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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2026-01-23 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 2026-01-23 has been entered. Claim(s) 1-3, 4-16, and 18-19 remain pending in this application. Claim(s) 1 and 10 have been amended.
Applicant’s amendments/remarks concerning the objections made in the previous office action are acceptable and the objections to claims 1-3 and 5-10 are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10 and their dependents have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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) 1-2, 7, 16, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dais (US-20120071014-A1) in view of Leopold (CN-111433981-A – refer to machine translation attached for references cited).
Regarding Claim 1, Dais teaches a first end of a cable (See annotated Figures 1 & 2 of Dais), an insulating body (Figs 1 & 2: insulating sleeve, 64) including a channel centered around and stretching along a longitudinal axis through the insulation body (Can be seen in Figs 1 & 2: axis 'A') and an insulating channel closing element (See annotated Figures 1 & 2 of Dais | Para [0033] teaches an insulation, 24), the channel being accessible via a first opening in the insulation body (See annotated Figures 1 & 2 of Dais),
the first cable end extends into the channel via the first opening (Can be seen in Figs 1 & 2) and a first end of the channel closing element (Figs 1 & 2: plug contact, 11) abuts a first end of a conductor of the first cable end at a mating location in the channel in order to form an interface between the first end of the channel closing element and the first end of the conductor of the first cable end at the mating location (Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel),
an inner rubber deflector in the insulating body covering and provided radially outside of the mating location (Para [0033] teaches a deformable insulation, 67, may be integrated in the insulating sleeve, 64, and may be elastomer based on silicone or EPDM, EPDM being a synthetic rubber), and
a conductive connector (Figs 1 & 2: plug contact, 65) having a hollow interior (Para [0028] teaches the electrical conductor has, as part of the conductor, the plug contact, 65, which is in the form of a sleeve), the conductive connector being a cylindrical metallic connector (Para [0028] describes the plug contact as electrically conductive and in the form of a sleeve).
Dais does not explicitly teach that an exposed part of the conductor is inserted into the hollow interior at or in which said interface is located. However, Leopold teaches that an exposed part of the conductor is inserted into the hollow interior at or in which said interface is located (Fig 2 shows a conductor (sensor wires, 12) inserted into a metal sleeve (coupling section, 20) and abutting against another conductor (conductive cores, 28). Para [0030] teaches the coupling between these two wires is achieved by said coupling section, and that the coupling section may be a metal sleeve). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the metal sleeve of Dais to allow for the insertion of the conductor as in Leopold. A motivation for this modification is to electrically and mechanically connect two ends as taught in Leopold in Para [0030].
Regarding Claim 2, Dais further teaches wherein the first cable end has a first longitudinal axis, the channel closing element has a second longitudinal axis and the first longitudinal axis is aligned with the second longitudinal axis (Can be seen in Figs 1 & 2).
Regarding Claim 7, Dais further teaches a grounded electrically conducting enclosure around the insulating body (Figs 1-2: metal housing, 62 | Para [0028] teaches a metal housing, 62, at ground potential).
Regarding Claim 16, Dais further teaches wherein the channel comprises a second opening (See annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), the insulating body is a joint body (Fig 2 shows the joining of the insulating body and the insulating channel closing element), the channel closing element is an insulating plug extending into the channel from the second opening (Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24 and Figs 1 & 2 show it is inserted into the second opening) and the first cable end and the insulating plug together forming an end plug assembly including said interface at which the first end of the insulating plug abuts the first end of the conductor of the first cable end (Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel).
Regarding Claim 18, Dais further teaches a grounded electrically conducting enclosure around the insulating body (Figs 1-2: metal housing, 62 | Para [0028] teaches a metal housing, 62, at ground potential).
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Annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais
Claim(s) 3, 5-6, 8, and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dais in view of Leopold in view of Waligora et al. (DE-2604650-A1 – refer to attached machine translation in a previous office action).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold teaches wherein the channel comprises a second opening (Dais - See annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), the insulating body is a joint body (Dais - Fig 2 shows the joining of the insulating body and the insulating channel closing element), the channel closing element is an insulating plug extending into the channel from the second opening (Dais - Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24 and Figs 1 & 2 show it is inserted into the second opening) and the first cable end and the insulating plug together forming said interface at which the first end of the insulating plug abuts the first end of the conductor of the first cable end (Dais - Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel).
