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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 05/11/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 9 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.
Regarding Claim 9, the term “valid” in claim 9 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “valid” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. As such, it is unclear what is meant by “valid data”
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Iyer et al. US 20190238179 A1 (hereinafter Iyer).
Regarding Claim 1, Iyer teaches an apparatus comprising: a transmitter (§[0055] “Physical block 222 includes a transmitter and a receiver”) for sending, in two or more groups of channels, data and at least one clock signal over an optical link to a receiver (§[0058], "optical line"; §[0067], "for each channel a set of data lanes", "Each channel can further include one or more dedicated lanes for a strobe, or clock, signal for the channel"), wherein each group in the two or more groups of channels comprises: at least one channel for sending at least one data packet of the data (§[0067], "for each channel a set of data lanes"; §[0070], "a plurality of data lane clusters in a channel"); and a channel for sending a clock signal of the at least one clock signal, wherein the clock signal is synchronized with the at least one data packet in the group of channels (§[0070], "provide a dedicated strobe signal for each cluster in a plurality of data lane clusters in a channel"; §[0074], "Data sent on each of the lanes of the MCPL can be strictly aligned to the strobe signal").
Regarding Claim 10, claim 10 is drawn to the method of using an apparatus the same as claimed in claim 1. As such, the limitations of claim 10 correspond to limitations of claim 1, and are therefore rejected for the same reason(s) of anticipation as stated above.
Regarding Claim 11, Iyer teaches an apparatus comprising: a receiver (§[0055] “Physical block 222 includes a transmitter and a receiver”) for receiving, in two or more groups of channels, data and at least one clock signal over an optical link from a transmitter (§[0058], "optical line"; §[0067], "for each channel a set of data lanes", "Each channel can further include one or more dedicated lanes for a strobe, or clock, signal for the channel"), wherein each group in the two or more groups of channels comprises: at least one channel for sending at least one data packet of the data (§[0067], "for each channel a set of data lanes"; §[0070], "a plurality of data lane clusters in a channel"); and a channel for sending a clock signal of the at least one clock signal, wherein the clock signal is synchronized with the at least one data packet in the group of channels (§[0070], "provide a dedicated strobe signal for each cluster in a plurality of data lane clusters in a channel"; §[0074], "Data sent on each of the lanes of the MCPL can be strictly aligned to the strobe signal").
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iyer in view of Zbinden et al. US 2013/0129360 A1 (hereinafter Zbinden).
Regarding Claim 2, Iyer teaches the apparatus of claim 1.
Iyer does not teach a controller for sending, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal to the transmitter. However, Zbinden teaches an optical transmitter (TX, Fig. 1) comprising a controller (driver and associated microcontroller, Fig. 1) for sending, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal to the transmitter ([0024] The transmitter of an embodiment comprises one or more channels, and each channel includes a driver. One or more data lines or cables are coupled to the transmitter and as the data input for the channels provide electrical signals at the input of each driver. One or more light-emitting devices are coupled between the output of each driver and a corresponding optical channel to which the driver output is coupled, where the optical channels collectively form a first set of optical channels; [0006] The PCIe system provides a set of supporting auxiliary signals, including a clock lane), because this allows the device to perform an electrical-to-optical (EO) conversion of the electrical signals received at the transmitter input, and output or transmit the corresponding optical signals over the optical channels ([0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Iyer to include a controller for sending, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal to the transmitter, because this allows the device to perform an electrical-to-optical (EO) conversion of the electrical signals received at the transmitter input, and output or transmit the corresponding optical signals over the optical channels.
Regarding Claim 12, Iyer teaches the apparatus of claim 11.
Iyer does not teach a controller for receiving, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal from the receiver. However, Zbinden teaches an optical receiver (RX, Fig. 1) comprising a controller (TIA and associated microcontroller, Fig. 1) for receiving, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal from the receiver ([0025] A transimpedance amplifier (TIA) is coupled between the output of each photodetector and one or more data lines or cables that transport electrical signals output by the TIA; [0006] The PCIe system provides a set of supporting auxiliary signals, including a clock lane), because this allows the device to perform an optical-to-electrical (OE) conversion of the optical signals received at the receiver input, and output or transmit the corresponding electrical signals via the receiver output ([0025]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Iyer to include a controller for receiving, over an electrical link and in the two or more groups of channels, the data and the at least clock signal from the receiver, because this allows the device to perform an optical-to-electrical (OE) conversion of the optical signals received at the receiver input, and output or transmit the corresponding electrical signals via the receiver output.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iyer as modified by Zbinden, and further in view of Marr et al. US 2020/0350933 A1 (hereinafter Marr).
Regarding Claim 14, Iyer as modified by Zbinden teaches the apparatus according to claim 12.
Iyer as modified by Zbinden does not teach wherein the controller is configured to use a clock data recovery circuit and the at least one clock signal to synchronize a clock at the transmitter and a clock of the apparatus. However, Marr teaches a receiver controller configured to use a clock data recovery circuit and the at least one clock signal to synchronize a clock at the transmitter and a clock of the apparatus ([0044] The receiver 140 (FIG. 1) may be synchronized to the transmitter by any of several methods, such as… using a clock and data recovery circuit in the receiver to recover the embedded clock from the signal, after it is converted from an optical signal to an electrical signal), because this allows timing between the transmitter and receiver to by synchronized to ensure accurate data transfer ([0044]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to further modify Iyer as modified by Zbinden wherein the controller is configured to use a clock data recovery circuit and the at least one clock signal to synchronize a clock at the transmitter and a clock of the apparatus, because this allows timing between the transmitter and receiver to by synchronized to ensure accurate data transfer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8, 13, and 15-16 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.
Claim 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID W LAMBERT whose telephone number is (571)272-7692. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 10-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth Vanderpuye can be reached at (571)272-3078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID W LAMBERT/Examiner, Art Unit 2634
