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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5-9 and 11-15 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.
With respect to claim 5, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “wherein the first connecting surface is provided at a position recessed from a side surface of the probe body, and
a second connecting surface of the pulling rod connected to the first connecting
surface is positionable closer to the first connecting surface than the side surface of the
probe body.”
Claims 6, 7 and 11 are objected to due to their dependencies on claim 5; claims 8, 9 and 13 are objected to due to their dependencies on claim 7; claim 12 is objected to due to its dependency on claim 6; claim 14 is objected to due to its dependency on claim 8; claim 15 is allowable due to its dependency on claim 9.
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.
Claims 1-4, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuga (U.S. Publication No. 2018/0088150 A1).
With respect to claim 1, with respect to claim 1, Kuga discloses a method for inserting a probe for a probe card in which two guide plates (see guide members 13, show in Fig. 3; para 0053, lines 1-6) are arranged apart from each other (see two guide members 13 arranged next to each other shown in Fig. 3), and the probe is inserted through two guide holes (see guide holes 14 shown in Fig. 3; para 0053, lines 1-6)
respectively formed in the two guide plates (see plates 23 shown in Fig. 2), comprising:
inserting a pulling rod through the two guide holes (para 0104, lines 1-7);
detachably connecting a tip of the pulling rod inserted through the two guide
holes (see guide holes 14 shown in Fig. 3; para 0053, lines 1-6) to a connecting portion provided at a tip of the probe (the tip on the first end 4a side of the exposed portion 41 contacts the contact point 16 of the contact point member 17);
pulling the pulling rod out of the two guide holes (para 0104, lines 1-7), thereby inserting the probe through the two guide holes (see guide holes 14 shown in Fig. 3 para 0053, lines 1-6); and
detaching the pulling rod from the probe after pulling it out of the two guide
holes (see two guide holes 14 shown in Fig. 2).
With respect to claim 2, Kuga discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein
the pulling rod is connected to a connecting surface parallel to an axial direction
of the connecting portion (para 0104, lines 1-9; covering member 5 can also be provided by inserting the wire rod for the probe base body 4 in a cylindrical tube).
With respect to claim 3, Kuga discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: removing the connecting portion from the probe after detaching the pulling rod (para 0104, lines 1-9; covering member 5 can also be provided by inserting the wire rod for the probe base body 4 in a cylindrical tube).
With respect to claim 4, Kuga discloses a probe, comprising:
an elastically deformable probe body to be inserted through two guide holes
respectively formed in two guide plates arranged apart from each other (the probe base body 4 is formed of an elastic deformable and conductive material made of copper, rhodium and alloy of copper; see guide plates 13 shown in Fig. 3; para 0053, lines 1-6) and
a connecting portion protruding in an axial direction from one end of the probe
body (see exposed portion 39 from the covering member 5 shown in Fig. 3; para 0098, lines 1-6), wherein
a pulling rod for inserting through the guide plates is detachably connected to a
first connecting surface parallel to the axial direction of the connecting portion (para 0104, lines 1-9; covering member 5 can also be provided by inserting the wire rod for the probe base body 4 in a cylindrical tube).
With respect to claim 10, Kuga discloses the probe according to claim 4, wherein
the connecting portion has a tapered shape with a cross-sectional area decreasing
towards a tip opposite the probe body (para 0099, lines 1-8).
With respect to claim 16, Kuga discloses the method according to claim 2, further comprising: removing the connecting portion from the probe after detaching the pulling rod (para 0104, lines 1-9; covering member 5 can also be provided by inserting the wire rod for the probe base body 4 in a cylindrical tube).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARHANA AKHTER HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)270-7543. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm.
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, Eman A Alkafawi can be reached at 571-272-4448. 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.
/FARHANA A HOQUE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858