DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is responsive to Applicant’s response submitted 07 April 2026.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, directed to claims 1-8 and 2021 in the reply filed on 07 April 2026 is acknowledged. However, Applicant’s arguments regarding the restriction between Group I and Group II are persuasive. The Restriction Requirement set forth 20 February 2026 has been withdrawn. Claims 1-21 are examined on the merits.
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) 9-12, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 10,768,374 to Gurreri et al.
In regards to claim 9, Gurreri recites a photoelectric connector (Figure 1), comprising a ferrule (not labeled), a first outer housing (90), and a second electrical assembly (24 & 88 together), wherein the first outer housing comprises a front end face, a rear end face, and an inner side face and an outer surface that connect the front end face and the rear end face, the inner side face encloses a cavity, the ferrule is partially or completely located in the cavity (see Figure 1), the second electrical assembly is partially or completely located in another cavity, the front end face encloses a first socket and a second socket, the first socket is disposed correspondingly with the ferrule, and the second socket is disposed correspondingly with the second electrical assembly (Figure 2); and wherein a first slot is on an outer sidewall of the first outer housing, and the first slot (slides in) is configured to cooperate with a first protrusion (48) of an adapter (28). Although Gurreri does not expressly recite the ferrule and second electrical assembly disposed in a single cavity, the use of a single cavity in place of two separate cavities would have been an obvious matter of common skill and design choice in order to decrease manufacturing costs and steps. The ferrule and second electrical assembly is enclosed in a single or multiple cavity and therefore advantageously prevents additional damage when inserting in a multiple cavity with smaller openings. Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have provided the ferrule and second electrical assembly disposed in a single cavity.
In regards to claim 10, Gurreri recites the first socket is connected to the second socket; or the first socket and the second socket are independent of each other.
In regards to claim 11, Gurreri recites the ferrule extends out of the first outer housing from the first socket, and the second electrical assembly does not extend out of the first outer housing from the second socket.
In regards to claim 12, Gurreri recites the front end face of the first outer housing that is configured to face a plug of the photoelectric connector is in a non-centrosymmetric.
In regards to claim 18, Gurreri recites the second electrical assembly comprises a third conducting element and a fourth conducting element (see Figure 1), both a first end of the third conducting element and a first end of the fourth conducting element are located on an inner side of the first outer housing, the first end of the third conducting element and the first end of the fourth conducting element are respectively configured to connect to a first conducting element and a second conducting element in a photoelectric adapter, and a second end of the third conducting element and a second end of the fourth conducting element are respectively electrically connected to two wires (Column 5 Lines 54 – Column 6 Line 20) in a photoelectric hybrid cable.
In regards to claim 19, Gurreri recites a ferrule flange and a second spring (Figure 8), wherein the ferrule is connected to a first end of the ferrule flange in the first outer housing; and a second end of the ferrule flange is in contact with the first end of the push handle by using the second spring.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-17 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.
In regards to claims 13-16, the prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest a tail pipe; a flexible hard pipe, wherein an internal cavity of the flexible hard pipe is used for returning of a fiber in a photoelectric hybrid cable, and the flexible hard pipe is located in the tail pipe; and a push handle, wherein a first end of the push handle is located in the first outer housing, and a second end of the push handle is located in the tail pipe in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim and any intervening claims.
In regards to claim 17, the prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest the second electrical assembly comprises an insulating terminal block, the insulating terminal block is disposed between two conducting elements, a third protrusion for preventing relative moving of the insulating terminal block and the two conducting elements is disposed on the conducting element, and a fourth protrusion for buckling the first outer housing is disposed on the insulating terminal block in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 1-8 are allowed. The prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest an adapter, comprising a housing, a ferrule sleeve and a first buckle, wherein a first accommodating space is disposed in the housing, the first accommodating space forms an opening on the housing, a first groove is disposed on the housing, and the first accommodating space is configured to accommodate a first outer housing of a connector from the opening; the first buckle is disposed in the first accommodating space and fastened to the housing, the first buckle comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, and the first protrusion is configured to cooperate with a first slot on the first outer housing to fasten the adapter and the connector; the ferrule sleeve is disposed in the housing, and the ferrule sleeve is used to accommodate a ferrule of a connector: and the first groove is configured to provide a movable space for the second protrusion, and the second protrusion is configured to move in the first groove under an external force and drive the first protrusion away from the first slot in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim.
Claims 20-21 are allowed. The prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest an adapter installed on the communication device, the adapter comprising a housing, a ferrule sleeve, and a first buckle, wherein a first accommodating space is disposed in the housing, the first accommodating space forms an opening on the housing, a first groove is disposed on the housing, and the first accommodating space is configured to accommodate a first outer housing of a connector from the opening; wherein the first buckle is disposed in the first accommodating space and fastened to the housing, the first buckle comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, and the first protrusion is configured to cooperate with a first slot on the first outer housing to fasten the adapter and the connector; wherein the ferrule sleeve is disposed in the housing, and the ferrule sleeve is used to accommodate a ferrule of a connector; and wherein the first groove is configured to provide a movable space for the second protrusion, and the second protrusion is configured to move in the first groove under an external force and drive the first protrusion away from the first slot in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim.
References Cited
The references cited made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. None of the documents cited by the Examiner discloses or reasonably suggests the allowable subject matter discussed above.
The documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statements have been considered and made of record. Note attached copy of forms PTO-1449. None of the references submitted by Applicant discloses or reasonably suggest the allowable subject matter discussed above.
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TINA M WONG whose telephone number is (571)272-2352. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at (571) 272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TINA WONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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