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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/07/2023, 06/05/2024, 08/05/2025 and 11/07/2025 was filed on and after the mailing date of the application on 12/07/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. [US 2021/0336386] in view of Liu et al. [US 2020/0335890].
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses an electrical connector, comprising: a housing (fig. 2; 10), the housing (10) defining a receiving slot (fig. 2; 103) configured to at least partially receive a mating module (fig. 10; 2) along a first direction (fig. 2; X), the first direction (X) being perpendicular to the second direction (fig. 2; Y); and a plurality of first terminal modules (fig. 2; top 111 contains two sets of terminals 1111 and 1112); each first terminal module (top sets of 1111) being received in a corresponding first terminal module installation slot (fig. 3; top slot of 103b); each first terminal module (top sets of 1111) comprising two first conductive terminals (fig. 7; 1111b) which are a first signal terminal (one 1111b) and a second signal terminal (other 1111b), respectively, and a first holding block (fig. 7; 1112 holding top 1111 set) that fixes the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the second signal terminal (other 1111b) together; each first conductive terminal (1111b) comprising a first contact arm (fig. 6; 11112); the first contact arm (11112) comprising a first contact portion (fig. 14; portion of 11112 that directly contacts 21) protruding into the receiving slot (103); the first holding block (1112 holding top 1111 set) being received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b), so that the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the second signal terminal (other 1111b) are arranged overhead in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b).
Regarding claim 4, Wu discloses the electrical connector (1) further comprises a plurality of second terminal modules (fig. 2; bottom 111 contains two sets of terminals 1111 and 1112); each second terminal module (bottom sets of 1111) is received in a corresponding second terminal module installation slot (figs. 3 and 6; bottom slot of 103b); each second terminal module (bottom sets of 1111) comprises (top and bottom 111 are identical) two second conductive terminals (1111b) which are a third signal terminal (one 1111b) and a fourth signal terminal (other 1111b), respectively, and a second holding block (1112 holding bottom 1111 set) that fixes the third signal terminal (one 1111) and the fourth signal terminal (other 1111) together; each second conductive terminal (1111b) comprises a second contact arm (11112); the second contact arm comprises a second contact portion fig. 14; portion of 11112 that directly contacts 21 on the bottom) protruding into the receiving slot (103); the second holding block (1112 holding bottom 1111 set) is received in the corresponding second terminal module installation slot (bottom slot of 103b), so that the third signal terminal and the fourth signal terminal (1111b) are arranged overhead in the corresponding second terminal module installation slot (bottom slot of 103b).
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Wu does not disclose a plurality of first terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of first terminal module installation slots being disposed at intervals along a second direction [claim 1]; the housing comprises a plurality of second terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of second terminal module installation slots are disposed at intervals along the second direction [claim 4].
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Liu teaches a plurality of first terminal module installation slots (fig. 2; sections of 1 that accommodate a first row of 2) communicating with the receiving slot (fig. 1; 13); the plurality of first terminal module installation slots (sections of 1 that accommodate a first row of 2) being disposed at intervals (see figs. 2 and 4) along a second direction (fig. 6; X); the housing (fig. 1; 1) comprises a plurality of second terminal module installation slots (fig. 2; sections of 1 that accommodate a second row of 2) communicating with the receiving slot (13); the plurality of second terminal module installation slots (sections of 1 that accommodate a second row of 2) are disposed at intervals along the second direction (X).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate a plurality of first terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of first terminal module installation slots being disposed at intervals along a second direction and the housing comprising a plurality of second terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of second terminal module installation slots are disposed at intervals along the second direction as suggested by Liu for the benefit of expanding and improving data transmission applications in order to use the card connector in a wide range of electrical devices.
