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 “an optical signal, wherein a primary axis of the optical signal exit intersects with the reflective plane of the mirror” 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.
Claims 2-7 are rejected because of their dependency upon rejected claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, the original disclosure does not teach “an optical signal exit”, “a primary axis” or a detector “fixed above the top surface”. Claim 1 is rejected because of the lack of teaching in the original disclosure.
Claims 2-7 are rejected because of their dependency upon rejected claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, the original disclosure does not teach an optical exit.
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.
Regarding claim 1, It is unclear “exit” is the aperture of the element 283, the emitting facet 303 of the separately claimed optical device 300, a face of the transmission structure 279 or other opening. Because an “exit” may or may not be positive constructed, especially in the absence of written description and drawing, a primary axis of such exit cannot be positively scoped either.
Regarding claim 1, It is unclear what the detector is fixed to. Claim 1 recites no housing, frame, or attachment.
Claim 4 recites “the defect structure having a different thickness than the first material” It is unclear how any the material having a thickness. It is understood that material is a composition not a structure thus bearing no thickness.
Claims 2, 3 and 5-7 are rejected because of their dependency upon rejected claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 8, 10, 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al (US 20210141159).
Regarding claim 8, Lee et al teach An apparatus comprising: a notch filter (314), wherein the notch filter comprises: a first distributed Bragg reflector (the lower quarter wave stack of the single cavity Fabry-Perot coating deposited ) over a substrate; a defect layer (the Fabry-Perot spacer/ cavity layer) over the first DBR; and a second DBR over (the upper quarter wave stack of the same coating) the defect layer; a reflective structure (311) positioned adjacent to the notch filter; and an optical signal detector (402) positioned adjacent to the notch filter.
Regarding claim 10, Lee et al teach an optical fiber (1D03) aligned with the reflective structure.
Regarding claim 15, Lee et al teach an apparatus comprising: a lens (305) on a transmission structure; a mirror (311) on an opposite side of the transmission structure from the lens; a first distributed Bragg reflector (the stack of filter 314 first encountered by beam 321 after reflection from mirror 311) positioned beneath the transmission structure; a defect layer (the Fabry-Perot spacer layer, on the far side of the first stack) on an opposite side of the first distributed Bragg reflector from the mirror and a second distributed Bragg reflector (the second quarter wave stack) on an opposite side of the defect layer from the first distributed Bragg reflector.
Regarding claim 16, Lee et al teach an optical engine (1C05) aligned with the lens.
Regarding claim 17, Lee et al teach an optical fiber (1C03) aligned with the lens.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 11-14 and 18-20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONY KO whose telephone number is (571)272-1926. The examiner can normally be reached Monday – Friday 9-5pm.
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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.
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/TONY KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878
TK
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