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
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda Sumihisa et al. (the IDS - JP 2014157830).
Regarding claim 20, Fukuda discloses:
at least one fixed contact (33),
a contact bridge (35, 832) and an upper yoke element (63) in a switching chamber (3),
wherein the upper yoke element (63) is attached to a switching chamber wall (61) of the switching chamber (3),
wherein the upper yoke element (63) is held to an inside of the switching chamber (3) by a fastening part made of a plastic material.
Although Fukuda does not explicitly disclose the fastening part made of a plastic material, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the plastic fastening part for the purpose of reducing cost and resisting the corrosion from moisture or chemicals. Since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Fukuda teaches the claimed subject as disclosed above, however, fails to explicitly disclose the switching chamber wall (61) comprises a ceramic material.
Fukuda discloses the container 73 is made of a heat-resistant material such as a ceramic material (para. [0005]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have use the ceramic material as taught by Fukuda to make the switching chamber wall for the purpose of resisting heat. Since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 2/23/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In the REMARKS:
Applicant argued that:
“Fukuda does not teach or suggest that "the upper yoke element is held to an inside of the switching chamber by a fastening part made of a plastic material."
This argument is not found to be persuasive, because although Fukuda does not explicitly disclose the fastening part made of a plastic material, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the plastic fastening part for the purpose of reducing cost and resisting the corrosion from moisture or chemicals. Since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9, 16, 18, 19 and 21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art does not teach or suggest the switching device comprising
Claim 1: the retaining member comprises at least one clip member, which comprises the at least one guide element and the at least one stop and which at least partially embraces the contact bridge, including along with the remaining limitations of claim 1.
Claim 21: the retaining member comprises at least one clip member, which comprises the at least one guide element and the at least one stop and which at least partially embraces the contact bridge, including along with the remaining limitations of claim 21.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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.
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/Lisa Nhung Homza/
Patent Examiner - Art Unit 2837
May 11, 2026
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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