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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Objections
Claims 2 - 4 are objected to because of the following:
In claim 2, line 3, “pieces” should not be plural. In line 3, “the stopper portions” lacks antecedent basis.
In claim 3, line 4, “the locking portions” lacks antecedent basis.
In claim 4, line 13, “an space” should be a space.
Appropriate corrections are required.
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 1 – 3 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2020-043002 A (“Shimizu”) in view of U.S. Pat. No. 9,954,302 (“Kamei”).
Regarding claim 1, Shimizu discloses a connector electrically connectable to a mating connector (80) provided with a mating terminal, comprising:
a strip-like electrically conductive member (20) including a first end part (21) connectable to the mating terminal;
a clip spring (30) separate from the electrically conductive member (see Fig. 1), the clip spring accommodating the first end part (see Fig. 5); and
a clip stopper (40) mounted on the electrically conductive member (see Figs. 1 and 5), the clip stopper limiting a displacement of the clip spring with respect to the electrically conductive member (40 limits the position of 30 along insertion direction, see Fig. 5),
the clip spring including a first resilient piece and a second resilient piece (upper and lower portions 32) capable of sandwiching the first end part and the mating terminal with the mating terminal inserted through an opening overlapped on the first end part (see Fig. 5), and
the clip stopper including a locking portion (43/44/45) to be locked to the electrically conductive member and a stopper portion (41/42) capable of contacting the clip spring being displaced in the insertion direction.
Shimizu does not disclose a connector housing for accommodating the electrically conductive member; the connector housing including a wall provided with an opening enabling insertion of the mating terminal in a first direction along a longitudinal direction of the electrically conductive member to connect the mating terminal to the first end part.
However, Kamei teaches a connector with a strip-like conductive member 21 and spring clip 22, which accepts a mating terminal 7 along an insertion direction DC, as seen in Fig. 16, and the connector includes a connector housing 3 for accommodating the electrically conductive member (see Fig. 2); the connector housing including a wall provided with an opening enabling insertion of the mating terminal in a first direction along a longitudinal direction of the electrically conductive member to connect the mating terminal to the first end part (see the opening in a front wall of 3 for mating along direction DC).
It would have been obvious to provide a housing as taught by Kamei, because the housing will help protect the terminals contained therein, helping ensure the terminals are not damaged and ensuring the terminals stay electrically connected to each other.
Regarding claim 2, Shimizu discloses wherein the clip stopper includes a first stopper portion (41) capable of contacting the first resilient piece (upper 32) and a second stopper portion (42) capable of contacting the second resilient piece (lower 32) as the stopper portions.
Regarding claim 3, Shimizu discloses wherein the clip stopper includes a first locking portion (45) to be locked on one side in a width direction orthogonal to the first direction and a second locking portion (43) to be locked on the other side in the width direction as the locking portions.
Regarding claim 8, Shimizu discloses wherein the clip stopper (40) includes a detachment preventing stopper portion (41) capable of contacting the clip spring from the first direction.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2020-043002 A (“Shimizu”) in view of U.S. Pat. No. 9,954,302 (“Kamei”).
Regarding claim 9, Shimizu does not disclose a second end part located on a side opposite to the first end part in the longitudinal direction of the electrically conductive member; and a damper portion provided between the first and second end parts, the damper portion being resiliently deformable in a direction to bring the first and second end parts closer.
However, Adachi teaches a connector which includes a strip-like electrically conductive member (4, see Fig. 1), with a first end part (10) and a second end part (15), the second end part located on a side opposite to the first end part in the longitudinal direction of the electrically conductive member (see Fig. 1); and a damper portion (portion near numeral 4 in Fig. 1) provided between the first and second end parts (see Fig. 1), the damper portion being resiliently deformable in a direction to bring the first and second end parts closer ([0059]).
It would have been obvious to provide the second end and damper portion as taught by Adachi, because this allows the connector structure to accommodate movements and vibrations within the connector system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 – 7 and 10 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:
Regarding Claim 4, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed connector electrically connectable to a mating connector provided with a mating terminal, wherein: the clip stopper includes a first supporting piece located between the first and second resilient pieces and adjacent to the first end part in a width direction orthogonal to the first direction, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Regarding Claim 10, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed connector electrically connectable to a mating connector provided with a mating terminal, further comprising a restricting member provided in the connector housing, wherein: the restricting member is provided in a region adjacent to the first end part in the first direction to limit a displacement of the first end part when the damper portion is resiliently deformed, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Shimizu does not disclose the supporting piece located between the first and second resilient pieces as required by the claims. WO 2019/167434, Kamei, and Adachi disclose housings around connectors with sheet-like structures, but none disclose or teach a restricting member in the housing to limit displacement of a damper portion as required by the claims.
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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