CTNF 18/649,776 CTNF 76494 DETAILED ACTION 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 3, the locking lever is slidably coupled to the housing. 06-22 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 - and 35 USC § 103 07-20 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made. 07-21 AIA Claim s 1, 2, 4, 5, 13, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Carboni et al. US 7946892 et al. (“Carboni”) in view of Chen et al. US 9979117 (“Chen”). Regarding claim 1, Carboni discloses an electrical connector 3 comprising: a housing 203 extending between a mating end and a mounting end, the mating end configured to be mated with a mating electrical connector 11, the mating end including a shroud 103 surrounding a cavity, the mounting end configured to be mounted to a panel 1, the mounting end including a base (at lead line 203 in figure 1) and a flange 303 extending from the base, the base of the housing being received in an opening in the panel (the base can be considered to extend to the portion of the housing within the hole 2), the flange of the housing being mounted to a mounting surface of the panel; a contact assembly (7, 6) received in the housing, the contact assembly including a contact holder (7) holding at least one contact 6 configured to be mated to the mating electrical connector; a seal 4 coupled to the flange and surrounding the base, the seal configured to interface with the mounting surface of the panel. Carboni discloses a locking ring 10 rather than a locking lever. Chen discloses a locking lever (130A, compare to Applicant’s disclosure of a “sliding lever” at specification ¶ 0038) coupled to the housing, the locking lever configured to interface with the panel to secure the housing to the panel. It would have been obvious to replace the Carboni threaded locking ring 10 and mating thread on the threaded cylinder 103 with a locking lever 130A and locking groove 113 on the cylinder 103, as taught in Chen. The substituted components and their functions were known in the art. One with ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element for another and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ.2d 1385 (2007). The reason would have been to simplify the locking of the connector on the panel. Per claim 2 the locking lever secures the housing to the panel without the use of fasteners. Per claim 4 the Chen locking lever is slidably coupled to the housing. Per claim 5 the locking lever moves relative to the housing between a first position (e.g., when the ramp 1321 first enters groove 113) and a second position (figure 3), the locking lever moves the housing relative to the panel to compresses the seal when the locking lever is moved from the first position to the second position (col. 3, lines 5-15). Per claim 13, the base of the housing includes a locking pocket (groove 113), the locking lever includes a locking element (arms 132) being received in the locking pocket to secure the locking lever relative to the housing. Per claim 20, Carboni discloses (see discussion regarding claim 1 for identification of elements) an electrical connector comprising: a housing extending between a mating end and a mounting end, the mating end configured to be mated with a mating electrical connector, the mating end including a base surrounding a cavity, the mounting end configured to be mounted to a panel, the mounting end including a base and a flange extending from the base, the base of the housing being received in an opening in the panel, the flange of the housing being mounted to a mounting surface of the panel; a contact assembly received in the housing, the contact assembly including a contact holder holding at least one contact configured to be mated to the mating electrical connector; a seal coupled to the flange and surrounding the base, the seal configured to interface with the mounting surface of the panel. Carboni discloses a locking ring 10 rather than a locking lever. Chen discloses a locking lever (130A, compare to Applicant’s disclosure of a sliding lever at specification ¶ 0038) coupled to the housing, the locking lever configured to interface with the panel to secure the housing to the panel, wherein the Chen locking lever includes a locking element 132, the locking element being actuated (i.e., inserted into groove 113) to lock the locking lever to the housing. It would have been obvious to replace the Carboni threaded locking ring 10 and mating thread on the threaded cylinder 103 with a locking lever 130A and locking groove 113 on the cylinder 103, as taught in Chen. The substituted components and their functions were known in the art. One with ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element for another and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ.2d 1385 (2007). The reason would have been to simplify the locking of the connector on the panel. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3, 6-12 and 14-18 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. Claims 19 is allowable. Regarding claim 19, the prior art does not disclose the invention as claimed including a locking lever coupled to the housing, the locking lever configured to interface with the panel to secure the housing to the panel, wherein the locking lever is actuated to move the housing from the pre-stage position to the final stage position. 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. 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 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 2 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 3 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 4 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 5 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 6 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/649,776 Page 7 Art Unit: 2834
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