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 .
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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/06/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 11, “a distal end portions” appears to have superfluous language and should instead simply read distal end portions.
In claim 4, line 6, “a radially outward surface of the resilient pieces” is awkward and it is suggested this should instead be radially outward surfaces of the resilient pieces.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 3 – 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pat. No. 8,801,459 (“Mrowka”) in view of JP 2008-123947 A (“Maki”).
Regarding claim 1, Mrowka discloses an electrical connector assembly comprising a connector (2) and an adaptor (4) inserted into the connector in a direction of mating and coupled to the connector, wherein:
the adaptor (4) comprises a tubular portion (15) extending in an axial direction from one end of the adaptor to an other end of the adaptor, the tubular portion having a cylindrically shaped supporting portion (the middle portion of 15) made of a rigid material,
a plurality of resilient pieces (19) that extend in a continuous manner from the cylindrically shaped supporting portion toward one end of the adaptor in the axial direction (see Fig. 3), and that are separated by slits (23) from each other in a circumferential direction and are capable of resilient deflection in a radial direction, and
engagement portions (21) in a distal end portions of the resilient pieces;
the connector (2) comprises a main body portion (portion 6) having an opening into which one end of the adaptor is inserted (see Fig. 3), the main body portion having a peripheral wall that forms a recess portion extending in the direction of mating from one end to an other end of the connector and having said opening at the other end of the connector (see Fig. 3);
when the adaptor is tilted at a predetermined angle from the direction of mating relative to the connector while the adaptor is engaged in a mated state, the cylindrically shaped supporting portion of the adaptor is configured to restrict further tilting of the adaptor by abutting the peripheral wall of the connector (see Fig. 5).
Mrowka discloses the engagement portions of the adaptor protrude radially outwardly from the distal end portions of the resilient pieces (see Fig. 3), but does not disclose the main body portion of the connector further comprises an annular expanded recess portion that expands radially outwardly from an inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall at one end of the recess portion: and the engagement portions of the adaptor protrude radially outwardly from the distal end portions of the resilient pieces, and resiliently mate with the expanded recess portion of the connector in the mated state.
However, Maki teaches a connector (20) with adapter (Fig. 1A) inserted into the connector, the adapter having a tubular portion with a tubular supporting portion and a plurality of resilient pieces (see Fig. 1A), the resilient pieces having engagement portions (11), and the connector further comprises an annular expanded recess portion (See where portion 11 is positioned upon mating, Fig. 2A) that expands radially outwardly from an inner peripheral surface (see surface 24) of the peripheral wall at one end of the recess portion: and the engagement portions of the adaptor protrude radially outwardly from the distal end portions of the resilient pieces, and resiliently mate with the expanded recess portion of the connector in the mated state (see Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to include an annular expanded recess as taught by Maki, because this helps ensure that the adapter remains mated to the connector by helping to prevent the adapter from being pulled axially away from the connector.
Regarding claim 3, Maki further teaches wherein a clearance is formed between the resilient pieces of the adaptor and the peripheral wall of the connector in the mated state at least when the adaptor is disposed along the direction of mating (see the space between the resilient portion and the wall near the lead line of numeral 24 in Figure 2A). It would have been obvious to arrange the wall and resilient portions so that a clearance is formed as taught by Maki because this helps ensure that the adapter can tilt when the members mated to the adapter are misaligned.
Regarding claim 4, Maki further teaches wherein the recess portion of the connector is formed such that, in comparison with an inside diameter at one end of the recess portion, the inside diameter of the opening at the other end of the recess portion is larger (the opening of the recess adjacent portion 23 has a larger diameter than the portion at portion 11, see Fig. 2A), and a radially outward surface of the supporting portion of the adaptor is located radially outwardly of radially outward surfaces of the resilient pieces (see the middle portion 8 radially outward of portions 10). It would have been obvious to provide the opening larger as taught by Maki because this helps guide the adapter into a proper mating position, and it would have been obvious to provide the supporting portion radially outward of the resilient pieces because this helps ensure that a user grasps the thicker supporting portion rather than the resilient portions due to the shape of the supporting portion.
Regarding claim 5, Mrowka further discloses wherein the connector comprises a center conductor (5) extending from the one end of the connector to the other end of the connector within the recess portion (see Fig. 2), and a fixture portion made of an insulating material (the connector is a radio frequency connector with inner and outer conductors, portion 7 engages 9 to hold 5 and therefore is made of an insulating material) that secures the center conductor to the main body portion.
Regarding claim 6, Mrowka further discloses wherein the adaptor comprises a center conductive portion (14) extending from the one end of the adaptor to the other end of the adaptor radially inwardly of the cylindrically shaped supporting portion and the plurality of resilient pieces (see Fig. 2), and support fixture portions (12.1, 12.2) made of an insulating material (12.1/12.2 engage the outer conductor to hold the inner, thus are made of an insulating material) that secure the center conductive portion to the cylindrically shaped supporting portion (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 7, Mrowka further discloses a second connector (1) coupled to the other end of the adaptor.
Regarding claim 8, Mrowka further discloses wherein the adaptor is configured to have a conductive line connected at the other end of the adaptor (the ends 20 are configured to connect a conductive line member).
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 2831
/renee s luebke/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2831
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