The combination does not teach an end plug assembly. However, Waligora teaches an end plug assembly (Can be seen in Fig 1, the insulating plug, 15, is inserted into the connector, 16, and connected to the cable end, 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combination to be the end plug assembly of Waligora. A motivation for this medication is to check cables that are not yet connected to electrical equipment as taught by Waligora in Para [0003].
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold teaches wherein the channel comprises a second opening (See annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), the insulating body is a joint body (Fig 2 shows the joining of the insulating body and the insulating channel closing element), the channel closing element is an insulating plug extending into the channel from the second opening (Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24 and Figs 1 & 2 show it is inserted into the second opening) and the first cable end and the insulating plug together forming an end plug assembly including said interface at which the first end of the insulating plug abuts the first end of the conductor of the first cable end (Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel), and
wherein the conductive connector is forming together with the first cable end and the insulating plug, and where a first part of the insulating plug is also located in the hollow interior of the conductive connector (Can be seen in Fig 2).
The combination does not teach an end plug assembly. However, Waligora teaches an end plug assembly (Can be seen in Fig 1, the insulating plug, 15, is inserted into the connector, 16, and connected to the cable end, 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combination to be the end plug assembly of Waligora. A motivation for this medication is to check cables that are not yet connected to electrical equipment as taught by Waligora in Para [0003].
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold teaches wherein the channel closing element is an insulating channel closing element (Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24 and Figs 1 & 2 show it is inserted into the second opening) and a first part of the insulating channel closing element abuts a first end of the conductive connector (Can be seen in Figure 2).
The combination does not teach the insulating body is a termination body. However, Waligora teaches the insulating body is a termination body (Can be seen in Fig 1, the insulating plug, 15, is inserted into the connector, 16, and connected to the cable end, 2 and terminates at that end). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combination to be a termination body of Waligora. A motivation for this medication is to check cables that are not yet connected to electrical equipment as taught by Waligora in Para [0003].
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Dais and Leopold teaches wherein the channel comprises a second opening (See annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), the insulating body is a joint body (Fig 2 shows the joining of the insulating body and the insulating channel closing element), the channel closing element is an insulating plug extending into the channel from the second opening (Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24 and Figs 1 & 2 show it is inserted into the second opening) and the first cable end and the insulating plug together forming an end plug assembly including said interface at which the first end of the insulating plug abuts the first end of the conductor of the first cable end (Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel).
Regarding Claim 10, Dais teaches sliding an insulating body onto an assembly via a first opening in the insulating body (Refer to annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais) or sliding the assembly onto the insulating body via the first opening,
the first opening leading to a channel centred around and stretching along a longitudinal axis through the insulating body (Refer to annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais) and
the assembly including a first end of a cable (Refer to annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais) having a conductor with a first end (Refer to annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), said sliding being performed until the first end of the conductor is located at a mating location in the channel (Refer to annotated Figs 1 & 2 of Dais), at which mating location the first end of the conductor abuts an insulating channel closing element thereby forming an interface between a first end of the channel closing element and the first end of the conductor of the first cable end at the mating location (Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel),
wherein the insulating body comprises an inner rubber deflector covering and provided radially outside of the mating location (Para [0033] teaches a deformable insulation, 67, may be integrated in the insulating sleeve, 64, and may be elastomer based on silicone or EPDM, EPDM being a synthetic rubber), and
there is a conductive connector (Figs 1 & 2: plug contact, 65) having a hollow interior (Para [0028] teaches the electrical conductor has, as part of the conductor, the plug contact, 65, which is in the form of a sleeve), the conductive connector being a cylindrical metallic connector (Para [0028] describes the plug contact as electrically conductive and in the form of a sleeve).
