DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on 1/17/2023.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. TAIWAN 111200864, filed on 01/21/2022.
Drawings
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 rejections under this section 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.
Claim(s) 1, 11 – 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Malloy (US 20080311790).
Regarding claim 1, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) a coaxial cable connector, suitable for engaging with an external thread surface of an electronic device, the coaxial cable connector comprising:
a torque sleeve (18), including a first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and an internal thread (50) formed on the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1); and
a post (16), coaxially arranged in the torque sleeve (18), including a head portion (38) and a body portion (40), characterized in that the coaxial cable connector (¶0044) is connected to the electronic device (48), the head portion (38) is used to connect directly to the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48), when the torque sleeve (18) gradually moves from a first position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent) to a second position (¶0031, 0040, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent) relative to the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48), one end of the external thread (60) of the electronic device (48) abuts the head portion (38) of the post (16), allowing the post (16) to move axially (38 moves axially when 60 comes in contact with it).
Regarding claim 11, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1, wherein the torque sleeve (18) further includes a first extension portion (see extension portion in the nut in figure 1) connected to the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and a stop portion (68) protruding inward from the inner surface of the first extension portion (see extension portion in the nut in figure 1), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position, the head portion (38) of the post (16) abuts against the stop portion (68) of the torque sleeve (18).
Regarding claim 12, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 11, wherein the head portion (38) of the post (16) has a notch (54) that accommodates the stop portion (68) of the torque sleeve (18).
Regarding claim 13, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1, further comprising an end sleeve (14), wherein the torque sleeve (18) further includes a second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) connected to the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1), the end sleeve (14) is sleeved on the second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18), the end sleeve (14) includes a stop portion (20) extending toward the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), the head portion (38) of the post (16) abuts against the stop portion (20) of the end sleeve (14).
Regarding claim 14, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1, further comprising an end sleeve (14), wherein the torque sleeve (18) further has a second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) opposite to the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and a second extension portion (12) connected to the second end (see end in 14 in figure 1), the post (16) further includes a tail portion (42) connected to the body portion (40), the end sleeve (14) is coaxially arranged in the second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), the radial distance between the tail portion (42) of the post (16) and the end sleeve (14) is smaller than the radial distance between the body portion (40) of the post (16) and the second extension portion (12) of the torque sleeve (18).
Regarding claim 15, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 14, wherein the inner surface of the end sleeve (14) has an inner groove (24).
Regarding claim 16, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 14, wherein the inner surface of the end sleeve (14) is stepladder-like (see 14c), the end sleeve (14) includes a first annular surface (14d) and a second annular surface (14e), the inner diameter of the first annular surface (14d) is larger than the inner diameter of the second annular surface (14e).
~Please see annotation of figure 2 in the Malloy reference, where the first engagement portion 14a, the second engagement portion 14b, the stepladder 14c, the first annular surface 14d, and the second annular surface 14e can be seen.
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Regarding claim 17, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 16, wherein the end sleeve (14) further includes a first engagement portion (14a) formed on the outer surface (outer surface of 14), the first engagement portion (14a) is fitted into a second engagement portion (14b) on the inner surface (inner surface of 18) of the second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18) to prevent the end sleeve (14) from moving in the axial direction (A).
Regarding claim 18, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1, wherein the length of the torque sleeve (18) in the axial direction is longer than the overall length of the post (16).
Regarding claim 19, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) a coaxial cable connector, suitable for engaging with an external thread surface of an electronic device, the coaxial cable connector comprising: a torque sleeve (18), including a first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and an internal thread (50) formed on the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1); and a post (16), coaxially arranged in the torque sleeve (18), including a head portion (38) and a body portion (40), wherein the head portion (38) surrounds and directly contacts the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48), the torque sleeve (18) moves relative to the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48) between a first position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent) and a second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the first position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent), a first distance (1D) is defined in the axial direction between the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18) and the head portion (38) of the post (16), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), a second distance (2D) is defined in the axial direction between the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18) and the head portion (38) of the post (16), the second distance is larger than the first distance (1D).
~ Please see annotation of figure 5 in the Malloy reference, where the first distance 1D and the second distance 2D can be seen.
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Regarding claim 20, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 19, wherein the head portion (38) of the post (16) is an electrical conductor (i.e. base portion is inherently conductive), when the coaxial cable connector (10) is not completely installed on the external thread surface (see figure 6) of the electronic device (48), the head portion (38) of the post (16) and the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48) are in contact with each other and are electrically connected (see figure 6, the head portion of post is inherently electrically connected to the external thread surface 60 of 48).
Regarding claim 21, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 19, wherein the head portion (38) of the post (16) is pushed by the inner peripheral surface of the torque sleeve (18) and comes into close contact with the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48) as the torque sleeve (18) gradually moves from the first position ((¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent) to the second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent).
Regarding claim 22, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 19, wherein the torque sleeve (18) further includes an annular torsion portion (see torsion portion in figure 1, where 10 is pointing to) formed on the outer peripheral surface (surface of 18), which enables the user to rotate the torque sleeve (18) rotating relative to the external thread surface (60) by applying force.
Regarding claim 23, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) a coaxial cable connector, suitable for engaging with an external thread surface of an electronic device, the coaxial cable connector comprising: a torque sleeve (18), including a first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and a second end (see end in 14 in figure 1) oppositely arranged, and an internal thread (50) formed on the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1); and a post (16), coaxially arranged in the torque sleeve (18), including a head portion (38) and a tail portion (40) oppositely arranged, wherein the head portion (38) is used to connect directly to the external thread surface (60) of the electronic device (48), wherein the head portion (38) of the post (16) is confined within the torque sleeve (18), and the torque sleeve (18) is movable between a first position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent) and a second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the first position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the first position is inherent), the tail portion (40) of the post (16) is not surrounded by the second end (see end of 14 of in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position (¶0031, nut is movable to apply a force and secure the connection, the second position is inherent), the tail portion (40) of the post (16) is surrounded by the second end (see end of 14 of in figure 1) of the torque sleeve (18).
Regarding claim 24, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 23, wherein the torque sleeve (18) further includes a second extension portion (12) between the first end (see end where 10 is pointing to in figure 1) and the second end (see end in 14 in figure 1), the inner diameter of the second end of the torque sleeve (18) is smaller than the inner diameter of the second extension portion (12), when the torque sleeve (18) is in the first position, the second end of the torque sleeve (18) defines a surrounding space (44) for a coaxial cable (10) to pass through, when the torque sleeve (18) is in the second position, the tail portion (42) of the post (16) penetrates into the surrounding space (44), resulting in a smaller surrounding space (44).
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) 2, 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Malloy (US 20080311790) in view of Burris (US 20160156135).
Regarding claim 2, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) teaches the coaxial cable connector of claim 1.
But Malloy does not explicitly disclose wherein the inner diameter of the head portion of the post is larger than the inner diameter of the body portion.
Burris teaches (figures 1 – 24) a connector wherein the inner diameter of the head portion (see diameter of 305 in figure 5E) of the post (300) is larger than the inner diameter of the body portion (see diameter of 300 in figure 5E).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Malloy with the connector as disclosed by Burris to provide the inner diameter of the head portion of the post being larger than the inner diameter of the body portion, to improve the ease of insertion of the mating part, or to accommodate a sealing element such as an O-ring, as these are well-known techniques for improving the alignment of the assembly.
Regarding claim 3, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1.
But Malloy does not explicitly disclose wherein an inner diameter of the head portion of the post is tapered toward the first end of the torque sleeve.
Burris teaches (figures 1 – 24) a connector wherein an inner diameter of the head portion (310 in figure 5G) of the post (300) is tapered toward the first end (310 is tapered) of the torque sleeve (200).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Malloy with the connector as disclosed by Burris to provide an inner diameter of the head portion of the post being tapered toward the first end of the torque sleeve, to improve mechanical stability of the connection.
Claim(s) 5, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Malloy (US 20080311790) in view of Shaw (US 9356363).
Regarding claim 5, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 1.
But Malloy does not explicitly disclose wherein the head portion of the post has a surrounding wall and a plurality of slots formed in the surrounding wall.
Shaw teaches (figure 2E) a connector wherein the head portion (284) of the post (200E) has a surrounding wall (see surrounding wall in 284) and a plurality of slots (290) formed in the surrounding wall (see surrounding wall in 284).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Malloy with the connector as disclosed by Shaw to provide the head portion of the post having a surrounding wall and a plurality of slots formed in the surrounding wall, to improve mechanical stability of the connection.
Regarding claim 6, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 5.
But Mallow does not explicitly disclose wherein the slots extend axially from an open end.
Shaw teaches (figure 2E) a connector wherein the slots (290) extend axially from an open end (see figure 2E where the slots are extending from the open end).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Malloy with the connector as disclosed by Shaw to provide the slots extending axially from an open end, to improve mechanical stability of the connection.
Claim(s) 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Malloy (US 20080311790) in view of Burris (US 20160156135) and further in view of Shaw (US 20090170360).
Regarding claim 25, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) a coaxial cable connector, comprising: a torque sleeve (18), including an annular torsion portion (see torsion portion in figure 1, where 10 is pointing to) formed on the outer peripheral surface (outer surface of 18) thereof, and an internal thread (50) formed the inner peripheral surface (inner surface of 10) and located at one end (located at end where 10 is pointing to); and a post (16), coaxially arranged in the torque sleeve (18), being freely moved axially relative to the torque sleeve (18),
But Malloy does not explicitly disclose wherein the post is provided with an elastic element.
Burris teaches (figures 5A – 5G) a connector wherein the post is provided with an elastic element (310).
Regarding claim 26, Malloy teaches (figures 1 – 6) the coaxial cable connector of claim 25.
But Malloy and Burris do not explicitly disclose wherein the torque sleeve further includes a rough portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the torque sleeve and spaced from the annular torsion portion.
Shaw teaches (figure 1 – 8) a connector wherein the torque sleeve (20) further includes a rough portion (49) formed on the outer peripheral surface (surface of 46) of the torque sleeve (20) and spaced from the annular torsion portion (32).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Malloy and Burris with the connector as disclosed by Shaw to provide the torque sleeve further including a rough portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the torque sleeve and spaced from the annular torsion portion, to improve the ergonomics and provide better user control during manual operation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 7, 8, 9 ,10 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the inner diameter of the head portion of the post is wavy-shaped in the radial direction in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 7, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the slot communicates with opposite sides of the surrounding wall to form a C- shaped head portion on the post in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 8, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the head portion of the post further has a plurality of axially extending hollows, the hollows are formed in the surrounding wall and are closed without communicating with opposite sides of the surrounding wall.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the head portion of the post further has a plurality of ribs, the ribs are connected to the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall and are in direct contact with the external thread surface of the electronic device in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the head portion of the post further has a plurality of elastic portions, the elastic portions are bent and extended from one side of the surrounding wall toward the inside, and the elastic portions are configured to directly contact the external thread surface of the electronic device in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 20070049113. Rodrigues et al., US 20130078856 Blew et al., US 20160020566 Burris et al., and US 10038284 Krenceski et al. are examples of various coaxial cables suitable for engaging with an external thread surface of an electronic device.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos E. Lopez-Pagan whose telephone number is 703-756-5734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30a - 5:00p.
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/CARLOS E LOPEZ-PAGAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834