CTNF 18/466,240 CTNF 101622 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-103 AIA The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 20140062626 A1) hereinafter Saito, and in view of Sasaki et al (U.S. 20170345597 A1) hereinafter Sasaki . Regarding claim 1 , Saito discloses a method of manufacturing a relay (Title: Electromagnetic Relay), the relay comprising: an electromagnet (electromagnet 14, ¶28) having a coil (coil 32, ¶38) wound on a winding frame (barrel 38, ¶38) and an iron core (iron core 34, ¶30) positioned in the winding frame (FIG. 1 depicts the electromagnet 14 containing the coil 32, barrel 38, and iron core 34); PNG media_image1.png 474 672 media_image1.png Greyscale a movable terminal (contact section 16, ¶28) having an armature (armature 18, ¶28) actuated by activation of the electromagnet (¶54 discloses attractive forces of the electromagnet exceeding the spring force to move the armature to come into contact with other components), a movable spring (spring arm parts 76, ¶48) attached to the armature and a movable contact (movable contact 70, ¶42) attached to the movable spring (FIG. 1 depicts spring 76 and armature 18 directly adjacent and attached with movable contact 70 at the end of the spring); and a fixed contact (fixed contact 68, ¶42) opposed to the movable contact (¶42, “The contact section 16 includes a fixed contact 68, a movable contact 70 disposed opposite to the fixed contact 68”), wherein the armature has a shape in which both ends of the armature, in a y-direction (left/right axis) perpendicular to an axial direction (up/down axis) of the iron core, are recessed relative to a center of the armature (annotated FIG. 2 discloses a portion of the armature 18 with a portion recessed towards the center of the armature; the area where the spring 76 does not have the armature directly below), PNG media_image2.png 566 665 media_image2.png Greyscale the method comprising: cutting the metal plate at a predetermined cutting position so as to form the movable spring (¶51, “The movable terminal member 76 including the pair of spring arm parts 76a, the pair of leg parts 76b, the horizontal part 76c, the vertical part 76d and the pair of bent parts 76e is formed as a unitary or one-piece structure by, e.g., punching and bending a metal plate having good electrical conductivity into a predetermined shape”), wherein the armature is not present in a thickness direction (up/down axis; axis and directions are based of FIG. 2 above) at the predetermined cutting position of the movable spring (the projection, as indicated in FIG. 3, does not have the armature body directly below in in the up/down axis direction), so that an edge at each of both ends of the movable spring in the y-direction (annotated FIG. 3 depicts the edge of the metal sheet in the left-right direction) projects relative to an edge of each of the both ends of the armature with respect to an x-direction (annotated FIG. 3 depicts a metal sheet projection in the front-rear direction) perpendicular to the y-direction. PNG media_image3.png 521 553 media_image3.png Greyscale However, Saito fails to disclose a method comprising a step of caulking a metal plate to the armature. Sasaki also discloses a method of manufacturing a relay (Title: Contact Mechanism and an Electromagnetic Relay Provided Therein) comprising caulking (caulking portion 274, ¶44) a metal plate (yoke 27, ¶45) to the armature (movable touch piece 46, ¶45). PNG media_image4.png 610 892 media_image4.png Greyscale While Saito discloses a manufacturing method of a relay comprising the components and the specific cut features of the metal plate spring and armature, Sasaki discloses a relay with the usage of caulking portions to fix the movable touch piece to the yoke. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize the caulking steps of Sasaki, and implement them into the method steps of Saito to properly attach the metal plate spring to the armature as it is known well in the art that caulking can improve mechanical retention between two bodies as well as reduce mechanical assembly difficulty, eliminating the need for secondary fasteners such as screws or bolts. Also, though Saito does not directly disclose the usage of a caulking position, the Saito does however show a structure in FIG. 3 that is effectively identical to the caulking portion of Sasaki’s disclosure. A POSITA would have realized that such a structure could be easily and readily be bonded by a caulking step in order to predictably enhance the connection strength between several components Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUGENE REY D LEGASPI whose telephone number is (571)272-2956. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5PM. 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, Thomas Hong can be reached at (571) 272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /E.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3729 /THOMAS J HONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3729 Application/Control Number: 18/466,240 Page 2 Art Unit: 3729 Application/Control Number: 18/466,240 Page 3 Art Unit: 3729 Application/Control Number: 18/466,240 Page 4 Art Unit: 3729 Application/Control Number: 18/466,240 Page 5 Art Unit: 3729
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