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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a conductive electrode plate is disposed in the enclosed cavity” (claim 1, lines 3-4) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). The conductive electrode plate 30 is not in the enclosed cavity 21 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. No new matter should be entered.
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.
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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 11,867,743 to Hieser et al also published as EP19189488 (dated 07/31/2019).
Regarding claims 1-2, Hieser et al disclose an insulation withstand voltage detection method for a wiring harness, comprising: step S10: placing a to-be-detected wiring harness (2) in an enclosed cavity (3), wherein a conductive electrode plate (24) is disposed in the enclosed cavity (3, see Fig. 6), and the to-be-detected wiring harness has one end insulated and enclosed, and the other end connected to a power supply (8); step S20: reducing air pressure in the enclosed cavity to a vacuum degree of 0 mbar to 5,000 mbar (see Col. 9, lines 8-13); step S30: providing a test voltage by the power supply (8); and step S40: detecting a voltage of the to-be-detected wiring harness (2), and/or detecting a leakage current of the to-be-detected wiring harness (see Col. 9, lines 13-16).
Regarding claim 3, Hieser et al disclose a detection value of the voltage is compared with a set requirement value and a detection value of the leakage current is compared with a set requirement value, and wherein when the detection value of the voltage and the detection value of the leakage current both meet requirements, it is judged that the insulation withstand voltage performance of the to-be-detected wiring harness is qualified (see Col. 3, lines 13-21; Col. 6, lines 10-12).
Regarding claims 4 and 11, Hieser et al disclose an insulation withstand voltage detection device (1, see Fig. 1) for a wiring harness (2 as an automobile wiring harness assembly line, see Col. 1, lines 21-27), comprising: a detection chamber (3) provided with an enclosed cavity (see Fig. 4) in which a conductive electrode plate (24) is disposed (see Fig. 6); a vacuum device (10) in communication with the enclosed cavity; a power supply (8) electrically connected to the conductive electrode plate (see Figs. 5-6); a conductive module (6), a first end of which is electrically connected to the power supply (8), and a second end of which is connected to a to-be-detected wiring harness (2) and located in the enclosed cavity (see Fig. 6); and a current detection sensor and/or a voltage detection sensor (21, see Col. 9, lines 21-25), wherein the current detection sensor is connected in series between the power supply and the conductive module (inherently connected in series to measure current), and the voltage detection sensor is used to be connected in parallel to the to-be-detected wiring harness (inherently connected in parallel to measure voltage).
Regarding claims 5-7 and 12-14, Hieser et al disclose a first insulation docking shell and a conductive core disposed therein; the first insulation docking shell is configured to accommodate an end of the to-be-detected wiring harness in an accommodation cavity; and the conductive core is in contact with a conductive terminal of the to-be-detected wiring harness in the accommodation cavity; and the conductive core is connected to the power supply (8) through a power cable (7) , a sealing member is connected to the power cable, the first insulation docking shell is disposed inside a sidewall of the detection chamber, and the sealing member is connected to an outer side of the sidewall of the detection chamber. (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 8-9 and 15-16, Hieser et al disclose an insulation enclosing module (6) configured to insulate and enclose the end of the to-be-detected wiring harness and a second insulation docking shell configured to accommodate the end of the to-be-detected wiring harness (see Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claims 10 and 17, Hieser et al disclose the conductive electrode plate (24) is configured on a bottom wall of the detection chamber (see Fig. 6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art references are cited for their general teachings of testing wire harness or dielectric breakdown voltage.
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/DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/September 29, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
