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 Objection
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: on line 1 “the cage” lacks proper antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
35 USC 103 Rejections
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) 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SFF-TA-1031 in view of Chen 2006/0264076.
Regarding claim 1, SFF 1031 (page 14) substantially discloses the claimed invention, including a network device comprising: a printed circuit substrate (not shown) having a plurality of openings (for receiving unnumbered downwardly extending pins of R); and a port configured to receive an external component, wherein the port includes: a connector (the small crosshatched component) mounted to the printed circuit substrate; and an enclosure R for the connector that is mounted to the printed circuit structure and configured to guide the external component to the connector, wherein the enclosure includes a plurality of pins that extend into corresponding openings in the plurality of openings. Chen (front page) discloses a given pin 1 has an edge that is serrated (at 10), and to serrate at least one pin of SFF 1031 thus would have been obvious, to better secure the enclosure to the printed circuit board.
Regarding claim 2, SFF 1031 discloses the cage (enclosure) has a bottom surface that rests on the printed circuit substrate, wherein each pin of the plurality of pins protrude away from the bottom surface and into the corresponding opening in the printed circuit substrate, wherein the given pin has a main body that extend in a first direction, and wherein the edge includes a projection (16 of Chen) that extends away from the main body in a second direction that is non-parallel to the first direction.
Regarding claim 3, Chen discloses the given pin 1 includes an additional serrated edge 16 opposite the edge, wherein the additional serrated edge includes an additional projection that extends away from the main body in a third direction that is non- parallel to the first direction.
Regarding claim 4, SFF 1031 (as modified by Chen) discloses the main body has an opening that is elongated along the first direction and has first and second segments on opposite sides of the opening, wherein the projection extends away from the first segment, and wherein the additional projection extends away from the second segment.
Regarding claim 5, SFF 1031 (as modified by Chen) discloses the enclosure has an opening at a front side configured to receive the external component, wherein the enclosure has a rear side that overlaps the connector, wherein the plurality of pins are disposed along an edge of the enclosure and extend from the front side to the rear side, and wherein the given pin having the serrated edge is at the rear side.
Regarding claim 6, SFF 1031 discloses the plurality of pins comprise one or more pins that each have a first length (the leftmost enclosure pins) and wherein the given pin has a second length (the rightmost pins) that is less than the first length.
Regarding claim 7, SFF 1031 discloses the external component comprises a pluggable transceiver module.
Regarding claim 8, it would have been an obvious matter of routine experimentation to form at least one pin in the plurality of pins with a portion within the corresponding opening in the plurality of openings and wherein the portion has a length that is greater than 50% and less than 95% of a thickness of the printed circuit substrate.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SFF-TA-1031 in view of Chen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cheng et al 7845975.
Regarding claim 9, Cheng et al (Figure 11A) discloses an additional port (unnumbered, below substrate 200) configured to receive an additional external component, the additional port being disposed on a second (lower) side of the printed circuit substrate opposite the first (upper) side, and to provide SFF 1031 with same thus would have been obvious, to allow interconnection of more circuits.
Claim(s) s 12, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SFF-TA-1031 in view of Chen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of WO 2008/094655.
Regarding claim 12, WO ‘655 (Figure 3) discloses the enclosure has an indented portion (unnumbered inwardly extending finger directly above lead line 60) that presses against the connector, and to provide SFF 1031 with same thus would have been obvious, to prevent movement between the connector and the enclosure. The subject matter of claims 19 and 20 has been addressed above.
Claim(s) 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SFF-TA-1031 in view of Chen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Janota et al 9035199.
Janota et al (claim 14 thereof) discloses adhesive securing a tab, and to provide SFF 1031 (as modified by Chen) with same thus would have been obvious, to better secure the enclosure to the substrate.
Claims Defining Over Prior Art
Claims 15-18 are allowed.
Claims 10 and 11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art discloses or teaches the given pin extends into a given opening in the plurality of openings and wherein an additional given pin in the additional plurality of pins extends into the given opening; in combination with the rest of the subject matter of the respective independent claim.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY F PAUMEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2013. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th.
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/GARY F PAUMEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834