Prior art — US Patent 10623095

Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 10,623,095

Based on a review of the patent's file wrapper and the citations listed on its face, the following prior art references are identified as most relevant. These references were considered by the USPTO examiner during the prosecution of the patent application. The analysis below outlines how each might be viewed in the context of novelty and potential anticipation of the claims of US Patent 10,623,095.

US20140376909A1 - "Optical Channel Monitor With High Resolution Capability"

Full Citation: United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2014/0376909 A1.
Publication Date: December 25, 2014.
Brief Description: This reference, assigned to Finisar Corporation, discloses an optical channel monitor (OCM) that uses a tunable filter to scan across a range of wavelengths. It measures the power of a Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) signal at different points to determine the power of individual channels. The system is designed to handle various channel spacings, including those found in flexible grid systems, by adjusting its measurement resolution.
Potential Anticipation: This reference appears highly relevant to all independent claims (1, 6, 12, and 18) of US 10,623,095.
- Claim 1 & 12: The Finisar application describes an OCM measuring optical intensity values of a multiplexed signal at various sampling points. It explicitly discusses handling signals with different frequency widths (channel spacings) and identifying the power associated with each channel. This aligns with the core limitations of measuring intensity values for a multiplexed signal with at least a first and second optical signal having different frequency widths and identifying the corresponding values.
- Claim 6: The reference discusses monitoring channel power and can be interpreted as inherently capable of comparing this power to a threshold to generate an indication or alarm if a signal is degraded or absent, a standard function in optical network monitoring.
- Claim 18: As a patent application describing a specific method and apparatus, it provides the basis for a program that could execute the described monitoring method on a processor-controlled device.

US20150155934A1 - "Device and method for monitoring optical signal quality, and optical transmission device"

Full Citation: United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2015/0155934 A1.
Publication Date: June 4, 2015.
Brief Description: This Fujitsu-assigned reference describes a device for monitoring the quality of optical signals in a WDM system. It measures the optical power spectrum of a multiplexed signal and analyzes it to determine the quality of individual channels. The system is capable of handling flexible grid signals where channel widths and spacings can vary.
Potential Anticipation: This reference is also highly relevant to the independent claims.
- Claim 1, 12, & 18: The Fujitsu application discloses measuring a plurality of optical intensity values of a multiplexed signal that includes signals with different frequency widths (corresponding to different data rates or modulation formats). It describes a process for identifying and analyzing the portion of the spectrum corresponding to each optical signal.
- Claim 6: The monitoring of signal quality inherently involves comparing measured parameters (like power) against thresholds to determine if performance is adequate. The disclosure provides a basis for outputting an indication if the identified channel power falls below a required level.

US8514390B2 - "Optical equipment and registration method"

Full Citation: United States Patent No. 8,514,390 B2.
Issue Date: August 20, 2013.
Brief Description: This patent, assigned to the Industrial Technology Research Institute, discloses optical equipment that can monitor WDM signals. It describes a method where the equipment registers channel information, such as center wavelength and bandwidth, and then uses a tunable filter to measure the power of each channel. This registration allows the system to adapt to different channel plans, including mixed-grid environments.
Potential Anticipation: This patent presents a strong challenge to the novelty of the claims.
- Claim 1 & 12: The patent details a method of measuring optical intensity for a multiplexed signal and identifying values corresponding to specific signals based on registered frequency width (bandwidth) information. This directly maps to the claim language requiring the identification of first and second intensity values for signals with different frequency widths.
- Claim 6 & 18: The system's purpose is to monitor channel power, which implies a comparison to an expected or threshold value to detect faults, aligning with the functional aspects of claims 6 and 18.

JP2010130587A - "Optical reception device, optical receiving method, and optical transmission apparatus"

Full Citation: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP2010130587A.
Publication Date: June 10, 2010.
Brief Description: This reference, cited in the '095 patent as PTL 1, describes an optical transmission apparatus with a channel monitor. The system monitors operational channels within a WDM signal to manage and verify the network's state.
Potential Anticipation: While older, its relevance is noted by its inclusion in the patent's background section.
- Claims 1, 6, 12, 18: The examiner likely considered this reference as background art showing a general OCM. The invention in US 10,623,095 was distinguished by its specific logic for handling mixed frequency grids by dynamically selecting power values based on the relationship between the channel's center frequency interval and the OCM's sampling interval. The '587A publication may not explicitly detail the process for handling different frequency widths in the flexible and adaptive manner claimed in the '095 patent, particularly the step of identifying distinct sets of intensity values for each differently-widthed signal from a common set of measurements.

JP2012060308A - "Signal light monitoring device and signal light monitoring method"

Full Citation: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP2012060308A.
Publication Date: March 22, 2012.
Brief Description: Cited as PTL 2 in the '095 patent, this reference discloses a signal monitoring apparatus that receives a portion of a multiplexed signal to determine the presence of signal light for each channel.
Potential Anticipation: Similar to the reference above, this was likely considered foundational but lacking specific key elements of the invention.
- Claims 1, 6, 12, 18: The '308A publication describes monitoring individual channels but may not teach the specific method of processing measurements from a multiplexed signal containing a priori unknown or variable frequency widths and dynamically identifying which sampling points correspond to which signal. The inventive step of US 10,623,095 appears to be the intelligent processing of the OCM data in coordination with transmitter data (center frequency and frequency interval/width) to resolve channels in a flexible grid environment. This reference may describe the "what" (monitoring channels) but not the specific "how" that is claimed.