DETAILED ACTION
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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Per claim 9, the drawings do not show that “the first resilient arm and the second resilient arm have resilient contact sections with arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall to mating terminal engaging members.”
Per claim 20 the drawings do not show “the first resilient arm and the second resilient arm have resilient contact sections with arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall to mating terminal engaging members.
As clearly shown in figure 4, annotated below, the arcuate portion (labeled arcuate portion below) extends from a planar side wall (labeled “planar side wall” below), and the planar side wall is what extends from the bottom wall (labeled “bottom wall” below). The figures do not show “arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall” as claimed.
PNG
media_image1.png
634
1026
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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.
Correction is required in response to this Office action and corrections may not be held in abeyance. Applicant is required to submit acceptable corrected drawings within the time period set in the Office action. See 37 CFR 1.185(a). Failure to take corrective action within the set (or extended) period will result in ABANDONMENT of the application.
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 anticipatory rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coldren US 448468.
Regarding claim 1, Coldren discloses an electrical terminal 2 comprising:
a contact portion having a bottom wall (labeled BW in annotated figure 1 below) with resilient contact arms (labeled RCA1, RCA2, below) extending therefrom;
a terminal mating cavity (labeled “mating slot” below) positioned between the resilient contact arms and
the bottom wall;
the resilient contact arms having terminal engagement members (labeled TEM1 and TE2) positioned at a top of the terminal mating cavity, the terminal engagement members being spaced apart by a slot (labeled SL3) to allow the terminal engagement members to move independently of each other;
the bottom wall having a first section (labeled Se1), a second section (labeled Se2) and a third (labeled Se3) section,
the first section separated from the second section by a first slot (at 35, labeled sl1), the second section separated from the third section by a second slot (at 35, labeled sl2);
wherein the first section, the second section and the third section move independently relative to one another in a direction perpendicular to an axis of insertion of a mating terminal.
PNG
media_image2.png
1246
994
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Per claim 2 a first resilient contact arm (RCA1) of the resilient contact arms extends from the first section of the bottom wall and
second resilient contact arm (RCA2) of the resilient contact arms extends from
the third section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 5, the first section, the second section and the third section extend from, and are integrally attached to a base section (labeled BS below) of the bottom wall.
PNG
media_image3.png
567
625
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Per claim 12, the contact portion is inherently moveable between a first position and a second position, in the first position, prior to the insertion of the mating terminal into a mating slot of the contact portion, the contact portion is in an unstressed position, in the second position, with the mating terminal inserted into the mating slot of the contact portion, the
contact portion is in a stressed position.
Per claim 13, Coldren discloses an electrical terminal comprising:
a contact portion having a bottom wall (labeled BW above) with resilient contact arms (labeled RCA1 and RCA2 above) extending therefrom, a mating slot (labeled “mating slot” above) positioned between the resilient contact arms and the bottom wall;
the bottom wall having; a first section (labeled Se1), a second section (labeled Se2) and a third section (labeled Se3), the first section separated from the second section
by a first slot (labeled Sl1), the second section separated from the third section by a second slot (labeled Sl2):
the first section extending from a base section of the bottom wall (the portion of the bottom wall excluding the cantilevered arm Se1, Se2, and Se3) to a first section free end, the base section being proximate a wire barrel portion of the terminal;
the second section separated from the first section by a first slot extending from
the base section to a second section free end, the second section free end being independently moveable relative to the first section free end in a direction perpendicular to an axis of insertion of a mating terminal,
the third section separated from the second section by a second slot extending
from the base section to a third section free end, the third section free end being
independently moveable relative to the first section free end and the second section
free end;
wherein the first section, the second section and the third section move
independently relative to one another in a direction perpendicular to an axis of insertion
of a mating terminal to provide and maintain a stable and reliable electrical connection
is provided and maintained between a mating terminal inserted into the mating slot and
the terminal.
Per claim 14 a first resilient contact arm of the resilient contact arms extends from the first section of the bottom wall and a second resilient contact arm of the resilient contact arms extends from the third section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 16, the first section, the second section and the third section extend from, and are integrally attached to a base section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 20, the first resilient arm and the second resilient arm have resilient contact sections with arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall to mating terminal engaging members.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over he et al. US 5795196 (“Hotea”).
Regarding claim 1, Hotea discloses an electrical terminal 2 comprising:
a contact portion 4 having a bottom wall (the portion visible in figure 1, labeled BW in annotated figures below) with resilient contact arms (side portions rising from the bottom wall labeled RCA1 and RCA2 below) extending therefrom;
the bottom wall having a first section (labeled Se1), a second section (labeled Se2) and a third (labeled Se3) section,
the first section separated from the second section by a first slot (labeled sl1), the second section separated from the third section by a second slot (labeled sl2);
the resilient contact arms having terminal engagement members (labeled TEM1 and TEM2) positioned at a top of the terminal mating cavity, the terminal engagement members being spaced apart by a slot (labeled SL3) to allow the terminal engagement members to move independently of each other;
wherein the first section, the second section and the third section inherently move independently relative to one another in a direction perpendicular to an axis of insertion of a mating terminal.
