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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A1 (claims 1-2, 4-8, 11-13) in the reply filed on 6/15/26 is acknowledged. Thus, claims 3, 9-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species A2, B1-2, C1-C2 there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/15/26.
An OA on the merits of claims 1-2, 4-8 and 11-13 as below:
Priority
The related parent application No. 17322814 (see ¶ [0001] of the disclosure) should be updated to a patent No. since it’s ready matured into a patent.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a retention apparatus” (see claim 1, line 5) and “a lens “(claim 8) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
“the toll” (see ¶ [0009], of the specification) should be: --"the tool” --.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2, 4-8, 11-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The scope of the claim is not clear because the claim directed to a tool, however a number of transient terms “comprising” existed in the preamble which made scope of the claim undetermined. It is suggested the following changes to the preamble of the base claim 1:
-- “A system for assembling an optical die to a substrate, the system comprising:” --. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. In this case, the subject matter of claim 8 was not described in the specification to enable one skilled in the art to make and/or use the invention.
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 1-2, 4-8, 11-13 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.
The recites “a connector for connecting the tool to the gantry mechanism” (claim 1, line 3) is awkwardly worded should be: --” a gantry mechanism connectively attached to a tool by a connector” --;
“a first surface” (claim 1, line 4) is vague and indefinite since it is not known exactly where the first surface belongs to what structural element of the system?
“a retention apparatus” (see claim 1, line 4) made scope of the claim unclear, since it is clearly that the claim directed to “the tool” not “apparatus”, for clarity of the claim should be updated to: --"nozzle port” --, since the claim directed to the tool and the “retention apparatus” would possible also raise issues of 112 4th.
Whether or not “a first optical connector “(claim 4, line 1) as same as “a connector” (claim 1, line 3).
Claim 8 is unclear since it is lacking details description relating to “a lens” as recited in claim.
“the retention apparatus is” (claim 13, line 1) should be deleted to reflect changes as suggested in claim 1, line 5 above.
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) 1-2, 4-8, 11-13 as best understood is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Mack et al (US 20180062748).
Mack et al discloses the claimed tool for an assembly machine comprising a gantry mechanism, the tool comprising:
a connector for connecting the tool to the gantry mechanism (see Fig. 3, in light of ¶¶ [0047-0050];
a first surface configured to temporarily interface the tool to an optical die (see Fig. 3, between 305 and 311) representing the claimed “a first surface”;
a retention apparatus (as vacuum) configured to temporarily couple the optical die to the first surface (see vacuum to hold packages, and discussed in ¶ [0047]); and
a first tool optical coupler 305 positioned at the first surface and configured to form a first optical connection to the optical die when the optical die is positioned at the first surface (see right side of the Fig. 3, and discussed in ¶¶ [0047, 0049]).
Therefore, the above claimed tool is met by the above reference.
As applied to claim 2, refer to 305 of Fig. 3 for teaching of optical waveguide in form of multi -mode fibers 305.
As applied to claims 4-5, see discussed in light of ¶¶ [0049] and [0047], where303 as broadly as readable on the claimed first optical connector.
Limitation of claim 5 is also met by the above since no further feature existed in claim 5 only intended use in second phrase after “configured to”.
As applied to claim 6, refer to second 305 which opposite to first surface 305 (see Fig. 3, left side 305).
As applied to claim 7, since 305 is a multimode fiber readable as the claimed terminated optical fiber of the present invention.
As applied to claim 8 would be easily derived from the disclosures of Mack et al since no inventive featured cited thereto.
As applied to claim 11 refer to ¶ [0050, 0055] of the Mack et al.
As applied to claim 12, refer to Fig. 3 left side which depict the second optical connector 305 is coupled to the second tool optical coupler 311.
As applied to claim 13, do not further limit the claimed tool because no further addition inventive feature existed thereto. Therefore, the subject-matter of claims 8-13as best understood is therefore not inventive when departing from Mack et al and common general knowledge without exercising any inventive skills.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINH N TRINH whose telephone number is (571)272-4569. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH ~5:00-3:30.
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/MINH N TRINH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729 mt 7/31/26
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