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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites that the pad and the pressing mechanism are different structures. However, claim 5 recites that the pressing mechanism comprises the pad. Thus, the metes and bounds of the claim cannot be ascertained.
Claims 5, 8 and 9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 4, 6 and 7 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious an optical connector cleaning device comprising, among other things, an attachment arranged in the opening and configured to mechanically determine an amount of insertion of the pad pressed in by the end face of the optical connector such that a pressing that the end face of the optical connector receives from the pad falls within a predetermined range in accordance with a type of the optical connector.
The closest relevant prior art of record, FUJIWARA et al. (JP2003-200116A), teaches the cleaning element (11), supply and winding reels (12, 13), pad (15), housing (5), traveling mechanism (8), sensor (16), controller (9), but fails to teach or suggest the attachment as claimed or its association with the controller.
Thus, with no teaching from the prior art, and without the benefit of applicant's teachings, there is no motivation for one of ordinary skill in the art to combine/modify the prior art of record in a manner so as to create the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 1-571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAD H SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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