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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 31 May 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group III and Species 2 in the reply filed on 6 March 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 15-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 10,299,397; hereinafter ‘Chen’).
Regarding claim 15, Chen teaches method of operating a member (at least 100; as seen in at least figs. 6-9) configured for retaining and releasing a first circuit board (at least 806; as seen in figs. 6-9) to and from a second circuit board (at least 802; as seen in at least figs. 6-9), the method comprising: attaching the member (100) to the second circuit board (802) comprising engaging a mounting portion (at least 104; as seen in at least fig. 1C) of the member with an opening (not shown in at least figs. 6-9, as disclosed in at least column 13, lines 41-49) of the second circuit board (802); and attaching the member (100) to a distal end of the first circuit board (806) comprising moving a retaining portion (at least 108; as seen in at least figs. 1C and 6-9) of the member from a released position to a retained position.
Whilst the method is not explicitly disclosed, it is taught within Chen’s disclosure and one having ordinary skill in the art would recognize the basic provisions of “attaching” are within the meets and bounds of the disclosure (see at least column 14, line 56-column 16, line 23).
Similarly, regarding claim 16, the method of claim 15, wherein: the opening is a first opening; the second circuit board comprises a second opening; and the method further comprises prior to engaging the mounting portion of the member with the first opening, removing the member from the second opening (while this is not shown in the figures, it is described in at least column 13, lines 41-49).
Regarding claim 17, Chen discloses the claimed method as indicated above. While Chen does not specifically teach sliding the member to attach to the second board.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to attach Chen’s member to the second circuit board comprises sliding the member along a first surface of the opening of the second circuit board and then pushing the member toward a second surface of the opening facing the first surface until that the member abuts against the second surface.
One would have been motivated to do so as techniques such as protrusions/aperture combo, a sliding arrangement, glueing, soldering are all known techniques in the art to simply connect members to a circuit board with varying levels of removability.
Regarding claim 18, Chen discloses the method of claim 15, wherein: attaching the member to a distal end of the first circuit board comprises pushing the first printed circuit board toward the second printed circuit board until that one or more portions of the member engage a surface of the first circuit board (as seen in at least figs. 6-9; and as disclosed in at least column 14, line 56-column 16, line 23).
Regarding claim 19, Chen discloses the method of claim 15, wherein: engaging the mounting portion (at least 620) of the member (100) with the opening of the second printed circuit board (802) comprises compressing a plurality of beams (each 620) of the member with a boundary of the opening (as seen in at least figs. 6-9).
Regarding claim 20, Chen discloses the method of claim 15, as indicated above. While Chen does not specifically teach rotating the engagement portion. One having ordinary skill in the art would recognize Chen’s embodiment in fig. 2C would be able to be modified such that moving the retaining portion of the member from the released position to the retained position comprises rotating the retaining portion until it is adjacent and/or engages a surface of the first circuit board.
Regarding the limitations of claims 21-34, it has been held that to be entitled to weight in method claims, the recited-structure limitations therein must affect the method in a manipulative sense, and not to amount to the mere claiming of a use of a particular structure. The apparatus-style structural limitations embedded in the claims include:
The retaining portion comprises a sub-portion configured to be movable with respect to the distal end of the first circuit board between the retained position and the released position (claim 21);
A first engaging portion configured to engage with a first surface of the second circuit board; and a second engaging portion configured to engage with a second surface of the second circuit board opposite to the first surface to secure the member to the second circuit board (claim 22);
The first engaging portion comprises a pair of beams disposed on opposite sides of the member; and the second engaging portion comprises a pair of projections protruding toward respective beams of the pair of beams (claim 23);
The sub-portion of the retaining portion comprises one or more conductive contact portions configured to make contact with a conductive portion of the first circuit board (claim 24);
The mounting portion comprises a plurality of beams configured to abut a boundary of the opening of the second circuit board so as to secure the member to the second circuit board (claim 25);
The plurality of beams are disposed in rotational symmetry (claim 26);
The sub-portion of the retaining portion comprises a protrusion disposed above a surface of the first circuit board (claim 27);
The retaining portion comprises a plurality of beams protruding away from the mounting portion to support the first circuit board (claim 28).
The retaining portion is insulative (claim 29);
The member comprises a semicircular portion, and a latch movable between the retained position in which the latch is above the first circuit board and the released position in which the latch is offset from the first circuit board (claim 30);
The member comprises a plurality of beams abutting a boundary of the opening of the second circuit board so as to secure the member to the second circuit board (claim 31);
The mounting portion electrically couples the first circuit board to the second circuit board (claim 32);
The mounting portion of the member comprises a plurality of first contact portions coupled to a conductive portion of the first circuit board and a plurality of second contact portions coupled to a conductive portion of the second circuit board (claim 33); and
The first circuit board comprises a first end and the distal end; the first end of the first circuit board is inserted into an electrical connector mounted on the second circuit board; and the distal end of the first circuit board is secured to the second circuit board by the member (claim 34).
Furthermore, Chen teaches many of the same structures found in the apparatus-style structural limitations found in the method claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and are cited as teaching similar members configured for retaining and releasing a circuit board.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEAH S MACCHIAROLO whose telephone number is (571)272-2719. The examiner can normally be reached M-F approx 8:30am to 4:30pm.
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, Abdullah 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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/LEAH MACCHIAROLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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