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 because of the following problems.
A plugging cavity of the terminal body 1 is not identified in the drawings with an assigned reference number and a line pointing at the plugging cavity.
At least two grooves extending in an axial direction of the contact section 13 are also not identified in the drawings with an assigned reference number and a pointing line.
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 following features must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
A sealing-ring mounting groove provided on the transition section 12.
A sealing ring sleeved in the sealing-ring mounting groove.
A temperature sensor externally provided with a shielding layer.
A plating layer on the contact elastic piece, having a bottom layer and a surface layer.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
“132” shown in Figure 2 and “3”, “4” and “121” shown in Figure 5.
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 Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 12, line 1, the examiner suggests the applicant to change “wherein:” to -- wherein --.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 12-13, and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cameron (US 4,497,527).
Cameron discloses a terminal having a memory ring, comprising (claim 1) a terminal body (10) and a memory ring (14), wherein: the terminal body (10) comprises a contact section (18), and a plugging cavity with a variable radial size is provided in the contact section (18); and the memory ring (14) is sleeved on an outer side of the contact section (18) and is in contact with the contact section (18), and the memory ring (14) is made of a memory alloy (see column 4, lines 42-47); (claim 2) wherein: the memory ring (14) has a transformation temperature; when a temperature of the terminal having the memory ring is lower than the transformation temperature, both the memory ring (14) and the plugging cavity are in an expanded state; and when the temperature of the terminal having the memory ring is higher than the transformation temperature, both the memory ring (14) and the plugging cavity are in a contracted state (see column 2, lines 59-68 to column 3, lines 1-10); (claim 3) wherein the transformation 20 temperature of the memory ring (14) is 40 °C to 70 °C (see column 3, lines 20-37); (claim 4) wherein the contact section (18) is provided with at least two grooves (not labeled, see Fig. 1) extending in an axial direction, and the grooves divide the contact section (18) into at least two contact elastic pieces; (claim 6) wherein an outer surface of the contact section (18) is provided with at least one mounting annular groove (20), and the at least one of the memory rings (14) is respectively matchably sleeved on the at least one mounting annular groove (20); (claim 12) wherein the terminal body (1) further comprises a cable connection section (24) and a transition section (12); and the cable connection section (24), the transition section (12) and the contact section (18) are disposed in sequence; (claim 13) wherein the cable connection section (24) is secured to a conductor of a cable by one or more connections selected from the group consisting of crimping, soldering or other appropriate methods as desired (see column 5, lines 48-52); (claim 20) wherein an included angle between a plugging direction of the contact section (18) and a wiring direction of the cable connection section (24) is greater than 0° and less than or equal to 180°; (claim 21) wherein the memory alloy is a nickel-titanium alloy (see column 4, lines 48-51).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cameron (US 4,497,527).
Regarding claim 7, Cameron discloses the memory ring (14) being an opening ring structure.
However, Cameron does not disclose a length of an opening (not labeled) of the memory ring (14) being greater than or equal to 1 mm and being less than half of a circumference of the memory ring (14).
On the other hand, with today’s technology, it is common knowledge that a ring with an opening ring structure can be made many different sizes depending on the ring’s purpose and function.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the memory ring taught by Cameron such that it would have the size as taught by the instant invention because it only deals with changing size. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 8, Cameron does not disclose two ends of the memory ring (14) forming a spiral overlapping area, and a length of the spiral overlapping area being less than half of a circumference of the memory ring (14).
Again, making the memory ring (14) of Cameron to have the shape of claim 8 only deals with the changing the size of the memory ring (14), which is making the memory ring (14) longer in length to have spiral overlapping area. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cameron (US 4,497,527) in view of Eliassen (US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0156126 A1).
Claim 14 recites that the transition section (12) of the terminal is externally provided with a sealing-ring mounting groove in which a sealing ring is sleeved.
However, Cameron does not disclose the terminal having a sealing ring in a sealing-ring mounting groove as recited in claim 14.
On the other hand, Eliassen discloses a terminal 26, 28 having an externally provided sealing-ring mounting groove 48, 49 in which a sealing ring 50, 52.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the terminal taught by Cameron such that it would have a sealing ring in a sealing-ring mounting groove as taught by Eliassen because the sealing ring combination with the sealing-ring mounting groove is commonly used to seal the terminal from external environment.
Claim(s) 22, 25-27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cameron (US 4,497,527) Hwang (US 8,808,038 B2).
Regarding claims 22 and 25-26, Cameron does not disclose the contact elastic piece of
the terminal having a plating layer thereon; wherein the plating layer comprises a bottom layer and a surface layer.
On the other hand, Hwang discloses a terminal 500 comprising an upper contact 510-1 and a lower contact 510, each of the upper and lower contact made of a copper alloy and is formed by plating nickel and by plating gold on the contact, thereby maximizing the electric conductivity of the contact pin. Although Hwang does not explicitly state the plating layer comprises a bottom layer and a surface layer, each of the upper and lower contact has a contact surface 511 at one free end and a flat side surface. Therefore, the contact surface 511 can be considered as the bottom layer and the side surface as the surface layer.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the terminal such that it would have a plating layer with a bottom layer and a surface layer as taught by Hwang to maximize the electric conductivity of the terminal.
Regarding claims 27 and 29, Hwang does not disclose the exact thicknesses of the bottom layer and the surface layer, but it is common knowledge that the desired thickness of the plating layer can be achieve by applying different number of plating layers. Therefore, having a specific thickness of the plating layer only deals with the changing size of the thickness of the plating layer. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15 and 18-19 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAE MOON HYEON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm.
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, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at 571-270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/hmh/
/Hae Moon Hyeon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831