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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 202006009459 (herein, DE459).
In reference to claim 1, DE459 teaches a system (shown in figure 5), comprising: a terminal block (2; fig. 2) having a plurality of slots (22; fig. 2) on a first side of the terminal block, wherein each of the plurality of slots is configured to receive an insert (19; fig. 2); and an input/output (I/O) device (1; fig. 5) comprising a circuit (for the purpose of examination, the limitation “circuit” is seen as electrically conductive components that allow transmission of current. Therefore, the internal electrically conductive components of 1 in Figures 1b and 8 are viewed as a “circuit”. ), wherein the circuit comprises one or more indentations (i.e. the space between 9c and 14 in figure 8b) configured to receive one or more inserts positioned in one or more slots of the plurality of slots.
In reference to claim 5, DE459 teaches the system of claim 1, wherein a second side of the terminal block (2) comprises a plurality of terminals (7; fig. 8b) configured to receive one or more electrical connectors (pertaining to 6; fig. 8b) configured to electrically couple to the circuit via one or more additional electrical connectors (i.e. 7 that is part of 1; fig. 8b) disposed on the circuit.
In reference to claim 7, DE459 teaches the system of claim 1, comprising a key component (shown in figure 11a) comprising a body (21; fig. 11a) portion and a plurality of inserts (20; fig. 11a) coupled to the body portion.
In reference to claim 9, DE459 teaches a terminal block (2; fig. 5, 15), comprising: a first side (i.e. the left side of 2; fig. 5) comprising a plurality of terminals (7; fig. 6, 15) configured to receive one or more electrical connectors (near lead line 28; fig. 15); and a second side (i.e. the right side of 2; fig. 5) opposite to the first side, wherein the second side comprises a plurality of slots (22; fig. 2), wherein each slot of the plurality of slots is configured to receive an insert (19; fig. 2), wherein the terminal block is configured to couple to a housing (i.e. the housing of 1; fig. 2, 3) of an input/output (I/O) device (1; fig. 2, 3) via the second side, and wherein the I/O device comprises a circuit (for the purpose of examination, the limitation “circuit” is seen as electrically conductive components that allow transmission of current. Therefore, the internal electrically conductive components of 1 in Figures 1b and 8 are viewed as a “circuit”. ) comprising an indentation (i.e. the space between 9c and 14 in figure 8b) configured to receive the insert (19) when the terminal block is coupled to the housing.
In reference to claim 12, DE459 teaches the terminal block of claim 9, wherein the insert (19) comprises a square or rectangular shape (for the purpose of examination the limitation “comprises a square or rectangular shape” is seen as the insert is made up of a square or rectangular shape”. See fig. 11a, where the insert comprises a rectangular tab section 20).
In reference to claim 13, DE459 teaches the terminal block of claim 9, wherein the one or more electrical connectors (near lead line 28; fig. 15) are configured to electrically couple to the circuit when the terminal block is coupled to the housing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 6, 8, 10, 11 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:
(Claim 14) wherein the terminal block is configured to couple to the housing and a circuit of the I/O device via the rotation, wherein the circuit comprises one or more indentations configured to receive the one or more inserts positioned in the one or more slots of the terminal block.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRAVIS SLOAN CHAMBERS whose telephone number is (571)272-6813. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m..
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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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/TRAVIS S CHAMBERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 07/10/2026
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