CTNF 18/995,012 CTNF 95575 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1)/(a)(2 ) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 5,541,725 ("Lieber") . Regarding claim 1 , Lieber discloses an optical monitor device (OR9, Fig. 9) that detects an intensity of light propagating through a plurality of optical fibers (LW1-LW4, Fig. 9), the optical monitor device comprising: a bend applying portion (KR9/ZR9, Fig. 9) that provides a bent portion on a tape core wire (formed by LW1-LW4, Fig. 9) in which the plurality of optical fibers is arranged in a row in a tape-like form (see Fig. 9); and a light receiving portion (LE1-LE8, Fig. 9) that receives a part of leaked light (VF1-VF4, Fig. 9, col. 10, lines 36-37) leaked from a bent portion of the tape core wire (col. 10, lines 33-35), wherein in the light receiving portion (LE1-LE8, Fig. 9), light receiving elements larger in number (eight light-sensitive elements, Fig. 9, col. 10, line 37) than the optical fibers (four optical waveguides, Fig. 9, col. 10, line 31) are two-dimensionally arranged on a light receiving surface (col. 11, lines 20-38) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lieber in view of Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-2017026546-A ("Kishimoto") . Regarding claim 2 , Lieber discloses a light intensity measurement method for collectively measuring intensities of light propagating through a plurality of optical fibers using the optical monitor device according to claim 1, and Lieber further discloses the light intensity measurement method comprising: acquiring correspondence relationships between the plurality of optical fibers (LW1-LW2, Fig. 1, with similar approach to Fig. 9, see col. 11, lines 8-14) and each light receiving element (LE1, LE2, Fig. 1) by measuring a received light intensity at each light receiving element when light is emitted by each optical fiber from the plurality of optical fibers (col. 7, lines 30-35); and measuring at least one of a light intensity of propagated light before passing through the bent portion, or (ii) a light intensity of propagated light after passing through the bent portion for each of the optical fibers on a basis of the correspondence relationships (see Fig. 9, measurement done after passing the bent portion). Lieber does not explicitly disclose that the correspondence relationships are acquired in advance of detecting a light intensity of each light receiving element received by the light receiving portion in a state where the plurality of optical fibers is propagating light to be measured for an intensity. However, Kishimoto discloses detecting leakage light first (“The detection unit 40 detects the intensity of leakage light.”) and recording the leaky light intensity (“The processing unit 50 records the intensity information sent from the detection unit 40.”) and then detecting a light intensity of each light receiving element received by the light receiving portion in a state where the plurality of optical fibers is propagating light to be measured for an intensity (“the propagation loss is obtained based on the information on the intensity of leaked light at each of these positions”); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to first acquire leaky light measurements as disclosed by Kishimoto in the device of Lieber in order to compensate for the propagation losses when transmitting a light signal . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 5,424,831 ("Kossat") discloses an optical monitor device (ME, Fig. 1) that detects an intensity of light propagating through a plurality of optical fibers (LW1-LWn, LW1*-LWn*, Fig. 1), the optical monitor device comprising: a bend applying portion (BK1, BK2, Fig. 1) that provides a bent portion on a tape core wire (BL1, BL2, Fig. 1) in which the plurality of optical fibers (LW1-LWn, LW1*-LWn*, Fig. 1) is arranged in a row in a tape-like form (see BL1, BL2, Fig. 1); and a light receiving portion (GLE, Fig. 1) that receives a part of leaked light (RF0-RFm, Fig. 1) leaked from a bent portion (RC1-RCn, Fig. 1) of the tape core wire (see Fig. 1), wherein in the light receiving portion (GLE, Fig. 1), light receiving elements (an array inherently has multiple elements, see col. 9, lines 44, 46-47) are two-dimensionally arranged on a light receiving surface (col. 9, lines 39-48). U.S. Patent No. 5,473,423 ("Ruegenberg") discloses a similar arrangement as Kossat and the present application. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA T. TABA whose telephone number is (571)272-1583. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 am - 6 pm. 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, Georgia Epps can be reached at 571-272-2328. 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. /MONICA T TABA/ Examiner, Art Unit 2878 Application/Control Number: 18/995,012 Page 2 Art Unit: 2878
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