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 02/03/2026. These drawings are approved.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su et al (US 7,857,636 B2) in view of Johnson (US 10,231,337 B2).
Regarding claims 1 and 2, Su discloses (claim 1) an adapter comprising: a cable 5 having a first end (not shown) and a second end (not labeled, see Fig. 2); a first connector (not shown, see column 2, lines 19-23) attached to the first end of the cable 5; a second connector 100 attached to the second end of the cable 5, wherein the second connector 100 comprises: a first printed circuit board 41; a second printed circuit board 42; and a flexible circuit board 43 joining the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42 such that the first printed circuit board 41 is aligned over the second printed circuit board 42 and the flexible circuit board 43 joins a first edge of the first printed circuit board 41 to a first edge of the second printed circuit board 42; (claim 2) wherein the flexible circuit board 43 forms a 180 degree connection between the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42 (see Figs. 2-4).
However, Su does not disclose the flexible circuit board 43 being extended through the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42.
On the other hand, Johnson discloses printed circuit assemblies 100 comprising a first printed circuit board 110; a second printed circuit board 160; and a flexible circuit board 150 joining the first printed circuit board 110 and the second printed circuit board 160 such that the first printed circuit board 110 is aligned over the second printed circuit board 160 and the flexible circuit board 150 joins a first edge of the first printed circuit board 110 to a first edge of the second printed circuit board 160, wherein the flexible circuit board 150 being extended through the first printed circuit board 110 and the second printed circuit board 160 such that the flexible circuit board 150 to both mechanically and electrically couple first printed circuit board 110 with second printed circuit board 160.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the adapter taught by Su such that it would have first and second printed circuit boards jointed by a flexible circuit board that extends through the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board as taught by Johnson because the flexible circuit board will both mechanically and electrically couple first printed circuit board with second printed circuit board.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Su discloses the adapter further comprising an interposer 71, 72 attached to the first printed circuit board 41’ along a second edge (see the right-side edge shown in Fig. 5) and the second printed circuit board 42’along a second edge (see also the right-side edge shown in Fig. 5).
Although Su discloses the interposer 71, 72 being electrical connectors, Su, however, does not disclose the interposer comprising a ground path between the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42.
On the other hand, the use of the ground path is common knowledge in an electrical connector. In the electrical connector, the ground path can be provided in many different forms. The electrical connector can have a ground contact or an electrical connection to a shield, to the braiding of a cable, or to grounding connection on a printed circuit board.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the interposer taught by Su such that it would have a ground path as taught by the instant invention because the ground path is commonly used in an electrical connector for protection purpose.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, the adapter further comprises a first plurality of electronic components on a top side of the second printed circuit board and a second plurality of electronic components on a top side of the first printed circuit board, wherein the second plurality of electronic components are encapsulated.
Although Su discloses the first and second printed circuit boards 41, 42, the drawings of Su only show the first and second printed circuit boards 41, 42 as plain flat boards and do not show any electronic components on the plain flat boards.
On the other hand, it is common knowledge that any printed circuit board can have one or more electronic components on any surfaces of the printed circuit board. Also, Johnson clearly discloses a first plurality of electronic components 164 on a top side of the second printed circuit board 160 and a second plurality of electronic components 114 on a top side of the first printed circuit board 110, wherein the second plurality of electronic components 164 are encapsulated (see Figs. 2A-2D).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify adapter taught by Su such that it would have a printed circuit board with a plurality of electronic components as taught by Johnson because the printed circuit board commonly can have one or more electronic components depending on a function of the electronic components can be encapsulated depending on the arrangement of the printed circuit boards. It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claim(s) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su et al and Johnson as applied to claims 1-4 and 7-8 above, and further in view of Webb (US 2014/0073186 A1).
Regarding claims 9 and 10, claims 9 and 10 recite different types of connectors, wherein the first connector is a connector insert, which is a Universal Serial Bus Type-C connector insert and the second connector is a connector receptacle, which is a Lightning™ connector receptacle.
Su only discloses the adapter comprising Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector and a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector.
However, Webb discloses an adapter comprising a cable 140 with a first end connected to a first connector 150 that is a connector insert and a second end connected to a second connector 120 that is a connector receptacle. Webb also discloses that connector receptacle 120 may instead be a connector insert. Connector receptacle (or connector insert) 120 may be compatible with various signal interfaces, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, or other types of interfaces. Similarly, connector insert 150 may instead be a connector receptacle. The connector insert 150 (or connector receptacle) may be compatible with the same or different signal interface as connector receptacle 120.
In view of the connectors disclosed by the instant invention, Su and Webb, it is clear that two ends of the cable of the adapter are not limited to have just a single type of electrical connector but can have various types of electrical connectors.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the adapter taught by Su such that it would have the first connector being a connector insert and the second connector being a connector receptacle as taught by Webb because the adapter are not limited to have just a single type of electrical connector, but can have various types of electrical connectors.
Claim(s) 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su et al (US 7,857,636 B2) in view of Johnson (US 10,231,337 B2).
