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 .
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 “modulator, configured to perform modulation processing on the coded signal to obtain a modulated signal” of claim 13 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The claims 15-16 are rejected because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the computer program product and the computer-readable storage media (CRSM), under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), will cover an ineligible signal per se unless defined otherwise in the application as filed.
Variations of the term “storage” do not necessarily limit a media claim to non-transitory embodiments because many disclosures conflate storage media and signals.
In one example the disclosure of a US patent explicitly defines storage medium to include a carrier wave: “the methods described herein may be implemented by a series of computer-executable instructions residing on a storage medium such as a carrier wave”.
In the Specification, the phrase “computer-readable storage medium” and “computer program product” are mentioned broadly (open-ended) as different types of "memory” and “storage technologies”. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), “a computer-readable storage medium” covers forms of transitory propagating signals per se, and therefore would not be patent-eligible.
Thus, the claim is rejected under 35 USC 101, as being directed to nonstatutory subject matter.
The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media. When the broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim covers a signal per se, the claim must be rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter. A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation "non-transitory" to the claim. Such an amendment would typically not raise the issue of new matter, even when the specification is silent, because the broadest reasonable interpretation relies on the ordinary and customary meaning that includes signals per se. The limited situations in which such an amendment could raise issues of new matter occur, for example, when the specification does not support a non-transitory embodiment because a signal per se is the only viable embodiment such that the amended claim is impermissibly broadened beyond the supporting disclosure. See the USPTO Official Gazette notice 1351 OG 212 of 23 February 2010.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: “configured obtain to a coded signal” of line 4 should be changed to “configured to obtain a coded signal.” Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1, 6-7, and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wen et al. (Mitigation of optical multipath interference impact for directly detected PAMn system, 2020) in view of Yadav et al. (Implementation of 8B/10B Encoder-Decoder for Gigabit Ethernet Frame, 2014).
Regarding claim 7, Wen et al. discloses A signal processing device (Fig. 1), characterized in that it includes:
a signal emitted by a signal source (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; the DFB laser as shown);
a modulation module (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; the Mach-Zehnder modulator as shown), configured to perform modulation processing to obtain a modulated signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38326, Section, 5. Experimental verification; the optical signal with PAM4 format was generated by an MZM following a DFB laser);
a processing module (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; the Driver), configured to transmit the modulated signal to a receiving end (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38319, first paragraph; the MZM operated by the Driver outputs PAM4 signal that is transmitted to the receiver, Rx. The fiber link transmits an optical signal form the optical transmitter to the receiver) to instruct the receiving end to perform high-pass filtering on a received modulated signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38319, second paragraph; The optical receiver consists of a photodetector (PD) followed by a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and a proposed HPF (high pass filter). The HPF is used to mitigate the carrier-carrier beat noise caused by the beating between the signal carrier and MPI carrier) to obtain a modulated signal with a frequency higher than a preset value (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38327, first paragraph; The capacitor was changed with different capacitance values to get the desired cut-off frequencies of the HPF), and perform demodulation processing on the modulated signal with the frequency higher than the preset value to obtain a processed signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38319, second paragraph; The electrical output signal of the optical receiver is fed to either a digital signal processor after analog to digital conversion or an analog decision circuit. (The high-pass filter allows signals with frequencies above a predetermined cutoff frequency to pass while attenuating signals below the cut off frequency)).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose a coding module, configured to perform DC balance coding to obtain a coded signal; and decoding processing.
Yadav discloses a coding module (Fig. 5; 8b to 10b Encoder in the transmitter), configured to perform DC balance coding to obtain a coded signal (Fig. 5; Page 2, right column, last paragraph; Equalizing the number of ‘1’s and ‘0’s is controlled by disparity block which make sure the DC balance on the data stream); and decoding processing (Fig. 5; the 10b to 8b Decoder in the receiver 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 utilize 8b10b encoding scheme, as taught by Yadav, in the present combination. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to utilize 8b10b encoding because 8b10b encoding is well-known. Also, if a data stream stays high or low for too long without transitions, the receiver's internal clock can drift out of sync. Plus, without DC balance, long strings of consecutive ones or zeros cause the average voltage level at the receiver to drift.
Regarding claim 12, the present combination discloses The device according to claim 7, as described and applied above, characterized in that the DC balanced coding includes at least one of the following: 8B10B coding, MB810 coding, 5S/6S coding, and 27S/32S coding (Yadav, Fig. 5; 8b to 10b Encoder in the transmitter).
Regarding claim 1, the present combination teach a device that necessarily performed this method claim as described and applied in claim 7.
Regarding claim 6, the present combination teach a device that necessarily performed this method claim as described and applied in claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, Wen et al. discloses A signal processing system (Fig. 1), characterized by including a transmitting end (Fig. 1; optical transmitter) and a receiving end (Fig. 1; optical receiver with HPF), wherein the transmitting end includes:
a signal emitted by a signal source to obtain a signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; DSP generates data to be transmitted as shown);
a modulator (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; the MZM Driver), configured to perform modulation processing on the coded signal to obtain a modulated signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; The MZM driver takes a low-voltage data stream, logic signal, shapes it to the specific power levels required to properly drive the modulator. As shown in the figure, the data stream from DSP is prepared to PAM4 signal); and
a modulated laser (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; DFB and MZM), configured to transmit the modulated signal to the receiving end (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38326, Section, 5. Experimental verification; The optical signal with PAM4 format was generated by an MZM following a DFB laser); wherein
the receiving end includes: a photoelectric receiving end, configured to receive a modulated signal (Fig. 1; Page 38319; second paragraph; The optical receiver consists of a photodetector (PD) followed by a transimpedance amplifier(TIA) and a proposed HPF);
a high-pass filter (Fig. 1; the high pass filter, HPF), configured to perform high-pass filtering on a received modulated signal (Fig. 1; Page 38319; second paragraph; The optical receiver consists of a photodetector (PD) followed by a transimpedance amplifier(TIA) and a proposed HPF. The HPF is used to mitigate the carrier-carrier beat noise caused by the beating between the signal carrier and MPI carrier)
to obtain a modulated signal with a frequency higher than the preset value (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38327, first paragraph; The capacitor was changed with different capacitance values to get the desired cut-off frequencies of the HPF); and configured to demodulate the modulated signal with the frequency higher than the preset value to obtain a processed signal (Fig. 1; Fig. 10; Page 38319, second paragraph; The electrical output signal of the optical receiver is fed to either a digital signal processor after analog to digital conversion or an analog decision circuit. (The high-pass filter allows signals with frequencies above a predetermined cutoff frequency to pass while attenuating signals below the cut off frequency)).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose an encoder, configured to perform DC balanced coding to obtain a coded signal; and a decoder, configured to decode the signal.
Yadav discloses an encoder (Fig. 5; 8b to 10b Encoder in the transmitter), configured to perform DC balanced coding to obtain a coded signal (Fig. 5; Page 2, right column, last paragraph; Equalizing the number of ‘1’s and ‘0’s is controlled by disparity block which make sure the DC balance on the data stream); and a decoder, configured to decode the signal (Fig. 5; the 10b to 8b Decoder in the receiver 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 utilize 8b10b encoding scheme, as taught by Yadav, in the present combination. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to utilize 8b10b encoding because 8b10b encoding is well-known. Also, if a data stream stays high or low for too long without transitions, the receiver's internal clock can drift out of sync. Plus, without DC balance, long strings of consecutive ones or zeros cause the average voltage level at the receiver to drift.
Claim(s) 4-5 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wen et al. (Mitigation of optical multipath interference impact for directly detected PAMn system, 2020) and Yadav et al. (Implementation of 8B/10B Encoder-Decoder for Gigabit Ethernet Frame, 2014) in view of Azadet et al. (US7257329B2).
Regarding claim 10, the present combination discloses The device of claim 7, as described and applied above.
