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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/11/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cantz et al. [US 2020/0303093] in view of Sebald et al. [US 2012/0171887].
With respect to claims 1 and 18, Cantz discloses a charging connector [Fig. 19] comprising: a body having a first body end and a second body end [i.e. connector has a body with one end connected with a cable and the other end for connecting with the vehicle]; a cable connected to the first body end [10], wherein the cable houses at least one conductor [12a/12b]; at least one contact positioned at the second body end and electrically coupled to the at least one conductor [at least contact 31a]; and a mating interface connected to the second body end, the mating interface having a shroud and at least one contact dome that encloses the at least one contact [Fig. 17 (and Fig 24) show alternate views showing the contact pins/contact dome 391,392,393 which are surrounded by a later shroud as part of the body; also note this is a standard design choice of combined type charging connectors], and wherein the at least one contact dome is at least partially formed of a first material and the shroud is at least partially formed of a second material [par. 0121; i.e. the shroud comprising rubber to help with impact resistance which is a different material used to surround the charging pins, see also par. 0058]
However, while it could be inferred that a rubber type contact surface has a different, lower, flammability resistance than the material of the contact/pin domes, Cantz fails to explicitly disclose first and second material having first and second flammability resistance that are different.
Sebald relates to a charging connector for an electric vehicle and teaches the contact pins/dome comprise a first, higher, flammability rating [V-0 flame rating, par. 0033] and the shroud comprises a different lower flammability rating [wherein the first flammability resistance is higher than the second flammability resistance [V-1, par. 0037].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to modify Cantz such that the flammability ratings are different as taught by Sebald for the benefit of improving impact absorption and abrasion resistance of the shroud (over-mold) as stated by Sebald.
With respect to claims 2 and 19, Sebald as applied above further discloses wherein the second material has a higher mechanical strength than the first material [par. 0037, overmold material is for “impact energy absorption”].
With respect to claim 3, Cantz further discloses wherein the at least one contact dome has a first dome portion formed of the first material and a second dome portion formed of the second material [Fig. 26; 310 comprising the second dome portion made with a rubber type impact resistance material].
With respect to claim 4, Cantz further discloses at least one contact holder that supports the at least one contact and the at least one contact dome of the mating interface at least partially enclosing the at least one contact holder [Figs 17 and 19 detail the internal structure of the contacts including molding for holding the contacts, see connector formation around contacts 31a].
With respect to claim 5, Cantz further discloses wherein the at least one contact holder is formed of the first material [as best depicted in Fig. 26 it can be seen that the contacts are separate from the second material structure 310].
With respect to claim 6, Cantz further discloses wherein the at least one contact has an exposed portion at a terminal contact end, the exposed portion extending outwardly from the at least one contact holder [i.e. for connection into the electric vehicles plug], and wherein the at least one contact dome has a first dome portion at a distal dome end and a second dome portion at a proximal dome end [i.e. there are two contacts 31a and 31b in the connector], the first dome portion enclosing the exposed portion, the at least one contact holder being interposed between the at least one contact and the second dome portion [best depicted at Fig. 25 with the exposed pins and dome 39 being enclosed and interposed by shroud/guard 302/303].
With respect to claim 7, Cantz further discloses wherein the first dome portion is formed of the first material and the second dome portion is formed of the second material [Fig. 26; 310 comprising the second dome portion made with a rubber type impact resistance material].
With respect to claim 8, Cantz further comprising at least one contact holder that supports the at least one contact, the at least one contact holder being integrally formed with the at least one contact dome of the mating interface [Figs 17 and 19 detail the internal structure of the contacts including molding for holding the contacts, see connector formation around contacts 31a].
With respect to claims 9-10, Sebald as applied above further discloses wherein the first material and the second material each comprise a thermoplastic material [par. 0035] but fails to disclose the specific type selected from the group consisting of polyamide plastics (nylon 6), polycarbonate plastics, and polybutylene terephthalate. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to select the claimed material since it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability. The benefits of using such known materials include high strength, lightweight, exceptional impact resistance, and heat resistance, among others.
With respect to claim 11, Sebald as applied above further discloses wherein the first material further comprises flame-retardant additives [i.e. V-0 flame rating].
With respect to claims 12-13, Cantz further discloses wherein the shroud has a first portion formed of the first material and a second portion formed of the second material, wherein the second portion of the shroud extends along a bottom of the shroud relative to the mating interface. [Fig. 26; 310 comprising the shroud portion made with a rubber type impact resistance material].
With respect to claims 14-15, Cantz further discloses wherein the charging connector is an electric vehicle charging connector [par. 0115; note Figs 17,19 depict a CCS connector].
With respect to claims 16, 17 and 20, Sebald as applied above further discloses wherein the first material is a VO-rated material and wherein the second material is an HB-rated material [par. 0033, 0037; HB and V-0 materials].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL R PELTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm.
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/NATHANIEL R PELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859