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 § 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, 3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yagome et al. (7,329,145) in view of Kondo (9,071,023).
Regarding claim 1, Yagome et al. disclose a connector, comprising:
terminals (not labeled, figure 7) arranged in parallel and configured to be electrically connected to mating terminals of a device;
a resin housing (10, figure 3) that holds the terminals (figure 7); and
a metal shield shell (50, figure 3) that covers the housing (figure 7), wherein
the housing includes:
a tubular portion (12, figure 3) having an opening (13) from which the terminals are exposed,
a flange (11, figure 3) that extends outward from the tubular portion, and
a projection (14, figure 3) that projects outward from the tubular portion, the projection being connected to the tubular portion and the flange including a joint portion of the tubular portion and the flange; and
the shield shell includes:
an enclosing portion (52, figure 8 or a FIGURE A below) that surrounds a periphery of the tubular portion,
a recess (52a, figure 8 or the FIGURE A below) provided in a part of the enclosing portion facing the projection and engaged with the projection (figure 6), and
a fixing portion (not labeled, figure 6) including a through hole (not labeled);
wherein, when the projection is a first projection, the housing includes a second projection (not labeled, figure 3) that projects outward from the tubular portion and extends in an axial direction of the tubular portion,
wherein the flange of the housing extends from the tubular portion (figure 3) toward the enclosing portion (figure 8),
wherein the enclosing portion covers the flange from a side in an axial direction of the tubular portion (figure 8), and
wherein the projection extends to an outer edge of the flange (figure 5).
Yagome et al. disclose the claimed invention as described above except for the metal shield shell configured to be fixed to a case of the device; the fixing portion configured to be fixed to the case and including a through hole for insertion of a bolt used to fix the shield shell to the case.
Kondo discloses a metal shield shell (61, figure 2) that configured to be fixed to a case (11, figure 4) of the device; a fixing portion (66, figure 2) configured to be fixed to the case and including a through hole (67) for insertion of a bolt (70B, figure 4) used to fix the shield shell to the case (figure 4).
It would have been obvious to modify Yagome et al. to have the metal shield shell configured to be fixed to a case of the device; a fixing portion configured to be fixed to the case and including a through hole for insertion of a bolt used to fix the shield shell to the case, as taught by Kondo for better connect the connector to the device.
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Regarding claim 3, Yagome et al., figure 7 shows the enclosing portion extends in an arrangement direction in which the terminals are arranged next to each other, and the fixing portion is arranged at each of two sides of the enclosing portion in the arrangement direction.
Regarding claim 6, Yagome et al. disclose the projection of the housing is one of a plurality of projections extending from a plurality of predetermined positions on the tubular portion in a radial direction that intersects the axial direction of the tubular portion (figure 3), and the recess of the shield shell is one of a plurality of recesses respectively engaging the plurality of projections of the housing (the FIGURE A above).
Regarding claim 7, Yagome et al., figure 7 shows electric wires (not labeled) connected to the terminals and extended out of the housing in an extending direction, wherein an axial direction of the tubular portion of the housing intersects with the extending direction of the electric wires, and the tubular portion of the housing is open in the axial direction that intersects the extending direction of the electric wires.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s)1, 3 and 6-7 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 THANH TAM T LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2094. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdul 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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/THANH TAM T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 10/25/25
thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov