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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in IN on 2/7/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the IN 202311007784 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/8/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 16, 17, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sy US 20120035824.
As to claim 1, Sy teaches “A sensor (Abstract; [0002]) comprising: a first component (Figure 1, 110) comprising: a sensing element (Figure 1, 112); a first power connector (Figure 1. L2; [0075]) and a first ground connector (Figure 1, L3; [0075]) configured to provide power to the sensing element (Figure 1, Vcc is connected to L2); and one or more first signal connectors configured to transmit sensing signal from the sensing element (Figure 1, L1; [0074]); and a second component (Figure 1, 200) comprising: a receiving circuitry (Figure 1, 200 contains receiving circuitry) configured to receive the sensing signal (Figure 1, L1 is received by 210 via 201); a second power connector (Figure 1, 202) and a second ground connector configured to electronically couple to the first power connector and the first ground connector respectively (Figure 1, 102 connected to 202, 103 connected to 203); and one or more second signal connectors configured to electronically couple to the corresponding one or more first signal connectors to transmit the sensing signal to the receiving circuitry (Figure 1, 101 is connected to 201), wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component, wherein when attaching the first component to the second component the first power connector electronically couples to the second power connector and the first ground connector electronically couples to the first ground connector before any of the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to the corresponding one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1)”
As to claim 5, Sy teaches “wherein the first and second power connectors are configured to provide power from the second component to the sensing element and the one or more first and second signal connectors are configured to transmit the sensing signal from the sensing element to the receiving circuitry (Figure 1).”
As to claim 16, Sy teaches “A sensor (Abstract; [0002]) comprising: a first component (Figure 1, 110) comprising a sensing element (Figure 1, 112), a first power connector connector (Figure 1. L2; [0075]), a first ground connector (Figure 1, L3; [0075]), and one or more first signal connectors (Figure 1, L1; [0074]); and a second component (Figure 1, 200) comprising a receiving circuitry (Figure 1, 200 contains receiving circuitry), a second power connector (Figure 1, 202), a second ground connector (Figure 1, 102 connected to 202, 103 connected to 203), and one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1, 101 is connected to 201), wherein the first and second components are configured to attach to and detach from each other and any of the first and second power connectors, the first and second ground connectors, and the one or more first and second signal connectors are configured such that when the first and second components are attached to each other the first and second power and the first and second ground connectors are electronically coupled before the one or more first and second signal connectors (Figure 1. [0022] teaches that the elements are electrically connected, which implies that they can also be disconnected too).”
As to claim 17, Sy teaches “wherein the sensing element is configured to power on when the first and second power connectors are electronically coupled to each other and the first and second ground connectors are electronically coupled to each other (Figure 1).”
As to claim 18, Sy teaches “wherein the one or more first and second signal connectors are configured to transmit sensing signal from the sensing element to the receiving circuitry when the one or more first and second signal connectors are electronically coupled to each other (Figure 1).”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sy US 20120035824 in view of Nowicki US 6435017.
As to claim 2, Sy teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component and wherein the first power connector electronically couples to the second power connector, the first ground connector electronically couples to the second ground connector, and the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to the corresponding one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1).” The Sy reference does not explicitly teach how the components connect, but does teach that they do connect.
Nowicki teaches “by a twist motion, during the twist motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy. Sy teaches the concept of connected electrical elements together between 2 separate components. Nowicki teaches the insertion and possible twist of an element to secure it to another component. Attachment can be done by a variety of means, and the prior arts teach that. Based on this it would be obvious to choose a securement manner that best aligns with the users’ desire and sensor application. Using a twist motion allows for a secure attachment between components.
As to claim 3, Sy teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component wherein the first power connector electronically couples to the second power connector or the first ground connector electronically couples to the second ground connector during the insertion, and the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to the corresponding one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1).”
Nowicki “by an insertion and a twist motion, during the twist motion motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy.
As to claim 4, Sy teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component, wherein the first power connector electronically couples to the second power connector, the first ground connector electronically couples to the second ground connector, and the one or more first signal connectors electronically couples to the corresponding one or more second signal connectors during the insertion (Figure 1).”
Nowicki teaches “by an insertion and a twist motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy.
As to claim 7, Nowicki teaches “wherein the first component comprises one or more tabs and the second components comprise one or more notches, wherein the one or more tabs and one or more notches are configured to guide the first component to be inserted into the second component (Figure 3 shows taps and inserts for connecting 2 elements together).”
As to claim 9, Nowicki teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component using a twist motion, wherein the first component comprises one or more depressions and the second components comprise one or more protrusions, wherein the one or more protrusions and the one or more depressions are configured to lock the first component into the second component at an end of the twist motion (Column 1, lines 25-30; Figure 3).”
As to claim 10, Nowicki teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component using a twist motion and detach from the second component using a reverse twist motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy. Sy teaches the concept of connected electrical elements together between 2 separate components. Nowicki teaches the insertion and possible twist of an element to secure it to another component. Attachment can be done by a variety of means, and the prior arts teach that. Based on this it would be obvious to choose a securement manner that best aligns with the users’ desire and sensor application. Using a twist motion allows for a secure attachment between components.
As to claim 11, Nowicki teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component using a sliding motion and detach from the second component using a reverse sliding motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy. Sy teaches the concept of connected electrical elements together between 2 separate components. Nowicki teaches the insertion and possible twist of an element to secure it to another component. Attachment can be done by a variety of means, and the prior arts teach that. Based on this it would be obvious to choose a securement manner that best aligns with the users’ desire and sensor application. Using a twist motion allows for a secure attachment between components.
As to claim 19, Sy teaches “wherein the first component is configured to attach to the second component (Figure 1).”
Nowicki teaches “using any of an insertion, twist, and/or sliding motion and detach from the second component using any of a reverse insertion, twist, and/or sliding motion (Column 1, lines 25-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Nowicki with Sy. Sy teaches the concept of connected electrical elements together between 2 separate components. Nowicki teaches the insertion and possible twist of an element to secure it to another component. Attachment can be done by a variety of means, and the prior arts teach that. Based on this it would be obvious to choose a securement manner that best aligns with the users’ desire and sensor application. Using a twist motion allows for a secure attachment between components.
Claim(s) 6, 12, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sy US 20120035824.
As to claim 6, Sy teaches “wherein the first and second power connectors or or the first and second ground connectors (Figure 1).”
Sy does not teach “comprise first and second circular power bands”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to arrive at the claimed design since the choosing the shape of known components involves routine skill in the art. It can be seen in the filed specification that the shape is not critical nor does the shape have to be circular, see [0081]. In cases like the present, where patentability is said to be based upon particular chosen dimensions or upon another variable recited within the claims, applicant must show that the chosen dimensions are critical. As such, the claimed dimensions appear to be an obvious matter of engineering design choice and thus, while being a difference, does not serve in any way to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the applied prior art. In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Kuhle, 526 F2d. 553, 555, 188 USPQ 7, 9 (CCPA 1975).
As to claim 12, Sy teaches “wherein a first subset of the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to a second subset of the one or more second signal connectors before a rest of the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to a rest of the one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1 shows the connectors between the first and second component. Having any subsets would involve a duplication of known elements. Since Sy already teaches the claimed connection, any additional elements could be connected in the same manner. It would be obvious to have additional elements connected in the same manner since this would ensure secure connections).”
As to claim 20, Sy teaches “wherein a first subset of the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to a second subset of the one or more second signal connectors before a rest of the one or more first signal connectors electronically couple to a rest of the one or more second signal connectors (Figure 1 shows the connectors between the first and second component. Having any subsets would involve a duplication of known elements. Since Sy already teaches the claimed connection, any additional elements could be connected in the same manner. It would be obvious to have additional elements connected in the same manner since this would ensure secure connections).”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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. Claim 8 teaches the criticality behind the placement of the notches and tabs in specific location. The prior arts do not teach this.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TARUN SINHA whose telephone number is (571)270-3993. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10AM-6PM EST.
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/TARUN SINHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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