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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hamada (US 2023/0198171).
Regarding claim 1: Hamada teaches a shielded electrically conductive path (Fig. 1), comprising: a shielded cable 10 including an insulation coating 12 surrounding a core wire 11, a shield layer 13 surrounding the insulation coating 12 and a sheath 14 surrounding the shield layer 13; a sleeve 15 surrounding an exposed part extending forward of the sheath 14 (see Fig. 2), out of the shield layer 13, the sleeve 15 being crimped to an outer peripheral surface of the insulation coating 12 (see Fig. 2); and a shield terminal 20 including an outer conductor 23, a crimping portion 25 in the form of an open barrel (see Fig. 1) formed in a rear end part of the outer conductor 23 being crimped to the sleeve 15 while surrounding the sleeve 15 and a region behind the sleeve (at 44; Fig. 2), out of the insulation coating 12, an inner peripheral side locking portion 31 and an outer peripheral side locking portion 40 being formed in a region covering the insulation coating 12 (see Fig. 3), out of the crimping portion (see Fig. 1), the inner peripheral side locking portion 31 being located more radially inward than a region surrounding the sleeve 15 (see Fig. 3), out of the crimping portion, and the outer peripheral side locking portion 40 being locked to the inner peripheral side locking portion 31 while being accommodated in a recess 39 in an outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral side locking portion (see Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claim 2: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein the crimping portion 25 is formed with a retaining portion 29 arranged at a position in contact with the sleeve from behind or closely facing the sleeve from behind (see Figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 3: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the retaining portion 29 continuously extends over at least more than a semiperimeter in a circumferential direction (see Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the inner peripheral side locking portion 31 is formed in the retaining portion 29 (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein a depth of the recess 39 is equal to or larger than a plate thickness of the crimping portion 25 (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 6: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein: one of the inner peripheral side locking portion 31 and the outer peripheral side locking portion 40 is formed with a locking hole 39, and the other of the inner peripheral side locking portion and the outer peripheral side locking portion is formed with a locking protrusion 32 to be locked into the locking hole (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 7: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein an opening dimension in a front-rear direction of the locking hole 39 is set to be larger than a dimension in the front-rear direction of the locking protrusion 32 (see Figs. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 8: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein an opening dimension in a circumferential direction of the locking hole 39 is set to be larger than a dimension in the circumferential direction of the locking protrusion 32 (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein: the locking hole 39 is formed in the inner peripheral side locking portion 31, and the locking protrusion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral side locking portion 40 (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 10: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein the locking protrusion 32 is shaped by bending a part of the inner peripheral side locking portion or the outer peripheral side locking portion into a folded shape (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 11: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein the locking protrusion 32 is shaped by cutting and raising a part of the inner peripheral side locking portion or the outer peripheral side locking portion in a plate thickness direction (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 12: Hamada teaches all the limitations of claim 6 and further teaches wherein the locking protrusion 32 is shaped by bending the inner peripheral side locking portion or the outer peripheral side locking portion along a fold line in a circumferential direction (Fig. 3).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892 for pertinent prior art, the following references being of closest relevance:
Hikosaka (US 2017/0201034) teaches a shielded connector comprising a shielded cable and outer terminal, and a shielded crimping portion having an inner and outer locking portion;
Satooka (US 2025/0246851) teaches a shielded electrically conductive path comprising a shielded cable, shield terminal and a locking portion;
Maesoba (US 2022/0149570) teaches a cable and terminal and an outer conductor that wraps around the shielded portion of the cable;
Miedl (US 11,677,166) teaches an outer conductor for a plug connector and an outer conductor contact element that presses against portion of a shielded cable and forms a locking portion with itself;
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSCAR C JIMENEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-0272. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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, Jessica Han can be reached at (571) 272-2078. 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.
/OSCAR C JIMENEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
Prosecution Insights