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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2, recites:
wherein each of the first connecting arms comprises:
a central portion having the first through holes’;
two pairs of first connecting arms..”
First, ‘the first connecting arms’ lacks proper antecedent basis. The applicant perhaps is trying to recite structure of the ‘conductive piece’ hence this may be recited as:
–each of the conductive piece of the plurality of conductive pieces comprises:
a central portion having first through holes, and
two pairs of first connecting arms..--
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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(s) 1 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schepis et al. (US 9,800,004) in view of Jur et al. (US 20100012375).
Schepis fig. 1-4, discloses a power connector, comprising:
at least one terminal assembly, comprising: a terminal structure (100),
(the terminal structure further) comprising: a plurality of conductive pieces (124, 126), each of the conductive pieces having a plurality of first through holes; and
a plurality of fasteners (150), each of the fasteners penetrating through a corresponding one of the first through holes (140, 156) of each of the conductive pieces to secure the conductive pieces in a laminated manner (fig. 3); and
a pair of locking pieces (112), each of the locking pieces comprising: a body configured to at least partially abut against one of outermost two of the conductive pieces, the body having a plurality of second through holes (140), each of the fasteners (150) further penetrating through a corresponding one of the second through holes to secure the body on the conductive pieces.
Regarding Claim 19, Schepis discloses the power connector, wherein the conductive pieces (124) are sandwiched between the locking pieces (112).
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(s) 1-14 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 11,721,918) in view of Jur et al. (US 20100012375).
Regarding Claim 1, Li et al., fig. 1-3, discloses a power connector, comprising:
at least one terminal assembly, comprising: a terminal structure (100),
(the terminal structure further) comprising: a plurality of conductive pieces (2, fig. 3), each of the conductive pieces having a plurality of first through holes (211); and
a plurality of fasteners (1), each of the fasteners penetrating through a corresponding one of the first through holes (211) of each of the conductive pieces to secure the conductive pieces in a laminated manner (fig. 1).
However, Li does not disclose a pair of locking pieces (112), each of the locking pieces comprising: a body configured to at least partially abut against one of outermost two of the conductive pieces, the body having a plurality of second through holes (140), each of the fasteners (150) further penetrating through a corresponding one of the second through holes to secure the body on the conductive pieces.
Jur et al. in figures 1-3, discloses a pair of locking pieces (52), each of the locking pieces comprising: a body configured to at least partially abut against one of outermost two of the conductive pieces, the body having a plurality of second through holes (no separate number given, bolt 55 passes through conductive pieces as well as a pair of locking pieces), each of the fasteners (55) further penetrating through a corresponding one of the second through holes to secure the body on the conductive pieces.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a pair of locking pieces with holes, in the device of Li et al. as suggested by Jur et al. in order to have better clamping force between the conductive pieces and busbars.
Regarding Claim 2, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein (each of conductive piece comprises a pair of first connecting arms), the first connecting arm comprises: a central portion (Li; 22) having the first through holes (211); two pairs of first connecting arms (23) respectively disposed on opposite sides of the central portion, each of the first connecting arms having a first tip (231) away from the central portion; and two pairs of second connecting arms (22) respectively disposed on opposite sides of the central portion, each of the second connecting arms having a second tip (221) away from the central portion, each pair of the first connecting arms being located between a corresponding pair of the second connecting arms, the first tips being located closer to the central portion than the second tips to the central portion, each of the first connecting arms being at least partially parallel with an adjacent one of the second connecting arms.
[AltContent: textbox (410)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (405)][AltContent: textbox (401)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (310)][AltContent: textbox (305)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (301)]c
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Regarding Claim 3, , Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the first connecting arms comprises: a first structural section (301, see mark-up) connected with the central portion; a first terminal section (310); and a first bending section (305) connected between the first structural section and the first terminal section, the first bending section is configured to be elastically bent relative to the first structural section, the first terminal section has a corresponding one of the first tips away from the first bending section, each of the second connecting arms comprises: a second structural section (401) connected with the central portion; a second terminal section (410); and a second bending section (405) connected between the second structural section and the second terminal section, the second bending section is configured to be elastically bent relative to the second structural section, the second terminal section has a corresponding one of the second tips away from the second bending section, wherein each of the first bending section is parallel with an adjacent one of the second bending sections.
Regarding Claim 4, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein the conductive pieces are laminated along a direction (Li, figure 2), the first structural section, the first bending section and the first terminal section of each of the first connecting arms have a constant width on a plane perpendicular to the direction (li, figure 3).
Regarding Claim 5, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein the conductive pieces are laminated along a direction, the second structural section, the second bending section and the second terminal section of each of the second connecting arms have a constant width on a plane perpendicular to the direction (Li, figures 2, 3)
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Regarding Claim 6, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein the first tips of each pair of the first connecting arms define a first distance therebetween, the second tips of each pair of the second connecting arms define a second distance therebetween, the first distance is equal to the second distance (Li, figure 3).
Regarding Claim 7, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the first bending sections is inclined to a corresponding one of the first structural sections (Li, the bending section slope is visible in fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 8, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the second bending sections is inclined to a corresponding one of the second structural sections (Li, the bending section slope is visible in fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 9, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the first bending sections is longer than a corresponding one of the first structural sections Li. Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 10, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the second bending sections is longer than a corresponding one of the second structural sections (Li fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 11, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the first terminal sections has a convex surface (at 231) and a concave surface opposite to the convex surface, the convex surfaces of each pair of the first connecting arms face to each other, the concave surfaces of each pair of the first connecting arms face away from each other sections (Li fig. 3).
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Regarding Claim 12, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein each of the second terminal sections has a convex surface (at 221) and a concave surface opposite to the convex surface, the convex surfaces of each pair of the second connecting arms face to each other, the concave surfaces of each pair of the second connecting arms face away from each other (Li, fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 13, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein the conductive pieces are laminated along a direction, each of the first connecting arms has a first width on a plane perpendicular to the direction, each of the second connecting arms has a second width on the plane, the second width is equal to the first width (Li, figures 2, 3).
Regarding Claim 14, Li and Jur discloses the power connector, wherein the first connecting arms are structurally symmetrical about the central portion, the second connecting arms are structurally symmetrical about the central portion (Li, figures 2, 3).
Regarding Claim 19, Li and Jur discloses the power connector of claim 1, wherein the conductive pieces are sandwiched between the locking pieces.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-18 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.
For Claim 15, the recitation of ‘each of the locking pieces further comprises a first coupling portion connected with the body, the terminal assembly further comprises: a conductive plate at least partially sandwiched between the first tips and the second tips disposed on one of the two opposite sides of the central portion, the conductive plate has two surfaces and two second coupling portions, the surfaces are perpendicular to the direction, the second coupling portions are respectively located on a corresponding one of the surfaces, each of the first coupling portions is configured to couple with a corresponding one of the second coupling portions, defines over the art of record.
Claim 20 is allowed.
For Claim 20, the recitation of a power connector, comprising: a conductive slab having two lateral surfaces opposite to each other, each of the lateral surfaces having a notch; and a terminal module, comprising: a plate stack comprising a plurality of conductive plates stacked together, two hooking plates disposed on a top and a bottom of the plate stack and being hooked with a corresponding one of the notches respectively; and a plurality of fasteners respectively penetrating through a corresponding one of the tunnels to secure the hooking plates with the conductive plates, defines over the art of record.
Conclusion
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/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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