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 .
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 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schmitt et al. (US 9,590,338) hereafter Schmitt.
Regarding claim 10, Schmitt, discloses network device comprising: a housing (see column 1, lines 22-30); a printed circuit board 102; a processor 106 mounted on a first surface of the printed circuit board 102; port connectors 120, 124; a rigid-flex circuit 140, 150 coupled between a second surface, opposing the first surface (see fig. 1) of the printed circuit board 102 and the port connectors 124, 120, wherein the port connectors 120, 124 are communicatively coupled to the processor 106 via signal paths (circuit traces and pads of 140) in the rigid-flex circuit; and alignment posts 182 extending from a portion of the housing and through one or more holes in a rigid portion 140, 150 (see fig. 5) of the rigid-flex circuit.
Regarding claim 11, Schmitt, discloses the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit is positioned directly under the processor 106 (see fig. 1), and wherein the rigid -flex circuit is disposed between the printed circuit board and the portion of the housing.
Regarding claim 12, Schmitt, discloses the alignment posts 182 extend through one or more holes in the printed circuit board (see fig. 2).
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- 9, and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schmitt in view of Kim et al. (US 10,761,213) hereafter Kim.
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses, a network device comprising: a printed circuit board 10; an integrated circuit 20 mounted on a first side of the printed circuit board 10; and paddle card 44 along with high-speed cable directly attached to surface connections on a second side of the printed circuit board 10 (see figs. 2A, 2B).
However, does not disclose a rigid-flex circuit having a first rigid portion, a second rigid portion, and a flexible portion joined between the first and second rigid portions, wherein the first rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit is mounted on a second side, opposing the first side of the printed circuit board; and port connectors mounted on the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit and electrically coupled to the integrated circuit via signal paths in the rigid-flex circuit.
Schmitt et al. discloses a rigid-flex circuit 108 (140, 150) having a first rigid portion 142A (126), a second rigid portion 142B (128), and a flexible portion 146 joined between the first and second rigid portions 126, 128, port connectors 124 mounted on the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit and electrically coupled to the integrated circuit via signal paths in the rigid-flex circuit.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a rigid-flex circuit having a first rigid portion, a second rigid portion, and a flexible portion joined between the first and second rigid portions, wherein the first rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit is mounted on a second side, opposing the first side of the printed circuit board; and port connectors mounted on the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit and electrically coupled to the integrated circuit via signal paths in the rigid-flex circuit as taught by Schmitt in order to have compact network structure and increase the connectivity.
Regarding claim 1, Schmitt, discloses a network device comprising: a printed circuit board 102; an integrated circuit 106 mounted on a first side of the printed circuit board 106;gid-flex circuit 140, 150 having a first rigid portion 142A, a second rigid portion 142B, and a flexible portion 146 joined between the first and second rigid portions, and port connectors 124 mounted on the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit and electrically coupled to the integrated circuit via signal paths in the rigid-flex circuit.
Schmitt does not disclose the first rigid portion 146 of the rigid-flex circuit 150 is mounted on a second side, opposing the first side of the printed circuit board;
Kim discloses a paddle card 44 (along with high-speed cable 42 directly attached to surface connections) mounted on a second side of the printed circuit board 10 (see figs. 2A, 2B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the first rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit is mounted on a second side, opposing the first side of the printed circuit board as taught by Kim in order to have compact network structure and save the space within the housing of the network device, and increase the connectivity.
Regarding claim 2, Schmitt (as modified by Kim), discloses the printed circuit board comprises conductive vias 152 for electrically coupling the integrated circuit to conductive pads on the first rigid portion 148A of the rigid-flex circuit 140, and wherein at least a portion of the first rigid portion 148A of the rigid-flex circuit is positioned directly under the integrated circuit 106 (see fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Schmitt (as modified by Kim), discloses conductive elastomeric material 136 disposed between the second side of the printed circuit board 106 and the first rigid portion 148A of the rigid-flex circuit 140.
Regarding claim 4, (Kim as modified by or Schmitt as modified by) Kim discloses all the claimed limitations except for first additional port connectors mounted on the first side of the printed circuit board; and second additional port connectors mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have first additional port connectors mounted on the first side of the printed circuit board; and second additional port connectors mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board, 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., in order to increase the connectivity.
Regarding claim 5, (Kim as modified by or Schmitt as modified by) Kim , discloses all the claimed limitations except for the port connectors comprises: a first group of port connectors mounted on a first side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit; and a second group of port connectors mounted on a second side, opposing the first side, of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the port connectors comprises: a first group of port connectors mounted on a first side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit; and a second group of port connectors mounted on a second side, opposing the first side, of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit, 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., in order to increase the connectivity.
Regarding claim 6, (Kim as modified by or Schmitt as modified by) Kim, discloses all the claimed limitations except for the port connectors are configured to receive pluggable modules including one or more of: small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules, quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) modules, QSFP double density module (QSFP-DD) modules, and octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) modules.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the port connectors are configured to receive pluggable modules including one or more of: small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules, quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) modules, QSFP double density module (QSFP-DD) modules, and octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) modules, as Examiner took official notice that small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules, quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) modules, QSFP double density module (QSFP-DD) modules, and octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) modules are industrial standard module and well known in order to have connectivity in different types of pluggable module for transferring and receiving signals.
Regarding claim 7, (Kim as modified by or Schmitt as modified by) Kim, discloses all the claimed limitations except for the port connectors are configured to receive external modules including one or more of: Versa Module Europa (VME) connectors, compact Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connectors, compact PCI Express connectors, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connectors, Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) connectors, and Virtual Path Cross-Connector (VPX) connectors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the port connectors are configured to receive external modules including one or more of: Versa Module Europa (VME) connectors, compact Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connectors, compact PCI Express connectors, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connectors, Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) connectors, and Virtual Path Cross-Connector (VPX) connectors, as Examiner took official notice that the port connectors are configured to receive external modules including one or more of: Versa Module Europa (VME) connectors, compact Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connectors, compact PCI Express connectors, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connectors, Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) connectors, and Virtual Path Cross-Connector (VPX) connectors are industrial standard module and well known in the communication industry, in order to have connectivity in different types of pluggable module for transferring and receiving signals.
Regarding claim 8, (Kim as modified by or Schmitt as modified by) Kim, discloses all the claimed limitations except for one or more additional rigid-flex circuits mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board and configured to communicatively couple the integrated circuit to the port connectors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have one or more additional rigid-flex circuits mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board and configured to communicatively couple the integrated circuit to the port connectors, 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., in order to increase the connectivity.
Regarding claim 9, Schmitt (as modified by Kim), discloses alignment pins 182 (see fig. 5) configured to position the printed circuit board 102 and the first rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit 140 within a housing (see column 1, lines 22-30) of the network device.
Regarding claim 13, Schmitt discloses the holes in the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit.
However, Schmitt, does not disclose a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, since 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 14, Schmitt discloses one or more holes in the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit.
However, Schmitt does not disclose the one or more holes in the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit further comprises: a non-circular slot configured to prevent rotation of the rigid-flex circuit within the housing the network device when at least one of the alignment posts is inserted through the non-circular slot.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the shape of one or more holes is of a non-circular shaped, in order to have same benefit as claimed and, since a change in shape is generally recognizing as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976).
Regarding claim 15, Schmitt discloses all the claimed limitations except for : additional alignment posts extending from the portion of the housing and through one or more holes in the printed circuit board.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have : additional alignment posts extending from the portion of the housing and through one or more holes in the printed circuit board, 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., in order to better alignment and mechanical and stable connection therein between.
Regarding claim 16, Schmitt discloses all the claimed limitation except for the one or more holes in the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit comprise one or more circular holes and a non-circular slot; and the one or more holes in the printed circuit board comprise one or more circular holes having a first diameter, an additional circular hole having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, and a non-circular slot.
As discussed above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, since 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) and to have the shape of one or more holes is of a non-circular shaped, in order to have same benefit as claimed and, since a change in shape is generally recognizing as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schmitt in view of DeWitt et al. (US 5,926,378) hereafter Dewitt.
Regarding claim 19, Schmitt discloses a network device comprising: a housing (see column 1, lines 22-30); a circuit board 102 within the housing; an integrated circuit 106 disposed on a first side of the circuit board 102; first port connectors 120 disposed on the first side of the circuit board; a rigid-flex circuit 140, 150 having a first rigid portion 142A, a second rigid portion 142B, and a flexible portion 146 joining the first rigid portion 142A and the second rigid portion 142B, wherein conductive pads on the first rigid portion 142A of the rigid-flex circuit 140 are electrically coupled to the integrated circuit 106 through conductive vias 152 in the printed circuit board 102.
However, Schmitt does not disclose second port connectors disposed on a second side of the circuit board; third port connectors disposed on a first side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit; and fourth port connectors disposed on a second side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit.
Dewitt, discloses port connectors 350, 355 disposed on a first and second side surfaces 311, 312 of the circuit board 310.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have second port connectors disposed on a second side of the circuit board; third port connectors disposed on a first side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit; and fourth port connectors disposed on a second side of the second rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit as taught by Dewitt in order to increase the connectivity.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17, 18 and 20 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.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art of record does not disclose a network device further comprising: compressive applicator structures disposed between the portion of the housing and the rigid portion of the rigid-flex circuit and configured to apply compressive force to the conductive elastomer as required in combination with other limitations of this claim.
Regarding claim 20, the prior art of record does not disclose teaches coil spring structures configured to apply compressive force to conductive elastomeric material as required in combination with other limitations of this claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARSHAD C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-8289. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5.00 pm (EST).
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/HARSHAD C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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