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 § 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.
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al (US 10,079,452 B1). Zhang teaches:
1. An optical module (Figs. 1-11), configured to be inserted into a cage (not shown, C1 L34-40) in a pluggable manner, the optical module comprising:
a housing (50); and
a release mechanism (100), comprising:
an engagement component (110), movably disposed on the housing (50) and configured to be detachably engaged with the cage (C4 L32-38); and
a pull tab (120), pivotally connected to the engagement component (110) (C6 L14-33);
wherein, the engagement component (110) has a mounting recess (113), the mounting recess (113) comprises a mounting portion (back end) and a tapered opening (113a - front end, see Fig. 6A, the straight portion tapers open to the circular back portion) connected to each other (Fig. 6A), the tapered opening (113a) tapers toward the mounting portion (back end), and the pull tab (120) is detachably disposed in the mounting portion (circular portion) through the tapered opening (113a) (C6 L14-23).
3. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the engagement component (110) comprises an engagement arm (111) and an elastic end portion (end opposite the arms, see Fig. 6B) connected to each other (Fig. 6B), the engagement arm (111) is movably disposed on the housing (50) (C5 L16-31), and the mounting recess (113) is located between the engagement arm (111) and the elastic end portion (end, see Fig. 6B – the end of the component has a portion past the recess that can be considered this elastic end portion together with the inherent elasticity of metal that the component is made of – C5 L16-31).
5. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the pull tab (120) comprises a main body (120a) and a pivot (122) connected to the main body (120a), and the pivot (122) is pivotally disposed on the mounting portion (back end of 113) through the tapered opening (113a).
6. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein the main body (120a) of the pull tab (120) has a groove (the space between 123 and 124), and both of the pivot (122) and the mounting recess (113) of the engagement component (110) are located in the groove (the space between 123 and 124), the pull tab (120) is pivotable between a horizontal state (Fig. 5) and an upright state (Fig. 8) relative to the engagement component (110), the engagement component (110) rests on a side wall of the groove (the space between 123 and 124) so as to keep the pull tab in the horizontal state (Fig. 5), and the main body (120a) rests on the engagement component (110) so as to keep the pull tab (120) in the upright state (Fig. 8) (C6 L7 – C7 L11).
7. An optical module (Figs. 1-11), configured to be inserted into a cage (not shown, C1 L34-40) in a pluggable manner, the optical module comprising:
a housing (50); and
a release mechanism (100), comprising:
an engagement component (110), movably disposed on the housing (50) and configured to be detachably engaged with the cage (C4 L32-38); and
a pull tab (120);
wherein, the pull tab (120) has a groove (the space between 123 and 124), the engagement component (100) has a mounting recess (113), the mounting recess (113) is located in the groove (the space between 123 and 124), the mounting recess (113) comprises a mounting portion (back end) and a tapered opening (113a - front end, see Fig. 6A, the straight portion tapers open to the circular back portion) connected to each other (Fig. 6A), the tapered opening (113a) tapers toward the mounting portion (back end), and the pull tab (120) is detachably disposed in the mounting portion (back end) through the tapered opening (113a) (C6 L14-23).
9. The optical module according to claim 7, wherein the engagement component (110) comprises an engagement arm (111) and an elastic end portion (end opposite the arms, see Fig. 6B) connected to each other (Fig. 6B), the engagement arm (111) is movably disposed on the housing (50) (C5 L16-31), and the mounting recess (113) is located between the engagement arm (111) and the elastic end portion (end, see Fig. 6B – the end of the component has a portion past the recess that can be considered this elastic end portion together with the inherent elasticity of metal that the component is made of – C5 L16-31).
11. The optical module according to claim 7, wherein the pull tab (120) comprises a main body (120a) having the groove (the space between 123 and 124) and a pivot (122) connected to the main body (120a), and both the pivot (122) and the mounting recess (back of 113) are located in the groove, and the pivot (122) is pivotally disposed on the mounting portion (back end of 113) through the tapered opening (113a).
12. An optical module (Fig. 1-11), configured to be inserted into a cage (not shown, C1 L34-40) in a pluggable manner, the optical module comprising:
a housing (50); and
a release mechanism (100), comprising:
an engagement component (110), movably disposed on the housing (50) and configured to be detachably engaged with the cage (C4 L32-38); and
a pull tab (120);
wherein the engagement component (110) has a mounting recess (113) proximate to an inner side wall of the pull tab (120) (Figs. 5A, 8A) opposite to an outer side wall of the pull tab (120) (Figs. 5A, 8A), the mounting recess (113) comprises a mounting portion (back end) and a tapered opening (113a - front end, see Fig. 6A, the straight portion tapers open to the circular back portion) connected to each other (Fig. 6A), the tapered opening (113a) tapers toward the mounting portion (back end), and the pull tab (120) is detachably disposed in the mounting portion (113) through the tapered opening (113a) (C6 L14-23).
14. The optical module according to claim 12, wherein the engagement component (110) comprises an engagement arm (111) and an elastic end portion (end opposite the arms, see Fig. 6B) connected to each other (Fig. 6B), the engagement arm (111) is movably disposed on the housing (50) (C5 L16-31), and the mounting recess (113) is located between the engagement arm (111) and the elastic end portion (end, see Fig. 6B – the end of the component has a portion past the recess that can be considered this elastic end portion together with the inherent elasticity of metal that the component is made of – C5 L16-31).
16. The optical module according to claim 12, wherein the pull tab (120) comprises a main body (120a) and a pivot (122) connected to the main body (120a), the main body (120a) having a groove (the space between 123 and 124) having the inner side wall (Fig. 7), the main body (120a) has the outer side wall outside the groove (Fig. 7), both of the pivot (122) and the mounting recess (113) are located in the groove(the space between 123 and 124), and the pivot (122) is pivotally disposed on the mounting portion (back end of 113) through the tapered opening (113a) (C6 L14-23).
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.
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.
Claims 2, 8 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang.
Zhang teaches:
2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the engagement component (110) is elastic (the component 110 is made of metal, which has an inherent elasticity, just as any material has).
Zhang does not state the tapered opening is allowed to be widened, but since metal has an inherent elasticity, the tapered opening is allowed to be widened by a force (might need great force, but nonetheless, it can be widened due to metal elasticity).
Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). “When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not.” In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). See also MPEP 2112.01.
Zhang teaches an engagement component with elasticity so a prima facie case of obviousness has been established by teaching substantially identical structure.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 10 and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
These claims would be allowable over the prior art of record if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims because the latter, either alone or in combination, does not disclose nor render obvious an optical module with the claimed housing, release mechanism, engagement component, pull tab, mounting portion and tapered opening, wherein the tapered opening comprises a tapered section and a widened section connected to each other, the tapered section is located between the mounting portion and the widened section, a width of the tapered section decreases from the mounting portion, a width of the widened section increases from the tapered section, and the pull tab is detachably disposed in the mounting portion through the widened section and the tapered section in sequence,
in combination with the rest of the claimed limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following teach optical modules with engagement portions and pull tabs removable from each other: US 7513693, US 9146366, US 9276358, US 9720189, US 2018/0136415, US 10534144, US 11276958.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN A LEPISTO whose telephone number is (571)272-1946. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/RYAN A LEPISTO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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