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
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 1 – 3, 8, and 18 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,012 (“Ito”).
Regarding claim 1, Ito discloses a conductive terminal assembly, comprising:
at least three layers of conductive terminals (201, 202, 203), each layer of conductive terminals having a terminal body (201a, 202a, 203a), one or more elastic arms (201b, 202b, 203b, which are elastic as they are cantilevered from the body portions and are formed of an elastic material, similar to the cantilevered elastic arm portions at the opposite side of the body, see col. 3, ln. 60 – col. 4, ln. 8) extending from the terminal body (see Fig. 10), and a contact end (the flat portions of the terminals, see near the lead line of numeral 202b in Figure 10) at an end of each elastic arm distal from the terminal body in a first direction (the contact portion is spaced from the body along an insertion direction, see Fig. 10), the terminal bodies of the at least three layers of conductive terminals are overlapped with each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (see Fig. 10), the contact ends of the at least three layers of conductive terminals are at least partially staggered (see Fig. 10) and arranged in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction (see Fig. 10), the contact ends are capable of electrically contacting a mating component (see Fig. 9 and col. 1, lns. 4 – 6).
Regarding claim 2, Ito discloses wherein a number of the at least three layers of conductive terminals is N, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 3 (see Fig. 10), each contact end has a contact portion configured to contact with the mating component (see Fig. 10), and the contact portions of N contact ends arranged adjacent to each other in the third direction are at least partially positioned in a same contact surface (see Figs. 7 and 9 – 10).
Regarding claim 3, Ito discloses wherein the contact portions of all contact ends of the at least three layers of conductive terminals are at least partially positioned in the same contact surface (see Figs. 7 and 9 – 10).
Regarding claim 8, Ito discloses wherein the N contact ends arranged adjacent to each other in the third direction are in contact with each other and form a contact terminal group (the ends of a terminal stack are in electrical contact through the body portions, and are part of a terminal group 20), a gap is provided between contact terminal groups arranged adjacent to each other in the third direction (other groups formed by adjacent terminal stacks 20 are provided and there is a gap therebetween in the third direction, see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 18, Ito discloses an electrical connector, comprising:
a housing (11); and
a conductive terminal assembly (20) installed in the housing (see Figs. 5 and 6), the conductive terminal assembly including at least three layers of conductive terminals (201, 202, 203), each layer of conductive terminals having a terminal body (201a, 202a, 203a), one or more elastic arms extending from the terminal body (201b, 202b, 203b), and a contact end at an end of each elastic arm distal (the flat portions of the arm, see near the lead line of numeral 202b in Figure 10) from the terminal body in a first direction (the mating direction), the terminal bodies of the at least three layers of conductive terminals are overlapped with each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (see Fig. 10), the contact ends of the at least three layers of conductive terminals are at least partially staggered and arranged in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction (see Fig. 10), the contact ends are capable of electrically contacting a mating component (see Figs. 7 and 9 – 10, and col. 1, lns. 4 – 6).
Regarding claim 19, Ito discloses a support block (portion 13) provided in the housing, the conductive terminal assembly is detachably fixed on one of two opposite surfaces of the support block in the second direction (the terminals fit within slot 15 by a detachable friction fit and are on an upper or lower surface of 13, see Figs. 7 and 9).
Regarding claim 20, Ito discloses wherein on each of the two opposite surfaces of the support block in the second direction, one or more conductive terminal assemblies (20) arrayed in the third direction are provided (see Fig. 5), and adjacent conductive terminal assemblies are spaced apart from each other in the second direction and the third direction (see Fig. 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 – 7 and 9 – 17 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 4, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed contact terminal assembly, including wherein the N contact ends arranged adjacent to each other in the third direction are arranged so that a total width of the N contact ends in the third direction is less than a sum of respective widths of the N contact ends in the third direction, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Regarding Claim 7, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed contact terminal assembly, including wherein at least two of N elastic arms arranged adjacent to each other in the third direction are at least partially overlapped with each other in the second direction, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Regarding Claim 9, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed contact terminal assembly, including wherein the first, second, and third layers respectively have a plurality of first, second, and third elastic arms, and the plurality of first elastic arms, the plurality of second elastic arms, and the plurality of third elastic arms are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, and the first contact end, the second contact end, and the third contact end are at least partially staggered and arranged in the third direction to electrically contact the mating component, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Liu and Keutz disclose terminals of two layers with contact arms, and staggered contact portions, but do not disclose or teach a three-layered terminal with staggered and/or overlapped contact portions as required by the claims.
The prior art, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D BAILLARGEON whose telephone number is (571)272-0676. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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/PAUL D BAILLARGEON/Examiner, Art Unit 2833
/renee s luebke/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2833