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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 02/21/2025 is/are being considered by the Examiner. NOTE: one of the references listed has a “.” instead of a “,” in its patent number. The Examiner made the correction on the sheet.
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: there should be a “:” after the line “the optical transmitter includes”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 6 is 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 6, the end of the final clause recites “a processor that executes a signal process on the electrical signal”. (emphasis added) However, two previous recitations of “an electrical signal” are present (i.e. one for a transmitter and one for a receiver) leading to confusion on which “the electrical signal” is referring to.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Akiyama, U.S. Publication No. 2007/0177882.
Regarding claim 1, Akiyama teaches an optical transmitter (see Akiyama Figure 20) comprising:
a driver amplifier that amplifies a high-frequency signal (see Figure 20, amplifier for “DATA_B” and paragraph [0090]);
a addition processor that adds a dither signal to the high-frequency signal amplified by the driver amplifier (see Figure 20, pilot signal generator unit 71 and paragraph [0090]);
an optical modulator that modulates an optical signal according to the high-frequency signal to which the dither signal is added (see Figure 20, DQPSK modulator 10 and paragraph [0043]);
a detector that detects a fluctuation level of the dither signal from the modulated optical signal (see Figure 20, elements 42, 74, and 72 and paragraph [0091]); and
a controller that controls a gain of the driver amplifier that amplifies the high-frequency signal so that an output amplitude of the driver amplifier is constant based on the detected fluctuation level of the dither signal (see Figure 20, gain adjuster 73 and paragraph [0092]).
Regarding claim 2, Akiyama teaches all the limitations of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the controller controls a gain of the driver amplifier so that a fluctuation level, of the dither signal, detected by the detector matches a predetermined fluctuation level set in advance (see Akiyama Figure 19, s22 and paragraph [0093]. The level set in advance is “zero” or “approximately zero”).
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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akiyama, U.S. Publication No. 2007/0177882 in view of Palmer et al, U.S. Publication No. 2020/028033.
Regarding claim 6, Akiyama teaches an optical transceiver comprising:
an optical transmitter that outputs transmission light using an electrical signal and an optical signal according to transmission data (see Akiyama Figure 20, electrical “DATA_B” signal and optical output from LD 111);
wherein the optical transmitter includes
a driver amplifier that amplifies a high-frequency signal (see Figure 20, amplifier for “DATA_B” and paragraph [0090]);
a addition processor that adds a dither signal to the high-frequency signal amplified by the driver amplifier (see Figure 20, pilot signal generator unit 71 and paragraph [0090]);
an optical modulator that modulates an optical signal according to the high-frequency signal to which the dither signal is added (see Figure 20, DQPSK modulator 10 and paragraph [0043]);
a detector that detects a fluctuation level of the dither signal from the modulated optical signal (see Figure 20, elements 42, 74, and 72 and paragraph [0091]); and
a controller that controls a gain of the driver amplifier that amplifies the high-frequency signal so that an output amplitude of the driver amplifier is constant based on the detected fluctuation level of the dither signal (see Figure 20, gain adjuster 73 and paragraph [0092]).
Akiyama does not expressively teach
an optical receiver that receives reception light using the optical signal and obtains an electrical signal according to reception data from the received reception light; and
a processor that executes a signal process on the electrical signal.
However, Palmer in a similar invention in the same field of endeavor teaches an optical transceiver (see Palmer Figure 5) comprising an optical transmitter (see Figure 5, elements comprising the top half of the transceiver) that outputs transmission light using an electrical signal and an optical signal according to transmission data (see Figure 5, input data signals to modulators 320 and output light from laser port 303) as taught in Akiyama further comprising
an optical receiver that receives reception light using the optical signal and obtains an electrical signal according to reception data from the received reception light (see Figure 5, input signals into OHs 330 from laser port 303 and PBSR 362 and output electrical signals); and
a processor that executes a signal process on the electrical signal (see Figure 5, references processor 350 and paragraph [0082]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to combine the teaching of a device allowing bidirectional communication of optical signals such as the optical transceiver of Palmer with the system taught in Akiyama, the motivation being to increase the data throughput in the system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Akiyama in Figure 20 teaches the structural limitations of claim 3 except explicitly states that for simultaneous control of the driver amplifier and the bias signal, the first dither signal for the bias signal (see Akiyama Figure 20, pilot signal generator unit 63 to DC bias 62) and the second dither signal (i.e. the dither signal of claim 1) must have different frequencies (see Akiyama paragraph [0098]). Therefore, Akiyama fails to teach this limitation in the context of the claims and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to alter Akiyama to reach this claim limitation due on this explicit recitation in the reference.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASEY L KRETZER whose telephone number is (571)272-5639. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00-7:00 PM Pacific Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Payne can be reached at (571)272-3024. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CASEY L KRETZER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635
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