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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujiwara (JPH02114742A), a machine translation.
Regarding claim 1, Fujiwara discloses An optical transmitter (Fig. 1; the transmitting node as shown) comprising:
a main signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the signal generator 1) configured to generate a main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; The information signal to be transmitted is packetized into a light-transmitting length, and then applied from the signal generator 1);
a control signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the control signal generator 3) configured to generate a control signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; a control signal indicating the destination of the information signal is applied by the control signal generator 3) having a speed lower than a speed of the main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, fourteenth paragraph; Generally, the amount of information of a control signal is smaller than that of an information signal, so the bit route of the control signal may be slower than that of the information signal);
a wavelength-tunable driver (Fig. 1; Resistors are inserted in the PC area and DBR area as shown) configured to convert the control signal generated by the control signal generation unit into a signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Fig. 4; Abstract; Page 2, nineth paragraph; a control signal representing the destination of the information signal is fed to a phase control DBR area of the WT.DBR.LD 2 by a control signal generator 3. Resistors are inserted in series in the PC area and DBR area, and current is injected into the PC and DBR area (current It=Ip+Id). Continuous wavelength tuning of 20 Å or more was obtained with almost no change in optical output. As shown in Fig. 2, l1 corresponds to “0” while l2 corresponds to “1”); and
a wavelength-tunable transmitter (Fig. 1; Page 2, sixth paragraph; the wavelength tunable (WT) BDR-LD is used as the variable wavelength light source) configured to generate a modulated optical signal on the basis of the main signal and the signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Page 2, third paragraph; since the optical intensity is modulated according to the information signal, the conventional system can be used as is for transmitting the information signal. Furthermore, since the wavelength is modulated according to the control signal and transmitted simultaneously with the information signal, the amount of information in the information signal is not limited by the control signal).
Regarding claim 8, the present system teaches a device that necessarily perform this method claim in light of the rejection described and applied with respect to claim 1.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujiwara (JPH02114742A), a machine translation in view of Yoshida et al. (US9698929B2).
Regarding claim 2, the present system discloses The optical transmitter according to claim 1, as described and applied above, wherein: the wavelength-tunable transmitter includes a wavelength- tunable light source (Fig. 1; Page 2, sixth paragraph; the wavelength tunable (WT) BDR-LD is used as the variable wavelength light source); the wavelength-tunable light source outputs light having a wavelength corresponding to the signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Fig. 4; Page 2, nineth paragraph; Resistors are inserted in series in the PC area and DBR area, and current is injected into the PC and DBR area (current It=Ip+Id). Continuous wavelength tuning of 20 Å or more was obtained with almost no change in optical output. As shown in Fig. 2, l1 corresponds to “0” while l2 corresponds to “1”).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose an optical modulator and the optical modulator generates the modulated optical signal by modulating the light output from the wavelength-tunable light source on the basis of the main signal.
Yoshida et al. discloses an optical modulator (Fig. 4A; the optical modulator 32) and the optical modulator generates the modulated optical signal by modulating the light output from the wavelength-tunable light source on the basis of the main signal (Fig. 4A; Column 5, lines 35-45; The optical transmitter illustrated in FIG. 4A has a frequency tunable laser light source 31 and an optical modulator 32. The frequency tunable laser light source 31 generates continuous wave light of an oscillation frequency that is based on a frequency control signal. Therefore, by giving the path ID signal as a frequency control signal, the frequency tunable laser light source 31 generates continuous wave light of an oscillation frequency according to the path ID signal. The optical modulator 32 modulates the continuous wave light generated by the frequency tunable laser light source 31 by the data sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the present system to utilize an external modulation transmission method, as taught by Yoshida et al., in the present system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because external modulation can produce higher-quality optical pulses permitting extended reach and higher bit rates.
Regarding claim 3, the present combination discloses The optical transmitter according to claim 2, as described and applied above, wherein: the wavelength-tunable light source is any one of a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser (Fujiwara, Fig. 2; Abstract; the DBR laser is shown), a super structure grating-DBR (SSG-DBR) laser, and a sampled grating-DBR (SG-DBR) laser capable of controlling a wavelength corresponding to an input current or a distributed-feedback (DFB) laser capable of controlling a wavelength by controlling a chip temperature; and the wavelength-tunable driver inputs the signal for wavelength control to the wavelength-tunable light source to allocate an arbitrary wavelength (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Fig. 4; Page 2, nineth paragraph; Resistors are inserted in series in the PC area and DBR area, and current is injected into the PC and DBR area (current It=Ip+Id). Continuous wavelength tuning of 20 Å or more was obtained with almost no change in optical output. As shown in Fig. 2, l1 corresponds to “0” while l2 corresponds to “1”) in a range of oscillation wavelengths of the wavelength-tunable light source to the signal for wavelength control (Fujiwara, Fig. 4; depending on the current, It, the wavelength is changed from 1.5515 mm to 1.5495 mm as shown in the figure).
