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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The prior art documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statements filed on June 27, 2024, and October 10, 2024 have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copies of form PTO-1449).
Drawings
Nineteen sheets of drawings were filed on May 15, 2024 and have been accepted by the examiner.
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 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, 25, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Long (US 9,350,108 B2, herein “Long”).
Regarding claim 1, Long discloses a connector assembly (10), comprising:
a guiding shield cage comprising a side wall (Fig. 6: lower shielding cage assemblies 28);
a side cover plate assembled to the side wall of the guiding shield cage (upper cover component 60 overlays the side wall of lower cage 28);
a light guide (light pipe assembly 82) having a plurality of light guiding pipes (82a, 82b), each light guiding pipe having a light inputting end (86) and a light outputting end (88) (Paras [0061]-[0062]), the light guide member (82) being assembled on the side cover plate (mounted within brackets attached to cover component 60, not labeled); and
a first assembling construction (pair of support members 92a, Fig. 4) provided between the light guide member and the side cover plate (upper cover component 60 overlays the side wall of lower cage 28) and used to assemble the light guide member on the side cover plate (See Figs. 4 and 6).
Regarding claim 25, Long discloses the guiding shield cage (lower shielding cage 28) further comprises an assembling piece (cut-out from the cage side wall, not labeled) which protrudes from the side wall, the side cover plate (60) has an assembling hole, the assembling piece passes through the assembling hole of the side cover plate, and latches the side cover plate (See annotated Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 26, Long discloses the guiding shield cage further comprises a partitioning frame (portion that lower cover component 34 is bent and attached to the shielding cage 28, this portion partitions the lower cage from the upper cage and the center opening between the lower and upper cage), the partitioning frame has the assembling piece, the side wall has the assembling hole, the assembling hole of the side cover plate corresponds to the assembling hole of the side wall, the assembling piece outwardly and sequentially passes through the assembling hole of the side wall and the assembling hole of the side cover plate and latches the side cover plate.
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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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long.
Claim 2. Long discloses the invention of claim 1 and further discloses the first assembling construction (pair of support members 92a) has a clipping construction (Fig. 4 and 6). Long does not explicitly teach the first assembling construction has an inserting construction. However, Long teaches the light pipe assembly may be connected to the cage assemblies using methods such as mechanical fasters or adhesives (Col. 7, lines 33-51). The side cover plate (Fig. 2: 60) comprises holes and openings that support members (92a) can be inserted and latched to for the support members (92a) maintain the vertical support clipping onto the light pipes (82A). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize inserting construction (into the openings and latches of side cover plate 60) is a mechanical fastening method that would mount the pair of support members 92a vertically to the side cover plate.
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Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long in view of Scholeno (US 2012/0155108 A1, herein “Scholeno”).
Long discloses the invention of claim 2, but Long does not disclose the limitations of claims 3-4.
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Scholeno teaches a connector assembly wherein the inserting construction has an inserting rod (attachment member 510) which is provided to the light guide member (500 in Fig. 6A) and inserting rod receiving groove (channel 430) which is formed to the side of the cover plate (rear body 405b) and is used to receive the inserting rod (attachment member 510).
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The lightguide member further has a connecting rod (beam 540) which is connected between the plurality of light guiding pipes (500, 500’); the inserting rod (510) is provided on the connecting rod of the lightguide member (Fig. 12A shows beam 540 is on top of 510 attachment member and Scholeno teaches the beam 540 is connected to the attachment member 510 and the attachment member 510 in Fig. 12A is substantially identical to those illustrated in Figs. 5A-6C, Para [0072]). The inserting rod (510) is provided on the connecting rod (516 in Figs. 5B and 5C) of the light guide member (500, 500’), the side cover plate (rear body 405b) is constructed with sideward protruding piece (retainer 426) which extends outwardly, the sideward protruding piece and a body of the side cover plate therebetween constitute the inserting rod receiving groove.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the inserting construction of Long’s insertion construction and Scholeno’s insertion construction are mechanical solutions for compactly mounting the light guide member to the connector housing. The insertion construction of Long can be modified with the insertion construction of Scholeno (e.g., inserting rod, inserting rod receiving groove, connecting rod, and sideward protruding piece) by mounting it on the side cover plate (60) of Long’s assembly. One motivation would be to use the insertion construction as a removable light guide member mount for ease of assembly and maintenance.
Claims 8 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long in view of Yajima et al. (JP-2010067396-A, herein “Yajima”) and Wang et al. (US 2021/0141175 A1, herein “Wang”).
Long discloses the invention of claim 1, and Long further discloses the connector assembly further comprises a base seat (formed on the circuit board 202 in Fig. 10).
However, Long does not disclose the base seat is assembled on the light guide member, as recited in claim 8.
