapter (40) is disposed at the optical port, the optical assembly comprises an optical receptacle (43) disposed in the adapter by limited in a radial direction, and wherein the optical module further comprises a pressing piece (45) and a plugging structure (44) disposed in the housing, wherein the plugging structure is oppositely disposed on both sides of an axis of the optical receptacle (Figure 3), two opposite ends of the pressing piece are plugged into the plugging structure (via element 43); the pressing piece is provided with at least one piece structure, the piece structure has an piece (455; [0025]) abutting against the optical receptacle along an axial direction of the optical receptacle, and both ends of the pressing piece abut against the plugging structure, so that the elastic piece presses the optical receptacle into the adapter. Although Zhou does not expressly recite the one piece structure to be elastic and the piece of the one piece structure to be elastic, the use of elastic materials to decrease a margin of stiffness in order to protect the integrity of the component would be advantageous. Furthermore, since Applicant has not expressly defined the degree of elasticity and every material has some degree of flexibility, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date to a person having ordinary skill in the art for the one piece structure and the piece to be elastic.
In regards to claim 2, modified Zhou recites the housing comprises a first housing (11) and a second housing (12) that cover each other, and the first housing comprises a bottom plate; the plugging structure (44) comprises a first resisting wall (441) located on both sides of the bottom plate respectively and extending in a direction perpendicular to the bottom plate, the both ends of the pressing piece (45) respectively abut against the first resisting wall.
In regards to claim 3, modified Zhou recites the adapter (40) has a second resisting wall (45 top – above elements 451-453 & 455) that abuts against one side of the optical receptacle close to the optical port along the axial direction of the optical receptacle, and the elastic piece (455) abuts against one side of the optical receptacle facing away from the optical port, the first resisting wall and the second resisting wall are disposed opposite to each other.
In regards to claim 4, modified Zhou recites the first housing further comprises side walls disposed on the both sides of the bottom plate respectively (Figures 1 & 2), and the first resisting wall is disposed on the side walls; alternatively, the adapter is provided with opposite protrusions respectively at both ends of the second resisting wall, and the first resisting wall is disposed on the protrusions.
In regards to claim 5, modified Zhou recites the adapter (40) further has a position-limiting hole (443) extending along the axial direction of the optical receptacle, the optical receptacle comprises a sleeve (435) and a flange (431) protruding along a radial direction of the optical receptacle, the sleeve on one side of the flange facing the adapter is adapted in the position-limiting hole, one end of the flange abuts against the second resisting wall, and the other end abuts against the elastic piece. (Figure 6)
In regards to claim 6, modified Zhou recites the pressing piece (44) is a sheet structure, and the sheet structure comprises a plug-in board (451) and the elastic piece structure, both ends of the plug-in board are plugged into the plugging structure; the plug-in board is provided with receding channels (Figure 6) extending along an insertion direction thereof, and the receding channel is adapted to the sleeve of the optical receptacle located on one side of the flange facing away from the adapter; the elastic piece structure comprises at least two of the elastic pieces, and the at least two elastic pieces are respectively disposed on both sides of the receding channel.
In regards to claim 7, modified Zhou recites the elastic piece (455) comprises a resisting portion (angled section) abutting against the flange, a connection portion (453) connecting the resisting portion and the plug-in board, and the connection portion is able to be deformed relative to the plug-in board.
In regards to claim 8, modified Zhou recites one end of the resisting portion facing away from the connection portion is a free end.
In regards to claim 9, modified Zhou recites the free end is provided with a guide portion, and the guide portion is inclined in a direction facing away from the flange; the connection portion, the resisting portion and the free end extend along the insertion direction.
In regards to claim 10, modified Zhou recites at least two of the receding channels are disposed on the plug-in board, and at least two of the elastic piece structures are disposed along an extending direction of each of the receding channels, the number of the elastic piece structures corresponds to the number of the optical receptacles one-to-one. (Figures 3-6)
In regards to claim 11, modified Zhou recites the pressing piece (45) further comprises a handle plate (452) connected to an end of the plug-in board (451), and the handle plate extends in a direction facing away from the second resisting wall; the handle plate is disposed at one end of the plug-in board that is relatively far away from the bottom plate.
In regards to claim 12, modified Zhou recites the pressing piece further comprises a position-limiting protrusion (453) protruding from the both ends of the plug-in board, and the position-limiting protrusion is symmetrically arranged relative to the handle plate; the plugging structure further comprises a position-limiting portion that is adapted to the position- limiting protrusion to limit a position of the plug-in board.
In regards to claim 13, although Zhou does not the pressing piece is made of elastic conductive materials, it would have been an obvious matter of common skill and design choice to use such materials since Applicant has not disclosed that using such material provides an advantage, solves a stated problem or is for a particular purpose. Furthermore, it is within common skill to have chosen a known material, such as an elastic conductive material in the optical art since elastic conductive materials are known in the optical art for the benefits of vibration dampening and thermal compensation. Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date to a person having ordinary skill in the art for the pressing piece to be made of elastic conductive materials.
References Cited
The references cited made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
The documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statement have been considered and made of record. Note attached copy of form PTO-1449.
Inventorship
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TINA M WONG whose telephone number is (571)272-2352. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:30.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TINA WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
Prosecution Insights