DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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 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.
Claim(s) 2-7 and 11-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Willis (Patent No.: US 7371014 B2).
Regarding claim 15, 2, 7, Willis teaches An interconnection system comprising: an integrated circuit (IC) package (Figure 2A) including an IC die (reference numeral 210 in Figure 2A) and an IC circuit board (reference numeral 225 in Figure 2A) ; a high-speed signal connector (reference numeral 220 in Figure 2A) mounted on the IC circuit board; and a transceiver (reference numeral 245, 255, 230, 235, 240, 250 in Figure 2A) that is configured to mate with the high-speed signal connector and that includes an optical engine (reference numeral 245, 255, 230, 235, 240, 250 in Figure 2A) and a cable (reference numeral 275 in Figure 2A) connected to the transceiver, wherein the cable includes an optical fiber cable (reference numeral 280A in Figure 2A) and a copper cable (reference numeral 280B in Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 16, 3, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, wherein the copper cable is configured to transmit power to the transceiver (e.g. “280B may also communicate both power and an electrical data” as in column 6 lines 50-67).
Regarding claim 17, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, further comprising a host circuit board (reference numeral 110A, 140A, 115A, 130A in Figure 1 and/or reference numeral 205 in Figure 2A and/or reference numeral 405 in Figure 4); wherein the IC circuit board is mounted to the host circuit board (e.g. as illustrated in Figures 1-2B); and the host circuit board provides power to the transceiver (e.g. “data device 110A may power optoelectronic components” as in column 6 lines 50-67).
Regarding claim 18, 4, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, wherein the transceiver includes high-speed signal connections (e.g. “optical data signals” as in column 10 lines 18-30) and low-speed signal and power connections (e.g. “slow speed electrical data signals not well suited for optical transmission” as in column 10 lines 18-30) that are separate from the high-speed signal connections; and the transceiver is configured to transmit high-speed signals through the high-speed signal connections (reference numeral 245, 255, 280A in Figure 2A) and is configured to transmit low-speed signals and power signals through the low-speed and power connections (reference numeral 240, 250, 280B in Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 5, Willis teaches The transceiver of claim 4, wherein the high-speed signal connections (e.g. “optical data signals” as in column 10 lines 18-30) and the low-speed and power connections (e.g. “slow speed electrical data signals not well suited for optical transmission” as in column 10 lines 18-30) are included in separate connectors (reference numeral 280A, 280B in Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 6, Willis teaches The transceiver of claim 2, wherein the optical fiber cable includes a plurality of optical fibers (e.g. “array of optic fibers” as in column 5 lines 51-67).
Regarding claim 19, 11, 14, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, wherein the copper cable is permanently attached to the transceiver (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 4).
Regarding claim 20, 12, 13, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, further comprising an optical connector (reference numeral 220, 270 in Figure 2 and/or reference numeral 510 in Figure 5) that receives the optical fiber cable.
Regarding claim 21, Willis teaches The interconnection system of claim 15, further comprising: at least one additional high-speed signal connector (reference numeral 120B in Figure 1) ; and at least one additional transceiver (reference numeral 135B in Figure 1) configured to mate with the at least one additional high-speed signal connector (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 2A).
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 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) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Willis in view of OKI (Publication No.: US 2011/0103797 A1).
Regarding claim 8, 9, Willis teaches The transceiver of claim 7, but fails to specifically teach that the transceiver circuit board includes a first/second row of lands located along a front edge on a top/bottom surface of the transceiver circuit board. However, OKI teaches that this concept is well known in the art (reference numeral 18e in Figure 7C). One skilled in the art would have been motivated to utilize a first/second row of lands located along a front edge on a top/bottom surface of the transceiver circuit board in order to provide an edge connector (as in paragraph [0110] of OKI). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art to utilize a first/second row of lands located along a front edge on a top/bottom surface of the transceiver circuit board as taught by OKI in Willis.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of references and OKI in particular teaches The transceiver of claim 9, wherein the first row of lands and the second row of lands are configured to mate with an edge-card connector (reference numeral 19 in Figure 7D).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AGUSTIN BELLO whose telephone number is (571)272-3026. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM.
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/AGUSTIN BELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635
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