Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/035,079

CONNECTION COMPONENT, SHIELD MODULE, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 02, 2023
Examiner
ALHAWAMDEH, NADER J
Art Unit
2831
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Kyocera Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 0m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
569 granted / 620 resolved
+23.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
644
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
39.5%
-0.5% vs TC avg
§102
52.0%
+12.0% vs TC avg
§112
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 620 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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. Claims 1-7 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kenji (WO 2012002503 A1)(English Translated). In Regards to Claim 1: Kenji teaches a connection component (1) for connecting a connection object (91) to a circuit board (90), the connection component (1) comprising: an insertion section (See Reproduced Drawing 1) configured to receive the connection object (91); an elastic portion (7) to come in contact with the connection object (91); a side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) connected to the elastic portion (7) and elongated in a first direction in which the elastic portion (7) deformable elastically; and a mounting portion (3) connected to the side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1), and configured to be disposed on the circuit board (90). In Regards to Claim 2: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 1, further comprising: a ceiling wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) extending inward from an edge of the side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the edge being located opposite to an edge near the mounting portion (3). In Regards to Claim 3: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 2, wherein, the side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) includes a first side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and a second side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) that oppose each other in the second direction with the elastic portion (7) located therebetween. In Regards to Claim 4: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 3, wherein, the elastic portion (7) is coupled to the side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) with the ceiling wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) therebetween. In Regards to Claim 5: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 4, wherein, the elastic portion (7) extends from the ceiling wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1), turns back, and projects into the insertion section (See Reproduced Drawing 1). In Regards to Claim 6: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 5, wherein the insertion section (See Reproduced Drawing 1) includes a first slit (See Reproduced Drawing 1) being formed through the ceiling wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) into the first side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and into the second side wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) in an insertion direction of the connection object (91), the insertion direction orthogonally intersecting the first direction and the second direction. In Regards to Claim 7: Kenji teaches the connection component according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion (3) overlaps the elastic portion (7) as viewed in the insertion direction in which the connection object (91) is inserted into the insertion section (See Reproduced Drawing 1), and the mounting portion (3) is located at a position closer than the elastic portion (7) to the circuit board (90). In Regards to Claim 13: Kenji teaches a shield module (Fig. 2D), comprising: the connection component (1) according to claim 1, and the connection object (91) being inserted in the insertion section (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and connected to the circuit board (90) by the connection component (1), wherein the connection object (91) comprises a shielding case (91). In Regards to Claim 14: Kenji teaches the shield module according to claim 13, wherein the connection component (1) is connected to a conducting wire (97) of ground potential on the circuit board (90). In Regards to Claim 15: Kenji teaches an electronic device (Fig. 2D), comprising: the connection component (1) according to claim 1. In Regards to Claim 16: Kenji teaches an electronic device (Fig. 2D), comprising: the shield module (Fig. 2D) according to claim 13. PNG media_image1.png 564 868 media_image1.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter Claims 8-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest these limitation as substantially described in claims 8-12, these limitations, in combination with remaining limitations of claims 8-12, are neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NADER J ALHAWAMDEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9Am - 6Pm EST. 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, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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Prosecution Timeline

May 02, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603448
CARD CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12603451
CONNECTOR HAVING PLUG AND RECEPTACLE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12603453
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR SET HAVING THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597745
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592518
Hands-Free Connectors
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+10.1%)
2y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 620 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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