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 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.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cameron et al. US 5685730 (“Cameron”).
Regarding claim 5, Cameron discloses a male terminal 10 including a male-side contact portion formed in a cylindrical shape; and
a female terminal 12 including a female-side contact portion formed in a cylindrical
shape and having a linear slit 22 formed in an axial direction, wherein
the female terminal has an insertion space formed inside the female-side contact
portion and into which the male-side contact portion is inserted, and a base portion located (at lead line 12 in figure 1) at a position facing the slit across the insertion space,
the female terminal has a protrusion (14, 16) protruding inward in the radial direction from an inner circumferential surface of the female-side contact portion,
the male terminal has a recess (18, 20) which is recessed inward in the radial direction from an outer circumferential surface of the male-side contact portion and into which the protrusion is inserted when in an insertion state in which the male-side contact portion is inserted into the insertion space, and
the recess has a pair of facing surfaces facing each other in a circumferential direction with the protrusion interposed therebetween.
Claim Rejections - and 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Varrin US 3406376 in view of Powell US 4209895.
Regarding claim 1, Varrin discloses a connection terminal comprising:
a male terminal 11 including a male-side contact portion formed in a cylindrical shape; and
a female terminal including a female-side contact portion 10 formed in a cylindrical shape and having a linear slit (see at 10c/10d in figure 3) formed in an axial direction, wherein
the female terminal has an insertion space formed inside the female-side contact portion and into which the male-side contact portion is inserted, and
a base portion (labeled BP in annotated figure 3 below) located at a position facing the slit across the insertion space;
the female-side contact portion includes a pair of indent portions (18, 20) protruding inward in a radial direction from both end portions (10c, 10d) having the slit interposed therebetween in a circumferential direction, and
The female-side contact portion is capable of being elastically bent outward in a
radial direction intersecting the axial direction with the base portion as a bending starting point and applies an elastic contact load to the male-side contact portion when in an insertion state in which the male-side contact portion is inserted into the insertion space.
Varrin does not specifically disclose that the female side contact is bent outwards when used with the male terminal. Powell discloses that in use with a male terminal, female terminals such as taught in Varrin (col. 1, lines 30-40) have the female terminal sidewalls deflect outwardly about a single point D opposite the slot (Powell at col. 2, lines 50-65, figure 1). It would have been obvious to size the Varrin male terminal 11 such that the sidewalls of the Varrin female terminal are flexed outwardly, as noted in Powell. The reason would have been to provide a secure reliable electrical connection between the male and female terminals as was known in the art.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Varrin does not disclose indent portions. The examiner maintains that Varrin does, at 18 and 20.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS N GUSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-2005. The examiner can normally be reached Monday – Friday 8:00AM – 5PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler, can be reached at (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
