DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 8/14/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 12, 13, 14, 16, 21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mosquera US 5295862 (Mosquera ‘862).
Regarding claim 12, Mosquera ‘862 discloses a signal terminal 24 (i.e., a device capable of functioning as an electrical terminal and transmitting electrical signals) for a charging base (i.e., capable of being used in a charging base), comprising:
a main body (labeled MB in annotated figure 5 below);
a guide leg (labeled GL below) extending from an end of the main body and contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body, the guide leg adapted to bias (i.e., capable of biasing) a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet,
the guide leg is one of a pair of guide legs arranged radially opposite to each other,
the pair of guide legs form an inverted flare shape (noted in annotated figure below); and
an elastic cantilever (labeled EC below) protruding obliquely from the main body.
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Per claim 13, each guide leg of the pair of guide legs extends from a rear end of the main body.
Per claim 14, each guide leg of the pair of guide legs is adapted to bias (i.e. capable of biasing) a respective one of a pair of spring sheets of the lead frame.
Per claim 16 main body of each signal terminal is substantially cylindrical.
Per claim 21, a free end of each guide leg has an arc shape (labeled ARC above), at least one gap (labeled GAP above) is defined between the guide legs.
Per claim 23 a distance between ends of the pair of guide legs is less than a diameter of the outer wall of the main body.
Claims 12 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mosquera US 5509814 (“Mosquera ‘814”).
Regarding claim 12, Mosquera ‘814 discloses a signal terminal 10 (i.e., a device capable of functioning as an electrical terminal and transmitting electrical signals) for a charging base (i.e., capable of being used in a charging base), comprising:
a main body (labeled MB in annotated figure 5 below);
a guide leg (70, 72, labeled GL below) extending from an end of the main body and contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body, the guide leg adapted to bias (i.e., capable of biasing) a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet,
the guide leg is one of a pair of guide legs arranged radially opposite to each other,
the pair of guide legs form an inverted flare shape (noted in annotated figure below); and
an elastic cantilever (42, 44, 46, labeled EC below) protruding obliquely from the main body.
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Per claim 24, each guide leg of the pair of guide legs has a fixed end (labeled FX above) attached to the end of the main body and a free end (labeled FR above) opposite the fixed end, a length of the free end in a circumferential direction of the main body is less than a length of the fixed end in the circumferential direction.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. In the Remarks dated 8/14/26, applicant argues:
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The examiner notes that an “inwardly tapering shape” is by definition an “inverted flare shape.”
A “flare shape” is defined as the following (Google definition):
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This definition is in agreement with Applicant’s definition of the “inverted flare shape” in the specification:
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Applicant’s specification describes the “inverted flare shape” as legs that “contract inwards radially” from the outer wall. To the extent that applicant’s prior argument applies to the rejections above, an inverted flare shape is by definition an inwardly tapering shape.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS N GUSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-2005. The examiner can normally be reached Monday – Friday 8:00AM – 5PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler, can be reached at (571)272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROSS N GUSHI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
