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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-6 are pending. Claims 1-3 and 6 are amended. Claims 4-5 are original.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/29/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to arguments that the prior art does not disclose "a plurality of contact portions protruding radially inward from the space forming portion into the receiving space, wherein the plurality of contact portions are circumferentially spaced apart from each other and come into electrical contact with the male terminal", and "a connection portion to which a cable is connected, wherein the connection portion has a wall that separates the receiving space from the cable", it is respectfully submitted that primary reference MAYER discloses the amended recitations as described in the rejection below. Applicant has not specifically commented on or argued against the interpretation of MAYER relied upon in the rejection. It is maintained that MAYER discloses the amended recitations within the broadest reasonable interpretation.
In response to arguments that the prior art does not disclose "the heat transfer member is electrically insulating and entirely disposed in the receiving space, and comes into thermal contact with the male terminal and the space forming portion when the male terminal is inserted in the receiving space", it is first noted that the criticality or the advantage of the “heat transfer member” being electrically insulating is not described in the specification, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not readily ascertain the purpose or necessity of the "heat transfer member" being electrically insulating from the present disclosure. For example, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings of the application, heat transfer member 200 appears to electrically insulate male terminal 10 from female terminal 20. However, male terminal 10 and female terminal 20 are already electrically connected at contact portions 130, and it is therefore not clear why “heat transfer member” 200 needs to be electrically insulating as recited in claim 1. Furthermore, heat transfer also occurs at contact portions 130 as indicated by element AR1 (see page 6, lines 11-15 of the specification as originally filed), and may also occur throughout female terminal body 100, and therefore the criticality or advantages or having “heat transfer member” being entirely disposed in receiving space “S” is not entirely clear. It is therefore submitted that providing the heat transfer member as being “electrically insulating” and “entirely disposed in the receiving space”, absent criticality or advantages, would appear to be an obvious modification that would not change the functionality or utility of the female terminal of MAYER. It is therefore maintained that MAYER as modified by HITCHCOCK teaches the female terminal of claim 1 and the terminal connection structure of claim 6.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7/29/2025. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 2-4 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “flexible” in claim 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “flexible” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Therefore, the “pieces” and “inner member” are rendered indefinite.
Claims 3-4 are dependent from claim 2 and are therefore rejected for the same reasons as claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAYER (US PG PUB 2019/0252095; previously cited) in view of HITCHCOCK (US PG PUB 2021/0063097; previously cited).
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Regarding claim 1, MAYER discloses a female terminal (2, Figures 1 & 2; ¶ 0024: contact element 2 comprises a contact region 4 for contacting a mating contact element of a mating plug connector …. the contact region 4 is part of a contact socket 8 into which a contact pin (not shown) can be introduced as a mating contact element of the mating plug connector via a socket opening 10; contact element 2 comprises contact region 4 and contact socket 8, into which a contact pin is inserted, and therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize contact element 2 can be considered a female terminal) connectable to a male terminal (¶ 0024: contact pin (not shown); the contact pin is not shown in the Figures, but is disclosed as being introduced into contact region 4 and contact socket 8, and therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize said contact pin / mating contact element may be considered a male terminal),
at least one of the male terminal and the female terminal being coolable by a coolant (¶ 0008: a cooling fluid supplied via the cable to the contact element can be introduced into the contact element…. the cooling fluid can be brought close to the contact region for contacting the mating contact element; ¶ 0010: cooling of the contact element; ¶ 0031: cooling fluid is pumped into the inlet 62 according to an arrow 64…the cooling fluid supplied via the inlet 62 into the cooling cavity 24; a cable 36 shown in Figure 2 provides coolant to the contact element 2 via the distal opening 22 and into the cooling cavity 24; both the distal opening 22 and cooling cavity 24 are shown in Figure 1; the cooling fluid is introduced into the contact element 2, i.e., the female terminal, and is close to the contact region for contacting the mating contact element, i.e., the male terminal, therefore providing cooling to both the contact element 2 and the mating contact element), the female terminal comprising:
