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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendments to Claims 7-10 in the preliminary amendment filed 12/9/2024 are acknowledged and accepted.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The originally filed drawings were received on 12/9/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
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.
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 (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 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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nicklaus (DE 102010028213 A1), of record.
Nicklaus discloses an optical element (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-20), comprising a Faraday rotation element (See for example 4, 5 in Figure 1) that is reflective (See for example 14 in Figure 1; Paragraph 0051 in English translation of Nicklaus) and rotates a polarization plane of reflected light with respect to a polarization plane of incident light; a magnet (See for example 8, 9 in Figure 1) provided on a side opposite to a surface of the Faraday rotation element through which surface the incident light (See for example 15 in Figure 1) enters the Faraday rotation element; and a cooling section (See for example 6 in Figure 1) provided between the Faraday rotation element and the magnet, the cooling section cooling the Faraday rotation element.
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) 2, 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nicklaus in view of Schlossberg (U.S. Patent No. 3781714).
Nicklaus discloses the invention as set forth above, except for the cooling section cools the Faraday rotation element by having liquid nitrogen passed through the cooling section, such that the cooling section that cools the Faraday rotation element to a predetermined temperature of not higher than 200 K, 130 K, or 110 K. However, Schlossberg teaches a conventional isolator for high power laser systems (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-3), wherein the isolator includes a reflective Faraday element (See for example 30, 34 in Figure 2) and an attached heatsink (See for example 34 in Figure 2). Additionally, to provide additional cooling, water or liquid nitrogen is passed through the heatsink (See for example 36 in Figure 2; col. 3, lines 21-37). Particularly, with the use of liquid nitrogen, the heatsink can be held at a temperature of 77 K. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the cooling section cools the Faraday rotation element by having liquid nitrogen passed through the cooling section, such that the cooling section that cools the Faraday rotation element to a predetermined temperature of not higher than 200 K, 130 K, or 110 K, as taught by Schlossberg, in the optical element of Nicklaus, to allow for high incident laser powers to be utilized without creating additional unwanted thermal effects or damage on the Faraday element.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nicklaus in view of Vladimirovich et al. (RU 2342688 C2).
Nicklaus discloses the invention as set forth above, except for the cooling section being a cryostat. However, Vladimirovich et al. teaches a conventional optical isolator for high power lasers (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-3), wherein the isolator includes a Faraday element (See for example 1 in Figure 1) held inside a vacuum chamber (See for example 3 in Figure 1) of a cryostat (See for example 2 in Figure 1). Associated magnetic elements are located outside the cryostat (See for example 9 in Figure 1). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the cooling section be a cryostat, as taught by Vladimirovich et al., in the optical element of Nicklaus, to allow the Faraday element to be held at a very cold temperature, thus allowing for high incident laser powers to be utilized without creating additional unwanted thermal effects or damage on the Faraday element.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nicklaus in view of Abbott et al. (JP 2000-347151 A).
Nicklaus discloses the invention as set forth above, except for a heating section that heats the Faraday rotation element. However, Abbott et al. teaches a conventional low power variable optical attenuator that utilizes a Faraday element (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-8), wherein the Faraday element includes a Faraday rotator element (See for example 71 in Figure 7), associated magnet element (See for example 75 in Figure 7), and an attached thermoelectric heating and cooling device (See for example 74 in Figure 7). The thermoelectric heating and cooling device allows the temperature of the Faraday element to be adjusted hotter or cooler to allow for changes in operating temperature of the Faraday element. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a heating section that heats the Faraday rotation element, as taught by Abbott et al., in the optical element of Nicklaus, to allow for changes in operating temperature of the Faraday element.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nicklaus in view of Kimura et al. (JP 2004-361757 A).
Nicklaus discloses the invention as set forth above, except for a heat dissipation section that is in contact with the surface of the Faraday rotation element through which surface the incident light enters the Faraday rotation element and that dissipates heat of the Faraday rotation element. However, Kimura et al. teaches a conventional optical isolator (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-4), wherein the optical isolator utilizes a Faraday rotating element (See for example 1 in Figure 1) and associated magnet element (See for example 3 in Figure 1). In particular, to aid in thermally conducting heat away from the Faraday element, a sapphire plate (See for example 2 in Figure 1) having high thermal conductivity is directly attached to the incident face of the Faraday rotating element. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a heat dissipation section that is in contact with the surface of the Faraday rotation element through which surface the incident light enters the Faraday rotation element and that dissipates heat of the Faraday rotation element, as taught by Kimura et al., in the optical element of Nicklaus, to aid in thermally conducting heat away from the Faraday element.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11 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:
Claim 10 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest an optical element as generally set forth in Claim 1, 10, the element including, in combination with the features recited in Claim 1, 10, the Faraday rotation element is referred to as a first Faraday rotation element, the optical element further comprising a second Faraday rotation element provided on a side opposite to the first Faraday rotation element with respect to the magnet, the second Faraday rotation element being reflective and rotating a polarization plane of reflected light with respect to a polarization plane of incident light. Claim 11 is dependent on Claim 10, and hence is allowable for at least the same reasons Claim 10 is allowable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARNEL C LAVARIAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2315. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM-7 PM.
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ARNEL C. LAVARIAS
Primary Examiner
Group Art Unit 2872
8/14/2026
/ARNEL C LAVARIAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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