However, the present combination does not expressly disclose a duobinary modulated signal, and a second modulation sub-module, configured to perform duobinary modulation to the coded signal to obtain the duobinary modulated signal.
Azadet et al. discloses a duobinary modulated signal (Fig. 2; Para. 12; Fig. 2 illustrates PAM-4 duobinary optical communication system), and a second modulation sub-module (Fig. 2; the precoder 215 and encoder 220), configured to perform duobinary modulation to the coded signal to obtain the duobinary modulated signal (Fig. 2; Para. 7; a duobinary optical communication system is disclosed that employs pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) techniques to provide further improvements in spectral efficiency. A disclosed PAM duobinary optical transmitter converts a plurality of input bits to an N level signal using PAM techniques; adds a current N level signal to a previous N level signal to produce a 2N-1 level signal; and converts the 2N-1 level signal to an optical signal for transmission to a receiver).
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 combination to incorporate duobinary scheme, as taught by Azadet et al., in order to improve spectral efficiency of the optical communication system.
Regarding claim 11, the present combination discloses The device according to claim 7, as described and applied above, wherein the modulated signal includes the duobinary modulated signal (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; Para. 12; Fig. 2 illustrates PAM-4 duobinary optical communication system), and the modulation module includes: an obtaining sub-module (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; a delay element 250), configured obtain to a coded signal delayed by a preset number of bits from the coded signal (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; Para. 13; D of delay element 250 is a delay operation that delays the sequence of bits by one bit interval); a processing sub-module (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; Fig. 1; the precoder 215), configured to perform XOR processing on the coded signal and the coded signal delayed by the preset number of bits to obtain a pre-coded signal (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; Fig. 1; Para. 13; the input bit is applied to one terminal of an exclusive or (XOR) gate 110 and the previous bit is applied to the second terminal of the XOR gate 110. The previous bit is obtained by a feedback loop containing a delay element 150. (The modulo 4 adder 210 is equivalent to combination of XOR gates and AND gates)); and a third modulation sub-module (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; an encoder 220), configured to perform pre-coding processing and duobinary modulation processing on the pre-coded signal to obtain the duobinary modulated signal (Azadet et al., Fig. 2; Para. 21; Para. 20; The four level output of the precoder 215 is applied to an encoder 220 that maps the four levels to a seven level value (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). PAM-4 duobinary optical signal is transmitted).
Regarding claim 4, the present combination teaches a device that necessarily perform this method claim in light of the rejection of Claim 10 as described and applied.
Regarding claim 5, the present combination teaches a device that necessarily perform this method claim in light of the rejection of Claim 11 as described and applied.
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wen et al. (Mitigation of optical multipath interference impact for directly detected PAMn system, 2020) and Yadav et al. (Implementation of 8B/10B Encoder-Decoder for Gigabit Ethernet Frame, 2014) in view of Medhi (Von Neumann Architecture, 2012).
Regarding claim 14, the present combination discloses An electronic device according to claim 1, as described and applied above.
However, the present system does not expressly disclose a processor; a memory, configured to store instructions executable by the processor; wherein, the processor is configured to execute the instructions.
Medhi discloses a processor (Fig. 2.1; the central processing unit (CPU)); a memory (Fig. 2.1; the memory), configured to store instructions executable by the processor (Fig. 2.1; Page 1, last paragraph; the computer’s memory is used to store program instructions and data); wherein, the processor is configured to execute the instructions (Fig. 2.1; Page 2, third paragraph; once the program is in the memory, the operation system then schedules the CPU to begin executing the program instructions. Each instruction to be executed must first be retrieved from memory).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system software on a computer-readable storage medium (or the processor and memory). The motivation would have been to fully automate the communication system that runs on computer software.
Regarding claim 15, the present combination teaches the claim limitations in light of the rejection of claim 14.
Regarding claim 16, the present combination teaches the claim limitations in light of the rejection of claim 14.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 8-9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAI M LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5870. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:5:30 PM.
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JAI M. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 2634
/JAI M LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2634
