DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 4, the limitation that “the openings are quadratic” is indefinite. “Quadratic” is defined as follows:
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Merriam-websters.com. It is unknown what a “quadratic opening” is or requires. The limitation is given little weight.
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 anticipatory rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Colson et al. US 9153905 (“Colson”). Regarding claim 1, Colson discloses a safety sleeve (9) for a connector system comprising a first connector (1) and a second connector (2), the safety sleeve being adapted to lock the first connector to the second connector and comprising:
a circumferential body (11) having a first rim (labeled R1 in annotated figure 2 below) arranged in a first plane and a second rim (labeled R2 below) arranged in a second plane,
a first opening (labeled O1 below) arranged on a first resilient tab (labeled RT1),
a second opening (labeled O2) arranged on a second resilient tab (labeled RT2),
a third opening (labeled O3) arranged on a third resilient tab (labeled RT3, and
a fourth opening (labeled O4) arranged on a fourth resilient tab (labeled RT4), wherein:
the first opening is adapted to cooperate with a first protruding catch 18 of the second connector and
the third opening is adapted to cooperate with a second protruding catch 18 of the second connector, and where
the second opening is adapted to cooperate with a first protruding catch 18 of the first connector and
the fourth opening is adapted to cooperate with a second protruding catch of the first connector, where
the first opening and the third opening are arranged at the first rim and
the second opening and the fourth opening are arranged at the second rim, and
that the resilient tabs are positioned between the first rim and the second rim. In particular, the portions of the tabs (labeled BP below) within the respective recesses (one recess labeled REC below) that extend below the rims are between the rims.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 3, 4, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Colson.
Regarding claim 3 and 4, Colson does not disclose that the openings are rectangular. Regarding the particular shape of the opening, the shape of would have been a matter of engineering design choice. See In re In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966). It would have been obvious to make the openings and pins rectangular as a matter of engineering design choice.
Regarding claim 8, Colson discloses that the sleeve can be partially of plastic (col. 3, lines 10-15) but not made from a single plastic material. The examiner takes Official notice that it was well-known in the art to make connector components out of plastic. It would have been obvious to make the Colson device out of a single plastic material. The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended purpose would have been obvious. Sinclair & Carroll Col. V. Interchemical Corp., 65 USPQ 297 (1945); In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197 (CCPA 1960).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9-15 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.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art does not disclose the invention as claimed including the connector system further comprises a sealing arranged between a front surface of the second connector and a front surface of an extending flange of the first connector.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS GUSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-2005. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 8:30 - 5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached on 571-272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROSS N GUSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834