a female terminal body (Figure 1 has been annotated as shown above, with boxes drawn by the Examiner to help locate the various elements of the female terminal; the female terminal body comprises at least the boxes in annotated Figure 1 that are labeled “space forming portion”, and the female terminal body also comprises the “annular contact rings” described in ¶ 0024, said “annular contact rings” not shown in the Figures; ¶ 0024: contact region 4 comprises two annular grooves 12 and 14 which are embodied inside the contact socket 8 and into which annular contact rings (not shown) can respectively be introduced. The contact rings establish an electrically conductive connection between the contact pin introduced into the contact socket 8 and the contact element 2) electrically connectable to the male terminal (¶ 0024: electrically conductive contact element 2; contact element 2 is disclosed as electrically conductive, and therefore the female terminal body is electrically conductive; contact element 2 is disclosed as coming into contact with mating contact element, and therefore the female terminal body is electrically connectable to the male terminal); and
a heat transfer member that transfers cold of the coolant (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “heat transfer member” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above; the region labeled “heat transfer member” is adjacent to cooling cavity 24 and adjacent to the “space forming portion”, and as such, facilitates the transfer of cold from the coolant to the “space forming portion” and to the mating contact element / male terminal; it is noted that the “heat transfer member” comprises the “inner member” and the “outer member” of annotated Figure 1), wherein
the female terminal body includes
a space forming portion (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “space forming portion” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above) forming a receiving space (at least a portion of contact region 4 and contact socket 8 as shown in Fig. 1 is a “receiving space”, wherein the “receiving space” is at least partially formed by the “space forming portion”) that receives the male terminal (¶ 0024: contact region 4 and contact socket 8 receives contact pin),
a plurality of contact portions (“annular contact rings” described in ¶ 0024, said “annular contact rings” not shown in the Figures) protruding radially inward from the space forming portion into the receiving space (¶ 0024: contact region 4 comprises two annular grooves 12 and 14 which are embodied inside the contact socket 8 and into which annular contact rings (not shown) can respectively be introduced. The contact rings establish an electrically conductive connection between the contact pin introduced into the contact socket 8 and the contact element 2), wherein the plurality of contact portions are circumferentially spaced apart from each other (the plurality of contact portions are located at the circumference of the male terminal and are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 1, and therefore the “plurality of contact portions” are “circumferentially spaced apart” within the broadest reasonable interpretation) and come into electrical contact with the male terminal (¶ 0024: see above),
a connection portion (34, Fig. 1) to which a cable (46, Fig. 2) is connected (¶ 0027: circumferential connecting section 34 for making contact with an electrical conductor of the cable proximally adjoins the sealing section 32; ¶ 0030: the electrical conductor 46 is arranged on the connecting section 34 by means of a cable clamp 58), wherein the connection portion has a wall that separates the receiving space from the cable (e.g., a portion of connection portion 34 adjacent to the heat transfer member is between the receiving space and cable 46, and can therefore be considered a separating wall within the broadest reasonable interpretation), and
the heat transfer member is disposed in the receiving space (as indicated in annotated Figure 1 above, at least a portion of the “heat transfer member” is disposed in the receiving space), and comes into thermal contact with the male terminal and the space forming portion when the male terminal is inserted in the receiving space (¶ 0008: cooling fluid comes into contact with the “heat transfer member”, including the “space forming portion”, and therefore comes into thermal contact with the male terminal as described above).
MAYER fails to disclose the heat transfer member is electrically insulating and entirely disposed in the receiving space.
HITCHCOCK discloses the heat transfer member (392, Fig. 8) is electrically insulating (¶ 0051: the heat exchanger 300 includes a thermally conductive separator 392 electrically isolating the heat exchanger 300 from the terminal 114…The thermally conductive separator 392 may be manufactured from a material that is electrically insulative and highly thermally conductive). It is noted that the instant specification discloses heat transfer may occur in portions of the female terminal which are not part of the “heat transfer member” and are not in the “receiving space”. For example, Figure 2 shows the heat transfer at location AR1, which is at the contact portions (see also page 6, lines 11-15 of the specification as originally filed). It is therefore submitted that providing the heat transfer member entirely disposed in the receiving space would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious rearrangement of parts. It is noted that Applicant has not provided criticality for the heat transfer member being entirely disposed as recited.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the heat transfer member is electrically insulating in order to help prevent electrical shock, short circuits, and/or fire hazards.