To the extent that the one piece stamped terminal includes a seam (labeled “seam” below) that is shown as a gap in figure 2, and therefore arguably the contact arm labeled RCA1 is not clearly shown as rising up from the bottom wall and connecting to the top wall, Hotea states that the free ends are joined to prevent expansion of the contact (col. 4, lines 15-21) such as by a weld. It would have been obvious to weld the seam closed as suggested at col. 4, lines 15-21. The result would be that the side portion or resilient contact arm labeled RCA1 below would extend upward from the bottom wall and connect to the upper spring arms 12, just as is shown on the opposite/right side in figure 2 below. The reason would have been to prevent expansion of the contact as noted.
PNG
media_image4.png
910
862
media_image4.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image5.png
1292
600
media_image5.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image6.png
1278
646
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Per claim 2 a first resilient contact arm (labeled RCA1) of the resilient contact arms extends from the first section of the bottom wall and a second resilient contact arm (labeled RCA2) of the resilient contact arms extends from the third section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 3 the second section is a spring arm.
Per claim 4, an embossment (labeled EMB above) is provided on the second section.
Per claim 5 the first section, the second section and the third section extend from, and are integrally attached to a base section (labeled BS above) of the bottom wall.
Per claim 6 the first section extends from a base section of the bottom wall to a first free end, a first resilient contact arm (labeled RCA1) extends from the first section.
Per claim 7, the second section extends from the base section to a second free end, the second free end of the second section moves independently relative to the first free end of the first section in a direction perpendicular to the axis of insertion of the mating terminal, the second section has an embossment (labeled EMB above) formed from the second section to create a raised area on an inner surface of the second section.
Per claim 8, the third section extends from the base section to a third free end, a second resilient contact arm extends from the third section, the third free end of the third section moves independently relative to the first free end of the first section and the second free end of the second section in a direction perpendicular to the axis of insertion of the mating terminal.
Per claim 12, the contact portion is inherently moveable between a first position and a second position, in the first position, prior to the insertion of the mating terminal into a mating slot of the contact portion, the contact portion is in an unstressed position, in the second position, with the mating terminal inserted into the mating slot of the contact portion, the contact portion is in a stressed position.
Per claim 13 Hotea discloses an electrical terminal comprising:
a contact portion having a bottom wall (labeled BW above) with resilient contact arms (labeled RCA1 and RCA2 above) extending therefrom, a mating slot (labeled “mating slot”) positioned between the resilient contact arms and the bottom wall;
the bottom wall having a first section (labeled Se1), a second section (labeled Se2) and a third section (labeled Se3), the first section separated from the second section
by a first slot (labeled SL1, the second section separated from the third section by a second slot (labeled SL2):
the first section extending from a base section (labeled BS) of the bottom wall to a first section free end, the base section being proximate a wire barrel portion (at 6) of the terminal;
the second section extending from the base section to a second section free end, the second section free end being independently moveable relative to the first section free end in a direction perpendicular to an axis of insertion of a mating terminal:
the third section extending from the base section to a third section free end, the third section free end being independently moveable relative to the first section free end and the second section free end;
a stable and reliable electrical connection is provided and maintained between a mating terminal inserted into the mating slot and the terminal.
To the extent that the one piece stamped terminal includes a seam (labeled “seam” below) that is shown as a gap in figure 2, and therefore arguably the contact arm labeled RCA1 is not clearly shown as rising up from the bottom wall and connecting to the top wall, Hotea states that the free ends are joined to prevent expansion of the contact (col. 4, lines 15-21) such as by a weld. It would have been obvious to weld the seam closed as suggested at col. 4, lines 15-21. The result would be that the side portion or resilient contact arm labeled RCA1 below would extend upward from the bottom wall and connect to the upper spring arms 12, just as is shown on the opposite/right side in figure 2 below. The reason would have been to prevent expansion of the contact as noted.
Per claim 14 a first resilient contact arm (labeled RCA1) of the resilient contact arms extends from the first section of the bottom wall and a second resilient contact arm (labeled RCA2) of the resilient contact arms extends from the third section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 15 the second section is a spring arm.
Per claim 16 the first section, the second section and the third section extend from, and are integrally attached to a base section of the bottom wall.
Per claim 18, the second section has an embossment (labeled EMP above) formed from the second section to create a raised area on an inner surface of the second section.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered. Applicant argues that Hotea does not disclose various elements of the claims. All of the elements of independent claims 1 and 13 have been identified in the prior art as set out in the discussions above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 10 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.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art does not disclose the invention as claimed in claim 9, including the intervening claims 6-8, further including that the first resilient arm and the second resilient arm have resilient contact sections with arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall to mating terminal engaging members. Note that this feature is not shown in the applicant’s figures, as noted in the objection to the drawings above. Hotea ‘196 rather shows that there is an intervening planar sidewall between the arcuate portion of the resilient arm and the bottom wall, which is the same configuration that is shown in applicant’s figures. Hotea does not disclose feature that is claimed in claim 9, which is different from the features that are shown in applicant’s figures. See in contrast Coldren ‘468, which does disclose arcuate portions which extend from the bottom wall, as opposed to applicant’s figures which do not disclose the arcuate portions extending from the bottom wall.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS GUSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-2005. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 8:30 - 5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached on 571-272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ROSS N GUSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights