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.
(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, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Boscher et al. U.S. Patent #6,366,347.
With respect to claim 1, Boscher discloses an instrument to measuring crosstalk in multicore fibers comprising:
An optical pulse tester for measuring crosstalk between cores of a multimode fiber (abstract)
A laser element configured to generate an optical pulse (Figure 1, transmitter 110, Col.2, l 22-24)
An output port configured to output the optical pulse to one core among a plurality of cores in the multicore optical fiber (Figure 1, output port = end 13, Col.2, l 22-26)
At least one input port configured to receive backscattered light generated in a core other than the one core among the plurality of cores (Figure 1, end 15, adjacent core, Col.2, l 27-28)
At least one photodetector configured to detect the backscattered light received by the input port (Figure 1, photodetector = detection means 150, Col.2, l 26-27)
With respect to claim 2, 3, and 5, Boscher discloses all of the limitations as applied to claim 1 above. In addition, Boscher disclose:
2- Wherein the at least one input port comprises a plurality of input ports (Col.2, l 26-30, wherein receiving signal from several adjacent cores implies input ports from each of those cores)
3- At least one photodetector comprises a plurality of photodetectors and the plurality of photodetectors is respectively connected to the plurality of input ports (Col.2, l 26-30, wherein “these detection means” implies plurality and detecting from several cores also implies plurality)
5- A controller configured to generate an optical time domain reflectometer waveform based on the backscattered light detected by the photodetector (Col.2, l 30-35, Figure 2, Col.3, l 59-65)
With respect to claim 7, Boscher discloses a method for measuring crosstalk in multicore fibers comprising:
A measurement method for measuring crosstalk between cores of a multicore optical fiber using an optical pulse tester (abstract)
Generating an optical pulse (Figure 1, transmitter 110, Col.2, l 22-24)
Outputting the optical pulse from an output port to one core among a plurality of cores in the multicore optical fiber (Figure 1, output port = end 13, Col.2, l 22-26)
Receiving by the at least one input port, backscattered light generated in a core other than the one core among the plurality of cores (Figure 1, end 15, adjacent core, Col.2, l 27-28)
Detecting the backscattered light received by the input port (Figure 1, photodetector = detection means 150, Col.2, l 26-27)
With respect to claim 8, 9, and 11, Boscher discloses all of the limitations as applied to claim 1 above. In addition, Boscher disclose:
8- Wherein the at least one input port comprises a plurality of input ports (Col.2, l 26-30, wherein receiving signal from several adjacent cores implies input ports from each of those cores)
9- At least one photodetector comprises a plurality of photodetectors and the plurality of photodetectors is respectively connected to the plurality of input ports (Col.2, l 26-30, wherein “these detection means” implies plurality and detecting from several cores also implies plurality)
11- Generating an optical time domain reflectometer waveform based on the backscattered light detected by the photodetector (Col.2, l 30-35, Figure 2, Col.3, l 59-65)
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) 4, 6, 10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boscher U.S. Patent #6,366,347 in view of Sumitomo WO 2024/053224.
With respect to claims 4 and 10, Boscher discloses all of the limitations as applied to claim 1-3 and 7-9 above. However, Boscher fails to disclose a switch between photodetectors.
Sumitomo discloses an optical characteristic measurement device and method comprising:
An optical pulse tester for measuring crosstalk between cores of a multicore optical fiber (P.0005, abstract)
A plurality of input ports configured to receive backscattered light generated in a core other than the one core among the plurality of cores (P.0034)
At least one photodetectors connected to the plurality of input ports (P.0034)
An optical switch connected to the plurality of input ports, wherein the optical switch is configured to output, to the photodetector, any one of backscattered light among a plurality of backscattered lights supplied form the plurality of input ports (P.0032, P.0034)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to use the switch of Sumitomo for measuring crosstalk in a plurality of different cores in Boscher without having to manually switch between them or to have overlapping structure (i.e. multiple photodetectors). A switch is common in the art and would have been an obvious tool one of ordinary skill would reach for in light of these teachings.
With respect to claim 6 and 12, Boscher in view of Sumitomo discloses all of the limitations as applied to claim 1, 5, 7, and 9 above. However, Boscher fails to disclose a display.
Sumitomo discloses an optical characteristic measurement device and method comprising:
A display configured to display the optical time domain reflectometer waveform (P.0020)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to use the display of Sumitomo for displaying the results of Boscher since displays are well known in the art as a means for conveying results to a user in order to make the measurement more useful.
Conclusion
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/REBECCA C BRYANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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