Regarding claim 4, Fujiwara discloses A receiver (Fig. 1; the optical packet switch 6) comprising:
a splitter (Fig. 1; the optical splitter 8) configured to receive a modulated optical signal transmitted from an optical transmitter and splits the received modulated optical signal (Fig. 1; twelfth paragraph; the transmitted optical signal 7 is branched by an optical branch 8 and becomes an optical signal 7a, 7b),
the optical transmitter including a main signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the signal generator 1) configured to generate a main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; The information signal to be transmitted is packetized into a light-transmitting length, and then applied from the signal generator 1),
a control signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the control signal generator 3) configured to generate a control signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; a control signal indicating the destination of the information signal is applied by the control signal generator 3) having a speed lower than a speed of the main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, fourteenth paragraph; Generally, the amount of information of a control signal is smaller than that of an information signal, so the bit route of the control signal may be slower than that of the information signal),
a wavelength-tunable driver (Fig. 1; Resistors are inserted in the PC area and DBR area as shown) configured to convert the control signal generated by the control signal generation unit into a signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Fig. 4; Abstract; Page 2, nineth paragraph; a control signal representing the destination of the information signal is fed to a phase control DBR area of the WT.DBR.LD 2 by a control signal generator 3. Resistors are inserted in series in the PC area and DBR area, and current is injected into the PC and DBR area (current It=Ip+Id). Continuous wavelength tuning of 20 Å or more was obtained with almost no change in optical output. As shown in Fig. 2, l1 corresponds to “0” while l2 corresponds to “1”), and
a wavelength-tunable transmitter (Fig. 1; Page 2, sixth paragraph; the wavelength tunable (WT) BDR-LD is used as the variable wavelength light source) configured to generate the modulated optical signal on the basis of the main signal and the signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Page 2, third paragraph; since the optical intensity is modulated according to the information signal, the conventional system can be used as is for transmitting the information signal. Furthermore, since the wavelength is modulated according to the control signal and transmitted simultaneously with the information signal, the amount of information in the information signal is not limited by the control signal); and
a reception wavelength identification unit (Fig. 1; the processing circuit 12) configured to convert the modulated optical signal split by the splitter into an electric signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11. Therefore, the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1) and acquires wavelength information indicating the control signal from the electric signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; The output of this photodetector 11 is electrically processed and determined by a processing circuit 12 to generate a signal for driving an optical switch 13).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose a main signal reception unit configured to acquire the main signal on the basis of the modulated optical signal split by the splitter.
Yoshida et al discloses a main signal reception unit configured to acquire the main signal on the basis of the modulated optical signal split by the splitter (Fig. 4A; Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Column 3, lines 24-26; Column 5, lines 28-30; Each of the WDM transmission devices 2-5 is able to transmit a WDM optical signal and to receive a WDM optical signal. The optical transmitters illustrated in FIG. 4A is the optical transmitters 21-1 through 21-n illustrated in FIG. 2). (Fujiwara teaches that an information signal generated by the signal generator 1 is transmitted simultaneously with a control signal generated by the control signal generator 3. This implies that a receiving side includes a receiver for recovering the transmitted information signal. The optical splitter 8 divides the optical signal 7 into branched optical signals 7a and 7b. Branched optical signal 7b is supplied to processing circuit 12, which processes the signal to recover control signal, while branched optical signal 7a is forwarded to the receiving end for recovery of the information signal).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide a receiver at the receiving end. A receiver is notoriously well-known in the art, and the disclosure of a transmitter configured to transmit an information signal necessarily implies a corresponding receiving function for recovering the transmitted information. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include a receiver to recover and process the transmitted information signal at the receiving end, thereby completing the communication link and enabling the intended communication function.
Regarding claim 5, Fujiwara discloses An optical communication system (Fig. 1) including an optical transmitter (Fig. 1; the transmitting side is shown), an optical receiver (Fig. 1; the optical packet switch 6), wherein:
the optical transmitter (Fig. 1; the signal generator 1) includes a main signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the signal generator 1) configured to generate a main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; The information signal to be transmitted is packetized into a light-transmitting length, and then applied from the signal generator 1),
a control signal generation unit (Fig. 1; the control signal generator 3) configured to generate a control signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, eleventh paragraph; a control signal indicating the destination of the information signal is applied by the control signal generator 3) having a speed lower than a speed of the main signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, fourteenth paragraph; Generally, the amount of information of a control signal is smaller than that of an information signal, so the bit route of the control signal may be slower than that of the information signal),
a wavelength-tunable driver (Fig. 1; Resistors are inserted in the PC area and DBR area as shown) configured to convert the control signal generated by the control signal generation unit into a signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Fig. 4; Abstract; Page 2, nineth paragraph; a control signal representing the destination of the information signal is fed to a phase control DBR area of the WT.DBR.LD 2 by a control signal generator 3. Resistors are inserted in series in the PC area and DBR area, and current is injected into the PC and DBR area (current It=Ip+Id). Continuous wavelength tuning of 20 Å or more was obtained with almost no change in optical output. As shown in Fig. 2, l1 corresponds to “0” while l2 corresponds to “1”), and
a wavelength-tunable transmitter (Fig. 1; Page 2, sixth paragraph; the wavelength tunable (WT) BDR-LD is used as the variable wavelength light source) configured to generate a modulated optical signal on the basis of the main signal and the signal for wavelength control (Fig. 1; Page 2, third paragraph; since the optical intensity is modulated according to the information signal, the conventional system can be used as is for transmitting the information signal. Furthermore, since the wavelength is modulated according to the control signal and transmitted simultaneously with the information
signal, the amount of information in the information signal is not limited by the control signal); and
the optical receiver (Fig. 1; the optical packet switch 6) includes a separation unit (Fig. 1; the optical splitter 8) configured to receive the modulated optical signal and demultiplexes or splits the received modulated optical signal (Fig. 1; twelfth paragraph; the transmitted optical signal 7 is branched by an optical branch 8 and becomes an optical signal 7a, 7b), and a control signal processing unit (Fig. 1; the processing circuit 12) configured to acquire the control signal on the basis of the demultiplexed or split modulated optical signal (Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11. Therefore, the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1. The output of this photodetector 11 is electrically processed and determined by a processing circuit 12 to generate a signal for driving an optical switch 13).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose a photonic gateway configured to relay communication between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver and transmits the generated modulated optical signal to the optical receiver via the photonic gateway.