Regarding claim 6, MAYER discloses a terminal connection structure comprising a male terminal (¶ 0024: contact pin (not shown); the contact pin is not shown in the Figures, but is disclosed as being introduced into contact region 4 and contact socket 8, and therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize said contact pin / mating contact element may be considered a male terminal) and a female terminal connectable to the male terminal (2, Figures 1 & 2; ¶ 0024: contact element 2 comprises a contact region 4 for contacting a mating contact element of a mating plug connector …. the contact region 4 is part of a contact socket 8 into which a contact pin (not shown) can be introduced as a mating contact element of the mating plug connector via a socket opening 10; contact element 2 comprises contact region 4 and contact socket 8, into which a contact pin is inserted, and therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize contact element 2 can be considered a female terminal),
at least one of the male terminal and the female terminal being coolable by a coolant (¶ 0008: a cooling fluid supplied via the cable to the contact element can be introduced into the contact element…. the cooling fluid can be brought close to the contact region for contacting the mating contact element; ¶ 0010: cooling of the contact element; ¶ 0031: cooling fluid is pumped into the inlet 62 according to an arrow 64…the cooling fluid supplied via the inlet 62 into the cooling cavity 24; a cable 36 shown in Figure 2 provides coolant to the contact element 2 via the distal opening 22 and into the cooling cavity 24; both the distal opening 22 and cooling cavity 24 are shown in Figure 1; the cooling fluid is introduced into the contact element 2, i.e., the female terminal, and is close to the contact region for contacting the mating contact element, i.e., the male terminal, therefore providing cooling to both the contact element 2 and the mating contact element), wherein
the female terminal includes
a female terminal body (Figure 1 has been annotated as shown above, with boxes drawn by the Examiner to help locate the various elements of the female terminal; the female terminal body comprises at least the boxes in annotated Figure 1 that are labeled “space forming portion”, and the female terminal body also comprises the “annular contact rings” described in ¶ 0024, said “annular contact rings” not shown in the Figures; ¶ 0024: contact region 4 comprises two annular grooves 12 and 14 which are embodied inside the contact socket 8 and into which annular contact rings (not shown) can respectively be introduced. The contact rings establish an electrically conductive connection between the contact pin introduced into the contact socket 8 and the contact element 2) electrically connectable to the male terminal (¶ 0024: electrically conductive contact element 2; contact element 2 is disclosed as electrically conductive, and therefore the female terminal body is electrically conductive; contact element 2 is disclosed as coming into contact with mating contact element, and therefore the female terminal body is electrically connectable to the male terminal), and
a heat transfer member that transfers cold of the coolant (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “heat transfer member” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above; the region labeled “heat transfer member” is adjacent to cooling cavity 24 and adjacent to the “space forming portion”, and as such, facilitates the transfer of cold from the coolant to the “space forming portion” and to the mating contact element / male terminal; it is noted that the “heat transfer member” comprises the “inner member” and the “outer member” of annotated Figure 1),
the female terminal body includes
a space forming portion (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “space forming portion” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above) forming a receiving space (at least a portion of contact region 4 and contact socket 8 as shown in Fig. 1 is a “receiving space”, wherein the “receiving space” is at least partially formed by the “space forming portion”) that receives the male terminal (¶ 0024: contact region 4 and contact socket 8 receives contact pin),
a plurality of contact portions (“annular contact rings” described in ¶ 0024, said “annular contact rings” not shown in the Figures) protruding radially inward from the space forming portion into the receiving space (¶ 0024: contact region 4 comprises two annular grooves 12 and 14 which are embodied inside the contact socket 8 and into which annular contact rings (not shown) can respectively be introduced. The contact rings establish an electrically conductive connection between the contact pin introduced into the contact socket 8 and the contact element 2), wherein the plurality of contact portions are circumferentially spaced apart from each other (the plurality of contact portions are located at the circumference of the male terminal and are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 1, and therefore the “plurality of contact portions” are “circumferentially spaced apart” within the broadest reasonable interpretation) and come into electrical contact with the male terminal (¶ 0024: see above),
a connection portion (34, Fig. 1) to which a cable (46, Fig. 2) is connected (¶ 0027: circumferential connecting section 34 for making contact with an electrical conductor of the cable proximally adjoins the sealing section 32; ¶ 0030: the electrical conductor 46 is arranged on the connecting section 34 by means of a cable clamp 58), wherein the connection portion has a wall that separates the receiving space from the cable (e.g., a portion of connection portion 34 adjacent to the heat transfer member is between the receiving space and cable 46, and can therefore be considered a separating wall within the broadest reasonable interpretation), and
the heat transfer member is disposed in the receiving space (as indicated in annotated Figure 1 above, at least a portion of the “heat transfer member” is disposed in the receiving space), and comes into thermal contact with the male terminal and the space forming portion when the male terminal is inserted in the receiving space (¶ 0008: cooling fluid comes into contact with the “heat transfer member”, including the “space forming portion”, and therefore comes into thermal contact with the male terminal as described above).
