DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/17/26 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(a) as being anticipated by CN113871950 (“Hong”). Regarding claim 1, Hong discloses an electrical connector comprising:
a lead assembly (at 12) comprising a body portion 12 and a plurality of conductive elements 13 held by the body portion;
an inner shell 2 disposed outside the lead assembly, the inner shell at least partially enclosing the body portion of the lead assembly and comprising a mating end;
an outer shell 3 disposed outside the inner shell and connected to the inner shell at selected locations,
the outer shell comprising a mating end, wherein the mating end of the inner shell extends beyond the mating end of the outer shell;
a corner portion (labeled CP below) between a surface of the mating end of the inner shell and a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, the corner portion substantially surrounding the mating end of the inner shell; and
a seal (4, 5) attached to both the inner shell and the outer shell,
the seal comprising a first surface (labeled S1 below) attached to a surface of the mating end of the inner shell,
a second surface (labeled S2) attached to a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, and a third surface (labeled S3) connecting the first surface and the second surface, the third surface configured to deform in a mating direction of the electrical connector.
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Per claim 2 there is a corner portion between a surface of the mating end of the inner shell and a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, wherein the seal is disposed in the corner portion.
Per claim 3 the seal is attached to at least a portion of a surface of the mating end of the inner shell, and the portion of the surface of the inner shell extends, in the mating direction, beyond the outer shell.
Per claim 4 the seal is attached to at least a portion of a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, and the surface of the outer shell is transverse to the surface of the inner shell.
Per claim 5 the seal is made from a UV curable adhesive.
Per claim 6 the mating end of the outer shell comprises a flange portion 32 extending outward of the outer shell; and
the corner portion is between the surface of the mating end of the inner shell and a surface of the flange portion of the mating end of the outer shell.
Per claim 7 the seal is inherently elastically deformable.
Per claim 11 the lead assembly comprises a tongue 11 portion extending from the body portion in a mating direction and exposed at the mating end of the inner shell.
Per claim 18, Hong discloses an electronic device comprising:
a chassis 8 comprising a port; and
an electrical connector mated with the chassis, the electrical connector comprising:
an outer shell 3 comprising a mating end facing the port of the chassis;
an inner shell 2 disposed in the outer shell and comprising a mating end facing the port of the chassis and extending beyond the mating end of the outer shell;
a plurality of conductive elements 13 at least partially disposed in the inner shell; and
a seal 4 made from a UV curable adhesive attached to both the inner shell and the outer shell and abutting the chassis, the seal comprising a first surface attached to a surface of the mating end of the inner shell, a second surface attached to a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, and a third surface connecting the first surface and the second surface, the third surface configured to deform in a mating direction of the electrical connector when the electrical connector is mated with the port of the chassis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 8, 12, 13, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong.
Regarding claim 8, Hong does not state that the seal has a length of substantially 0.50 mm in the mating direction at a rest state; and the seal is configured to produce an elastic deformation, in the mating direction, in a range of 0.10 mm to 0.25 mm.
Regarding the particular dimensions of the seal and deformation of the seal, to the extent that Hong does not specify exact dimensions, at the time of the invention, workable dimensions of the would have been a matter of routine experimentation. In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618 (CCPA 1977). Variations in the dimensions and deformation distance would have been obvious minor adjustments without patentable significance. See In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (CCPA 1955)(Where general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover optimal or workable ranges by routine experimentation).
Regarding claim 12, Hong discloses an electrical connector comprising:
an outer shell 3 comprising a mating end;
an inner shell 2 disposed in the outer shell and comprising a mating end extending beyond the mating end of the outer shell;
a lead assembly (at 12) comprising a body portion at least partially disposed in the inner shell and a plurality of conductive elements 13 held by the body portion; and
a seal (4, 5) disposed on a surface of the mating end of the inner shell so as to block a path between the mating end of the inner shell and the mating end of the outer shell, wherein:
the seal comprising comprises a first surface (labeled S1 above) attached to the surface of the mating end of the inner shell,
a second surface (labeled s2 above) attached to a surface of the mating end of the outer shell, and
a third surface (labeled S3 above) connecting the first surface and the second surface; the third surface is within or coextensive with a perimeter of the outer shell; and
the third surface of the seal is configured to deform in a mating direction when the electrical connector is mated with a port of an electronic device.
To the extent that Hong shows the seal third surface as being coextensive with a perimeter of the outer shell, it would have been obvious to have the seal being slightly within the perimeter of the outer shell. Such a minor variation in the extent of the seal would be a matter of engineering design choice. Claimed variations in relative dimensions, which do not specify a device which performs or operates any differently from the prior art, do not patentably distinguish applicant’s invention. Gardner v. TEC Systems, Inc., 725 F.2d 1338 (Ct. App. Fed. Cir. 1984) (the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. MPEP section 2144.04(IV)(A)).
Regarding claim 13, Hong discloses a third surface (labeled S3 above) connecting the first surface and the second surface; the third surface is within or coextensive with a perimeter of the outer shell; and
To the extent that Hong shows the seal third surface as being coextensive with a perimeter of the outer shell, it would have been obvious to have the seal being slightly within the perimeter of the outer shell. Such a minor variation in the extent of the seal would be a matter of engineering design choice. Claimed variations in relative dimensions, which do not specify a device which performs or operates any differently from the prior art, do not patentably distinguish applicant’s invention. Gardner v. TEC Systems, Inc., 725 F.2d 1338 (Ct. App. Fed. Cir. 1984) (the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. MPEP section 2144.04(IV)(A)).
Per clam 14 the electrical connector is mated with a port of an electronic device 8.
Per claim 16, Hong discloses connected spots (welded) between the outer shell and the inner shell.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 10, 15, 17, 19, 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.
Conclusion
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/ROSS N GUSHI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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