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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 11/24/25. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 10 line 4, the phrase “provided;” should read --provided extending through the mating end surface;”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 9-10 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kao et al. (2023/0246396) in view of Huang et al. (CN112993659A).
With regard to claim 9, Kao teaches, as shown in figures 1-22 and taught in paragraph 59: “A receptacle connector assembly 100, comprising: a shielding cage assembly 1 comprising a mating end surface (left surface of 1 in figure 3) and a mating space 161 extending through the mating end surface, the shielding cage assembly 1 being configured to be secured to a circuit board (taught in paragraph 59); a receptacle connector 2 accommodated at a rear of the shielding cage assembly 1 and communicating with the mating space 161, the receptacle connector 2 being fixedly mounted to the circuit board; and a heat dissipation member 3 fixedly mounted to the circuit board, the heat dissipation member 4 having at least one surface exposed to the mating space 161, the at least one surface being configured to be able to closely abut against a plug connector 200 which is inserted in the mating space 161 and used in mating with the receptacle connector 2 in a direction perpendicular to a board surface of the circuit board”.
Kao does not teach: “wherein the heat dissipation member 20 comprises a protrusion on a surface adjacent to the mating space S1, the protrusion 23 protrudes into the mating space S1 and has a working surface parallel to the circuit board wherein an elastic piece is provided on a side of the mating space, and the side of the mating space is opposite to the working surface of the protrusion and wherein a minimum distance between the protrusion and the elastic piece is smaller than a thickness of the plug connector at a corresponding position”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Huang teaches, as shown in figures 1-7: “wherein the heat dissipation member 20 comprises a protrusion 23 on a surface adjacent to the mating space S1, the protrusion 23 protrudes into the mating space S1 and has a working surface parallel to the circuit board wherein an elastic piece 51 is provided on a side of the mating space S1, and the side of the mating space S1 is opposite to the working surface of the protrusion 23 and wherein a minimum distance between the protrusion 23 and the elastic piece 51 is smaller than a thickness of the plug connector L1 at a corresponding position”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Huang with the invention of Kao in order to hold the plug connector against the heat dissipation member (Huang, translation, page 6 lines 1-13).
With regard to claim 10, Kao as modified by Huang teaches: “The receptacle connector assembly according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Kao also teaches, as shown in figures 1-22: “wherein the mating space comprises multiple spaces 161 and 171 that are stacked and are provided; wherein the stacked mating spaces in a same group are communicated with each other at the rear of the shielding cage assembly 1 so as to form a receiving space for receiving the receptacle connector 2; wherein the shielding cage assembly 1 further comprises an accommodating space 35 and 129 located between two adjacent mating spaces in the stacked mating spaces, the accommodating space extends through two opposite outer side walls 12 of the shielding cage assembly 1, one side of the accommodating space extends through the mating end surface, and another side of the accommodating space extends to the receiving space; and wherein a plurality of the heat dissipation members 4 and 7 are provided, and the plurality of the heat dissipation members are disposed on an upper surface of the top wall 11 of the shielding cage assembly 1 and in the accommodating space, respectively”.
With regard to claim 15, Kao as modified by Huang teaches: “The receptacle connector assembly according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Kao also teaches, as shown in figures 1-22 and taught in paragraph 64: “further comprising a shell (casing described in paragraph 64) in which the shielding cage assembly 1, the receptacle connector 2 and the heat dissipation member 4 are enclosed”.
With regard to claim 16, Kao as modified by Huang teaches: “The receptacle connector assembly according to claim 15”, as shown above.
Kao also teaches, as shown in figures 1-22 and taught in paragraph 64: “wherein a cover (portion of the casing the shielding cage is mounted in, as described in paragraph 64) of the shell is provided with a mounting hole (portion of the casing contacting the outer elastic fingers 181, as described in paragraph 64) corresponding to a mating end (left end of 1 in figure 1) of the shielding cage assembly 1; and wherein the shielding cage assembly 1 is tightly mounted in the mounting hole through a grounding elastic piece 181 which is located at the mating end of the shielding cage assembly 1”.
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kao et al. (2023/0246396) in view of Huang et al. (CN112993659A) and Wang (CN111564728A).
With regard to claim 11, Kao as modified by Huang teaches: “The receptacle connector assembly according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Kao also teaches, as shown in figures 1-22: “wherein the heat dissipation member 4 comprises a heat dissipation plate portion”.
Neither Kao nor Huang teach the heat dissipation member comprising “a support column fixedly connected with the heat dissipation plate portion; and wherein the heat dissipation plate portion comprises a cavity, a liquid inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole, the liquid inlet hole and the liquid outlet hole are provided at two ends of the heat dissipation plate portion, respectively”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Wang teaches, as shown in figures 1-7, the heat dissipation member 11 comprising “a support column 114 fixedly connected with the heat dissipation plate portion 110; and wherein the heat dissipation plate portion 110 comprises a cavity 111, a liquid inlet hole 112 and a liquid outlet hole 113, the liquid inlet hole 112 and the liquid outlet hole 113 are provided at two ends of the heat dissipation plate portion 110, respectively”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to combine the features of Wang with the invention of Kao as modified by Huang in order to allow the fluid to conduct heat away from the connector (Wang, page 4 lines 28-36).
With regard to claim 12, Kao as modified by Huang and Wang teaches: “The receptacle connector assembly according to claim 11”, as shown above.
Wang also teaches, as shown in figures 1-7: “wherein the heat dissipation plate portion 110 comprises a plurality of columnar protrusions 110d which are dispersedly disposed in the cavity 111”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to combine the features of Wang with the invention of Kao as modified by Huang and Wang in order to allow the fluid to conduct heat away from the connector (Wang, page 4 lines 28-36).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 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.
Claims 1-8 and 17-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With regard to claim 1, the prior art of record does not anticipate or render obvious the limitations: “wherein the two opposite outer side walls comprise a first outer side wall and a second outer side wall; the first outer side wall comprises a first recessed portion extending through the mating end surface along the first direction; the second outer side wall comprises a second recessed portion extending through the mating end surface along the first direction; and wherein the accommodating space, the first recessed portion and the second recessed portion are in communication, and are configured to jointly receive a heat dissipation member”, when combined with the rest of the limitations of claim 1. Claim 1 is therefore allowable.
Claims 2-8 include all the limitations of claim 1 and are therefore also allowable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN M KRATT whose telephone number is (571)270-0277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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/JUSTIN M KRATT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831