Yajima teaches a connector assembly with a base seat is assembled on the light guide member (light pipes 8 in Fig. 25), the base seat has a plurality of light guiding pipe receiving holes (Figs. 30-31 teaches the base seat members 20 are modulator and can be joined together forming a long “seat” wherein the seat has a plurality of light guiding pipe receiving holes – see holes are formed between the arrow-shaped engagement portion 20c) are respectively used to receive the ends of the plurality of light guiding pipes (light pipes 8).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the base seat (light shielding member 20) by Yajima solves the same problem as the base seat (base seat 7 preferably has a light-shading construction and function, pg-pub 2024/0361540 Para [0187]) – to prevent leaked light of the adjacent light pipes. Long’s connector assembly can be modified by including the light shielding member at the coupling points of the LEDs projecting from the circuit board to the ends of the light pipes.
Yajima teaches modular light shielding member 20 that are joined together forming a long light shielding member or a single molded piece of light shielding member (20B in Fig. 29). One motivation is to prevent adjacent light pipes light from leaking and blending forming inaccurate LED indicating colors (Yajima: ADVANTAGEOUS-EFFECTS).
Long in view of Yajima do not teach a second assembling construction is provided between the light guide member and the base seat.
Wang teaches a connector assembly wherein the base seat (cushion block 60) is assembled on the light guide member (light guide members 50 at bent end 55) and the base seat has a plurality of light guiding pipe receiving holes (insertion hole 61). The second assembling construction (Fig. 2 shows a T-shape construction forming the two holes in insertion hole 61 for the first and second light guide bend ends 55) is provided between the light guide member (50/55) and the base seat (60).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the second assembling construction of Wang’s connector assembly would be modifiable to the receiving holes of Long in view of Yajima. The second assembling construction as shown in Wang is provided as a divider for tightly spaced adjacent light guides and the assembling construction also functions as insertion stop(s) for passive alignment of the LED within base seat (60) and light guide (50/55). One motivation for providing the second assembling construction is to provide passive alignment by functioning as an insertion stop to prevent the light guide ends from damage.
Regarding claim 27, Long in view of Yajima and Wang teach the invention of claim 8 and Wang further implies the “base seat of material” (sic) is a soft material (cushion block 60). However, Long in view of Yajima and Wang do not explicitly teach the base seat material contains rubber. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select a cushioning material such as rubber or elastomer to provide shock absorption and vibration dampening to the light guide pipes coupling ends, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. that a mere reversal of the working parts of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 146.
Claims 14, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long in view of Liu et al. (US 2019/0296493 A1, herein “Liu”) and Fujiwara et al. (US 2006/0098923 A1, herein “Fujiwara”).
Long discloses the invention of claim 1, but Long does not disclose the first assembling construction has an interference cooperating construction and an elastic latching construction.
Liu teaches an assembling construction has an elastic latching construction (320, 132 in Figs. 1, 7, and 8). The elastic latching construction has a latch block (Fig. 4: connection bar 320) which is provided to the light guide member (light pipe 300), and a latch piece (clasp 120) which is provided to the side cover plate (side wall 130) and is elastic, in the assembling direction that the light guide member (300) faces the side cover plate, the latch piece (clasp 120) latches the latch block (connection bar 320). The examiner notes, the elastic characteristic of the latch piece is inherent. The latch piece is a cut-out of the side wall (130) and bent outward perpendicular to the side wall. Furthermore, the latch piece (120) have C-shaped slot (132b) wherein the opening would necessarily flex to receive the latch block (312) and maintain the latching function.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first assembling construction of Long by replacing the pair of support members 92a with the latch piece and latch block (120, 320) of Liu as more simplified mounting assembly. The latch piece is a cut-out of the side wall and the latch block is small connection bar formed integrally with the light pipe. One would be motivated to modify the assembling construction of Long with the assembling construction of Liu to reduce the number of assembly parts.
However, Long in view of Liu do not teach the first assembling construction has an interference cooperating construction.
Fujiwara teaches an interference cooperating construction (Figs. 1, 4B, and 7A) has a retaining hole (hole-shaped positioning recess 14k in Fig. 7A) and a retaining piece (guide member 13f). The retaining piece (13f) is fixed in the retaining hole (14k) by interference cooperation. The examiner notes, the Specification defines the “interference cooperation” as the cooperation of the retaining pieces 932 respectively corresponds to the retaining holes 931, wherein the two parts are fitted in cooperation. Thus, the examiner considers the terms “interference cooperation” as a label for the mechanical mounting mechanism of 932 and 931 as shown in application Fig. 12.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the elastic latching construction is a common mechanical latching mechanism well-known in the optical and electrical connector art. It would have been obvious to modify the connection bar in Liu’s side wall to have retaining hole formed therein and modify Liu’s side wall to have cut-outs and bent to form the retaining piece such that the retaining hole and the retaining piece forms the interference cooperation as demonstrated by Fujiwara. One motivation for using interference cooperation is to provide alignment features while further securing the mounting assembly.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long / Liu / Fujiwara as applied to claim 18 above, and further in view of Lu (US 2020/0049912 A1, herein “Lu”).
