DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, claims 1-7, 10 and 14 in the reply filed on March 9, 2026 is acknowledged.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 1-3, 10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Faler et al. (2009/0297722) in view of Nishimori et al. (JP 09263357 as provided for by applicant). Faler teaches a contactless guide 24 (“non-contact mechanism”, “fluid bearing” [0020]) for guiding an optical fiber, comprising an inner member 136, and a first flange 130 and a second flange 132 housing the inner member so as to sandwich the inner member in a first direction ([0023]). Faler further teaches ejecting gas from the bearing and out through the support channel 150 (figure 5, [0022]). Faler teaches the inner member 136 is sandwich between the first and second flanges by means of fasteners in an axial direction ([0021], figures 4-5), which intersects with an ejection direction of the gas ejected from bearing (along channel 150, see figure 6). Faler also teaches the first flange and the second flange are attached to the inner member such that a gap through which the gas passes is provided between an outer edge portion of the first flange and an outer edge portion of the second flange ([0023], figures 5-6). Faler further teaches the width of the opening 160 within the channel 150 may be variable depending on where the fiber is placed within the support channel 150. Faler further suggests configuring the opening 160 (width) depending on the draw tension and draw speed employed and the flow rates of the fluid through opening to ensure the fiber is maintained at a predetermined section of the support channel ([0024]), which suggests at least one of the first flange and the second flange is movable in a direction in which a width of the gap is changed.
Faler teaches providing a gas through an opening at a center of the bearing for ejecting the gas through the support channel ([0022]), but doesn’t offer specifics on ejection ports. Nishimori teaches a contactless guide comprising a member 12 with a central hole through which gas is supplied and a plurality of ejection ports capable of ejecting the gas in an outer peripheral surface ([0005], [0014], [0015], figures 1-2). Nishimori teaches providing ejection ports on a peripheral surface of the inside channel provides for the ejection gas to float the fiber from the inner peripheral surface. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have tried a similar member comprising a plurality of ejection ports capable of ejecting a gas in an outer peripheral surface for the inner member of Faler, as a predictable means for ejecting gas from the peripheral surface and floating the fiber from the surface, with a reasonable expectation of success, as demonstrated by Nishimori.
Regarding claim 2, Nishimori further teaches the outer peripheral surface of the member 12 has a buffer groove 11 extending in a circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface, wherein the plurality of ejection ports are provided in a bottom portion of the buffer groove ([0013]-[0014], figures 1-2). In employing the member 12 with ejection ports, and the buffer groove would be spatially connected to the gap in the ejection direction.
Regarding claim 3, Faler teaches the inner member has a disc shape and has a gas supply portion located in a central portion 134 to which the gas is supplied from an outside (figure 4, [0022]). Nishimori shows in figure 2, the member 12 has a disc shape and has a gas supply portion to which the gas is supplied from an outside and a plurality of gas flow paths connecting the gas supply portion with the plurality of ejection ports, wherein the gas supply portion is located in a central portion of the inner member, the plurality of gas flow paths are provided radially from the gas supply portion to the plurality of ejection ports, and the plurality of ejection ports are located in a circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface ([0013]-[0014], figures 1-2).
Regarding claims 10 and 14, Faler discloses a manufacturing apparatus for optical fiber using the contactless guide, comprising a melting device (draw furnace 14) configured to melt an optical fiber preform in order to draw a bare optical fiber from the preform ([0017]), a cooling device configured to cool the bare optical fiber ([0020],[0028]), and a coating device configured to coat the bare optical fiber with a resin to form an optical fiber ([0030], figure 1), wherein the cooling device is configured to pass the bare optical fiber through the gap of the contactless guide, blow the gas ejected from the ejection ports against the bare optical fiber to float the bare optical fiber, and cool the bare optical fiber ([0025], [0028]). Faler further teaches a winding device 40 configure to wind the optical fiber (figure 3, [0040]), and a bottom roller 25 located between the coating device and the winding device in a path through which the optical fiber passes and configured to change a direction of the optical fiber, wherein the bottom roller is also a contactless guide (figure 3, [0034]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Faler et al. (2009/0297722) in view of Nishimori et al. (JP 09263357 as provided for by applicant) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ishida (2020/0180996). Faler and Nishimori fail to teach of a sealing member. Like Faler and Nishimori, Ishida also teaches a contactless guide for fiber comprising a member having ejection ports for ejecting gas into a channel for floating the fiber ([0011]-[0012]). Ishida teaches different arrangement of the contactless guide can be used to direct the fiber in different directions, i.e. change fiber direction by 90 degrees or by 180 degrees ([0118]). Ishida also teaches ejection of the gas through selective ports allows for control of the flow rate of the air that serves the fiber to float, as opposed to a continuous ejection opening ([0120]). Ishida employs a seal member to direct the flow of ejection gas to the desired ports ([0113]). Naturally, depending on the needed support for the fiber in the contactless guide, i.e. for changing direction by 90° or 180°, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have employed a seal member for sealing selective ejection ports so as to direct the gas to the desired ejection ports for the desired support.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Faler et al. (2009/0297722) in view of Nishimori et al. (JP 09263357 as provided for by applicant) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tanifuji et al. (CN 102898043 machine translation provided). Faler does not disclose the hardness of the contactless guide. Tanifuji teaches a guide roller for handling optical fiber should have a Vickers hardness of 1000 or more to ensure no damage to the optical fiber (abstract). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have provide a Vickers hardness of 1000 or more to the surfaces of the first and second flanges, including the outer edge portions, where it might come into contact with the fiber, so as to prevent damage to the fiber.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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: Regarding claim 4, while the prior art teaches a channel for floating the fiber in a contactless guide that is tapered shape, the tapered shape is applied to the gap between the flanges and not to a gas flow path connecting central gas supply portion of an inner member (of the contactless guide) to ejection ports located on the peripheral surface of the inner member. As can be seen in figure 2 of Nishimori, the gas flow paths of appear to have a circular cross section and a constant inner diameter along the whole of the flow path. Thus, the prior art fails to teach gas flow paths connecting a central gas supply portion of an inner member to ejection ports on the peripheral surface thereof, the flow paths having a circular cross section and a larger inner diameter on the ejection port side than a diameter on the gas supply side.
Regarding claim 5, while the outer peripheral member 12 of Nishimori appears to comprise of a first columnar surface and second columnar surface located with the plurality of ejection ports interposed therebetween in the first direction (axial direction, see figure 1), the prior art also fails to teach the first flange with a first housing portion defined by an inner peripheral surface facing the first columnar surface when housing the inner member, and similarly, as second housing portion (of the second flange) defined by an inner peripheral surface facing the second columnar surface when housing the inner member, wherein sealing members are provided between the respective columnar surface and the housing portion.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUEENIE S DEHGHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8209. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30.
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/QUEENIE S DEHGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741