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 Objections
Claims 1 and 5 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 1, line 5, “is formed” should be deleted. In claim 5, line “fixing groove” should be – coupling groove— to agree with the specification. Appropriate correction is required.
35 USC 102 Rejections
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 102020208659.
Regarding claim 1, DE ‘659 discloses a cable connector which connects a lug 16,16A formed on one end of a cable (unnumbered) and including a protruding portion 16,16A having a diameter greater than a diameter of the cable to a circuit board installed in a case (paragraph 0009), the cable connector comprising: a first member 12 which is fixed to the case and in which a through-hole 20 into which the cable is inserted; and a second member 14 which is installed on one side of the first member and in which a coupling port 18 to which the protruding portion of the lug is coupled is formed, wherein the second member includes a first lug fixing part 32 formed to protrude in an inward direction of the coupling port on an entrance of the coupling port adjacent to the first member.
Regarding claim 3, DE ‘659 discloses a shape of a cross section of the coupling port 18 corresponds to a shape of a cross section of the protruding portion of the lug 16,16A.
Regarding claim 6, DE ‘659 (Figure 7) discloses a reinforcement part (unnumbered, immediately below reference numeral 58) protruding in an outward direction of the cable is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the first member 12.
Regarding claim 7, DE ‘659 discloses the first member 12 is formed of an elastic material; and the second member 14 is formed of a rigid plastic material.
35 USC 103 Rejections
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102020208659 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Trout et al 7270562.
Regarding claim 5, Trout et al (Figure 5) discloses a fixing groove 302 is formed on case 262; and a fixing protrusion 292 insertion-coupled to the fixing groove is formed on first member 132, and to provide DE ‘659 with a fixing groove receiving a fixing protrusion thus would have been obvious, to prevent separation of the first member from the case. To place the fixing protrusion on the case, and the fixing groove on the first member of DE ‘659, would have been an obvious reversal of parts not substantially affecting the function thereof.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102020208659 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nawa 8545264.
Nawa (front page) discloses a cable guide 36 communicating with the through-hole is formed in the first member to guide the cable into the through-hole; and a sealing part 21 formed to prevent dust or moisture from penetrating an inside of the through-hole is provided on the cable guide, and to provide DE ‘659 with same thus would have been obvious, to prevent ingress of contaminants.
Claims Defining Over Prior Art
Claims 2, 4 and 9 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art discloses or teaches a third member installed on one side of the second member, wherein a coupling hole to which an end portion of the lug is coupled is formed in the third member, and a second lug fixing part protruding in an inward direction of the coupling hole is formed in the coupling hole; in combination with the rest of the subject matter of the independent claim.
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/GARY F PAUMEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834