Dais does not explicitly teach that an exposed part of the conductor is inserted into the hollow interior at or in which said interface is located. However, Leopold teaches that an exposed part of the conductor is inserted into the hollow interior at or in which said interface is located (Fig 2 shows a conductor (sensor wires, 12) inserted into a metal sleeve (coupling section, 20) and abutting against another conductor (conductive cores, 28). Para [0030] teaches the coupling between these two wires is achieved by said coupling section, and that the coupling section may be a metal sleeve). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the metal sleeve of Dais to allow for the insertion of the conductor as in Leopold. A motivation for this modification is to electrically and mechanically connect two ends as taught in Leopold in Para [0030].
The combination of Dais in view of Leopold does not teach and end plug assembly However, Waligora teaches an end plug assembly (Can be seen in Fig 1, the insulating plug, 15, is inserted into the connector, 16, and connected to the cable end, 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combination to be the end plug assembly of Waligora. A motivation for this medication is to check cables that are not yet connected to electrical equipment as taught by Waligora in Para [0003].
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold in view of Waligora, as presented with respect to claim 10, teaches wherein the insulating body is a joint body (Dais - Fig 2 shows the joining of the insulating body and the insulating channel closing element), the channel closing element is an insulating plug (Dais - Para [0023] describes the channel closing element as containing insulation, 24) and further includes assembling the insulating plug and the first cable end into the end plug assembly so that the first end of the insulating plug abuts the first end of the conductor of the first cable end (Dais - Can be seen in Fig 2, the plug contact, 11, is in contact with the cable end at a mating location inside the channel), and where the sliding of the joint body onto the end plug assembly or the sliding of the end plug assembly onto the insulating body is made until the interface between the first end of the insulating plug and the first end of the conductor is located at the mating location inside the joint body (Dais - Can be seen in Fig 2).
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold in view of Waligora, as presented with respect to claim 11, teaches wherein the assembling comprises assembling the insulating plug, the first cable end and the conductive connector to the end plug assembly (Dais - Can be seen in Fig 2).
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold in view of Waligora, as presented with respect to claim 12, teaches wherein the assembling comprises placing a first part of the insulating plug and an exposed part of the conductor of the first cable end in a hollow interior of the conductive connector (Dais - Can be seen in Fig 2, the first part of the insulating plug is inserted into the conductive connector, 65, and makes electrical contact to the conductor, 63 | Leopold - Fig 2 shows a conductor (sensor wires, 12) inserted into a metal sleeve (coupling section, 20) and abutting against another conductor (conductive cores, 28). Para [0030] teaches the coupling between these two wires is achieved by said coupling section, and that the coupling section may be a metal sleeve).
Regarding Claim 14, Dais further teaches providing a grounded electrically conducting enclosure for the insulating body (Dais - Figs 1-2: metal housing, 62 | Para [0028] teaches a metal housing, 62, at ground potential).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold in view of Waligora, as presented with respect to claim 14, teaches wherein the providing of a grounded electrically conducting enclosure includes placing a metallic mesh around the insulating body and channel closing element and grounding the metallic mesh (Waligora - Para 15 teaches the braid, 20, may be used in conjunction with the housing, and, together these enclose the plug and joint body, see Fig 1).
Claim(s) 9, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dais in view of Leopold in view of Iadanza et al. (US-20210364548-A1).
Regarding Claim 9 and 19, the combination of Dais in view of Leopold does not teach a testing device configured to be connected to a second end of the cable. However, Iadanza teaches a testing device configured to be connected to a second end of the cable (Para [0057] teaches connecting cable end (Fig 2: 201) to a submersible apparatus (Fig 2: 1) in order to perform tests on the cable, this would necessarily require a testing device). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the cable of the combination to allow for the testing of Iadanza. A motivation for this is to check whether the cable has been damaged, as taught by Iadanza in paragraph [0002].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMIAH J BARRON whose telephone number is (571)272-0902. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 09:30-17:30 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lee Rodak can be reached at (571) 270-5628. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEREMIAH J BARRON/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/LEE E RODAK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858