Obviousness

US Patent 9,523,826, titled "Pluggable optical transceiver module," discloses a module designed for insertion into a socket, featuring a sliding component for fastening and releasing, and an elastic component for biasing the mechanism. An analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 suggests that claims 1-7 of US9523826 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) by combining the teachings of US 2011/0081114 A1 to Finisar Corporation (Sargent) and US 7,201,520 B2 to Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Nishimura). This combination was, in fact, proposed as a ground for unpatentability in the IPR2026-00093 proceeding, which was ultimately denied institution on procedural grounds rather than on the merits of the prior art arguments.

Obviousness Analysis

Independent Claim 1

Claim 1 describes a pluggable optical transceiver module comprising a main body, a sliding component, and an elastic component.

1. Main body with side surfaces and sliding slots: Sargent discloses a communications module (100) with a body (101) having side surfaces and a release slide (120) that operates along these sides, implying the presence of sliding slots or channels. Nishimura explicitly teaches a main body (10) with two side surfaces (11) and guide grooves (12) located at these side surfaces for a slider (20) to slide, thereby disclosing "two side surfaces that are opposite to each other and two sliding slots located at the two side surfaces, respectively". Both modules are configured to be inserted into a socket or cage.
2. Limiting space and bottom surfaces parallel to side surfaces: Nishimura clearly illustrates guide grooves (12) forming the "sliding slots" with a bottom surface (12a) shown parallel to the side surface (11). Nishimura further discloses a recessed portion (12b) and a shoulder (12c) within the guide groove, which together form a "limiting space" located at the side surface. A PHOSITA would find it obvious to apply this structural detail from Nishimura to Sargent's module to implement a biasing mechanism.
3. Sliding component with linkage arm, extending arms, and second fastening parts: Sargent shows a release slide (120) with a handle (122) (acting as a linkage arm) connecting two extending portions (120a) that flank the module's main body (101). These extending portions have engagement features (124) (second fastening parts). Nishimura similarly depicts a slider (20) with a connecting portion (20b) (linkage arm) and two guide portions (22) (extending arms) that position the main body (10) between them. Each guide portion has an engagement claw (21) (second fastening part). Both references teach that these extending arms are slidably disposed on the main body's slots to achieve fastening and releasing positions.
4. Fastening and releasing mechanism with first and second fastening parts: Both Sargent and Nishimura teach a mechanism where the module's second fastening parts engage with a socket's first fastening parts when in the fastening position. Upon moving to the releasing position, the second fastening parts (e.g., engagement features 124 in Sargent or engagement claws 21 in Nishimura), which feature inclined surfaces, press against the elastic first fastening parts of the socket (e.g., spring arms 152 in Sargent or engaging pieces 2a in Nishimura), causing them to move farther away from each other and release the module.
5. Limited part configured to move in limiting space: Nishimura explicitly illustrates a projection (22c) on the guide portion (22) (an extending arm) that functions as a "limited part" and moves within a recessed portion (12b) (a limiting space) of the main body.
6. Elastic component located in limiting space and confined: Nishimura teaches a resilient piece (23) (elastic component) situated in the recessed portion (12b) (limiting space) and positioned between the projection (22c) (limited part) and a shoulder (12c) (first limiting surface). This arrangement shows the elastic component confined by the main body and the sliding component's extending arm.

Motivation to Combine Sargent and Nishimura for Claim 1:
A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the features of Sargent and Nishimura to create a pluggable optical transceiver module with improved functionality. Sargent provides an effective, easily releasable latching mechanism for an optical module using a sliding component with inclined surfaces. Nishimura offers a more detailed design for integrating elastic components within limiting spaces to bias such a sliding mechanism, ensuring a secure fastening position and a controlled, consistent release. Incorporating Nishimura's biasing mechanism into Sargent's module would enhance the reliability and user experience by providing a positive retention force and smooth disengagement. The design of enclosed sliding slots and limiting spaces, present in Nishimura and implicitly beneficial to Sargent's design, would also be recognized by a PHOSITA as providing protection against dust, a known problem in optical transceivers as highlighted in the background of US9523826.

Independent Claim 7

Claim 7 shares many features with Claim 1 but provides more specific details about the main body's head and inserted parts, and the directional movement of the sliding component.

1. Main body with head part and inserted part, and sliding slots extending from head part to inserted part: Both Sargent (front end 102 as a head part, body 101 as an inserted part) and Nishimura (optical portion 10a as a head part, main body 10 as an inserted part) show optical transceiver modules with distinct head (optical connection) and inserted (socket engagement) parts. Nishimura clearly illustrates guide grooves (12) (sliding slots) extending along the side surfaces (11) of the main body (10), from the front (head part) towards the inserted part. Sargent's slide (120) also moves along the length of the module body.
2. Sliding component movement to fastening position farther from head part and releasing position closer to head part: Both Sargent (pulling handle 122 forward, toward the front/head part, to release) and Nishimura (pulling slider 20 forward, towards the optical portion 10a/head part, to release) demonstrate this directional movement. The releasing position is thus closer to the head part, and conversely, the fastening position is farther away.

The remaining elements of Claim 7 regarding the linkage arm, extending arms, second fastening part, limited part, limiting space, and elastic component are addressed by the same combination of Sargent and Nishimura as discussed for Claim 1.

Motivation to Combine Sargent and Nishimura for Claim 7:
The motivation for combining Sargent and Nishimura for Claim 7 is identical to that for Claim 1. The additional specificity in Claim 7 regarding the "head part," "inserted part," and the direction of movement for fastening/releasing are common design considerations for pluggable optical transceivers and are either explicitly taught or implicitly understood from the combined teachings of Sargent and Nishimura. A PHOSITA would find it obvious to integrate these well-known structural and operational characteristics.

Dependent Claims 2-6

The dependent claims also appear obvious when considering the combination of Sargent and Nishimura:

• Claim 2 (Main body parts and sliding direction): This claim reiterates details of the head part, inserted part, and the relative movement of the sliding component. As established, both Sargent and Nishimura teach these elements and movements.
• Claim 3 (Inclined fastening surface): Both Sargent (inclined surfaces 124 on engagement features) and Nishimura (inclined fastening surfaces 21a, 21b on engagement claws) explicitly disclose the use of inclined surfaces on the second fastening parts to achieve the spreading action required for release. This is a common and obvious mechanical feature for such a release mechanism.
• Claim 4 (Optical fiber terminal): Both Sargent and Nishimura describe optical transceiver modules, which inherently include optical fiber terminals in their head parts for connecting to optical fibers. This is a fundamental component of the described devices.
• Claim 5 (Two elastic components and limiting spaces): Nishimura explicitly shows two guide portions (22), each having a resilient piece (23) and an associated recessed portion (12b) and shoulder (12c) (i.e., limiting space with first and second limiting surfaces). The description of US9523826 itself indicates that the number of elastic components and limiting spaces can be two or one, suggesting that two is merely an embodiment and not a novel distinguishing feature over Nishimura.
• Claim 6 (Pivoted pull handle): Sargent teaches a pull handle (122) on its release slide (120) (linkage arm). While Sargent's handle isn't explicitly shown as pivoting, making a handle pivotable is a well-known mechanical design choice to improve usability, such as to avoid interference with other components (e.g., an optical fiber plug, as stated in US9523826) or for compact storage. A PHOSITA, aiming to improve the ergonomics or reduce interference of Sargent's module, would find it obvious to implement a pivotable handle, drawing from common mechanical design principles.

In conclusion, the combination of Sargent and Nishimura, driven by the motivation to improve the reliability and user convenience of a pluggable optical transceiver module with a sliding release mechanism, would have rendered claims 1-7 of US9523826 obvious to a PHOSITA.