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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pepe et al. (US 20100221955 A1)
In regard to claim 1, Pepe et al. discloses a multiple-combination connector 20, comprising:
a housing which is formed by a lower housing 30 and a matching upper housing 32, wherein the lower housing 30 has at least one opening 42;
at least one socket 16 (fig. 1) which is attached to the opening; and
a plurality of individual plugs 14 (fig. 1) which can be inserted independently of one another into the socket 16.
In regard to claim 2, Pepe et al. discloses the lower housing 30 has two openings arranged in two planes (see figures 10 and 11); and
wherein the planes of the two openings are oriented parallel to one another and are
spaced apart from one another.
In regard to claim 14, Pepe et al. discloses the opening of the lower housing 30 is provided with a protruding interface (see annotated drawing below) which is used for attachment to the socket 16.
[AltContent: textbox (protruding interface)][AltContent: connector]
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-13, 15-18 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 prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Conclusion
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher M Koehler can be reached at (571) 272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Tdt
3/19/2026
/THO D TA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834