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 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the claim 5, “plurality of reservoirs” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7-15, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a, 1) as being anticipated by Yaworski (U. S. Patent 5,606,149).
Regarding claim 1, Yaworski discloses a connector device 10 for connecting a cable 30, comprising: a housing 11 having a cover 12b formed of a dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46) and a base 12a formed of a dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46), the cover 12a and the base 12b are mated in a closed state of the housing 11 and receive an end portion of the cable 30 that has an electrically conductive portion 36 ; and a contacting element 16 electrically contacting the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 in the closed state of the housing 11, the housing 11 is substantially gas-free in the closed state between: the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); the contacting element 16 and the dielectric cover wall material (collum 5, lines 44-46); and the contacting element 16 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46).
Regarding claim 2, Yaworski discloses the contacting element 16 engages a contact of the cable 30.
Regarding claim 3, Yaworski discloses the contacting element 16 electrically contacts in the closed state an electrically conductive jacket 39 of the cable 30 that surrounds an inner conductor of the cable 30.
Regarding claim 4, Yaworski discloses in the closed state of the housing 11, the housing is substantially gas-free between the electrically conductive jacket 32 and the dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46), and between the electrically conductive jacket 32 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46).
Regarding claim 5, Yaworski discloses the housing 11 has a plurality of reservoirs (first finger at 20 and second finger at 22) of a dielectric grease material provided in the housing 11.
Regarding claim 7, Yaworski discloses the cover 12b has a plurality of first finger elements 20 and the base 12a has a plurality of second finger elements, the first finger elements engage the second finger elements 22 in the closed state of the housing 11.
Regarding claim 8, Yaworski discloses the housing 11 has a plurality of reservoirs 20 of a dielectric grease material provided in the housing 11, the reservoirs are arranged between at least some of the first finger elements 20 and/or at least some of the second finger elements 22.
Regarding claim 9, Yaworski discloses in the closed state of the housing 11, at least some of the first finger elements 20 and/or the second finger elements 22 push the dielectric grease into a plurality of air cavities of the housing 11 formed before reaching the closed state.
Regarding claim 10, Yaworski discloses the contacting element 16 is: an electrically conductive 36 area formed on an inner surface of the dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46) and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); or an electrically conductive 36 insert arranged between the cover 12b and the base 12a.
Regarding claim 11, Yaworski discloses the contacting element 16 is the electrically conductive 36 insert and accommodates a tip of the end portion of the cable 30.
Regarding claim 12, Yaworski discloses the housing 11 has a first port 12b’ receiving a first electrical cable 30 and a second port 19 (on left side) different from the first port 12b’ receiving a second electrical cable 30 different from the first electrical cable 30.
Regarding claim 13, Yaworski discloses the cover 12b has an electrically conductive cover portion formed over or in the dielectric cover wall material (see column 5, lines 44-46) and facing exclusively an outside of the cover 12b.
Regarding claim 14, Yaworski discloses the base 12a has an electrically conductive base portion formed over or in the dielectric base wall material (see column 5, lines 44-46) and facing exclusively an outside of the base 12b.
Regarding claim 15, Yaworski discloses a system, comprising: an electrical cable 30 having an end portion that has an electrically conductive portion 36; and a connector device 10 including a housing 11 and a contacting element 16 electrically contacting the end portion of the electrical cable 30 in a closed state of the housing 11, the housing 11 has a cover 12b formed of a dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46) and a base 12b formed of a dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46), the cover 12b and the base 12a are mated in the closed state of the housing 11 and receive the end portion of the cable 30, the housing 11 is substantially gas-free in the closed state between: the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric cover wall material (see column 5, lines 44-46); the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); the contacting element 16 and the dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); and the contacting element 16 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46).
Regarding claim 20, Yaworski discloses a method of connecting an electrical cable 30 to a connector device 10, comprising: providing a cover 12b of a housing 11 of the connector device 10 and a base 12a of the housing 11, the cover 12b is formed of a dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46) and the base 12a is formed of a dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46), the housing 11 has a contacting element 16; inserting the electrical cable 30 between the cover 12b and the base 12a; closing the housing 11 by pushing the cover 12b and the base 12a towards each other, the housing i11 s substantially gas-free in the closed state between: the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric cover wall material (see column 5, lines 44-46); the electrically conductive portion 36 of the cable 30 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); the contacting element 16 and the dielectric cover wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); and the contacting element 16 and the dielectric base wall material (column 5, lines 44-46); and electrically connecting the contacting element 16 and the electrically conductive portion 36 by closing the housing 11.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 16-19 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.
None of the references discloses in the closed state of the housing, the dielectric
grease material is dispersed into a plurality of air cavities formed before reaching the closed state between: the electrically conductive portion of the cable and the dielectric cover wall material; and/or the electrically conductive portion of the cable and the dielectric base wall material, the electrically conductive portion of the electrical cable is at least one of an inner conductor, an electrically conductive jacket surrounding the inner conductor, and a contact fastened to a tip of the inner conductor, the electrical cable has an electrically conductive braid formed over an inner conductor of the electrical cable and electrically connected with an electrically conductive cover portion of the cover and an electrically conductive base portion of the base in the closed state.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUONG K DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-2090. The examiner can normally be reached M-F from 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Riyami A Abdullah 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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/PHUONG K DINH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831