Regarding claim 2, Wu modified by Liu has been discussed above. Wu discloses wherein each first conductive terminal (1111b) comprises a first fixing portion (fig. 6; 11111) connected to the first contact arm (11112); the first holding block (1112 holding top 1111 set) comprises a first fixing block (body of 1112) fixed on the first fixing portion (11111) of the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the first fixing portion (11111) of the second signal terminal (other 1111b); the first fixing block (body of 1112) is received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b), so that the first fixing portion (11111) of the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the first fixing portion (11111) of the second signal terminal (other 1111b) are prevented from contacting the housing (10).
Regarding claim 5, Wu modified by Liu has been discussed above. Wu discloses wherein each second conductive terminal (top 1111b is identical to the bottom 1111b) comprises a third fixing portion (11111) connected to the second contact arm (11112); the second holding block (1112 holding bottom 1111 set) comprises a fifth fixing block (body of bottom 1112) fixed on the third fixing portion (11111) of the third signal terminal (one 1111b) and the third fixing portion (11111) of the fourth signal terminal (other 1111b); the fifth fixing block (body of 1112) is received in the corresponding second terminal module installation slot (bottom slot of 103b), so that the third fixing portion (11111) of the third signal terminal (one 1111b) and the third fixing portion (11111) of the fourth signal terminal (other 1111b) are prevented from contacting the housing (10).
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations except wherein the housing comprises a plurality of first partition walls of which each separates two adjacent first terminal module installation slots [claim 7]; wherein the housing comprises a plurality of second partition walls of which each separates two adjacent second terminal module installation slots [claim 8].
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Liu teaches the housing (1) comprises a plurality of partition walls (fig. 3; 12b) of which each separates two adjacent first terminal module installation slots (sections of 1 that accommodate a first row of 2) and two adjacent second terminal module installation slots (sections of 1 that accommodate a second row of 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the housing comprising a plurality of first partition walls of which each separates two adjacent first terminal module installation slots and a plurality of second partition walls of which each separates two adjacent second terminal module installation slots as suggested by Liu for the benefit of improving the assembly of connector parts during the manufacturing process of an electrical connector.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. [US 2021/0336386] and Liu et al. [US 2020/0335890] as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Fu et al. [US 2023/0335934].
Wu and Liu disclose all of the claim limitations except wherein the first holding block comprises a second fixing block fixed on the first fixing portion of the first signal terminal and the first fixing portion of the second signal terminal; the first fixing block and the second fixing block are disposed at intervals along the first direction; the second fixing block is received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot.
However, Fu teaches the first holding block (fig. 10; 214) comprises a second fixing block (fig. 5; 215) fixed on the first fixing portion (fig. 10; portion of 212 that 215 is fixed on) of the first signal terminal (see Par [0023] Ln 24-25; differential pair signal terminals) and the first fixing portion (portion of 212 that 215 is fixed on) of the second signal terminal (differential pair); the first fixing block (fig. 10; 215) and the second fixing block (fig. 5; 215) are disposed at intervals along the first direction (fig. 1; mating direction); the second fixing block (fig. 5; 215) is received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (fig. 5; 113).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the first holding block comprises a second fixing block fixed on the first fixing portion of the first signal terminal and the first fixing portion of the second signal terminal; the first fixing block and the second fixing block are disposed at intervals along the first direction; the second fixing block is received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot as suggested by Fu for the benefit of further improving the stability of signal terminals once inserted into a connector.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. [US 2021/0336386] and Liu et al. [US 2020/0335890] as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fan et al. [US 11,984,680].
Wu and Liu disclose all of the claim limitations except wherein the housing is a conductive housing; the conductive housing is a metal housing; or the conductive housing is a composite housing formed by electroplating a metal material on an insulating material.
However, Fan teaches the housing is a conductive housing (fig. 3; 240); the conductive housing is a metal housing (Col 7 Ln 38; metal).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the housing is a conductive housing; the conductive housing is a metal housing; or the conductive housing is a composite housing formed by electroplating a metal material on an insulating material as suggested by Fan 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, and also for the benefit of improving EMI suppression.
Claim(s) 11, 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. [US 2021/0336386] in view of Fan et al. [US 11,984,680] and Liu et al. [US 2020/0335890].
Regarding claim 11, Wu discloses an electrical connector, comprising: a housing (fig. 2; 10), the housing (10) defining a receiving slot (fig. 2; 103) configured to at least partially receive a mating module (fig. 10; 2) along a first direction (fig. 2; X), the first direction (X) being perpendicular to the second direction (fig. 2; Y); and a plurality of first terminal modules (fig. 2; top 111 contains two sets of terminals 1111 and 1112); each first terminal module (top sets of 1111) being received in a corresponding first terminal module installation slot (fig. 3; top slot of 103b); each first terminal module (top sets of 1111) comprising two first conductive terminals (fig. 7; 1111b) which are a first signal terminal (one 1111b) and a second signal terminal (other 1111b), respectively, and a first holding block (fig. 7; 1112 holding top 1111 set) that fixes the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the second signal terminal (other 1111b) together; each first conductive terminal (1111b) comprising a first contact arm (fig. 6; 11112); the first contact arm (11112) comprising a first contact portion (fig. 14; portion of 11112 that directly contacts 21) protruding into the receiving slot (103); the first holding block (1112 holding top 1111 set) being received in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b), so that the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the second signal terminal (other 1111b) are arranged overhead in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b) and are prevented from contacting the housing (10).
Wu does not disclose a conductive housing or a plurality of first terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of first terminal module installation slots being disposed at intervals along a second direction.
However, Fan teaches a conductive housing (fig. 3; 240).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate a conductive housing as suggested by Fan 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, and also for the benefit of improving EMI suppression.
Wu modified by Fan still does not disclose a plurality of first terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of first terminal module installation slots being disposed at intervals along a second direction.
However, Liu teaches a plurality of first terminal module installation slots (fig. 2; sections of 1 that accommodate a first row of 2) communicating with the receiving slot (fig. 1; 13); the plurality of first terminal module installation slots (sections of 1 that accommodate a first row of 2) being disposed at intervals (see figs. 2 and 4) along a second direction (fig. 6; X).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate a plurality of first terminal module installation slots communicating with the receiving slot; the plurality of first terminal module installation slots being disposed at intervals along a second direction as suggested by Liu for the benefit of expanding and improving data transmission applications in order to use the card connector in a wide range of electrical devices.
Regarding claim 12, Wu and Liu disclose (Wu) wherein each first conductive terminal (1111b) comprises a first fixing portion (fig. 6; 11111) connected to the first contact arm (11112); the first holding block (1112 holding top 1111 set) comprises a first fixing block (body of 1112) fixed on the first fixing portion (11111) of the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the first fixing portion (11111) of the second signal terminal (other 1111b); the first fixing block (body of 1112) is fixed in the corresponding first terminal module installation slot (top slot of 103b), so that the first fixing portion (11111) of the first signal terminal (one 1111b) and the first fixing portion (11111) of the second signal terminal (other 1111b) are prevented from contacting the housing (10).
Wu and Liu do not disclose a conductive housing.
However, Fan teaches a conductive housing (fig. 3; 240).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention a conductive housing as suggested by Fan 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, and also for the benefit of improving EMI suppression.
Regarding claim 19, Wu and Liu disclose all of the claim limitations except wherein the housing is a conductive housing; the conductive housing is a metal housing; or the conductive housing is a composite housing formed by electroplating a metal material on an insulating material.
However, Fan teaches the housing is a conductive housing (fig. 3; 240); the conductive housing is a metal housing (Col 7 Ln 38; metal).
Therefore, it would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the housing is a conductive housing; the conductive housing is a metal housing; or the conductive housing is a composite housing formed by electroplating a metal material on an insulating material as suggested by Fan 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, and also for the benefit of improving EMI suppression.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 10, 13-18 and 20 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS E HARCUM whose telephone number is (571)272-9986. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8am-5pm.
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/MARCUS E HARCUM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2831