DETAILED ACTION
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 § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 11, 15, 18, 22-25 as best understood and is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Villa et al. (EP2365587) in view of Dunwoody et al. (US 9543710).
As per claim 11: Villa et al. discloses an enclosure (as shown in fig. 2) configured to be coupled to a display housing of an inflight entertainment system and enclose a connector plug 9 to improve resistance to fluids, vibration, or shock, the enclosure comprising: a base 5/10 configured to be coupled to the display housing (as shown in fig. 2, wherein a flange-plate 5 that will be installed for covering an opening of an external casing of the household appliance); a cover 11 with a peripheral wall (not label, see fig. 2); a hinge 12 rotatably coupling the cover 11 to the base 5/10 such that the cover 11 can be rotated open to access an interior of the enclosure and rotated closed to enclose the connector plug 9 within the interior (as shown in fig. 4A); and an integrated cable clip 13A-B configured to clamp a cable 1 of the connector plug 9 with the cover 11 rotated closed to impede relative movement between the connector plug 9 and the connector receptacle (not label, see fig. 4B, wherein the connector plug connects to the receptacle) to maintain signal integrity when exposed to vibration or shock (to prevent the harsh environments as well as to keep the connector plug in stable connection with the receptacle within the cover/enclosure). However, Villa et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the peripheral wall having an opening through which the connector plug can interface with a connector receptacle of the display housing.
Dunwoody et al. discloses a cover 106 with peripheral wall 150/152, the peripheral wall having an opening (not label, as shown in fig. 2) through which the connector plug 110 can interface with a connector receptacle 120 (as shown in fig. 1) to further enhance a stable, reliable and secure connection between connectors and to prevent the harsh environments effected to the connectors to prolong the connectors as well as to improve the connection in between connectors.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify the enclosure of Villa et al. by having the peripheral wall having an opening through which the connector plug can interface with a connector receptacle of the display housing as taught by Dunwoody et al. to further enhance a stable, reliable and secure connection between connectors and to prevent the harsh environments effected to the connectors to prolong the connectors as well as to improve the connection in between connectors.
As per claims 15, 18: Villa et al. discloses the enclosure comprises a lock 18a/b configured to releasably couple the cover 11 to the base 5 to enclose the interior (as shown in figs. 3; 4A-B); and wherein the hinge 12 is a living hinge (as shown in fig. 2).
As per claims 22-23: Villa et al. discloses the enclosure, and the integrated cable clip 13A-B. However, Villa et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the enclosure is having the opening and the integrated cable clip are on opposite sides of the enclosure; and the opening is on a top of the enclosure and the integrated cable clip is on a bottom of the enclosure.
Dunwoody et al. discloses a closure with the opening (not label, see fig. 2) and the integrated cable clip 160 are on opposite sides of the enclosure; and the opening is on a top of the enclosure and the integrated cable clip is on a bottom of the enclosure (as shown in fig. 2) to further enhance a stable, and secure connection of the connector plug within and to connect to the receptacle through the opening to prevent harsh environments.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify the enclosure of Villa et al. by having the opening and the integrated cable clip are on opposite sides of the enclosure; and the opening is on a top of the enclosure and the integrated cable clip is on a bottom of the enclosure as taught by Dunwoody et al. to further enhance a stable, reliable and secure connection between the connector plug and the receptacle as well as to protect the connection from harsh environment.
As per claims 24-25: Villa et al. discloses the enclosure, wherein the hinge 12 is on a lateral side of the enclosure (as shown in fig. 2); and wherein the base 5/10 comprises a continuous wall that extends through a lateral middle of the base (as show in figs. 2-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-14, 16-17, 19, 21, 26-31 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THANG H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-0288. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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/T.H.N/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831