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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the inwardly protruding delimiting portion and the internal threaded portion of the inner face of the socket 202 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the following problems.
The abstract contains more than 150 words in length.
In line 4, the examiner suggests the applicant to change “the inner surface” to -- an inner surface --.
In line 5, it is not clear where “the insertion side” comes from because “the insertion side” has lack of antecedent basis.
In line 8, “the plug-in direction” has lack of antecedent basis.
In line 11, it seems that “is also provided” should be -- are also provided -- because lines 10-11 describes, “A female multi-pin connector and a connector system” being provided.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites that the claimed invention is a single-pin connector comprising a contact having a contact housing. However, claim 1 and all the dependent claims 2-7 and 9-10 do not recite a terminal or a pin for electrically connecting or mating with a counter-connector. Therefore, it is not clear what part(s) of the single-pin connector provides electrical connection with the counter-connector.
Claim 1, lines 7-8 and 12 recites, “an internal thread portion” and “an external thread portion”, but claim 1 does not recite a structural relationship between these two thread portions. Therefore, it is not clear whether these two thread portions engage each other and working together.
Claim 9 introduces a multi-in connector where a plurality of single-pin connectors can be inserted in corresponding sockets of the multi-pin connector independently of one another. However, claim 9 does not recite how this multi-pin connector is structurally related with the counter-connector recited in claim 1, line 2 since claim 1 recites that the plug side of the single-pin connector is for assembly with the counter-connector.
Claim 8, lines6-7 recites, “an inner face of the socket has an inwardly protruding delimiting portion and an internal thread portion”. However, the drawings do not show the inside structure of the socket. Therefore, the inwardly protruding delimiting portion and the internal thread portion are not assigned with their corresponding reference numbers and not identified with corresponding lines pointing at these two elements. Also, the exact locations of the inwardly protruding delimiting portion and the internal thread portion related to the inner face of the socket are not clearly identified.
Claim 8, lines 6-7 and 8 recites, “an internal thread portion” and “an external thread portion”, but claim 8 does not recite a structural relationship between these two thread portions. Therefore, it is not clear whether these two thread portions engage each other and working together.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAE MOON HYEON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm.
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.
/hmh/
/Hae Moon Hyeon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights