DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nyman (US5607313A).
Nyman discloses the claimed invention as follows:
Claim 1. An electric contact assembly, comprising:
- an installation ring (12) having an opening (13), wherein the installation ring is configured to be fastened to the printed circuit board (30; see Fig. 5), and
- a press-in pin (52) having a first zone (portion not received within the ring 12) and a second zone (end portion of 52 received in the ring 12), wherein the first zone has greater mechanical flexibility (a beam is more flexible near the middle than by an end) than the second zone,
- wherein the first zone is configured to be connected to a further electronic component (the pin 52 can certainly be connected to another component), and
- wherein the second zone is fitted in the opening of the installation ring by means of a first interference fit (see “press-fitted” in the abstract).
Claim 2. The electric contact assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the press-in pin is made in one piece of one material (52 is a pin, which is shown in the figures a s a single piece, and is also understood by one of skill in the art to be made from one piece of metal).
Claim 3. The electric contact assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the first zone of the press-in pin is a geometrically reshaped region. The pin has a geometric shape. The language “geometrically reshaped” implies a process limitation. However, this limitation does not further limit the structure of the contact assembly.
Claim 4. The electric contact assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the second zone is made of a solid material. Pin 52 is a solid material.
Claim 6. The electric contact assembly according to Claim1, wherein the first zone is configured for a second interference fit with the further electronic component. The first zone is definitely capable of being used as such.
Claim 7. A printed circuit board assembly comprising:
- a first printed circuit board (30) comprising a base region (e.g. conductors 31) made of an electrically conductive material and an insulation layer (i.e., insulating portion of the PCB 30) which is disposed on said base region and is made of an electrically non-conductive material, and
- an electric contact assembly according to Claim1
- wherein the installation ring of the electric contact assembly is fastened to the insulation layer.
Claim 8. The printed circuit board assembly according to Claim 7, wherein a solder connection or a weld connection is configured between the first printed circuit board and the installation ring. See “soldered in place” in the abstract.
Claim 14. The electric contact assembly according to Claim 4, wherein the second zone is made of a cylindrical solid material. The language in italics is a product-by-process limitation, which does not limit the final structure. The pins 50, 52, 53 of Nyman may or may not have been made of a cylindrical solid object, without affecting the final structure. The claim language does not describe the current structure of the second zone.
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) 7-12 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nyman in view of Torigian (US6623283B1).
Nyman discloses the claimed invention as follows (limitations not disclosed are crossed out, below):
Claim 7 (as an alternative interpretation). A printed circuit board assembly comprising:
- a first printed circuit board (30) comprising a base region made of
- an electric contact assembly according to Claim1
- wherein the installation ring of the electric contact assembly is fastened to the insulation layer (see Fig. 6).
Claim 8 (as an alternative interpretation). The printed circuit board assembly according to Claim 7, wherein a solder connection or a weld connection is configured between the first printed circuit board and the installation ring. See “soldered in place” in the abstract.
Claim 9.
Claim 10.
Claim 11.
Claim 12. A method for producing a printed circuit board assembly comprising a first printed circuit board (30)
- providing the first printed circuit board (30, Fig. 4),
- carrying out an SMD process for fastening at least one SMD component (see “surface-mounted-components” in col. 4, lns. 19-24) and at least one installation ring (12; see 10 including 12 in Fig. 1A and see 10 in Fig. 4) of an electric contact assembly within the SMD process (see col. 4, ln. 56 to col. 5, ln. 2),
- pressing a press-in pin (52, 53, Fig. 6) into the installation ring fastened to the first printed circuit board, so that a first press connection is configured between the press-in pin and the installation ring (col. 5, lns. 23-43), wherein the press-in pin comprises a first zone (portion not received in the ring 12) and a second zone (portion received in the ring 12), wherein the first zone is more flexible than the second zone (a beam is more flexible in the middle than at its ends) and the second zone is configured on the first press connection, and
Claim 16.
Claim 17.
Claim 18. The method according Claim 12, wherein the first printed circuit board is an IMS printed circuit board.
Torigian discloses an IMS board 22 having an insulation layer 22b on one side of a metal base region 22a. See col. 4, lns. 23-30. A connector 10 including a pin 12 (see Fig. 1) is soldered to the circuit board 22. See Figs. 2 and 3. A second printed circuit board 25 (Fig. 3) is pressed onto the pin to produce a press connection between the pin and the second printed circuit board (see col. 4, lns. 12-22).
Nyman does not require a specific type of circuit board. In view of the teachings of Torigian, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to utilize an IMS board as board 30, as a choice among conventional circuit board substrate types, with predictable results.
Further, the pins 50, 52, 53 of Nyman are not limited to connection to a specific other element. In view of the teachings of Torigian, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to provide a second printed circuit board which is connected to the first circuit board by pressing onto at least one of the pins disclosed by Nyman, with the predictable result of effecting a connection between the two printed circuit boards, as taught by Torigian.
Regarding claims 11 and 17, Torigian does not disclose the material of the insulating layer 22b, but does disclose FR-4 as a conventional substrate material *used in board 22; see col. 4, lns. 23-30).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to utilize the same type of FR-4 material as the insulating layer 22b on board 22, as a matter of selecting among suitable conventional insulating layer materials for circuit board fabrication.
Claim(s) 5, 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nyman in view of Gueckel (WO2015/049076A1).
Nyman discloses the claimed invention, except for the limitations of claims 3, 5 and 13.
Gueckel shows it is known to provide press-in pins (10a, 10b, 10c) with an oval eyelet portion (at 12, 13), and to provide the pin with a press-in aid (15) which is a peripheral annular flange. See abstract and Figs. 1-3.
In view of the teachings of Gueckel, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to provide the upper end of pins 50, 51m 51 of Nyman with an oval eyelet portion, to define apportion to be received in a corresponding through hole in another element, and to also provide the pin with a press-in aid comprising a peripheral annular flange, to facilitate pressing of the pin into the ring 12.
Conclusion
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/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729