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 § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-12, and 16-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable over Sigg (CH307758, doc image and text in case file).
Regarding claim 1: Sigg (Figure 1) teaches a fixing bolt for fixing a stranded conductor wire, comprising: a tapered section (i.e. b1, b2) extending along a central axis direction of the fixing bolt, the tapered section establishing an electrical contact with the stranded conductor wire, a first portion (i.e. b2) of the tapered section is an arched cone frustum that is arched with respect to the central axis direction, and a second portion (i.e. b1) of the tapered section is a cone frustum that linearly-tapers with respect to the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 2: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, wherein the arched cone frustum is a frustum of a right circular cone.
Regarding claim 3: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, wherein the arched cone frustum is convexly arched with respect to the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 4: Sigg (See figure below) teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, wherein an outline (i.e. C1) of the arched cone frustum in a cross-sectional plane extending along the central axis direction is circularly arched.
PNG
media_image1.png
304
239
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
226
170
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 5: Sigg (See figure below) teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 4, wherein the outline of the arched cone frustum in the cross-sectional plane extending along the central axis direction is a circular arc of 30o to 90o of a circle.
Regarding claim 7: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, wherein the tapered section is rotationally symmetric.
Regarding claim 8: Sigg (Figure 1) teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 7, wherein a mantle surface (i.e. surface of b2) of the first portion is arched with respect to the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 10: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, wherein the second portion extends directly from the first portion in the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 11: Sigg (Figure 1) teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 10, wherein the tapered section has a tip portion (i.e. tip of b1) centered on the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 12: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 11, wherein the tip portion extends directly from the second portion in the central axis direction.
Regarding claim 16: Sigg (Figure 1) teaches a connector assembly, comprising: a fixing bolt (i.e. b) including a tapered section (i.e. b1, b2) extending along a central axis direction of the fixing bolt, the tapered section establishing an electrical contact with a stranded conductor wire (i.e. a1), a first portion (i.e. b2) of the tapered section is an arched cone frustum that is arched with respect to the central axis direction, a second portion (i.e. b1) of the tapered section is a cone frustum that linearly-tapers with respect to the central axis direction, and a tip portion (i.e. tip of b1) of the tapered section extends directly from the second portion in the central axis direction; and a hollow connector (i.e. a) having an internally threaded bore (i.e. threaded bore of paragraph 6 in attached translation) extending from an outside of the hollow connector through to an inner hollow volume of the hollow connector, the fixing bolt has a threaded section (i.e. b is described as screwed into the threaded bore in paragraph 6 of the attached translation) and is screwed with the internally threaded bore.
Regarding claim 17: Sigg teaches the connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the fixing bolt is one of a plurality of fixing bolts and the internally threaded bore is one of a plurality of internally threaded bores of the hollow connector, each of the fixing bolts is screwed in one of the internally threaded bores (i.e. as described in page 2 paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 18: Sigg teaches the connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the hollow connector has a tubular shape.
Regarding claim 19: Sigg (Figure 1) teaches a wire connection assembly, comprising: a stranded conductor wire (i.e. pierced by b1); and a connector assembly (i.e. a, b) including a fixing bolt (i.e. b) and a hollow connector (i.e. a), the fixing bolt having a tapered section (i.e. b1, b2) extending along a central axis direction of the fixing bolt, a first portion (i.e. b2) of the tapered section is an arched cone frustum that is arched with respect to the central axis direction, and a second portion (i.e. b1) of the tapered section is a cone frustum that linearly-tapers with respect to the central axis direction, the hollow connector having an internally threaded bore (i.e. as described in page 2 paragraph 2) extending from an outside of the hollow connector through to an inner hollow volume of the hollow connector, the fixing bolt has a threaded section (i.e. as described in page 2 paragraph 2) and is screwed with the internally threaded bore, the tapered section at least partially penetrates the stranded conductor wire and establishes an electrical contact with the stranded conductor wire.
Regarding claim 20: Sigg teaches the wire connection assembly according to claim 19, wherein the arched cone frustum at least partially penetrates the stranded conductor wire and pushes the stranded conductor wire against a surface (i.e. a1) of the inner hollow volume of the hollow connector facing in a direction opposite the central axis direction.
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 9 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sigg.
Regarding claim 9: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, but does not specifically teach wherein the cone frustum of the second portion of the tapered section has a cone angle smaller than 21o.
However, it has been held that, “[w]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) (Claimed process which was performed at a temperature between 40oC and 80oC and an acid concentration between 25% and 70% was held to be prima facie obvious over a reference process which differed from the claims only in that the reference process was performed at a temperature of 100oC and an acid concentration of 10%.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to construct the tapered section taught by Sigg with a cone angle smaller than 21o so as to optimize the piercing ability of the fixing bolt.
Claims 13 and 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sigg and Applicant Admitted Prior Art (“AAPA”, see background of applicant’s specification).
Regarding claim 13: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 11, but does not specifically teach wherein the tip portion has a shape of a hemisphere.
However, AAPA (Figure 5) teaches wherein the tip portion has a shape of a hemisphere (i.e. rounded tip of figure 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the tip of the fixing bolt taught by Sigg to have a shape of a hemisphere as taught by AAPA so as to prevent damage when piercing conductor strands.
Regarding claim 15: Sigg teaches the fixing bolt according to claim 1, but does not specifically teach comprising a shearing section that fails at a predetermined torque.
However, AAPA (Figure 5) teaches comprising a shearing section (i.e. that of figure 5 analogous to 301) that fails at a predetermined torque.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the fixing bolt taught by Sigg to have a shearing section as taught by AAPA for applications requiring a fixing bolt with a shearing section.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 14 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.
Regarding claim 6, the prior art of record does not specifically teach alone or in obvious combination wherein the outline of the arched cone frustum is a circular arc having a radius of 50% to 100% of a largest cross-sectional radius of the fixing bolt.
Regarding claim 14, the prior art of record does not specifically teach alone or in obvious combination wherein an outline of the arched cone frustum is exponentially, hyperbolically, or logarithmically arched.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Gregory Mangot whose telephone number is 703-756-5737. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm ET.
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, Christopher Koehler can be reached at 571-272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/GREGORY L MANGOT/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights