DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the RCE filed on 9/19/2025.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/19/2025 has been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. UNITED KINGDOM 2010198.6, filed on 07/03/2020.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 4, 6 – 9, 11, 12, 14 – 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Madner (WO 2018114521, cited in the IDS on 1/3/2023) in view of Girinon (US 20050153586).
Regarding claim 1, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12, annotation) a connector assembly (see figure 1 ) for electrically connecting a vehicle electrical system to a vehicle frame (i.e. disclosed connector is capable of connecting a vehicle electrical system to a vehicle frame, see MPEP § 2114), the connector assembly comprising: a housing (1) having a first aperture (24a) arranged to receive a stud (3); an electrical connector (7) disposed within the housing (1) and arranged to be electrically connected to the stud (see figure 5); a radial seal (29b) disposed around a periphery of the first aperture (24), the radial seal (29b) being arranged to provide a seal (see full assembly in figure 5) between the stud (3) and the housing (1).
But Madner does not explicitly disclose a connector comprising an axial seal located on a bottom end surface of the housing and disposed around the first aperture, wherein the axial seal is arranged to be compresses against a surface of the vehicle frame, and wherein the axial seal is arranged between the vehicle electrical system and the vehicle frame.
Girinon teaches (figure 9) a connector terminal comprising an axial seal (8, see figure 9) located on a bottom end surface of the housing (20) and disposed around the first aperture (16), wherein the axial seal (8, see figure 9) is arranged to be compressed against a surface of the vehicle frame (¶0091), and wherein the axial seal (8, see figure 9) is arranged between the vehicle electrical system (20) and the vehicle frame (10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner with the connector as disclosed by Girinon to provide an axial seal located on a bottom end surface of the housing and disposed around the first aperture, because axial sealing arrangements are well-known, predictable solutions for providing protection from environmental factors, such as dust, debris, and water. The specific application to a vehicle environment as recited in the claim does not change the underlying sealing function. (see MPEP § 2144; KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 417, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007)
~ Please see annotation of figure 1 in the Madner reference, where the first aperture 24a, the third aperture 28a, and the radial seal 29b can be seen.
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Regarding claim 2, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly (see figure 1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical connector (7) is an eyelet connector (structure of cable lug 7 inherently possesses the characteristics of an eyelet connector).
Regarding claim 3, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radial seal (29b) is accommodated in a groove (see groove in 24a) of an inner surface of the housing (inner surface of 1) above a first edge of housing (edge of opening 24a) where the inner surface couples to the bottom end of the housing (1).
Regarding claim 4, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly (see figure 1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (1) further comprises a second aperture (2a) arranged to receive a sheathed wire (2), and a second seal (14) arranged to provide a seal between the sheathed wire (2) and the second aperture (2a).
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~ Please see annotation of figure 5 in the Madner reference, where the second aperture 2a can be seen.
Regarding claim 6, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (1) further comprises a third aperture (28a), and a cover (26) arranged to close and seal the third aperture (28a; see ¶0074 in Madner translation).
Regarding claim 7, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly (see figure 1) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the third aperture (28a) is opposite the first aperture (28a is on the opposite side of 24).
Regarding claim 8, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first aperture (24a) has a first diameter and the eyelet connector (7) comprises an eyelet (24) having a second diameter, wherein the first diameter is greater than the second diameter (see figure 1), whereby the connector assembly (see figure 1) is electrically connectable to the stud (3) having a base portion (3a) and an upper portion (25a), the base portion (3a) having a diameter greater than the upper portion (see figure 2).
~ Please see annotation of figure 2 in the Madner reference, where the base portion 3a and upper portion 25a can be seen.
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Regarding claim 9, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the radial seal (29b) is arranged to be compressed against a surface of the stud (surface of 3a) when the stud (3) is received within the first aperture (24a).
Regarding claim 11, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein a seal (see figures 5 and 6) is formed between the cover (26) and the housing (1) when the cover (26) is in the closed position (see figure 5).
Regarding claim 12, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) a connection system (26, 27) comprising the connector assembly (see figure 1) as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising the stud (3).
