Ex Parte Lewis et al

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardAug 29, 2014

12775582 (P.T.A.B. Aug. 29, 2014)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 12/775,582 05/07/2010 Andrew B. Lewis 2005-0443A CON 1423 83658 7590 08/29/2014 AT & T Legal Department - WS Attn: Patent Docketing Room 2A-212 One AT & T Way Bedminster, NJ 07921 EXAMINER LAPAGE, MICHAEL P ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2886 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 08/29/2014 PAPER Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ Ex parte ANDREW B. LEWIS and STUART RUSSELL ____________ Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 Technology Center 2800 ____________ Before PETER F. KRATZ, BEVERLY A. FRANKLIN, and KAREN M. HASTINGS, Administrative Patent Judges. FRANKLIN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner’s rejection of claims 27–45. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6. On page 2 of the Appeal Brief, Appellants refer to pending Application No. 12/795,114 (Appeal No. 2012-009559) as being related to the present application. We have considered the present case along with Appeal No. 2012-009559. STATEMENT OF THE CASE Claim 27 is representative of the subject matter on appeal and is set forth below (with text in bold for emphasis): Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 2 27. A method comprising: launching into a medium a first pair of electromagnetic waves comprising a first electromagnetic wave and a second electromagnetic wave having a common pulse width, a frequency of the first electromagnetic wave being different than a frequency of the second electromagnetic wave; and sampling a first characteristic of a first beat signal associated with a scattering by the medium of the first pair of electromagnetic waves based on the common pulse width by extracting phase information including complex signals corresponding to a plurality of fixed locations along the medium. The prior art relied upon by the Examiner in rejecting the claims on appeal is: Henning et al. US 4,653,916 Mar. 31, 1987 Greene et al. US 2004/0145798 A1 July 29, 2004 Dakin et al. GB 2 222 247 A Feb. 28, 1990 THE REJECTION Claims 27–45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over Henning in view of Dakin and further in view of Greene. ISSUE Did the Examiner err in determining that the applied art suggests the claimed subject matter, in particular, the aspect of claim 27 pertaining to a method including sampling a first characteristic of a first beat signal “by extracting phase information including complex signals corresponding to a plurality of fixed locations along the medium”? We answer this question in the affirmative and REVERSE. Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 3 ANALYSIS Appellants state that claim 271 includes sampling a first characteristic of a first beat signal “by extracting phase information including complex signals corresponding to a plurality of fixed locations along the medium.” Appellants argue that the combination of Henning, Dakin, and Greene does not teach or suggest this claimed subject matter. Appeal Br. 8. Appellants states: Henning requires “[e]quispaced discontinuities . . . along the optical fibre” in order to divide the fiber. (See Henning, col. 3, lines 45-46). “The first two-pulse light signal which comprises pulse pairs of frequencies F1 and F1+ ∆F1, reaches the first optical fibre discontinuity 6 where a small proportion of the signal is reflected back along the fibre 5 to the beam splitter 4 which directs the signal to a square law photo- detection means 15. (See Henning, col. 4, lines 1-6). Here, Henning may describe equispaced discontinuities that divide the fiber, but there is no description in Henning of “sampling a first characteristic of a first beat signal associated with a scattering by the medium of the first pair of electromagnetic waves based on the common pulse width by extracting phase information including complex signals corresponding to a plurality of fixed locations along the medium” as recited in independent claim 27. Id. We agree with Appellants for the following reasons. Appellants’ Specification discloses (with text in bold for emphasis): [0024] The discussion to this point has focused on a single pulse pair that is transmitted through the fiber. If, for this single 1 The remaining independent claims 34 and 40 recite similar features. Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 4 pulse pair, we want to look at every 20 meters of fiber, we sample accordingly in time, knowing the time of launch. In analyzing the results, N analysis “bins” may be used, one bin for each 20 meter section of fiber. . . . [0028] Given typical pulse lengths of the order of 20m, the required change in optical wavelength to go from a maximum to a minimum would be 6x10-14m, or expressed in terms of optical frequency, 5MHz, assuming an optical wavelength of 1550nm. Expressed in terms of the pulse duration, T, this means that the shift required in the spectral content of the light comprising the pulse has to be greater than 0.5/T. In the simplest form, two pulses are generated with different optical frequencies, F1 and F2, such that the difference between them is greater than the spectral shift previously discussed (5MHz). The pulses are arranged in time such that the second immediately follows the first. (Note, however, that the two pulses may be separated, contiguous or overlapping in whole or in part.) . . . [0042] The signal from the optical detector is low-pass filtered with an appropriate anti-alias filter and sampled by an ADC at an appropriate rate. The resolution and performance of the ADC is chosen such that it does not contribute significantly to system noise. By way of example only, the method will be described using the following assumptions: there are 3 RF carriers present; 10MHz, 20MHz & 30MHz; the ADC sample rate is 100MHz; the refractive index of the optical fiber is 1.46; required spatial resolution is 20 meters; and, the total length of the fiber is 20km. The sampled digital data is passed to a 3 channel complex demodulator that uses 3 numerically controlled sine & cosine local oscillators (NCOs), each set to one of the nominal carrier frequencies to provide independent In-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signals from each of the carriers. It is preferred that the NCOs have their frequency derived from the same reference as the optical signal Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 5 modulators and are arranged to have exactly the same frequency as the RF carriers. This simplifies signal processing because, for steady state and no disturbance, the base- band signals will be at zero frequency (but arbitrary phase). (Spec. 8, 10, 15 (emphasis added).) As made evident by the above excerpts from Appellants’ Specification, the “plurality of fixed locations” recited in claim 27 refers to a chosen interval of length of fiber selected for analysis. The specific examples given in the above excerpts from the Specification indicate every 20 meters of fiber length, as illustrative. Appellants argue that these intervals are therefore fixed locations along the medium (fiber). Appellants explain that, on the other hand, the discontinuities of Henning are not fixed locations because the fiber length can vary, and when it does vary, the location of a respective discontinuity will vary, for the reasons provided on pages 8-9 of the Appeal Brief and on page 2 of the Reply Brief. Appellants argue that Henning discloses detecting “changes in amplitude produced by changes in length of the optical fiber elements’ as opposed to “extracting phase information corresponding to a plurality of fixed locations.” Appeal Br. 9. We agree. Henning, col. 4, ll. 42–45. Therein, Henning discloses: Reflected signals from the respective discontinuities, except the first, are caused to superimpose upon the signals reflected from the preceding discontinuities to produce amplitude modulated electrical signals in dependence upon the lengths of the optical fibre elements. Changes in amplitude produced by changes in length of the optical fibre elements are detected by respective detectors in a square law photo-detection means 25. Electrical beat frequency signals corresponding to respective frequency channels are passed to a decoding means 26 which provides Appeal 2012-009206 Application 12/775,582 6 signals indicative of any changes in length of the optical fibre elements. Appellants also states that Henning’s discontinuities formed by suitable joints will move when the fiber length varies. Reply Br. 2. We agree. We are unconvinced by the Examiner’s reply that the fiber in Henning “is still relatively fixed in location.” Ans. 11. In making this statement, the Examiner admits that the locations are not fixed. We therefore REVERSE the rejection (the other applied references of Dakin and Greene do not cure the deficiencies of Henning). CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND DECISION The rejection is reversed. REVERSED cdc