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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (Figs. 1-3, Claims 1-11) in the reply filed on May 18, 2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(l). Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black (except for color drawings), sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined. The weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. This requirement applies to all lines however fine, to shading, and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views.. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “the disclosed”, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1-2 recites the limitation "a power adapter" in Lines 2 and 12 in Claim 1 and Line 2 in Claim 2. It is not clear if these power adapter are the same or different than the one previously recited in Line 1 of Claim 1. For examination purposes, the Examiner will assume that they are the same.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the perimeter" and “the blade body area” in Lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
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.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wan (GB 2190800). Regarding Claim 1, Wan discloses an interchangeable IPx4 United Kingdom blade (Fig. 1) for a power adapter (socket, Claim 1) comprising: a blade body (12) that mates with the power adapter; a ground pin (14); a neutral pin (18); a live pin (16); an unlock button (100); a fuse holder (50); a fuse cover (53); and a fuse (52), wherein the fuse sits inside the fuse holder, the fuse cover couples to the blade body with screws (24, 42), the blade body removably couples with the power adapter, and the ground pin, neutral pin, and live pin are configured in a standard United Kingdom socket configuration.
Regarding Claim 2, Wan discloses the blade body including engagement protrusions (14, 16, 18) that mate with the power adapter.
Regarding Claim 3, Wan discloses the unlock button being mechanically connected to the engagement protrusions such that the user can engage the unlock button to selectively reconfigure the engagement protrusions (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 4, Wan discloses the blade body mating with the power adapter and the engagement protrusions being oriented such that when the blade body mates with the power adapter, the power adapter points opposite the ground pin (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 5, Wan discloses an IPx4 O-ring (138) between the fuse holder and the fuse cover.
Regarding Claim 6, Wan discloses the unlock button being IPx4 sealed with the blade body (Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 7, Wan discloses that, when the blade body couples with the power adapter, the power adapter is oriented such that it points opposite the ground pin (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 8, Wan discloses the blade body including an IPx4 gasket (138) around a perimeter of a blade body area that mates with the power adapter.
Regarding Claim 9, Wan discloses a blade magnet (134), wherein the blade magnet is configured to selectively couple with the power adapter magnet on the power adapter.
Regarding Claim 10, Wan discloses the screws being M2.5 screws (24, 42).
Regarding Claim 11, Wan discloses alignment guides (14, 16, 18) configured to mate with corresponding alignment rails (where 14, 16, 18 are connected in the power adapter/socket) on the power adapter.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art discloses connectors, similar to Applicant’s claimed invention, having blades, pins and fuses with holders and covers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDWIN A LEON whose telephone number is (571)272-2008. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10am-6pm.
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, Renee S Luebke can be reached on 5712722009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EDWIN A. LEON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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