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 “counter connector” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s) 1-12. 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 § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-7 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura (JP 4604694 per IDS record).
Regarding claim 1, Kimura discloses a connector unit comprising:
a connector portion (5) to be fitted with a counter connector (6);
a connector housing (7) retaining the connector portion and having an opening portion (8) for inserting the counter connector in a fitting process with the counter connector; and
a cap (3) that is attached to the connector housing and openably and closably covers the opening portion, wherein the connector housing includes a front plate portion (at 8) that is provided with the opening portion, and a cap attachment hole penetrating the front plate portion and communicating with an inside of the connector housing, the cap includes a lid portion (3a) having a back surface facing the front plate portion, and an L-shaped arm joined to the lid portion and made of an elastic material, the L-shaped arm includes a support portion (3b) projecting and extending in a direction intersecting the back surface of the lid portion, a bent portion (3c) formed at a tip of the support portion, and a hook portion (a portion of 3c) extending from the bent portion in a direction intersecting the support portion, the cap is retained by the connector housing with the hook portion being accommodated inside the connector housing and the support portion being passed through the cap attachment hole, and
when viewed in a direction perpendicular to a plane including the support portion, a maximum dimension of the bent portion is larger than the dimension of the cap attachment hole, and the hook portion has a length dimension larger than the dimension of the cap attachment hole.
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Kimura substantially disclosed the claimed invention except the thickness size of the bent portion, and the hook portion, the support portion and the hook portion each have a thickness dimension smaller than a dimension of the cap attachment hole.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify the thickness size of the bent portion, the hook portion and the support portion for optimum performance, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 2, Kimura substantially disclosed the claimed invention except size of a cross-sectional area when the bent portion is cut by a cross section perpendicular to the plane including the support portion, the bent portion, and the hook portion is larger than an area of the cap attachment hole.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify the size of the cross-section area for optimum performance, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 3, Kimura discloses the bent portion of the cap has a thin-wall part.
Regarding claim 4, Kimura discloses the bent portion has a cutout (3d).
Regarding claim 5, Kimura discloses the cutout is disposed at a middle part of the bent portion in a direction perpendicular to the plane including the support portion, the bent portion, and the hook portion and extends in parallel to the plane.
Regarding claim 6, Kimura substantially disclosed the claimed invention except a second L-shaped arms being identical to the L-shaped arm, and a second cap attachment hole being identical to the cap attachment hole.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to duplicate the L-shaped arm and the cap attachment hole, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding claim 7, Kimura discloses the support portion of the cap is disposed in the back surface of the lid portion at a position shifted in an opposite direction from a direction in which the hook portion extends from the bent portion, and the cap attachment hole of the connector housing is disposed in the front plate portion at a position shifted from the opening portion in an opposite direction from the direction in which the hook portion extends from the bent portion.
Regarding claims 10-12, these claims also rejected for the same rational as the rejected claims 1-7.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura (JP 4604694 per IDS record) in view of Lopez et al. (US 2022/0169189).
Kimura substantially disclosed the claimed invention except the drain holes.
Lopez et al. teach drain holes (72).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the drain holes into Kimura’s cap, as taught by Lopez for draining water or moisture.
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).
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/TRUC T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834