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, following features must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
the at least one respective latching device of the closure cap and the counterparts of the housing
the front limbs with the contact elements being arranged within the housing.
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.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “The contact are” in line 4 should be -- The contact is --. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: CHARGING SOCKET FOR A VEHICLE HAVING A SIMPLE STRUCTURE.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0048], line 1, the first occurring abbreviation “DC” should be written with a full terminology with the abbreviation enclosed within a parenthesis.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 6, the examiner suggests the applicant to change “the brackets” to -- the intermediate brackets -- in order to for the claims to recite the same terminology consistently throughout the claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Throughout all the claims 1-11, the examiner advises the applicant to use a plural form of each element and a singular form of each element clearly and consistently.
Claim 1, line 3 recites, “at least one contact element”, but line 13 suddenly recites, “the contact elements”. It is not clear how one contact element can suddenly become plural contact elements.
Claim 1, line 5 recites, “at least one interface to the conductor”. It is not clear what the at least one interface is doing with the conductor. Claim 1 is not clear stating what is happening between the interface and the conductor.
Claim 1, lines 8-9 recites, “the intermediate brackets … connect the at least one contact element to the at least one interface”. It seems like that claim 1 is reciting one contact element and one interface being connected to both two intermediate brackets when Figure 2 of the drawings shows each one of two intermediate brackets is connecting the at least one contact element to the at least one interface.
Claim 1, line 12 recites, “the at least one interface is arranged on the rear limb” and line 13 recites, “the front limbs with the contact elements”. It is not clear why line 12 recites only one interface with one rear limb while line 13 recites plural front limbs with plural contact elements. Claim 1, lines 6-7 recites that the instant invention has two intermediate brackets having front limbs and rear limbs.
Claim 1, line 12 recites one interface with one rear limb, but line 15 recites plural interfaces with plural real limbs. Therefore, it is not clear whether one interface with one rear limb is used in the instant invention or plural interface with plural rear limbs are used in the instant invention.
Claim 3 recites that at least one respective latching device of the closure caps are latching to counterparts of the housing. However, because the drawings do not show and do not identify the at least one respective latching device and the counterparts thee with assigned reference number and lines, it is not clear how the closure caps are latching to the housing.
Claim 4, line 3 recites, “the seals are”. However, claim 2, line 4 recites, “at least one respective contacting seal”. Therefore, how a single seal suddenly became plural seals.
Claim 5, line 2 recites, “the conductors before the conductors”. However, claim 1, line 4 recites, “a conductor”, which is just one conductor. Therefore, it is not clear how one conductor suddenly changed to plural conductors.
Claim 8 recites plural service openings and plural service covers. However, claim 9, which is depended on claim 8, recites that the plural service covers comprise a sealing element, which is one sealing element, configured to seal the service opening, which is one service opening.
Claim 11 recites, the seal further comprises a leadthrough configured for the conductor”. It is not clear what the leadthrough is configured to do with the conductor.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Francois et al (FR 3050078 A1).
Francois discloses a socket 100 for a vehicle, comprising: a housing 101 comprising domes 107, 108 arranged to project from a rear side of the housing 101 ; at least one contact element 113, 114; a conductor of a cable harness 103, 104; at least one interface (not labeled) to the conductor 103, 104 (see Fig. 1); two L-shaped intermediate brackets 111, 112 electrically insulated from one another, the brackets 111, 112 comprising front limbs (not labeled, see Fig. 1 a vertically extending portion) and rear limbs (not labeled, see Fig. 1 a horizontally extending portion) oriented transversely with respect to the front limbs, the intermediate brackets 111, 112 arranged to electrically and conductingly connect the at least one contact element 113, 114 to the at least one interface (two opposite ends of the intermediate brackets); wherein the at least one contact element 113, 114 is arranged at a country-specific or variant-specific spacing to one another on the front limbs (see Fig. 1); wherein the at least one interface (the end connected to the conductors 103, 104) is arranged on the rear limb (see Fig. 1); wherein the front limbs with the contact elements 113, 114 are arranged within the housing 101 transversely with respect to a plug-in direction (the vertical direction) of the contact elements 113, 114; and wherein the rear limbs with the interfaces are arranged in the domes 107, 108.
Claim(s) 1, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Venkatesan et al (US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0351457 A1).
Venkatesan discloses a charging socket 100 for a vehicle, comprising: (claim 1) a housing 210 comprising domes 214 arranged to project from a rear side of the housing 210; at least one contact element 242; a conductor of a cable harness 300; at least one interface 260 to the conductor 300; two L-shaped intermediate brackets 250 electrically insulated from one another, the intermediate brackets 250 comprising front limbs 252 and rear limbs 256 oriented transversely with respect to the front limbs 252, the intermediate brackets 250 arranged to electrically and conductingly connect the at least one contact element 242 to the at least one interface (screw hole on the intermediate brackets 250 shown in Fig. 3); wherein the at least one contact element 242 is arranged at a country-specific or variant-specific spacing to one another on the front limbs 252; wherein the at least one interface 260 is arranged on the rear limb 256; wherein the front limbs 252 with the contact elements 242 are arranged within the housing 210 transversely with respect to a plug-in direction of the contact elements 242; and wherein the rear limbs 256 with the interfaces 260 are arranged in the domes 214; (claim 6) wherein each of the rear limbs 256 comprise, at the at least one interface 260, a threaded bushing 262 configured for a screw connection of the conductor 300; and (claim 10) wherein each of the domes 282 comprise a seal 284 spanning at least an inner diameter of a dome 282 and comprising an oversize in relation to the inner diameter (see Figs. 3 and 4).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAE MOON HYEON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A 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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/hmh/
/Hae Moon Hyeon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831