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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Czarnecki et al. (US 6,600,122).
Regarding claim 1, Czamecki discloses a device comprising:
a first terminal (68);
a second terminal (80);
a contact member (62, 74, 56, 58) having an engagement portion,
the contact member (62, 74, 56, 58) being configured to be in a first position and a second position and to form a connection between the first terminal (68) and the second terminal (80) when being either in the first position or in the second position; and
a control unit (see col. 6, lines 19-32) configured to facilitate a transition of the contact member (62, 74, 56, 58) and to retain the contact member at the first position or at the second position in the absence of an external force; and
a bypass mechanism (10’, 20) comprising: at least a first moveable member (130, 94, 86, 150, 156) having a first surface (130, 150) configured to contact the engagement portion of the contact member (62, 74, 56, 58) at a first angle that is acute relative to an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the contact member (62, 74, 56, 58).
Regarding claim 2, Czamecki discloses:
the first moveable member (130, 94, 86, 150, 156) is configured to move towards the engagement portion of the contact member (56, 62) and to apply force thereto to facilitate its transition from the first position to the second position.
Regarding claim 3, Czamecki discloses:
the first moveable member (130, 94, 86, 150, 156) is configured to move away from the engagement portion of the contact member (56, 62) when the force is no longer applied to the first moveable member (130, 94, 86, 150, 156).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/7/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In the REMARKS:
Page 7, last paragraph, applicant argued that:
“Czarnecki does not disclose retention of the contact member in either position absent an applied external force. Continuous spring bias is required for its operation”;
“Czarnecki does not disclose an additional bypass mechanism”,
This argument is not found to be persuasive, because:
Czamecki clearly discloses the device with the contact members, which can be in either first or second position. It inherent for the switch to retain the contact member in either position absent an applied external force.
Czarnecki clearly discloses the bypass mechanism (10’, 20).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Lisa Homza whose telephone number is (571) 272-3592.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached on (571) 272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Lisa Nhung Homza/
Patent Examiner - Art Unit 2837
June 26, 2026
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights