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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 113112136, filed on 03/29/2024 in Taiwan.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 05/29/2024 is acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12 are objected to because of the following informalities: All numbers in parentheses should remove. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ofenloch et al. [US 2022/0069550].
Regarding claim 1, Ofenloch et al. disclose a repeatedly, quickly and removably connectable retaining device (1, figures 1-5), comprising
a seat (104, figures 1-5) having a recessed open top to define a receiving space (108, figures 1-5) thereon, and the seat including a stop section (14, figures 1-2) extending transversely over the open top of the receiving space; and
a swingable clamp member (10, figures 1-3) being pivotally connected at a middle section to the seat via a pivot shaft (126, figures 1-3) to be located in the receiving space;
the swingable clamp member having a front end formed into a clamping recess (70 & 72, figures 1 and 4) and a rear end formed into a push section (44, figures 1 and 4), and being pivotally swingable under a force (96, figure 4) externally applied thereto, such that the push section is detachably pressed against the stop section and the clamping recess is movable between a clamp position and a release position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-12 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claim 2 discloses the combination features of “wherein the swingable clamp member includes a recessed portion formed between the clamping recess and the push section for receiving the stop section therein; and the push section including a hook-shaped locating section formed on one side facing toward the recessed portion for hooking onto the stop section, such that the clamping recess of the swingable clamp member is held to the clamp position.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claims 3-4, 6-8 and 10-12 depend on the allowed claim 2.
The claim 5 discloses the combination features of “wherein the seat is connected to a substrate and includes a primary locating section extended downward from a bottom thereof; the primary locating section including a column-like support portion and an elongated coupling portion horizontally located at a distal end of the support portion, and the coupling portion being provided at a front end thereof with a retaining protrusion; the substrate being provided with a primary engaging section in the form of an elongated hollow-out slot; the front end of the coupling portion having the retaining protrusion provided thereat being slantly extendable through the hollow-out elongated slot of the primary engaging section to a location below a first end of the primary engaging section, and a rear end of the coupling portion being also extended through the elongated hollow-out slot of the primary engaging section; such that the whole coupling portion is horizontally movable below the substrate from the first end of the primary engaging section in a direction opposed to the retaining protrusion until the rear end of the coupling portion is abutted against an opposed second end of the primary engaging section and the retaining protrusion is snapped into the first end of the primary engaging section, bringing the seat to be fixedly connected the substrate.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 9 depends on the allowed claim 5.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Roscoe et al. [US 6,498,731] disclose system for protecting electronic components;
Lo [US 6,702,598] discloses memory card connector;
Frantum, JR. et al. [US 2003/0148646] disclose latch for card edge socket; and
Wang [US 2018/0092234] discloses quick release connecting device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/Hung S. Bui/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841