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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application No. 18/101,619 filed on January 26, 2023 is presented for examination by the examiner.
The amended claims submitted July 22, 2026 in response to the office action mailed May 28, 2026 are under consideration. Claims 1, 3-8, 11-15 are pending. Claims 2 and 9-10 are cancelled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph 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.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-8 and 11-15 are 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 claims 1 and 13, Applicant has not pointed out where the amended claim is supported, nor does there appear to be a written description of the claim limitation ‘such that the circuit element is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the guide member’ in the application as filed. (see MPEP §2163.04, Sec. I). In particular, this limitation contradicts the specification as filed. Firstly, paragraph [0092] discloses “The main substrate 600 may be attached to an outer surface of the housing 110”. This places the main substrate and the circuit element thereon, outside of the housing, and thus not “between the inner surface of the housing and the guide member”. Secondly, Figs. 3A and 3B, a portion of each of which are reproduced below, are the only figures which depict interior cross-sections of the system in an assembled state. As is readily apparent, circuit element 500 is exterior to the exterior surface of housing 110.
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Claims 3-8 and 11-12 depend from claim 1 and inherit and do not mitigate the above written description issue from claim 1.
Claims 14-15 depend from claim 13 and inherit and do not mitigate the above written description issue from claim 13.
Examiner’s note regarding the lack of prior art rejections
No prior art rejections of the claims are entered, because all of the most pertinent art positions the main substrate exterior to the housing, such that the limitation ‘such that the circuit element is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the guide member’ is not met, and cannot be met without significant, non-obvious changes to the configuration to place the circuit board inside the housing.
However, given that this feature is also not supported by the application as filed, no reasons for allowable subject matter is appropriate at this time, because this limitation will have to be amended to overcome the above 35 U.S.C. §112(a) rejection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6 through 8 of the applicant’s remarks, filed July 22, 2026, with respect to the prior art rejections of claims 1, 3-8 and 11-15 as not teaching ‘such that the circuit element is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the guide member’ have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art rejections of claims 1, 3-8 and 11-15 have been withdrawn.
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 CARA E RAKOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-4206. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-4PM ET M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky L Mack can be reached at 571-272-2333. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CARA E RAKOWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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