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 Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 6 of claim 3, “express in” should read “express out”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 6 of claim 13, “express in” should read “express out”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-12 and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (U.S. Patent 10,367,596 B1) in view of Jiang et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. 2022/0252793 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A an interlocked N×N wavelength selective switch (WSS) (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A and col. 3, lines 49-50 WSS 20 comprising N pairs of interlocked add/drop pairs), comprising: an optical input array configured to receive input optical signals, the optical input array comprising an express in port and N add ports (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A Com_In and P1_In...PN_In); an optical output array comprising an express out port and N drop ports (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A Com_Out and P1_Out...PN_Out), the N drop ports and the N add ports forming N add-drop pairs, each of the N add-drop pairs including an add port of the N add ports and a corresponding drop port of the N drop ports; an array of switching elements (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 3A switch elements 316); and a passive optical system configured to separate the input optical signals to form separated optical signals, focus the separated optical signals onto the array of switching elements, receive reflected optical signals from the array of switching elements, and focus the reflected optical signals onto the optical output array, wherein the add port and the corresponding drop port of each add-drop pair are arranged relative to the express in port and the express out port such that input optical signals can be simultaneously reflected, by one of the switching elements via the passive optical system, both from the add port to the express out port and from the express in port to the corresponding drop port. The difference between Lu et al. and the claimed invention is that Lu et al. does not teach a diffraction grating to separate the different wavelength channels of the signals; instead, Lu et al. uses prisms 39 and 310. Jiang et al. teaches optical switches for WDM signals. Jiang et al. teaches in FIG. 4A and paragraph [0045] dispersion element 120 which can be a diffraction grating or a prism. That is, Jiang et al. teaches that a prism system can be replaced by a diffraction grating system to separate the wavelength channels so that they are spatially separated. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the teaching of Jiang et al. with the system of Lu et al. to use diffraction grating as a dispersion element because it is a simple substitution of one known, equivalent element for another to obtain predictable results. Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use diffraction grating as dispersion element, as taught by Jiang et al., in the system of Lu et al.
Regarding claim 2, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 3A that the common in port, the N add ports, the common out port, and the N drop ports are substantially aligned along the Y-axis; the optical input array emits the input optical signals along an axis of emission which is the Z-axis that is orthogonal to the axis of displacement; and the switching elements are configured to reflect the diffracted optical signals and displace the reflected optical signals along the Y-axis.
Regarding claim 4, it is obvious from FIG. 4E of Lu et al. that the switch elements can be positioned such that the wavelength channels from COM-in are reflected to COM_out; and FIG. 4E shows another state.
Regarding claim 5, it is clear from FIG. 4E of Lu et al. that the switch elements for other interlocked add/drop pairs can be adjusted such that each of the N additional states corresponding to one of the N add-drop pairs, wherein the switching element is configured to simultaneously: reflect diffracted optical signals received via the passive optical system from the add port of the corresponding add-drop pair to the express out port via the passive optical system; and reflect diffracted optical signals received via the passive optical system from the express in port to the drop port of the corresponding add-drop pair via the passive optical system.
Regarding claim 6, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2B processor 26 for controlling the switch assembly.
Regarding claim 7, Jiang et al. teaches in FIG. 4A and paragraph [0045] dispersion element 120.
Regarding claim 8, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A that the system is configured to: add signals in a wavelength band received via the add port of one of the N add drop pairs; and drop signals in the wavelength band, received via the express in port, by outputting the dropped signals via the corresponding drop port of the add-drop pair.
Regarding claim 9, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 4E that the wavelength channels received via both the Port_In_m and the Com_In are diffracted to one switching element of the array of switching elements and simultaneously reflected by the one switching element 25.
Regarding claim 10, Lu et al. teaches in col. 4, lines 35-38 that the switch element 316 can be a LC-based switch or a micro electrical mechanical system (MEMs)-based switch, or a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) based- switch.
Claim 11 is rejected based on the same reason for rejecting claim 1 because an apparatus claim implies the method of using the apparatus.
Regarding claim 12, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 3A that the common in port, the N add ports, the common out port, and the N drop ports are substantially aligned along the Y-axis; the optical input array emits the input optical signals along an axis of emission which is the Z-axis that is orthogonal to the axis of displacement; and the switching elements are configured to reflect the diffracted optical signals and displace the reflected optical signals along the Y-axis.
Regarding claim 14, it is obvious from FIG. 4E of Lu et al. that the switch elements can be positioned such that the wavelength channels from COM-in are reflected to COM_out; and FIG. 4E shows another state.
