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
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 2021/0180997) in view of Van Leeuwen (US 2021/0387892).
Regarding claims 1, 8, 12, Huang discloses a method of locating an optical fiber buried in a volume (fig. 5; abstract; page 3, [0036]), the method being performed by a locating device (fig. 5) and comprising at least: wherein determining a position of the optical fiber (fig. 5; page 3, [0036]). Claim 8, at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer readable medium comprising
instructions stored thereon which when executed by the at least one processor (fig. 1).
Huang discloses all the limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose determining a position of the optical fiber based on at least one detection level of a source of radiation for at least one position
of the source provided by a detection device connected to the optical fiber and obtaining a depth of the optical fiber with respect to a surface of the volume, the depth being determined based on said detection level.
However, Van Leeuwen discloses determining a position of the optical fiber based on at least one detection level of a source of radiation for at least one position of the source provided by a detection device connected to the optical fiber (fig. 1-fig. 5; page 9, [0107]; page 10, [0109]) and obtaining a depth of the optical fiber with respect to a surface of the volume, the depth being determined based on said detection level (page 3, [0020]; page 14, [0144]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was first filed to incorporate the features of Van Leeuwen within the system of Huang in order to increase the quality and smoothness of the optical fiber thereby maximizing the reliability of the system.
Regarding claim 2, Huang and Van Leeuwen disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Van Leeuwen further discloses wherein said estimated position of the optical fiber corresponds to the position of the source for which the detection level obtained is maximum among a plurality of positions of the source situated in a search zone (page 9, [0107]).
Regarding claim 3, Huang and Van Leeuwen disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Van Leeuwen further discloses a plurality of determining a position of the optical fiber correspondingly performed for different search zones, wherein said position of the optical fiber is determined based on at least one detection level obtained for at least one position of the source comprised
in said corresponding search zone (fig. 2, fig. 12; page 9, [0107]).
Regarding claim 4, Huang discloses providing a map representative of at least one determined position of the optical fiber (fig. 4; page 2, [0031-0035]).
Regarding claim 5, Huang discloses wherein providing the map comprises at least a step among the following: interpolating determined positions of the optical fiber; and regressing determined positions of the optical fiber (page 2, [0031-0035]).
Regarding claim 6, Huang discloses wherein a given detection level is determined using at least one neural network (fig. 1; fig. 3-fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, Huang discloses wherein said at least one determining a position of the optical fiber comprises: sending to the source, an instruction to generate vibrations and/or heat; and/or sending to the detection device, an instruction to measure a detection level (fig. 3-fig. 5; page 3, [0034-0038]).
Regarding claim 14, Huang discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon
instructions which, when executed by a processor (fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, Huang discloses wherein the locating device is one among: a user terminal, and an augmented reality device (fig. 1).
Regarding claim 10, Huang and Van Leeuwen disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Van Leeuwen further discloses wherein the locating device is the augmented reality device and wherein the augmented reality device comprises an indicator configured to indicate to a user, a position of the source (page 9, [0107]).
Regarding claim 11, Huang discloses wherein the source of radiation is a source of vibration and/or of heat (fig. 1; page 2, [0023]).
Regarding claim 13, Huang discloses the source of radiation, the source being controlled by a locating device comprising the optical fiber locator (fig. 1; page 3, [0034-0036]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Strahan et al. (US 4,372,646) discloses Birefringent……..therein.
Fujimoto (US 7,922,399) discloses semiconductor…..heat sinks.
Kirkby et al. (US 5,115,444) discloses multichannel cavity laser.
Hitzke (US 6,036,403) discloses cable Burial system.
Satake et al. (US 4,884,434) discloses wear sensor.
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DP
August 3, 2026
/DANIEL PREVIL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
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