MAYER fails to disclose the heat transfer member is electrically insulating and entirely disposed in the receiving space.
HITCHCOCK discloses the heat transfer member (392, Fig. 8) is electrically insulating (¶ 0051: the heat exchanger 300 includes a thermally conductive separator 392 electrically isolating the heat exchanger 300 from the terminal 114…The thermally conductive separator 392 may be manufactured from a material that is electrically insulative and highly thermally conductive). It is noted that the instant specification discloses heat transfer may occur in portions of the female terminal which are not part of the “heat transfer member” and are not in the “receiving space”. For example, Figure 2 shows the heat transfer at location AR1, which is at the contact portions (see page 6, lines 11-15 of the specification as originally filed). It is therefore submitted that providing the heat transfer member entirely disposed in the receiving space would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious rearrangement of parts. It is noted that Applicant has not provided criticality for the heat transfer member being entirely disposed as recited.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the heat transfer member is electrically insulating in order to help prevent electrical shock, short circuits, and/or fire hazards.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAYER in view of HITCHCOCK as applied to claims 1 and 6 above, and further in view of FUEHRER (US PG Pub 2019/0109409).
Regarding claim 2, MAYER as modified by HITCHCOCK teaches the female terminal as applied to claim 1, and MAYER further discloses the heat transfer member includes an inner member that comes into contact with the male terminal (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “inner member” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above), and an outer member interposed between the inner member and the space forming portion (this is a region indicated by a box labeled “outer member” drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above; it is noted that the “outer member” would be a cylindrical shell shaped structure/region which surrounds the “inner member”).
MAYER as modified by HITCHCOCK fails to disclose the outer member is made of an electrically insulating material.
However, HITCHCOCK discloses the heat transfer member is electrically insulating as described above, and providing the outer member made of an electrically insulating material would be an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the outer member made of electrically insulating material in order to help prevent electrical shock, short circuits, and/or fire hazards.
MAYER as modified by HITCHCOCK fails to disclose the inner member is made of metal and includes a plurality of flexible pieces that are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction around the central axis and that extend radially inward.
FUEHRER discloses the inner member is made of metal and includes a plurality of flexible pieces that are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction around the central axis and that extend radially inward (¶ 0046-0050).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the inner member is made of metal and includes a plurality of flexible pieces in order to provide a consistent contact force and/or to allow the female terminal to absorb slight variations of the male terminal.
Regarding claim 3, MAYER discloses the outer member includes a bottom wall (this is a region labeled “bottom wall”, indicated by an arrow drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above) formed in a disc shape and disposed between the male terminal and the connection portion (as shown in the Figure, the “bottom wall” is located between the male terminal, which would be inserted into contact region 4 and contact socket 8, and connection portion 34; the wall forms a ring around the connection portion, and can therefore be interpreted as being “formed in a disc shape”, or an arbitrary portion thereof may be “formed in a disc shape”), and a circumferential wall (this is a region labeled “circumferential wall of outer member”, indicated by an arrow drawn by the Examiner in annotated Figure 1 above) continuous with a perimeter portion of the bottom wall so as to extend from the perimeter portion in a direction away from the connection portion in a direction parallel to a central axis of the bottom wall and surround the inner member (the “circumferential wall” is continuous with a perimeter portion the “bottom wall”, extends from the perimeter portion, and surrounds the “inner member” as shown in annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 4, MAYER discloses the bottom wall is fixed to the connection portion (as indicated in annotated Figure 1 above, the “bottom wall” is adjacent to and fixed to connection portion 34).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAYER in view of HITCHCOCK as applied to claims 1 and 6 above, and further in view of ALBERT (US PG PUB 2017/0358874; previously cited).
Regarding claim 5, MAYER as modified by HITCHCOCK teaches the female terminal as applied to claim 1 but fails to disclose contact resistance between the male terminal and the space forming portion with the heat transfer member interposed therebetween is more than or equal to 100 times as large as contact resistance between the male terminal and the female terminal body without the heat transfer member interposed therebetween.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize contact resistance to be a result-effective variable, and providing a specific value or range for the contact resistance would be an obvious optimization. For example, ALBERT discloses the contact resistance for an electrical terminal to be a result-effective variable (¶ 0005, 0039). Providing the contact resistance between the male terminal and the space forming portion with the heat transfer member interposed therebetween to be the recited range would be an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the contact resistance as recited in order to optimize the flow of current in the female terminal.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL HERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9a-5p ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571) 272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Manuel Hernandez/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 11/6/2025
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859