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 .
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.
Claim Interpretation
Examiner notes that claim 5 has been interpreted as “The optical circuit board according to claim 1” since it appears that the “4” has a strikethrough but it is not clearly discernable due to the font. However, the remarks submitted with the preliminary amendment filed on 28 October, 2024 indicate that claims 3-8 have been amended to eliminate multiple dependencies. Based on this and the strikethrough of the words “any one of” and “to”, it is understood by the Examiner that Applicant eliminated the dependence on claim 4.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1: “a first core end surface of the second core” is confusing because of the unrelated presence of “a first core”.
Regarding claim 5: Claim 5 recites “wherein the gap is in contact with the second lower clad”, while from this claim language, it is clear that the gap adjoins the second clad or extends to the second clad, a gap is a separation or negative space, not an object that can contact another object.
Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant is advised that should claim 1 be found allowable, claim 4 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2, 4-6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakai et al. (US 2017/0371100; hereinafter Sakai).
Regarding claim 1: Sakai disclosesAn optical circuit board, comprising: a wiring board (see paragraph 0137, electrical wiring board substrate); a first optical waveguide (Fig. 2, waveguide on the left side of the device) positioned on the wiring board; and a second optical waveguide (see paragraph 0062, “a plurality of the optical waveguides of the present invention can be disposed close to each other and arranged in parallel”, also corresponding to the illustrated waveguide on the left side of the device of Fig. 2) positioned adjacent to the first optical waveguide on the wiring board, wherein the first optical waveguide comprisesa first lower clad (Fig. 2, lower clad 4) positioned on the wiring board, a first core (Fig. 2, core 11) extending from an outer edge side (Fig. 2, left edge of device) of the wiring board to a center side (Fig. 2, side of waveguide in contact with converting mirror member 3) of the wiring board on the first lower clad, and a first upper clad (Fig. 2, upper clad 5) covering at least part of the first core, the second optical waveguide comprisesa second lower clad (Fig. 2, lower clad 4, corresponding to the second waveguide disclosed to be arranged in parallel with the first waveguide) positioned on the wiring board, a second core (Fig. 2, core 11, corresponding to the second waveguide disclosed to be arranged in parallel with the first waveguide) positioned along the first core on the second lower clad, and a second upper clad (Fig. 2, upper clad 5, corresponding to the second waveguide disclosed to be arranged in parallel with the first waveguide) covering at least part of the second core, the second optical waveguide comprisesa first end surface (Fig. 2, left edge of device, corresponding to the second waveguide disclosed to be arranged in parallel with the first waveguide) at which a first core end surface of the second core is exposed on the outer edge side of the wiring board and a second end surface (Fig. 2, side of waveguide in contact with converting mirror member 3, corresponding to the second waveguide disclosed to be arranged in parallel with the first waveguide) at which a second core end surface of the second core is exposed on the center side of the wiring board, and at the first end surface and/or the second end surface, a gap is between the second core and the second upper clad (Fig. 2a shows that the opening 9, where upper clad 5 has been removed, extends over the top and left and right sides of the core 11, forming a gap between the second core and the second upper clad on each side of the waveguide; see also paragraph 0097 and Fig. 2c, which shows that the upper clad 5 is removed all the way to the lower clad within the opening 9).
Regarding claim 2: Sakai disclosesThe optical circuit board according to claim 1 (as applied above), wherein the second core comprises a plurality of side surfaces (best depicted in Fig. 8, the core 11 comprises a plurality of side surfaces connecting the first core end surface and the second core end surface) connecting the first core end surface and the second core end surface, and the gap is between at least one side surface of the plurality of side surfaces of the second core and the second upper clad (as shown in Fig. 2a, the opening 9 creates a gap between the core 11 and the upper clad 5 along the two lateral side surfaces of the core).
Regarding claim 4: Sakai disclosesThe optical circuit board according to claim 1 (as applied above), wherein one or more gaps are at the first end surface and/or the second end surface (Fig. 2 shows that one or more gaps 9 are at the second end surface).
Regarding claim 5: Sakai disclosesThe optical circuit board according to claim 1 (as applied above), wherein the gap is in contact with the second lower clad (see Figs. 2a-2c and paragraph 0097).
Regarding claim 6: Sakai disclosesThe optical circuit board according to claim 2 (as applied above), wherein the plurality of side surfaces of the second core comprises a first side surface (side surface toward the top of Fig. 2a) and a second side surface (side surface toward the bottom of Fig. 2a) facing each other, and the gap is at each of the first side surface and the second side surface (Fig. 2a shows the gap 9 is at each of the first side surface and the second side surface).
Regarding claim 8: Sakai disclosesAn optical component mounting structure, comprising: the optical circuit board according to claim 1 (as applied above); and an optical component mounted on the optical circuit board (see paragraph 0063, “monitor light receiving element is disposed on an optical path conversion side”).
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 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai et al. (US 2017/0371100; hereinafter Sakai).
Regarding claim 3: Sakai disclosesThe optical circuit board according to claim 1 (as applied above). Regarding the limitation “wherein the gap is continuous or intermittent from the first end surface to the second end surface”, Sakai further teaches an embodiment wherein another optical path converting mirror is provided at the input end of the first core pattern portion 11 for the light emitting element (see paragraph 0169). In order to provide a large refractive index difference for better optical confinement (see paragraph 0024), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide an additional gap at the input end in the region where the additional optical path converting mirror is provided, since it would match the characteristics of the output end optical path converting mirror shown in Fig. 2. By providing the additional gap at the input end of core 11, the gap would be intermittent from the first end surface to the second end surface.
Regarding claim 7: Sakai discloses the optical circuit board according to claim 1. Regarding the limitation “wherein the first lower clad and the second lower clad are integrated”: Sakai discloses that due to the branching direction being orthogonal to the lower clad layer 4, a plurality of the optical waveguides of the Sakai invention can be disposed close to each other in parallel (see paragraph 0062). The Sakai device of Fig. 2 shows a continuous lower clad layer 4. Since there is no suggestion to provide separation between the lower cladding of the respective parallel waveguides, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to prepare the Sakai device such that the first lower clad and the second lower clad are integrated, in order to simplify manufacturing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kirsten D Endresen whose telephone number is (703)756-1533. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday.
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/KIRSTEN D. ENDRESEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/MICHELLE R CONNELLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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