DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicants election without traverse of the invention of Group I, Claims 1 through 19, in the reply filed on December 4, 2025 is acknowledged.
Applicants election with traverse of the invention of Species I-A in the reply filed on December 4, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the different species should be examined together as there would be no burden to search and examine both species [pages 6 to 7 of submission/reply]. This is persuasive as the election of species between Species I-A and I-B has been withdrawn. Furthermore, it was determined that in performing the search for Species I-A, there was no burden to complete the search for Species I-B. Therefore, Claims 1 through 19 will be examined together as one group.
Claim 20 has been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 4, 2025.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --Electrical Contact System--.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities.
In Claim 5, “the ends” (line 1) should be changed to –ends--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication 2014/0150259 to Lehmann et al (hereinafter “Lehmann”) in view of U.S. Publication 2019/0067868 to Cairns (hereinafter “Cairns”).
NOTE: Elements emphasized below (in italics) are illustrated in Figure 2a of Lehmann and Figure 2 of Cairns.
Claims 1 and 17: Lehmann discloses an electrical contact system (e.g. see Figs. 2a, 2b) comprising:
a wire (e.g. 10, 31, 22) including a conductor (e.g. 11);
a contact (e.g. 21) having a barrel (e.g. 30), wherein the barrel comprises a wire entry portion (at first diameter below) having a first diameter wider than a conductor diameter of the wire, a clip portion having a second diameter, and a cam portion having the second diameter at a first end that changes to a third diameter at a second end near the wire entry portion; and
a clip (e.g. 40) positioned in the barrel, wherein the clip comprises a body having two inwardly directed tines (e.g. 43), wherein the clip is initially positioned in the clip portion of the barrel (e.g. Fig. 2b);
wherein the inwardly directed tines are biased outwards in response to passage of the conductor [e.g. initial entry of 10 within 30, or an intermediate stage to allow 43 to slide over 22 before Fig. 2b];
wherein the wire is positionable through the clip in a first direction (e.g. arrow A in Fig. 2a) to engage both of the inwardly directed tines of the clip with the wire (e.g. Fig. 2b), and
wherein the clip is configured to be drawn onto the cam portion when the wire is pulled in a second direction to form an electrical connection between the wire, the clip, and the contact (e.g. Figs. 2a to 2b, ¶ [0029], end of Claim 6).
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It is noted that the claimed “first direction” and “second direction” can be the same direction since the claim does not recite that the two are different.
Claim 2: Lehmann discloses the electrical contact system of claim 1, wherein the first diameter is less than 10 mm wider that the conductor diameter. The first diameter is zero mm wider that the conductor diameter (of 22), since the first diameter is in direct contact with the conductor diameter (22) in Figure 2b.
Claim 4: Lehmann discloses the electrical contact system of claim 1, wherein one pair of the plurality of inwardly directed tines are placed on an interior portion of the body (e.g. left end of 40) diametrically opposite one another (Fig. 2b).
Claim 10: Lehmann discloses the electrical contact system of claim 1, wherein the cam portion includes at least one constant diameter section (e.g. Fig. 2a).
Claim 11: Lehmann discloses the electrical contact system of claim 1, wherein the wire entry portion (at the first diameter) is beveled (e.g. sloped) to facilitate entry of the wire into the barrel (e.g. Fig. 2a).
Lehmann discloses that the change from the second diameter to the third diameter of the cam portion is a step [as illustrated above]. Lehmann does not appear to teach that the cam portion having the second diameter at the first end tapers to the third diameter at the second end.
However, it is well-known in the art of electrical contact systems that changes in diameters can be tapered within a barrel that includes a cam portion.
This is illustrated below in the structure of Cairns, which discloses a contact (e.g. 20, Fig. 3) having a barrel (e.g. 3, in Fig. 2). Cairns shows a cam portion of the barrel where the change from a second diameter to a third diameter can occur by a taper, to provide a smooth transition from one diameter to another.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the step of Lehmann with the taper of Cairns, to provide the cam portion with the second diameter at the first end that tapers to the third diameter at the second end, thereby providing a smooth transition between the second and third diameters.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lehmann in view of Cairns, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 6,093,053 to Horioka et al (hereinafter “Horioka”).
Lehmann, as modified by Cairns, discloses the claimed electrical contact system as relied upon above in Claim 1. The modified Lehmann system does not mention any dimensions for the thickness of the body.
Horioka discloses that a body of a clip (e.g. 6, 6b, Fig. 1) can have a thickness of approximately 0.006 inches (e.g. 0.004 inches = 0.1 mm) to provide elasticity for the clip that allows a portion of the clip to be biased/bending (e.g. col. 5, lines 5-22).
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 the thickness of the body of Lehmann to the approximate thickness taught by Horioka, to achieve the very same purpose of allowing the body to be biased.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lehmann in view of Cairns, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Publication 2010/0048051 to Melni (hereinafter “Melni”).
Lehmann, as modified by Cairns, discloses the claimed electrical contact system as relied upon above in Claim 1, further including that the barrel of Lehmann is sized for a wire. The modified Lehmann system does not mention any particular gauge of the wire.
Melni discloses that it is well-known and conventional in the art of electrical contact systems (e.g. Fig. 2) that a wire (e.g. 20, 22) can have a particular gauge, that is sized for a barrel (e.g. 12).
Regarding Claim 15, Melni further discloses that the particular gauge can be 4, 6 or 8 in size (e.g. ¶ [0122]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided Lehmann with a wire that has a gauge sized specifically for the barrel, as taught by Melni, to provide the wire diameter size necessary that would fit within the barrel.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lehmann in view of Cairns, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 5,033,982 to Lucas (hereinafter “Lucas”).
Lehmann, as modified by Cairns, discloses the claimed electrical contact system as relied upon above in Claim 1. The modified Lehmann system does not mention what material is used for the clip.
Lucas teaches that it is well-known and conventional (35+ years) that a clip (e.g. 16, Figs. 1, 1A) can be made of beryllium copper to provide the necessary electrical conductivity for the clip (e.g. col. 2, lines 54-57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the clip of Lehmann with the beryllium copper material of Lucas, to provide conventional, well-known electrical conductivity for the clip.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Regarding Claims 3, 6 and 18, the prior art does not teach the structure of a split ring that forms the body of the clip.
Regarding Claims 5 and 7, the prior art does not teach the specific dimensions in inches for each claim.
Regarding Claims 9 and 19, the prior art does not teach that the taper of the cam portion includes at least one second slope.
Regarding Claim 12, the prior art does not teach that the cam portion is an insert, which is a separate structural element positioned in the barrel.
Regarding Claim 14, the prior art does not teach any indicia on an outer surface of the contact.
Furthermore, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lehmann by adding any of the above features because to do so would destroy the overall structure of Lehmann’s electrical contact system.
Therefore, Claims 3, 5 through 7, 9, 12, 14, 18 and 19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2008-71543, discloses an electrical contact system (e.g. Figs. 1a to 1d) that includes a contact (50) and barrel (31).
b) Non-Patent Literature IEEE Publication to Fouvry et al, "From fretting to connector vibration tests: a "transfer function" approach to predict electrical contact resistance endurance”, discloses an electrical contact system (e.g. Fig. 3) that includes a barrel (connector) and a clip (pin clip, also see entire document).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to A. DEXTER TUGBANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4570. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/ Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896