Yoshida et al discloses a photonic gateway (Fig. 1; a photonic crossconnect (PXC: Photonic Cross Connect or WXC: Wavelength Cross Connect) 9) configured to relay communication between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver and transmits the generated modulated optical signal to the optical receiver via the photonic gateway (Fig. 1; Fig. 2; the WDM transmission device 2 transmits modulated optical signal to the receiving side WDM transmission device 4 through the PXC 9 as shown).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate a photonic cross connect, as taught by Yoshida et al., in the present system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so in order to provide flexible optical-path routing, thereby allowing optical signals to be redirected among different paths without requiring physical reconfiguration of the optical wiring. Such an arrangement would simplify network reconfiguration, improve scalability, and facilitate dynamic management of optical traffic.
Regarding claim 6, the present combination discloses The optical communication system according to claim 5, as described and applied above, wherein: the optical receiver (Yoshida et al., Fig. 4A; Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Column 3, lines 24-26; Column 5, lines 28-30; Each of the WDM transmission devices 2-5 is able to transmit a WDM optical signal and to receive a WDM optical signal. The optical transmitters illustrated in FIG. 4A is the optical transmitters 21-1 through 21-n illustrated in FIG. 2) further includes a plurality of main signal reception units configured to receive the modulated optical signals having different wavelengths demultiplexed by the separation unit (Yoshida et al., Fig. 2; Column 4, lines 42-47; Each of the optical transmitters 21-1 through 21-n generates an optical signal by modulating carrier light by an input data sequence. Here, wavelengths λ1 through λn (that is, optical frequencies f1 through fn) of the carrier light that the optical transmitters 21-1 through 21-n use are different from each other. The WDM multiplexer multiplexes the modulated optical signals from optical transmitter 21-1 to 21-n and outputs WDM signal), and a signal separation unit (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; the optical splitter 8) configured to determine which one of the plurality of main signal reception units has received the modulated optical signal and determines that a wavelength corresponding to the main signal reception unit that has received the modulated optical signal is allocated to the control signal (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Fig. 2; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; fourteenth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11. Therefore, the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1. The control signal consists of a start bit 20 and routing information 22. (The processing circuit 12 detects the start bit to identify the beginning of the incoming routing information and subsequently determines the routing information contained in the signal)); and the control signal processing unit acquires the control signal on the basis of a result determined by the signal separation unit and the modulated optical signal (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11. Therefore, the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1. The output of this photodetector 11 is electrically processed and determined by a processing circuit 12 to generate a signal for driving an optical switch 13).
Regarding claim 7, the present combination discloses The optical communication system according to claim 5 as described and applied above, wherein: the optical receiver further includes an optical filter (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; the optical filter 10) that has a characteristic in which transmittance differs for each wavelength (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11) and converts the modulated optical signal split by the separation unit into an intensity-modulated signal
(Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary
FSK optical signal of λ. It is converted into a binary intensity signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1. The resulting intensity modulation is shown in Fig. 2), a photodiode configured to convert the intensity-modulated signal transmitted through the optical filter into an electric signal (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the optical signal 7b passes through an optical filter 10 that transmits only the wavelength λ2, and is detected by a photodetector 11. Therefore, the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1), and a reception signal identification unit (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; the processing circuit 12) configured to identify the electric signal output from the photodiode (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; the output of the photodetector 11 is a binary FSK optical signal in which λ1 is 0 and λ2 is 1); and the control signal processing unit acquires the control signal on the basis of a result identified by the reception signal identification unit (Fujiwara, Fig. 1; Page 2, twelfth paragraph; The output of this photodetector 11 is electrically processed and determined by a processing circuit 12 to generate a signal for driving an optical switch 13).
Conclusion
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JAI M. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 2634
/JAI M LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2634
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