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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-7 and 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/5/26.
Drawings
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 “side engagement slot” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s) 8. No new matter should be entered.
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 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8, the limitation “a side engagement slot defined by the third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface” have no support from the description.
The examiner interprets as “a channel along a longitudinal of the third surface to be consistent with the channel 220 as disclosed in the description and Figure 2C-2D for examination.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the button” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 8-9 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weber et al. (US 2014/0057479).
The recitation that “for engaging with a head mountable display” has not been given patentable weight because it has been held that a preamble is denied the effect of a limitation where the claim is drawn to a structure and the portion of the claim following the preamble is a self-contained description of the structure not depending for completeness upon the introductory clause. Kropa v. Robie, 88 USPQ 478 (CCPA 1951).
Regarding claim 8, Webber et al. disclose a plug connector, comprising:
a body including a first surface (44a, Fig. 3A) of the body, a second surface (hidden, opposite to the surface 44a) of the body opposite the first surface,
a third surface (44c) of the body extending between the first surface and the second surface, and a fourth surface (44d) extending between the first surface and the second surface opposite the third surface;
an electrical contact (12) disposed on the first or second surface;
a polymer (see paragraph 0031) disposed over the body around the electrical contact;
a channel (14) defined by the third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface;
a printed circuit board (104) electrically coupled to the electrical contact; and
a processor (108a, 108b) disposed on the printed circuit board.
Webber substantially disclosed the claimed invention except the shape of the first and second surface is convex and concave shapes.
It would have been obvious matter of design choice to change the first and second surface to a convex or concave shapes, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 9, in the modified plug connector, Webber et al. disclose the body forms the channel defined by the third surface.
Regarding claim 12, in the modified plug connector, Webber et al. disclose the electrical contact is a first electrical contact disposed on the modified concave surface; and the plug connector further comprises a second electrical contact disposed on the modified convex surface.
Regarding claim 13, in the modified plug connector, Webber et al. disclose the body comprises a metal portion (see Paragraph 0026); the convex surface is at least partially defined by a polymer coupled to the metal portion; the concave surface is at least partially defined by the polymer coupled to the metal portion; and the electrical contact is at least partially disposed within the polymer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11 and 14-15 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUC T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2011. The examiner can normally be reached monday-friday (7-4).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher M. Koehler can be reached at 5712723560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TRUC T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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