Regarding claim 11, Su discloses an electronic device comprising: a rigid-flex structure comprising: a first printed circuit board 41; a second printed circuit board 42 positioned under and aligned with the first printed circuit board 41; and a flexible circuit board 43 joining the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42.
However, Su does not disclose a first plurality of electronic components being on a top side of the first printed circuit board; and a second plurality of electronic components being on a top side of the second printed circuit board, Su also does not disclose the flexible circuit board 43 forming a 180 degree connection between the first printed circuit board 41 and the second printed circuit board 42.
On the other hand, Johnson discloses printed circuit assemblies 100 comprising a first printed circuit board 110 having a first plurality of electronic components 114 on a top side of the first printed circuit board 110; a second printed circuit board 160 having a second plurality of electronic components 166 on a top side of the second printed circuit board 160; and a flexible circuit board 150 joining the first printed circuit board 110 and the second printed circuit board 160 such that the first printed circuit board 110 is aligned over the second printed circuit board 160 and the flexible circuit board 150 joins a first edge of the first printed circuit board 110 to a first edge of the second printed circuit board 160, wherein the flexible circuit board 150 forms a 180 degree connection between the first printed circuit board 110 and the second printed circuit board 160 such that the flexible circuit board 150 to both mechanically and electrically couple first printed circuit board 110 with second printed circuit board 160 (see Figs. 2A-2D).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the adapter taught by Su such that it would have first and second printed circuit boards jointed by a flexible circuit board that form a 180 degree connection between first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board as taught by Johnson because the flexible circuit board will both mechanically and electrically couple first printed circuit board with second printed circuit board.
Regarding each of the first and second printed circuit boards having one or more electronic components, it is common knowledge that any printed circuit board can have one or more electronic components on any surfaces of the printed circuit board. Furthermore, Johnson clearly discloses the first and second printed circuit boards 110, 160, each having a plurality of electronic components 114, 166.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify adapter taught by Su such that it would have a printed circuit board with a plurality of electronic components as taught by Johnson because the printed circuit board commonly can have one or more electronic components depending on a function of an electronic device.
Regarding claims 12, Su discloses the flexible circuit board 43 extending from a first edge (the right-side edge shown in Fig. 3) of the second printed circuit board 42 to a second edge (the left-side edge shown in Fig. 3) of the first printed circuit board 41.
Regarding claim 13, the flexible circuit board 43 of Su does not extend through the second printed circuit board 42 and the first printed circuit board 41.
On the other hand, Johnson discloses the flexible circuit board 150 being extended through the second printed circuit board 160 and the first printed circuit board 110.
Thus, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the electronic device taught by Su such that it would have the flexible circuit board extending through the second printed circuit board and the first printed circuit board as taught by Johnson because it only deal with rearrangement of the flexible circuit board in view of the first and second printed circuit boards since the first and second printed circuit boards will be always connected together through the flexible circuit board, and the functions of the first and second printed circuit boards and the flexible circuit board will not be affected or changed. It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 14 reciting, “the first plurality of electronic components are encapsulated, and the second plurality of electronic components are not encapsulated”, Su only shows the first and second printed circuit boards 41, 42 as plain flat boards and do not show any electronic components on the plain flat boards. Therefore, Su does not disclose whether the plurality of electronic components being either encapsulated or not encapsulated.
On the other hand, it is common knowledge that any printed circuit board can have one or more electronic components on any surfaces of the printed circuit board. Also, Johnson clearly discloses a first plurality of electronic components 114 on a top side of the first printed circuit board 160 and a second plurality of electronic components 116 on a top side of the second printed circuit board 110, wherein the first plurality of electronic components 114 are encapsulated and the second plurality of electronic components 166 are not encapsulated (see Figs. 2A-2D).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify adapter taught by Su such that it would have a printed circuit board with a plurality of electronic components as taught by Johnson because the printed circuit board commonly can have one or more electronic components depending on a function of the electronic components can be encapsulated depending on the arrangement of the printed circuit boards. It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claim(s) 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su et al and Johnson as applied to claims 11-14 above, and further in view of Webb (US 2014/0073186 A1).
Regarding claim 15 reciting, “the electronic device is a connector receptacle”, Su only discloses the electronic device comprising Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector, which is not a connector receptacle.
On the other hand, Webb discloses an electronic device comprising a first connector 150 that is a connector insert and a second end connected to a second connector 120 that is a connector receptacle.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the electronic device taught by Su such that it would have a connector being a connector receptacle as taught by Webb because the electronic device is not limited to have just a single type of electrical connector, but can have various types of electrical connectors.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 are allowed.
Claims 5 and 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reason for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: In combination with all the limitations recited in the independent claim 16, the prior art of record does not anticipate nor render obvious a connector comprising a receptacle assembly attached to a second printed circuit board and a housing with a passage to accept a corresponding connector, and a shield around the housing and having lateral standoffs extending away from the passage, the lateral standoffs having upward pins extending upward and downward pins extending downward, wherein the upward pins fit in corresponding openings in a first printed circuit board and the downward pins fit in corresponding openings in the second printed circuit board.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 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
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 HAE MOON HYEON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm.
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.
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/hmh/
/Hae Moon Hyeon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831