DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claim 21, the device including “at least one circumferential gap is defined between the guide legs” was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. There is no mention of a “circumferential gap” in the written disclosure and no “circumferential gap” is disclosed in the figures.
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 anticipatory rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 12-16 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rinaldi US 5135403.
Regarding claim 12, Rinaldi discloses a signal terminal for a charging base (i.e., capable of charging a base), comprising:
a main body (labeled MB below),
a guide leg (labeled GL) 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 (i.e. capable of) bias 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; and
an elastic cantilever (labeled EC) protruding obliquely from the main body.
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Per claim 13 the guide leg extends from a rear end of the main body of each of the signal terminals.
Per claim 14, there is a second guide leg adapted to bias a respective one of a pair of the spring sheets of the lead frame.
Per claim 15 the pair of guide legs are arranged radially opposite to each other.
Per claim 16 the main body of each signal terminal is substantially cylindrical.
Per claim 21 the signal terminal has a pair of guide legs arranged radially opposite to each other, at least one gap (labeled Gap) is defined between the guide legs.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding claim 12 are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-11, 17-20, and 22 are allowable
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS GUSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-2005. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 8:30 - 5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached on 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
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