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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant Argument:
Lai does not disclose each of said side wall sections and at least one of said spacer wall sections comprises a locking member which is resiliently biased to reside in a first position and which is deflectable to a second position.
Examiner’s response:
Lai teaches each of said side wall sections (211) and at least one of said spacer wall sections (See Produced Drawing) comprises a locking member (212) which is resiliently biased to reside in a first position and which is deflectable to a second position. Lai has two locking members on the side. Applicant needs to have further defined spacer wall section in claim 1 to differentiate between side of the electrical power connector and upper and lower power connector. For this reason, rejection is still maintained.
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 1-6 and 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lai (TW I624115 B)(English Translated).
In Regards to Claim 1:
Lai teaches an electrical power connector (2) comprising: an insulated housing (21) which supports and contains a plurality of electrical terminals (22) each configured to engage with a respective receiving terminal (114) of an electrical socket (1), the insulted housing (21) comprising two oppositely positioned side wall sections (211) and two spacer wall sections (See Reproduced Drawing 1), which maintain said oppositely positioned side wall sections (211) spaced apart, each of said side wall sections (211) and at least one of said spacer wall sections (See Reproduced Drawing 1) comprises a locking member (212) which is resiliently biased to reside in a first position and which is deflectable to a second position, each said locking member (212) comprises a first region provided with an abutment face (218) and a second region which facilitates deflection of the locking member (212) and abutment from the first position to the second position, each said locking member abutment face (218) is positioned nearer than said second region to an end of the insulated housing (21) that in use confronts an electrical socket (1) at which the electrical terminals (22) of the electrical power connector (2) are received, and each said locking member abutment face (218) residing spaced from adjacent regions of a respective housing wall section (11) when the locking member (212) is in the first position and said abutment face (218) residing closer to said adjacent wall section (211) when the locking member (212) is in the second position.
In Regards to Claim 2:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein the or at least one locking member (212) is formed integrally with the housing (21).
In Regards to Claim 3:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 2, wherein the locking member (212) is molded integrally with the housing (21).
In Regards to Claim 4:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein each or at least one locking member (212) has an elongate shape having one end integral with or secured to the housing (21).
In Regards to Claim 5:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 4, wherein each or at least one locking member (212) comprises a distal end (217) which is spaced further from the end face of the connector housing (21) than the other locking member (212) end that is integral with or secured to the connector housing (21).
In Regards to Claim 6:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 4, wherein each or at least one locking member (212) comprises a distal end (217) which is nearer the end face of the connector housing (21) than the other locking member end (212) that is integral with or secured to the connector housing (21).
In Regards to Claim 8:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein each or at least one locking member (212) is resiliently biased inherently to reside in said first position under the action of the material from which the locking member (212) is formed.
In Regards to Claim 9:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing system configured to act on at least one said locking member (212) and inherently bias the at least one locking member (212) to said first position.
In Regards to Claim 10:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein the abutment face (218) of at least one locking member (212) resides wholly within the thickness of the wall of the housing (21) when the at least one locking member (212) is fully deflected away from said first position.
In Regards to Claim 11:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein the abutment face (218) lies at right angles to the length of the locking member (212) when the locking member (212) is fully deflected away from said first position or at an angle less that a right angle when in said deflected position such that the outer edge of the abutment face (218) is further from the end of the housing (21) than a region of the abutment face (218) lying inwards of said outer edge.
In Regards to Claim 12:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector (21) comprises two power supply terminals (22) and an earth terminal (22).
In Regards to Claim 13:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector according to claim 1, wherein only one of said two spacer walls (See Reproduced Drawing 1) is provided with a locking member (212) and the earth terminal (22) is positioned closer to the spacer wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) that is devoid of the locking member (212) than the spacing of the earth terminal (22) from the spacer wall (See Reproduced Drawing 1) provided with the locking member (212).
In Regards to Claim 14:
Lai teaches an electrical power connector (2) and socket (1) combination comprising: a socket (1); and the electrical power connector (2) according to claim 1.
In Regards to Claim 15:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector (2) and socket (1) combination according to claim 14, wherein the socket (1) comprises a housing (11) into which an end region of the connector housing (21) extends when the terminals (22) of the connector (2) are moved into engagement with receiving terminals (114) of the socket (1).
In Regards to Claim 16:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector (2) and socket (1) combination according to claim 14, wherein the socket (1) comprises a housing (11) which defines at least one abutment face (218) which confronts the abutment face (218) of a locking member (212) of the inserted connector when the locking member (212) resides in said first position.
In Regards to Claim 17:
Lai teaches the electrical power connector and socket combination according to any one of the claims 14, wherein the electrical socket (1) defines at least three abutment faces (218) each for engagement by the abutment face (218) of a respective locking member (212) of said connector (2).
In Regards to Claim 18:
Lai teaches a method of manufacture of the electrical power connector according to claim1, the method comprising:
forming each or at least one locking member (212) by molding of the housing (21) and then cutting or otherwise removing material of the housing (21) to form the locking member (212).
In Regards to Claim 19:
Lai teaches the method according to claim 18 wherein the cutting or otherwise removing material of the housing (21) comprises forming slits thereby to form and define part of the shape of the locking member (212).
In Regards to Claim 20:
Lai teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the locking member (212) is subject to deformation action whereby the locking member (212) subsequently inherently resides in said first position.
PNG
media_image1.png
476
700
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lai (TW I624115 B)(English Translated) in view of Hutchison et al. (US. 9,276,357 B2).
In Regards to Claim 7:
All claim limitations are discussed with respect to Claim 1 and Lai does not teach wherein the electrical power connector complies with the requirements of International Standard IEC 60320.
Hutchison teaches complies with the requirements of International Standard IEC 60320 (Col 5, line 15-16, It is contemplated that apparatus 100, 305 may be operable with IEC 60320 couplers)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use Hutchison's teaching of having the international standard IEC 60320 complies with the requirement as a modification in the Lai power connector in order to provide an operable with power cords supplied by the manufacturers of electronic equipment, such as data servers. (Hutchison, Col 5, line: 13-14).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 NADER J ALHAWAMDEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9Am - 6Pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights