DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 7/10/23, 1/23/25 are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Note applicable to all claims being rejected in this Office action: Examiner notes that the limitations "overlap", "layer", "portion" are being interpreted broadly in accordance with MPEP. Per MPEP 2111 and 2111.01, the claims are given their broadest reasonable interpretation and the words of the claims are given their plain meaning consistent with the specification without importing claim limitations from the specification. The claim presently disclose a structural limitation (i.e. overlap, layer, portion, contact) that is taught by prior art of record, therefore, the limitation is considered met by the prior art of record. Additionally, Merriam Webster dictionary defines the above limitations as “to occupy the same area in part”, “one thickness lying over or under another”, “an often limited part of a whole” respectively. Further note the limitation “connect” is being interpreted to include "direct connect" (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between) and "indirect connect" (intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between).
Claim(s) 1, 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanade et al (US2018/0109253 A1 hereinafter Tanade).
Regarding Claim 1, Tanade discloses in Fig 1: An electrical apparatus, comprising: a switch module (2) including a switch, a first terminal (242/241) and a second terminal connected (251/252) to the switch, and a resin member covering the switch (See Fig 14), the first terminal and the second terminal (part of first and second terminals 241 and 251 is covered by resin – See Fig 14) [0046];
a first power supply member (41/42) electrically connected to a portion of the first terminal exposed from the resin member and one of two electrodes of a power supply (71) [0050]; and
a second power supply member (51/52) electrically connected to a portion of the second terminal exposed from the resin member and the other one of the two electrodes of the power supply (See Fig 18), wherein a portion of the first power supply member connected to the first terminal and a part of the second power supply member overlap in a perpendicular direction (Y) perpendicular to an arrangement direction in which the first terminal and the second terminal are arranged (X direction: See Fig 25).
Regarding Claim 3, Tanade discloses in Fig 1: The electrical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a capacitor (3) connected to each of the first power supply member (41/42) and the second power supply member (51/52), wherein the capacitor is located closer to the first terminal than the second terminal in the arrangement direction (See Fig 25).
Regarding Claim 4, Tanade discloses in Fig 1: The electrical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first power supply member includes:
a first power supply base member (41) connected to the capacitor; and
a first power supply distal end member (42) joined to the first power supply base member and the first terminal, respectively, and wherein
the second power supply member includes:
a second power supply base member (51) connected to the capacitor; and
a second power supply distal end member (52) joined to the second power supply base member and the second terminal, respectively (See Fig 25). See note above for interpretation of “connect” – it is being interpreted as being indirectly connected and the limitation “join” is being used to mean “indirectly joined”.
Claim(s) 1, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okubo et al (US 2020/0295672 A1 hereinafter Okubo).
Regarding Claim 1, Okubo discloses in Fig 1-3: An electrical apparatus, comprising: a switch module (23) including a switch, a first terminal (231) and a second terminal connected (232) to the switch, and a resin member covering the switch (See Fig 3), the first terminal and the second terminal (part of first and second terminals 231and 232 is covered by resin – See Fig 3) [0046];
a first power supply member (25P) electrically connected to a portion of the first terminal exposed from the resin member and one of two electrodes of a power supply (21) [0050]; and
a second power supply member (25N) electrically connected to a portion of the second terminal exposed from the resin member and the other one of the two electrodes of the power supply (See Fig 3), wherein a portion of the first power supply member connected to the first terminal and a part of the second power supply member overlap in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction in which the first terminal and the second terminal are arranged [0038, 0040, 0045-0064].
Regarding Claim 7, Okubo discloses in Fig 1-3: The electrical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a third power supply member (210P) electrically connected to the first power supply member (25P), wherein a part of the second power supply member connected to the second terminal and a part of the third power supply member overlap in the perpendicular direction (See Fig 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5 and 6 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 2, the primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter is that the prior art of record either singularly or in combination fails to teach or suggest the limitation “wherein the first terminal includes: a terminal base member which has a distal end exposed from the resin member, is connected to the switch, and extends in the perpendicular direction; and a terminal distal end member which is connected to the distal end of the terminal base member and extends in a direction perpendicular to the perpendicular direction, wherein the first power supply member is connected to the terminal distal end member, and wherein a portion of the first power supply member connected to the terminal distal end member and a part of the second power supply member overlap in the perpendicular direction” as recited in claim 2 in combination with the remaining features.
With respect to claim 5, the primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter is that the prior art of record either singularly or in combination fails to teach or suggest the limitation “an insulating plate provided between the first power supply member and the second power supply member, wherein the second power supply member is formed with a first through hole at a part of a portion overlapping the first power supply member in the perpendicular direction in a penetrating manner in the perpendicular direction, and wherein the insulating plate is formed with a second through hole at a part of a portion overlapping the first power supply member in the perpendicular direction in a penetrating manner in the perpendicular direction, and wherein the insulating plate is formed with a defining portion which defines locations of the first power supply member and the second power supply member by opposing the first defining wall defining the first through hole from the second defining wall defining the second through hole” as recited in claim 5 in combination with the remaining features.
With respect to claim 6, the primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter is that the prior art of record either singularly or in combination fails to teach or suggest the limitation “wherein the first power supply member, at a portion between a connection portion to the capacitor and a connection portion to the first terminal, and the second power supply member, at a portion between a connection portion to the capacitor and a connection portion to the second terminal, are formed with curved portions.” as recited in claim 6 in combination with the remaining features.
The most relevant prior art references, Tanabe and Okubo substantially teach limitations of the claims 2, 5, 6 with the exception of the limitations described in the preceding paragraph.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NISHATH YASMEEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7564. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM.
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, Lynne Gurley can be reached at 571-272-1670. 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.
/NISHATH YASMEEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2811