DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on October 25, 2023.
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 Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1:
Line 3: "gold finger PCB board" should be --gold finger printed circuit board (PCB)--;
Line 6: "no less" should be --no fewer--.
Claim 2:
Line 3: "the upper end surface" lacks antecedent basis and should be --an upper end surface--;
Line 4: "a contact structure" has already been introduced in claim 1, therefore it should be --the contact structure--.
Claim 3:
Line 3: "the first connecting part. After" should be --the first connecting part; wherein after--;
Line 5: "a shell" has already been introduced in claim 1, therefore it should be --the shell--.
Claims 4-5, line 2: "the outer side" lacks antecedent basis and should be --an outer side--.
Claim 6:
Line 5: "the opposite side" lacks antecedent basis and should be --an opposite side--;
Line 5: "the angle" lacks antecedent basis and should be --an angle--;
Claim 7, line 2: the examiner suggests rewriting "wherein a protective body is further comprised" to read --further comprising a protective body-- or --wherein the highly stable gold finger wire end connector further comprises a protective body-- in order to improve clarity regarding what exactly comprises a "protective body."
Claim 8:
Line 3: "U-shaped contact leaf springs" have already been introduced in claim 1, therefore it should be --the U-shaped contact leaf springs--;
Line 3: "a wiring board" has already been introduced in claim 1, therefore it should be --the wiring board--.
Claims 9-10:
Lines 2-3: "[…] connectors connected in series according to claim [1/2]" should be --[…] connectors according to claim [1/2] connected in series--;
Line 3: "the protective body" lacks antecedent basis and should be --a protective body--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi (US-7438601-B2).
With respect to Claim 1:
Kobayashi discloses a highly stable gold finger wire end connector, comprising a shell 10, at least one set of U-shaped contact leaf springs 21/22 (Fig. 2B: upper and lower contacts 21 and 22 exist simultaneously) embedded in the shell 10 (Figs. 3A-3B) and contacted with a gold finger printed circuit board (PCB) 56 (Fig. 4), and a wiring board (Fig. 1: "PCB") connected to one end of the U-shaped contact leaf spring 22 (Fig. 1), wherein the U-shaped contact leaf spring 21/22 has a backstop structure 21a/22a and a contact structure 21d/22d (Figs. 3A-3B), and the backstop structure 21a/22a is embedded in the shell 10 (Figs. 3A-3B) and has no fewer than one protrusion (Figs. 3A-3B).
With respect to Claim 2:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 1, wherein the backstop structure 21a/22a comprises an embedded part 21f/22f and a first connecting part 21b/22b (Figs. 3A-3B), with a protrusion part 22g arranged on an upper end surface of the embedded part 22f (Fig. 3B), wherein the first connecting part 21b/22b is connected to the contact structure 21d/22d (Figs. 3A-3B).
With respect to Claim 3:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact structure 21d/22d comprises a contact part 21d/22d and a second connecting part (Figs. 3A-3B: the portion of 21a/22a which contains 21f/22f) connected to the first connecting part 21b/22b (Figs. 3A-3B); wherein after the first connecting part is connected to the second connecting part, a U-shaped groove is formed between the embedded part 21f/22f and the contact part (Figs. 3A-3B), and the inner side of the shell 10 is embedded in the U-shaped groove (Figs. 3A-3B).
With respect to Claim 4:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 3, wherein the embedded part 21f/22f is inclined at a certain angle towards an outer side of the U-shaped groove (Figs. 3A-3B; it is not specified in the claim what the angle is, therefore one may interpret any angle between the embedded part and the U-shaped groove to be an inclination at "a certain angle").
With respect to Claim 5:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 3, wherein the contact part 21d/22d is inclined at a certain angle towards an outer side of the U-shaped groove (Figs. 3A-3B; see explanation in the rejection of claim 4), and a contact protrusion (Figs. 3A-3B: the tip of 21d/22d) is formed at a tail end of the contact part 21d/22d (Figs. 3A-3B).
With respect to Claim 6:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 2, wherein the protrusion part 21g/22g has a first inclined plane (Figs. 3A-3B: the incline to the left of the tip of 21g/22g) and a second inclined plane (Figs. 3A-3B: the incline to the right of the tip of 21g/22g), wherein the first inclined plane extends along the direction in which the embedded part is inserted into the shell 10 (Figs. 3A-3B), the second inclined plane is located on an opposite side of the first inclined plane (Figs. 3A-3B), and an angle of the first inclined plane is smaller than that of the second inclined plane. (There is no indication as to what this angle is measured relative to, therefore one may pick a point of reference which satisfies this condition; to overcome this 102(a)(1) rejection of claim 6, the examiner recommends amending the claim to include, for example, that the angle is measured relative to an insertion direction of the protrusion part.)
With respect to Claim 7:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 1, further comprising a protective body 31 (Figs. 1 and 2A-2C; col. 6, lines 55-57).
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 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi (US-7438601-B2) in view of McGinley, et al. (US-20160329672-A1).
With respect to Claim 8:
Kobayashi discloses the highly stable gold finger wire end connector according to claim 7.
Kobayashi does not explicitly disclose wherein the protective body is injection-molded onto the shell, and the shell and the protective body wrap the U-shaped contact leaf springs and the wiring board.
However, McGinley teaches an electrical plug comprising a leaf spring 212 ([0068]), wherein it is noted that prior art often involves using injection-molding to produce a housing to encompass delicate materials within ([0006]).
Thus, Kobayashi and McGinley each disclose electrical connectors. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that injection molding a housing/body over the components of McGinley could be combined with the protective body of Kobayashi because it would further protect the PCB and any electrical components attached thereto. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the modification.
With respect to Claim 9:
Kobayashi discloses a double-layer gold finger wire end connector, comprising two highly stable gold finger wire end connectors according to claim 1 connected in series (Fig. 2B), wherein a protective body 31 covers the shells 10 (Figs. 1 and 2B), and the U-shaped contact leaf springs 21/22 inside the shells are respectively connected to the wiring board (Fig. 1: PCB).
Kobayashi does not explicitly disclose wherein a protective body is injection-molded onto two shells.
However, McGinley teaches an electrical plug comprising a leaf spring 212 ([0068]), wherein it is noted that prior art often involves using injection-molding to produce a housing to encompass delicate materials within ([0006]).
Thus, Kobayashi and McGinley each disclose electrical connectors. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that injection molding a housing/body over the components of McGinley could be combined with the protective body of Kobayashi because it would further protect the PCB and any electrical components attached thereto. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the modification.
With respect to Claim 10:
Kobayashi discloses a double-layer gold finger wire end connector, comprising two highly stable gold finger wire end connectors according to claim 2 connected in series (Fig. 2B), wherein a protective body 31 covers the shells 10 (Figs. 1 and 2B), and the U-shaped contact leaf springs 21/22 inside the shells are respectively connected to the wiring board (Fig. 1: PCB).
Kobayashi does not explicitly disclose wherein a protective body is injection-molded onto two shells.
However, McGinley teaches an electrical plug comprising a leaf spring 212 ([0068]), wherein it is noted that prior art often involves using injection-molding to produce a housing to encompass delicate materials within ([0006]).
Thus, Kobayashi and McGinley each disclose electrical connectors. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that injection molding a housing/body over the components of McGinley could be combined with the protective body of Kobayashi because it would further protect the PCB and any electrical components attached thereto. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the modification.
Conclusion
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/AMARA ANDERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831