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
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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Endo US 20030073353 A1
In reference to claim 1, Endo teaches a connector (fig. 3), comprising: a housing (40) including a terminal accommodation chamber (41); a terminal fitting (50; fig. 4) to be inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber; and a retainer (30) attached to the housing, the retainer (30) being displaceable between a temporary locking position (shown in figure 4) and a complete locking position (shown in figure 5), the retainer being formed with a resiliently deformable temporary locking portion (35; fig. 4) arranged to face the terminal accommodation chamber at the temporary locking position and a complete locking portion (36; fig. 5) arranged to face the terminal accommodation chamber at the complete locking position, the complete locking portion having a higher stiffness than the temporary locking portion ([0047], lines 6-12 explain that lance 35 is bent upward due to the insertion of the terminal 50. Therefore the complete locking portion 36 is seen to have higher stiffness than 35), the temporary locking portion allowing insertion of the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodation chamber by being resiliently deformed ([0047], lines 6-12 explain that lance 35 is bent upward due to the insertion of the terminal 50) and temporarily holding the terminal fitting in a retained state by locking the terminal fitting in the terminal accommodation chamber, and the complete locking portion (36) holding the terminal fitting (50) in a retained state by locking the terminal fitting inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber.
In reference to claim 2, Endo teaches wherein: the terminal fitting (50) is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber from behind the housing, and the temporary locking portion has a cantilever shape extending forward and is arranged forward of the complete locking portion.
In reference to claim 3, Endo teaches wherein: the retainer (30) is formed with a base portion (32; fig. 1) extending in parallel to a movement path between the temporary locking position and the complete locking position, and the temporary locking portion and the complete locking portion are shaped to project (i.e. 35 & 36 extend from 32) from the base portion.
In reference to claim 4, Endo teaches wherein: the terminal accommodation chamber (41) is formed inside a projection-like terminal accommodating portion (i.e. the front portion of the housing 40. See the illustration below where the front portion of the housing 40 that projects from the rear portion of the housing 40), and the retainer is formed with a locking accommodation chamber (area between 31b, 31c that fits around housing 40. See fig. 3) for accommodating the terminal accommodating portion (see fig. 3).
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In reference to claim 5, Endo teaches wherein the temporary locking portion and the complete locking portion are accommodated in the locking accommodation chamber (see fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 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.
Conclusion
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/TRAVIS S CHAMBERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 01/02/2026