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 .
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, 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang et al. (US 10,411,411) hereafter Tang.
Regarding claim 1, Tang, discloses an electrical connector 100 comprising: a longitudinal inner insulator 21 and two rows of terminals 22 retained in the inner insulator 21 along a longitudinal direction with two ends of each terminal extending out of the inner insulator 21; and an insulator frame 10 receiving the inner insulator 21 and having a longitudinal mating slot 118 and plural terminal grooves 116 distributed at two sides of the mating slot 118, the terminals 22 being received in corresponding terminal grooves 116 and each having a contacting portion bent into the mating slot 118; wherein the inner insulator 21 has a through-slot, the through-slot 2110, 2120 penetrates the inner insulator 21 along the longitudinal direction and is located between the two rows of terminals 221, 222.
Regarding claim 2, Tang, discloses the inner insulator 21 comprises a first insulating bar 211 and a second insulating bar 212, the first insulating bar 211 is retained with one row of the terminals 221 to form a first terminal module 24, the second insulating bar is retained with the other row of terminals 222 to form a second terminal module 25, and the through-slot 2110, 2120 is located between the first terminal module 24 and the second terminal module 25 (see figs, 6-11).
Regarding claim 11, Tang, discloses an electrical connector 100 comprising: an insulator frame 10 having a mating slot 118; a first terminal module 24 having a first insulating bar 211 and a first row of terminals 221 retained in the first insulating bar 211; and a second terminal module 25 having a second insulating bar 212 and a second row 222 of terminals retained in the second insulator bar 212; wherein the first terminal module 24 and the second terminal module 25 are assembled together and commonly received in the insulator frame 10; and wherein a longitudinal through-slot 2110, 2120 is defined by the first insulating bar 211 and the second insulating bar 212 and signal terminals 22 of the first row of terminals 221 and the second row of terminals 222 are exposed to the through-slot (see fig. 11) in a transverse direction.
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang in view of Huang (US 7,108,554).
Regarding claim 15, Tang discloses all the claimed limitations except for an outer shell, covers an outside of the insulator frame and has two longitudinal side plates, the two side plates are located at corresponding outsides of two side walls of the insulator frame, and one of the two side plates is spaced with the side wall to form a receiving groove therebetween.
Huang, discloses an outer shell 3, covers an outside of the insulator frame 2 and has two longitudinal side plates 31, 32, the two side plates are located at corresponding outsides of two side walls 23 of the insulator frame 2, and one of the two side plates is spaced with the side wall to form a receiving groove 23 therebetween.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have an outer shell covers an outside of the insulator frame and has two longitudinal side plates, the two side plates are located at corresponding outsides of two side walls of the insulator frame, and one of the two side plates is spaced with the side wall to form a receiving groove therebetween as taught by Huang in order to protect the insulator frame in addition to have noise free signal conduction.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10 and 12-14 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 3, the prior art of record does not disclose the electrical connector comprising each insulating bar comprises plural locking blocks extending from a base portion, and plural locking grooves formed between two neighboring locking blocks, the plural locking blocks of one of two insulating bars are received and locked in the plural locking grooves of other of the two insulating bars as required by this claim.
Regarding claim 12, the prior art of record does not disclose each of the first insulating bar and the second insulating bar has a vertical base portion, an upper row of locking blocks and a lower row of locking blocks extending form the base portion along the transverse direction, every two neighboring blocks of the same row are spaced by a locking groove, and the locking blocks of one of the two insulating bars are received and locked in the locking grooves of the other of the two insulating bars as required by this claim..
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO 892.
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/HARSHAD C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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