Long / Liu / Fujiwara teach the invention of claim 18, but Long / Liu / Fujiwara do not teach the light guide member further has a supporting portion which is integrally connected to the plurality of light guiding pipes, the supporting portion of the light guide member is formed with the retaining hole.
Lu teaches a supporting portion (Fig. 33: second mounting column) which is integrally connected to the light guiding pipe (31), the supporting portion of the light guide member is formed with the retaining hole (insertion hole 331) for mounting to second mounting piece (19).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the any of Liu’s unused connection bars (Liu: Fig. 4:330) to have retaining hole as demonstrated by Lu. It is within the skills of practitioners such as Liu to recognize the insertion hole can be formed on the connection bars as an alternative mechanical mounting mechanism to receive a retaining piece formed from a cut-out of the side wall. One motivation would be ease of manufacturing since forming a hole in the connection bar would be simpler than milling, shaving, or polishing the connection bar to form the hourglass shape as shown in Liu’s Fig. 8.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long / Liu / Fujiwara and in further view of Yajima and Wang.
Long / Liu / Fujiwara teach the invention of claim 14, but do not teach the base seat and the second assembling construction as recited in claim 23.
Yajima teaches a connector assembly with a base seat is assembled on the light guide member (light pipes 8 in Fig. 25), the base seat has a plurality of light guiding pipe receiving holes (Figs. 30-31 teaches the base seat members 20 are modulator and can be joined together forming a long “seat” wherein the seat has a plurality of light guiding pipe receiving holes – see holes are formed between the arrow-shaped engagement portion 20c) are respectively used to receive the ends of the plurality of light guiding pipes (light pipes 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the base seat (light shielding member 20) by Yajima solves the same problem as the base seat (base seat 7 preferably has a light-shading construction and function, pg-pub 2024/0361540 Para [0187]) – to prevent leaked light of the adjacent light pipes. Long’s connector assembly can be modified by including the light shielding member at the coupling points of the LEDs projecting from the circuit board to the ends of the light pipes. Yajima teaches modular light shielding member 20 that are joined together forming a long light shielding member or a single molded piece of light shielding member (20B in Fig. 29). One motivation is to prevent adjacent light pipes light from leaking and blending forming inaccurate LED indicating colors (Yajima: ADVANTAGEOUS-EFFECTS).
Wang teaches a second assembling construction (T-shape construction) is provided between the light guide member and the base seat (cushion block 60).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the second assembling construction of Wang’s connector assembly would be modifiable to the receiving holes of Long / Liu / Fujiwara in view of Yajima. The second assembling construction as shown in Wang is provided as a divider for tightly spaced adjacent light guides and the assembling construction also functions as insertion stop(s) for passive alignment of the LED within base seat (60) and light guide (50/55). One motivation for providing the second assembling construction is to provide passive alignment by functioning as an insertion stop to prevent the light guide ends from damage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 9-13, 16-17, 20-22, and 24 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:
Regarding claim 5, the prior arts of record do not teach the clipping construction has a positioning block, a position-limiting block, and a supporting block which are provided on the light guide member, and a positioning recess and a position-limiting groove which are provided on the side cover plate;
the positioning block is received in the positioning recess, the position-limiting block inserts into the position-limiting groove, the supporting block is supported on the side cover plate (as shown in annotated Fig. 7 of applicant’s disclosure).
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Regarding claim 9 and 24, the prior arts of record do not teach the second assembling construction comprises a latching block which is provided on the light guide member, and a latching groove which is provided on the base seat and is used to latch with the latching block (as shown in annotated Fig. 7 of applicant’s disclosure).
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Regarding claim 16, the prior arts of record do not teach a side edge of the retaining piece has a front protruding portion and a recessed portion which is positioned behind the front protruding portion, the retaining hole therein has an internal protruding portion which cooperates with the recessed portion of the side edge of the retaining piece, the front protruding portion interferes with the internal protruding portion in the retaining hole in an inserting process of the retaining piece (see annotated Fig. 15 below).
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Regarding claim 20, the prior arts of record do not teach the supporting portion comprises a supporting rod and a plurality of connecting rods connected to the plurality of light guiding pipes, the supporting rod of the light guide member is formed with the retaining hole, and allows the latch block to be provided thereon (see annotated Fig. 15 below).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. PTO-892: F-L, prior arts cited in F-L teach different designs and functions of connector assembly that are small form-factor pluggable having externally mounted light pipes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Erin D Chiem whose telephone number is (571)272-3102. The examiner can normally be reached 10 am - 6 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, Thomas A. Hollweg can be reached at (571) 270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIN D CHIEM/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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