Prior art

The search results confirm that the USPTO has a "Patent Public Search" tool. While I don't directly interact with a live USPTO database in this environment, the prompt provided the full text of US9523826, which already contains the patent citations. I will proceed with the analysis using the citation data within the provided patent text, as that is the authoritative source for this task.

Prior Art Analysis for US9523826

The following prior art references were cited in US9523826:

1. US7201520B2

• Full Citation: US7201520B2 [cite: US9523826B2]
• Publication/Filing Date: Published on April 10, 2007. The priority date is May 30, 2003. [cite: US9523826B2]
• Brief Description: This patent describes an optical module featuring a mechanism designed for easy release from a corresponding cage or socket. [cite: US9523826B2]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US7201520B2 potentially anticipates claims 1 and 7 of US9523826. The title "Optical module having a simple mechanism for releasing from a cage" indicates a device that performs the core function of a pluggable optical transceiver module with a release mechanism. This suggests that the prior art likely discloses a main body and a mechanism, potentially a sliding component, that allows for fastening and releasing from a socket, which are fundamental elements of both independent claims in US9523826. While the specific details of the "two sliding slots," "limiting space," "limited part," and the precise confinement of the "elastic component" would need to be directly compared to the full text of US7201520B2, the overarching concept of a pluggable optical module with a release mechanism is clearly present and could anticipate the broader functional aspects of the independent claims.

2. US20110081114A1

• Full Citation: US20110081114A1 [cite: US9523826B2]
• Publication/Filing Date: Published on April 7, 2011. The priority date is October 5, 2009. [cite: US9523826B2]
• Brief Description: This patent describes a communications module that integrates a "boot" and a "release slide." [cite: US9523826B2]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US20110081114A1 potentially anticipates claims 1 and 7 of US9523826. The term "release slide" in the title strongly suggests a sliding mechanism for disengaging the module from a socket, which directly corresponds to the "sliding component" concept in US9523826. This prior art likely discloses a main body and a sliding element (the "release slide") that moves between fastening and releasing positions, interacting with fastening parts of a socket, as described in independent claims 1 and 7 of US9523826. Furthermore, the "integrated boot" might imply protective or dust-proof features, which US9523826 also aims to improve (e.g., the main body protecting the photoelectric conversion circuit from dust). A thorough comparison with the full disclosure of US20110081114A1 would be necessary to assess anticipation of the more specific structural limitations, such as the exact configuration of the limiting spaces, elastic components, and parallelism of surfaces. However, the core inventive concept of a sliding release mechanism within a pluggable module is evident, making it highly relevant to the novelty of claims 1 and 7.