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 6 is objected to because on line 3, “the shell comprises a second portion protrudes” is awkward. 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.
Claims 1, 4 – 7, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 9,640,911 (“Chen”).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a receptacle connector comprising:
a shell (1) surrounding a cavity (space within the boundary of 1), the shell comprising:
a mating end (front end), and
a tail end (rear end) opposite the mating end and comprising a portion (110) protruding into the cavity; and
a terminal assembly (2/3) disposed in the cavity, the terminal assembly comprising:
a housing (2) comprising a body (20) engaging the body of the shell and a tongue (21) extending from the body in a mating direction; and
a plurality of terminals (3) held by the housing (see Fig. 6), each of the plurality of terminals comprising a mating portion (front portion of the terminals, between the lead lines of 30 and 32/33 in Fig. 6) held by the tongue, a tail portion (31) extending out of the housing, and an intermediate portion (30) held in the body (the portion of 30 within section 20).
Regarding claim 4, Chen discloses wherein:
the body of the housing of the terminal assembly comprises a recessed portion (201); and
the portion of the tail end of the shell protrudes into the recessed portion of the body of the housing of the terminal assembly to engage the body of the housing (see Figs. 1 and 6).
Regarding claim 5, Chen discloses wherein:
the tail end of the shell comprises an arm (the structure near the lead line of numeral 110 in Fig. 1 is an arm) disposed beyond the housing of the terminal assembly (the arm is beyond a rear facing surface of the housing) and extend into the cavity so as to abut against a rear surface of the terminal assembly (see Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 6, Chen discloses wherein the tail end of the shell comprises:
a first portion protrudes into the cavity from an upper wall of the shell (the upper 110 portion); and
the shell comprises a second portion (lower portion 110 which protrudes into the cavity from a bottom wall of the shell, the bottom wall facing the upper wall (the upper and lower portions are on opposite walls 11 which face each other, see Figs. 2 – 3).
Regarding claim 7, Chen discloses wherein:
the tail end of the shell comprises a plurality of arms (see the two arms in each portion 110) disposed beyond the housing of the terminal assembly (the arms are beyond a rear surface portion of the housing, see Fig. 6) and engaging a rear surface of the terminal assembly (see Fig. 6); and
the plurality of arms are disposed in symmetrical pairs (see Figs. 2 – 3).
Regarding claim 11, Chen discloses wherein, for each of the plurality of terminals:
the tail portion (31) comprises a surface extending perpendicular to the mating direction and configured to mount to a surface of a circuit board (see Figs. 4 – 5).
Claims 14 – 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pub. No. 2018/0323548 (“Zhao”).
Regarding claim 14, Zhao discloses a receptacle connector comprising:
a terminal assembly (11/12 and 2) comprising:
a housing (11/12) comprising a body (portion 111) and a tongue (portion 1121 and 12) extending from the body in a mating direction; and
a plurality of terminals (2) held by the housing, each of the plurality of terminals comprising a mating portion held by the tongue, a tail portion extending out of the housing, and an intermediate portion held in the body (see Fig. 9);
an inner shell (4) enclosing the housing of terminal assembly in a cavity; and
an outer shell (5) enclosing a portion of the inner shell, wherein:
the tail portions of the plurality of terminals extend out of the cavity of the inner shell (see Figs. 2, 4, 9);
a mating end of the inner shell extends beyond a mating end of the outer shell (the front end of 4 is ahead of the front end of 5);
a tail end of the outer shell (rear of 5) comprises a pair of transition portions (53) extending from a side wall and jogging away from each other (see Fig. 4) and an opening between the pair of transition portions (See Fig. 4); and
the tail end of the inner shell is at least partially exposed by the opening between the pair of transition portions of the outer shell (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 15, Zhao discloses wherein:
the tail end of the inner shell comprises a portion (441) protruding into the cavity and engaging a recessed portion of the body of the housing of the terminal assembly (441 engages a rear surface of a central section 1111, which is a housing body portion recessed from portions 1112 on lateral sides).
Regarding claim 16, Zhao discloses wherein:
the tail end of the inner shell comprises a plurality of arms (441) disposed beyond the housing of the terminal assembly and engaging a rear surface of the terminal assembly (see Figs. 2 and 9).
Regarding claim 17, Zhao discloses wherein:
the tail portion of each of the plurality of terminals comprises a surface extending perpendicular to the mating direction and configured to mount to a surface of a circuit board (the surface of 23 defines a face extending perpendicularly to the mating direction)); and
each of the pair of transition portions of the outer shell has a leg (531) extending therefrom in a direction opposite to the mating direction and configured to mount into a hole of the circuit board ([0031]).
Regarding claim 19, Zhao discloses method of manufacturing a receptacle connector, the method comprising:
providing a shell (4/5) surrounding a cavity, the shell having a first end (front end) and a second end (rear end) opposite the second end;
providing a terminal assembly (11/12 and 2) comprising a housing (11/12) having a body (portion 111) and a tongue (portion 112 and 12) extending from the body in a first direction, the body comprising a recessed portion (1115);
disposing the terminal assembly into the cavity of the shell (See Fig. 1); and
protruding a portion (42) of the second end of the shell into the cavity before or after disposing the terminal assembly such that the portion of the second end of the shell is disposed in the recessed portion of the body of the terminal assembly (42 enters recess 1115, see [0021])).
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.
Claims 8 - 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of U.S. Pat. No. 11,165,191 (“Choi”).
Regarding claims 8 and 10, Chen does not disclose wherein: the mating end of the shell comprises a portion that has a surface roughness higher than that of portions of the shell; and the receptacle connector comprises a sealing member attached to the portion of the mating end of the shell, and the mating end of the shell comprises a flange portion extending around the shell to form a corner portion with the portion that has the higher surface roughness; and the sealing member is disposed at the corner portion.
However, Choi teaches a receptacle connector with a shell, wherein the mating end of the shell comprises a portion (31b + 32) that has a surface roughness higher than that of portions of the shell (31b extends a distance along the mating direction and 32 is bent creating a corner of 31b + 32 which is rougher than that of other portions of the shell, including portion 31a); and the receptacle connector comprises a sealing member (6) attached to the portion of the mating end of the shell, the mating end of the shell comprises a flange portion (32) extending around the shell to form a corner portion with the portion that has the higher surface roughness; and the sealing member is disposed at the corner portion (see Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to provide the shell with a rough portion and seal as taught by Choi, because this helps provide the connector with a waterproofing function when the connector is assembled in a larger assembly.
Regarding claim 9, Choi, above, teaches that 31b extends a distance along the mating direction and teaches that the connector is to be used in hand held devices like a cellular phone, but does not disclose wherein: the portion that has the higher surface roughness extends in the mating direction by a distance in a range of 0.1 mm to 5 mm. However, regarding the particular dimensions of the distance, to the extent that Choi et al. does not specify exact dimensions, at the time of the invention, workable dimensions of the distance would have been a matter of routine experimentation. In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618 (CCPA 1977). Variations in the distance would have been obvious minor adjustments without patentable significance. See In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (CCPA 1955) (Where general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover optimal or workable ranges by routine experimentation).
Claims 12 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Zhao.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, Chen discloses the shell is a first shell, but does not disclose
the receptacle connector comprises a second shell disposed outside of the first shell;
the second shell comprises a mating end and a tail end opposite the mating end and comprising a plurality of legs extending beyond the tail portions of the plurality of terminals and configured to insert into holes of a circuit board; and
the mating end of the first shell extend beyond a mating end of the second shell.
Chen also does not disclose the shell comprises a dent disposed closer to the mating end than the portion of the tail end; and the portion of the tail end protrude into the cavity deeper than the dent.
However, Zhao discloses a receptacle connector (100) with a shell made of a first shell (4) and second shell (5) disposed outside the first shell, housing (11/12) with body and tongue, and terminals (2), the first shell has a mating end (front end of 4) and a tail portion (rear end of 4) which comprises a portion which protrudes into a cavity defined by the shell (see portions 441 and portion 42), the second shell comprises a mating end (front end of 5) and a tail end (rear end of 5) opposite the mating end and comprising a plurality of legs (532) extending beyond tail portions of the plurality of terminals (see Fig. 2) and configured to insert into holes of a circuit board (see [0031]); and the mating end of the first shell extend beyond a mating end of the second shell (see Fig. 1), and the shell comprises a dent (concave portion on surface 41, arrayed to the left and right of member 6 in Figure 3) disposed closer to the mating end than the portion of the tail end (see Fig. 3); and the portion of the tail end protrude into the cavity deeper than the dent (compare the extent of the downward protrusion of 441 and the concave portion which is closes to the lead line of numeral 6 in Figure 9).
It would have been obvious to include a second shell and a dent portion as taught by Zhao, because the second shell can provide further protection for the connector structure and can be used to provide mounting portions for mounting to a circuit board, and because the dent portion can provide a slight friction fit to an incoming mating connector so that the connection is solid and feels stable to a user.
Claims 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao in view of U.S. Pat. No. 9,429,360 (“Hsiao”).
Regarding claim 18, Zhao does not disclose wherein:
the inner shell comprises a protrusion engaging the mating end of the outer shell so as to restrain movement of the outer shell in the mating direction.
However, Hsiao teaches a receptacle connector with an inner first shell (31) and outer second shell (32), the inner shell comprises a protrusion (A, see below) engaging the mating end of the outer shell (A engages opening B of shell 32 which is at a front end of 32) so as to restrain movement of the outer shell in the mating direction.
It would have been obvious to provide a protrusion on the inner shell as taught by Hsiao because this helps align the two shells and also maintain that alignment due to the engagement between the protrusion and the outer shell.
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Marked up version of Fig. 3 of Hsiao
Regarding claim 20, Zhao discloses wherein:
the shell is a first shell (4) comprising a plurality of arms (441) disposed beyond the body of the housing of the terminal assembly;
the method comprises:
bending the plurality of arms such that the plurality of arms abut against a rear surface of the terminal assembly (see [0021] and Fig. 9);
providing a second shell (5) comprising a mating end (front end) and a tail end (rear end) having a plurality of legs (532); and
sleeving the second shell onto the first shell ([0029])
Zhao does not disclose a protrusion extending outwards, and the second shell sleeving onto the first shell until the mating end of the second shell engages the protrusion of the first shell.
However, Hsiao teaches protrusion A and the second shell 32 sleeving onto first shell 31 until the until the mating end of the second shell engage the protrusion of the first shell (see above).
It would have been obvious to provide a protrusion on the inner shell as taught by Hsiao because this helps align the two shells and also maintain that alignment due to the engagement between the protrusion and the outer shell.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 3 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.
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed receptacle connector, wherein the portion of the tail end of the shell protruding into the cavity comprises: a first subportion extending perpendicular to the mating direction; and a second subportion extending parallel to the mating direction so as to engage the body of the housing of the terminal assembly, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Chen, Zhao ‘287, Zhao ‘548, Tay, and Koyama disclose connectors with shells extending into a cavity to engage a connector housing, but none disclose or teach the subportions extending as required by the claims.
Zhao ‘488, Hsiao, and Ozaki disclose connectors with shells having sealing members.
The prior art, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D BAILLARGEON whose telephone number is (571)272-0676. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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/PAUL D BAILLARGEON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831
/renee s luebke/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2831
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