Regarding claim 15, Regarding claim 5, it is clear from FIG. 4E of Lu et al. that the switch elements for other interlocked add/drop pairs can be adjusted such that each of the N additional states corresponding to one of the N add-drop pairs, wherein the switching element is configured to simultaneously: reflect diffracted optical signals received via the passive optical system from the add port of the corresponding add-drop pair to the express out port via the passive optical system; and reflect diffracted optical signals received via the passive optical system from the express in port to the drop port of the corresponding add-drop pair via the passive optical system.
Regarding claim 16, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2B processor 26 for controlling the switch assembly.
Regarding claim 17, Jiang et al. teaches in FIG. 4A and paragraph [0045] dispersion element 120.
Regarding claim 18, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A that the system is configured to: add signals in a wavelength band received via the add port of one of the N add drop pairs; and drop signals in the wavelength band, received via the express in port, by outputting the dropped signals via the corresponding drop port of the add-drop pair.
Regarding claim 19, Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 4E using the passive optical system to diffract the signals in the wavelength band received via both the add port and the express in port to one switching element of the array of switching elements; and simultaneously reflecting, by the one switching element, the diffracted beams in the wavelength band.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Lu et al. and Jiang et al. teaches a method of making an interlocked N×N wavelength selective switch (WSS) (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A and col. 3, lines 49-50 WSS 20 comprising N pairs of interlocked add/drop pairs), the method comprising: forming an optical input array comprising an express in port and N add ports (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 4B Com_In and Port_In_1 to Port_In_N); forming an optical output array comprising an express out port and N drop ports (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 4B Com_Out and Port_Out_1 to Port_Out_N), the N drop ports and the N add ports forming N add-drop pairs, each of the N add-drop pairs including an add port of the N add ports and a corresponding drop port of the N drop ports (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 2A and col. 3, lines 49-50 WSS 20 comprising N pairs of interlocked add/drop pairs); providing an array of switching elements (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 3A switch element 316); and arranging a passive optical system configured to diffract the input optical signals to form diffracted optical signals, focus the diffracted optical signals onto the array of switching elements, receive reflected optical signals from the array of switching elements, and focus the reflected optical signals onto the optical output array (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 3A the structure of the passive optical system and the switching elements; Jiang et al. teaches in FIG. 4A and paragraph [0045] dispersion element 120 which can be a diffraction grating or a prism), wherein forming the optical input array forming the optical output array comprises arranging each add port and the corresponding drop port of each add-drop pair, relative to the express in port and the express out port, such that input optical signals can be simultaneously reflected, by one of the switching elements via the passive optical system, both from the add port to the express out port and from the express in port to the corresponding drop port (Lu et al. teaches in FIG. 4B the arrangement of the ports).
Claim(s) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. and Jiang et al. as applied to claims 1-2, 4-12 and 14-20 above, and further in view of Presley et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. 2010/0046884 A1).
Lu et al. and Jiang et al. have been discussed above in regard to claims 1-2, 4-12 and 14-20. The difference between Lu et al. and Jiang et al. and the claimed invention is that Lu et al. and Jiang et al. do not teach that the add port and the corresponding drop port of each of the N add-drop pairs are arranged along the axis of displacement such that an angular difference between the diffracted beams output by the passive optical system received from the express in port and the add port is equal to an angular difference between the reflected beams, reflected by any of the switching elements, that are output by the passive optical system to the express out port and the corresponding drop port. The Examiner cites Presley et al. for teaching the principle of reflection which states: “the magnitude of the reflection angle is equal to the magnitude of the incidence angle” (see, e.g., paragraph [0071]).
FIG. 4B of Lu et al. is reproduced below with annotation. Based on the principle of reflection, the magnitude of the reflection angle is equal to the magnitude of the incidence angle. Therefore, ∠AOC = ∠COE and ∠BOC = ∠COD. The difference between the COM_in port and the add port is ∠AOD = ∠AOC + ∠COD. The difference between the COM_out and the drop port is ∠BOE = ∠BOC + ∠COE. The two differences are equal.
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One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Presley et al. with the modified system of Lu et al. and Jiang et al. because the principle of reflection enables the controller to determine the tilt angle of the switch element. Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the principle of reflection, as taught by Presley et al., in the modified system of Lu et al. and Jiang et al.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHI K LI whose telephone number is (571)272-3031. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:53 a.m. -3:23 p.m.
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skl29 June 2026
/SHI K LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635
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