Regarding claim 14, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) a method of electrically connecting a vehicle electrical system to a vehicle ground frame (i.e. disclosed connector is capable of connecting a vehicle electrical system to a vehicle frame, see MPEP § 2114) comprising connecting an electrical connection assembly (see figure 1) of the vehicle electrical system to a stud (3) on the vehicle ground plane, wherein the electrical connection assembly (figure 1) comprises: a housing (1) having a first aperture (24a), an electrical connector (7) disposed within the housing (1), a radial seal (29b) disposed around a periphery of the first aperture (24a), wherein the method comprises: placing the stud (3) within the housing (1) via the first aperture (24a); and securing the electrical connector (7) to the stud (3), wherein securing the electrical connector (7) to the stud causes the radial seal (29b) to compress against the stud (radial seal inherently compresses when it is joined with the stud).
But Madner does not explicitly disclose a connector comprising an axial seal located on a bottom end surface of the housing and disposed around the first aperture, and the axial seal to compress against a surface of the vehicle frame.
Girinon teaches (figure 9) a connector terminal comprising an axial seal (8, see figure 9) located on a bottom end surface of the housing (20) and disposed around the first aperture (16), and the axial seal (8, see figure 9) is to compress against a surface of the vehicle frame (¶0091).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner with the connector as disclosed by Girinon to provide an axial seal located on a bottom end surface of the housing and disposed around the first aperture, and the axial seal to compress against a surface of the vehicle frame, because axial sealing arrangements are well-known, predictable solutions for providing protection from environmental factors, such as dust, debris, and water. The specific application to a vehicle environment as recited in the claim does not change the underlying sealing function. (see MPEP § 2144; KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 417, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007)
Regarding claim 15, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein a fixing to secure the electrical connector (7) to the stud (3) is inserted into the housing (1) and secured to the stud (3) via the third aperture (28a).
Regarding claim 16, Madner teaches the connector assembly as claimed in claim 3.
But Madner does not explicitly disclose wherein the housing has an outer surface that couples to the bottom end surface at a second edge of the housing, and wherein the axial seal is coupled to the second edge.
Girinon teaches (figure 9) a connector wherein the housing (20) has an outer surface (34) that couples to the bottom end surface (12, 14) at a second edge of the housing (20), and wherein the axial seal (8) is coupled to the second edge (see figures 9 and 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner with the connector as disclosed by Girinon to provide the housing having an outer surface that couples to the bottom end surface at a second edge of the housing, and wherein the axial seal is coupled to the second edge, to provide protection from environmental factors, such as dust, debris, and water.
Regarding claim 17, Madner teaches (figures 1 – 12) the connector assembly as claimed in claim 1.
But Madner does not explicitly disclose wherein the axial seal is both on the bottom end surface of the housing and surrounds the first aperture.
Girinon teaches (figure 9) a connector wherein the axial seal (8) is both on the bottom end surface (12, 14) of the housing (20) and surrounds the first aperture (16; seal 8 is an O-ring that surrounds 16).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner with the connector as disclosed by Girinon to provide the axial seal being both on the bottom end surface of the housing and surrounds the first aperture, to provide protection from environmental factors, such as dust, debris, and water.
Claim(s) 10, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Madner (WO 2018114521, cited in the IDS on 1/3/2023) in view of Girinon (US 20050153586) and further in view of Goodman (US 4598971).
Regarding claim 10, Madner and Girinon teach the connector assembly as claimed in claim 6.
But Madner and Girinon do not explicitly disclose the connector assembly further comprising a feature arranged to secure the cover in a closed position relative to the housing.
Goodman teaches (figures 1 – 7) a connector further comprising a feature (see figure 1) arranged to secure the cover (16, 32) in a closed position relative to the housing (column 4, lines 43 – 49).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner and Girinon with the connector as disclosed by Goodman to provide the connector assembly further comprising a feature arranged to secure the cover in a closed position relative to the housing, to provide improved protection from environmental factors.
Regarding claim 13, Madner and Girinon teach a vehicle comprising the connection system as claimed in claim 12.
But Madner and Girinon do not explicitly disclose a vehicle comprising the connection system as claimed in claim 12.
Goodman teaches (figures 1 – 7) a contacting device for a vehicle (see column 4, lines 15 – 28; column 4, lines 50 – 66) comprising the connection system (10) as claimed in claim 12.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Madner and Girinon with the connector as disclosed by Goodman to provide a vehicle comprising the connection system, to provide improved reliability in the connection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6 – 13, filed on 9/19/2025, with respect to the claim objections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection of claim 3 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6 – 13, filed on 9/19/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 – 4, 6 – 9, 10 – 16 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of the newly found reference (i.e. Girinon).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos E. Lopez-Pagan whose telephone number is (703)756-5734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30a - 5:00p.
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/CARLOS E LOPEZ-PAGAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/THO D TA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834