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
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 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12-14, 16, 18, 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 6,042,398).
Regarding claim 1, Wu et al. disclose a connection terminal (5) for an electrical connector (3), comprising:
a main body part configured to be installed inside an insulating housing of the electrical connector;
a soldering leg (52) entirely soldered on a circuit board (not shown) so as to electrically connect the connection terminal to the circuit board, the soldering leg and the main body part having different widths (W1, W2); and
a transition section extending from the main body part to the soldering leg, the transition section having a changing width along at least a portion thereof.
[AltContent: textbox (Changing width section)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (W2)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (W1)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Soldering leg)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Main body part)][AltContent: textbox (Transition section)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: rect][AltContent: rect]
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Regarding claim 2, Wu et al. disclose the entire transition section is bent (the entire transition section is bent from the soldering leg at 90 degrees angel) and has a changing width.
Regarding claim 4, Wu et al. disclose the connection terminal is a one-piece structure.
Regarding claim 5, Wu et al. disclose the main body part has a first width (W1), the soldering leg has a second width (W2) less than the first width, and the width of the at least a portion of the transition section decreases from the first width to the second width.
Regarding claim 6, Wu et al. disclose the entire transition section is bent (the entire transition section is bent from the soldering leg at 90 degrees angel) and has a changing width.
Regarding claim 8, Wu et al. disclose the at least a portion (at the bending corner) of the transition section is a bent section.
Regarding claim 10, Wu et al. disclose the entire transition section is bent (the entire transition section is bent from the soldering leg at 90 degrees angel) and has a changing width.
[AltContent: arrow]Regarding claim 12, Wu et al. disclose the main body part extends at least partially in a first direction, and the soldering leg extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
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Regarding claim 13, Wu et al. disclose the bent section is bent from a portion extending in the first direction to a portion extending in the second direction.
Regarding claim 14, Wu et al. disclose the entire transition section is bent (the entire transition section is bent from the soldering leg at 90 degrees angel) and has a changing width.
Regarding claim 16, Wu et al. disclose an electrical connector (3), comprising:
an insulating housing (4);
a signal terminal (30) arranged in the housing; and
a ground terminal (5) arranged in the housing, at least one of the signal terminal or the ground terminal including (as disclosed in the rejected claim 1):
a main body part;
a soldering leg entirely soldered on a circuit board so as to electrically connect the connection terminal to the circuit board, the soldering leg and the main body part having different widths; and
a transition section extending from the main body part to the soldering leg, the transition section having a changing width along at least a portion thereof.
Regarding claim 18, Wu et al. disclose the electrical connector further includes a ground shielding plate (6), the ground terminal extending from the ground shielding plate to the circuit board.
Regarding claim 20, Wu et al. substantially disclosed the claimed invention except to mention the electrical connector is intend to be used as a high-speed input and output connector.
It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
Regarding claim 21, Wu et al. disclose the entire transition is bent (the entire transition section is bent from the soldering leg at 90 degrees angel).
Regarding claim 22, Wu et al. disclose the soldering leg only extends in the second direction.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 17, 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUC T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2011. The examiner can normally be reached monday-friday (7-4).
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, Christopher M. Koehler can be reached at 5712723560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TRUC T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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