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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kliever (US 11,336,047).
Regarding claim 1, Kliever, discloses an electrical connector assembly, comprising: an electrical connector pin 3, comprising a main body and a groove G (area of 40, see annotated fig.), wherein the groove G is located within the main body; and an insulator 4, comprising a central (inner) hole (other of) 40 and at least one opening (other of hole), wherein the insulator 4 is an integral
PNG
media_image1.png
279
595
media_image1.png
Greyscale
assembly and made of an elastic material, wherein the insulator 4 further comprises at least one hole (one of) 40 for absorbing the generated volume resulting from applied forces to ensure that an overall diameter of the insulator remains unchanged before and after being subjected to the forces (because of cut (opening)) 400, the groove G passes through the insulator 4, and the insulator 4 further comprises a first side and a second side, wherein the first side corresponds to the second side, and the first side and second side are partially against to the main body; wherein, in a radial direction, the diameter of the groove G is equal to the diameter of the central hole; wherein the insulator 4 is assembled to the electrical connector pin 3 by applying force to the inner peripheral surface of the insulator through the groove G, thus tightly adhering the insulator to the electrical connector pin, and an overall volume of the insulator remains unchanged.
Regarding claim 2, Kliever, discloses, in the radial direction, the diameter of the main body (at 34) is greater than the diameter of the groove G, and the diameter of the insulator 4 (in contact receptacle 40) is not less than the diameter (at 30) of the main body.
Regarding claim 3, Kliever, discloses, the insulator 4 further comprises an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface, wherein the outer peripheral surface corresponds to the inner peripheral surface, and the inner peripheral surface tightly adheres to the groove G (see fig. 4a, 4b).
Regarding claim 4, Kliever, discloses, 4 the groove G is formed by the at least one opening penetrating the insulator 4.
Regarding claim 5, Kliever, discloses, the elastic material is includes plastic.
Regarding claim 6, Kliever, discloses, when the number of the at least one hole is greater than one, the holes are evenly distributed in the insulator.
Regarding claim 9, Kliever, discloses, in the radial direction (of hole 40), the diameter of the insulator 4 remains unchanged before and after the insulator is assembled to the electrical connector pin.
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kliever.
Regarding claim 10, Kliever, discloses, comprising a package 11, wherein the electrical connector pin 3 and the insulator 3 pass through the package 11, and the insulator 3 is adhered to the package 11.
However, Kliever does not discloses the material of the package is metal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the package is made of metal, since it has been held to be within the general ordinary skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416, and in order to have better durability of the package.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to recently amended claims filed on 1/2/2026have 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
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 HARSHAD C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-8289. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5.00 pm (EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at 571-270 3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HARSHAD C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831