DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim 1, 4-6, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Masuda et al. US 10559919 (“Masuda”).
Per claim 1, Masuda discloses a connector (100), comprising:
at least one terminal (11) to be connected to at least one wire (11);
a housing (1, 3) including at least one accommodating portion (33) for at least partly accommodating the terminal along a first direction (aligned with wire 11) inside and a tube portion (wall forming opening 74) substantially open in a second direction (facing mating connector 200, labeled D2 below) intersecting the first direction, the tube portion (60) communicating with the accommodating portion;
at least one sealing member (80) mounted to the tube portion, particularly on an outer periphery of the tube portion (see e.g., figure 10); and
at least one retainer (9) for preventing detachment of the sealing member from the housing (see e.g., figure 10),
the retainer (9) including at least one terminal position assuring portion (97) for restricting a movement of the terminal in a first opposite direction opposite to the first direction. In particular, see col. 10, lines 39-51:
“the pressing protrusions 97 of the front holder 9 are elastically deformed by the fitting pressing force acting on the front holder 9 to press and urge the box-shaped portions 22 of the terminals 21 toward inside of the terminal accommodating chambers 33.
(69) Accordingly, the terminals 21 are prevented from rattling in the terminal accommodating chambers 33. As a result, even when the shielded connector 100 according to the present embodiment is used in an automobile or the like, the terminals 21 are prevented from vibrating in the terminal accommodating chambers 33 caused by vibration during running of the automobile, and friction is less likely to occur between the terminals 21 and the mating terminals 85. Therefore, in the shielded connector 100, the situation that contact resistance become unstable due to the friction that occurs between the terminals 21 and the mating terminals 85 will not occur and connection reliability is improved.”
The disclosed prevention of vibration of terminals 21 inherently includes prevention of slight movements of terminals 21 in the first opposite direction. The examiner acknowledges that walls 36 prevent complete removal of the terminals in the first opposite direction, however, as disclosed, even slight movements within the chamber 33, in any direction, including the first opposite direction, will be restricted by the protrusions 97 pressing against the terminals 21.
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Per claim 4, the retainer (9) includes:
a body portion (91, 92) formed into a frame shape, the body portion covering the end surface in the second direction of the tube portion;
the terminal position assuring portion 97 projecting in a second opposite
direction substantially opposite to the second direction from the body portion (at 92); and
at least one retaining portion (labeled RRP above) projecting radially outwardly of the body portion from the body portion, and the retaining portion is provided to be engageable with the sealing member substantially in the second direction.
Per claim 5, the retainer includes at least one guide protrusion (93) projecting
substantially in the second opposite direction from the body portion,
the housing includes at least one guide recess (98) at least partly to be fit to
the guide protrusion, and
a projection amount of the guide protrusion from the body portion is larger than that of the terminal position assuring portion from the body portion.
Per claim 6, the retainer includes at least one reinforcing portion (labeled RIP above, the walls connecting projections 97) continuously and integrally formed with the terminal position assuring portion (97) to reinforce the terminal position assuring portion (86), the reinforcing portion projects substantially in the second opposite direction from the body portion, and a projection amount of the reinforcing portion from the body portion (at 92) is smaller than that of the terminal position assuring portion from the body portion (at 92).
Per claim 9, the tube portion includes at least one through hole (74), the terminal position assuring portion at least partly being inserted into the through hole along a second opposite direction substantially opposite to the second direction, and
the through hole (74) penetrates through the tube portion in the second direction and substantially communicates with the accommodating portion 33.
Per claim 10, Masuda discloses a wiring harness, comprising: the connector according to claim 1; and the wire (11) connected to the connector.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 7, and 8 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 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.
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/ROSS N GUSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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