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 .
35 USC 102 Rejections
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(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2013-157148.
Regarding claim 1, JP ‘148 (Figures 1-3) discloses a male connector 10 to be connected to a female connector 100 along a connection direction, comprising: a male housing 31 including a male receptacle (between the 33’s); a male terminal 20 to be mounted into the male housing, the male terminal including a tab 21 projecting into the male receptable; a male wire (unnumbered) to be attached to the male terminal; a male rubber plug 300 to be externally fit to the male wire; and a moving plate 54 to be disposed in the male receptacle, the moving plate being movable between an initial position and a connection position behind the initial position in the connection direction while positioning the tab, the male housing including a male cavity 34 for accommodating the male terminal, the male cavity including a tubular male sealing portion 700, the male rubber plug being fit into the male sealing portion, an inner surface of the male sealing portion being held in close contact with the male rubber plug, and the male housing including a moving plate lock portion 43,45 in a region inside a virtual male sealing surface set by extending the inner surface of the male sealing portion forward in the connection direction, the moving plate lock portion projecting forward in the connection direction, the moving plate lock portion holding the moving plate at the initial position by being engaged with the moving plate.
Regarding claim 2, JP ‘148 discloses the moving plate lock portion 43,45 is formed to be resiliently deformable in a direction intersecting an extension direction of the tab 21 and parallel to plate surfaces of the tab.
Claims Defining Over Prior Art
Claims 3-5 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: none of the prior art discloses or teaches the reinforcing portion coupling tip parts; nor the moving plate lock releasing portion; in combination with the rest of the subject matter of the independent claim.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY F PAUMEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2013. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th.
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, Christopher Koehler can be reached at 571-272-3560. 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.
/GARY F PAUMEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights