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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in India on 09 December 2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the IN 22221071161 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04 October 2024 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statement; please see attached forms PTO-1449.
Drawings
The drawings submitted have been reviewed and determined to facilitate understanding of the invention. The drawings are accepted as submitted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 10-12 and 14-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2020/0174203 to DeJong et al. (hereinafter “US1”).
Regarding Claim 10, US1 describes a seal assembly (see Figs 1-4, 10, 11, and 14) for a field installable hardened fiber optic connector structurally configured to provide improved sealing and strain relief with a fiber optic cable comprising:
a shroud portion (110) structurally configured to receive a fiber optic cable;
a tightening portion (102, see [0030]) structurally configured to be coupled with the shroud portion;
a pusher portion (130, see [0041]-[0042]) structurally configured to transfer movement of the tightening portion;
a sealing portion (140, see [0041]-[0042]) structurally configured to receive the transferred movement of the pusher portion;
wherein an engagement of the pusher portion with the shroud portion limits rotation of the pusher portion relative to the shroud portion (engagement of 134 with 111/114, see Figs 3-4); and
wherein the tightening portion is structurally configured to threadedly engage the shroud (see [0030]) such that tightening of the tightening portion compresses the sealing portion onto a fiber optic cable received in the shroud to form a seal around the fiber optic cable and resist axial movement of the fiber optic cable relative to the sealing portion so as to provide enhanced weathertight sealing and strain relief between the shroud and the fiber optic cable (see [0041]-[0044]).
Regarding Claim 11, US1 describes the tightening portion structurally configured to be coupled with an end of the shroud portion (via 104/115).
Regarding Claim 12, US1 describes the pusher portion structurally configured to be received by the tightening portion and the shroud portion (see Figs 10, 11, 14).
Regarding Claim 14, US1 describes the tightening portion structurally configured to include an engaging portion (shoulder section shown in Figs 10, 11, 14) that is structurally configured to engage the pusher portion such that the pusher portion is coupled to the tightening portion.
Regarding Claim 15, US1 describes the tightening portion comprising a single piece monolithic construction that includes the engagement portion (see Figs 2, 10, 11, 14).
Regarding Claim 16, US1 describes the tightening portion structurally configured to threadedly engage the shroud portion (see [0030]).
Regarding Claim 17, US1 describes the compression of the sealing portion on the fiber optic cable resists axial movement of the fiber optic cable relative to the sealing portion (see [0041]-[0047]).
Regarding Claim 18, US1 describes a seal assembly (see Figs 1-4, 10, 11, and 14) for a field installable hardened fiber optic connector structurally configured to provide improved sealing and strain relief with a fiber optic cable comprising:
a pusher portion (130) structurally configured to transfer movement of a tightening portion;
a sealing portion (140) structurally configured to receive the transferred movement of the pusher portion;
wherein an engagement of the pusher portion with a shroud portion (via 134 ad 111/115, see Figs 3-4) limits rotation of the pusher portion relative to the shroud portion;
wherein the sealing portion structurally configured to compress to form a seal around the fiber optic cable (see [0043]-[0044]); and
wherein tightening of a tightening portion (102) compresses the sealing portion onto a fiber optic cable to form a seal around the fiber optic cable and resist axial movement of the fiber optic cable relative to the sealing portion so as to provide enhanced weathertight sealing and strain relief between a shroud and the fiber optic cable (see [0041]-[0044]).
Regarding Claim 19, US1 describes a shroud portion (110) that is structurally configured to receive the fiber optic cable.
Regarding Claim 20, US1 describes a tightening portion (102) that is structurally configured to be coupled with the shroud portion.
Regarding Claim 21, US1 describes an engagement of the tightening portion with the shroud portion is structurally configured to compress the sealing portion to form the seal around the fiber optic cable (see [0041]-[0047])
Regarding Claim 22, US1 describes the tightening portion structurally configured to be coupled with an end of the shroud portion (via 104/115).
Regarding Claim 23, US1 describes the pusher portion structurally configured to be received by the tightening portion and the shroud portion (see Figs 2, 10, 11, 14).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 are allowed.
Claim 13 is 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.
Claim 1 describes a sealing portion structurally configured to be received by the pusher and the shroud.
Claim 13 describes the sealing portion is structurally configured to be received by the pusher portion and the shroud portion.
These limitations represent subject matter not described or reasonably suggested, in conjunction with the further limitations of the present claims, by the prior art of record.
Claims 2-19 depend from Claim 1 and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art cited in the attached form PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art describes optical fiber connectors including shroud and sealing structures.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY RAHLL whose telephone number is (571)272-2356. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:00pm.
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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/JERRY RAHLL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874