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 .
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 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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamaoka et al. (US 20030166358 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Yamaoka et al. discloses a connector, comprising a first housing and a second housing connectable to each other,
the second housing 10 including a housing body 11 and a lock portion 13 projecting on an upper surface of the housing body 11,
the first housing 20 including a base portion (see annotated drawing below) and a lock body portion 27 extending from the base portion, the lock body portion 27 being deflectable and deformable with the base portion as a fulcrum (see fig. 11(A)),
the lock portion 13 having a locking surface (see annotated drawing below) facing in a direction opposite to a connection direction of the second housing 10 to the first housing 20,
the lock body portion 27 including a locking portion 28a on a tip part in an extension direction from the base portion, the locking portion 28a being arcuately displaced about a rotation center part (see annotated drawing below) on the base portion side, the locking portion 28a facing and being lockable to the locking surface, and
the rotation center part (see annotated drawing below) being set above an uppermost part (see annotated drawing below) of the locking surface of the lock portion 13 in a connected state (fig. 13(A)) of the first and second housings 20, 10.
[AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (locking surface)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (upper most part)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (rotation center part)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (base portion)][AltContent: connector]
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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 prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THO D. TA whose telephone number is (571)272-2014. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM 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, Christopher M 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.
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Tdt
7/22/2026
/THO D TA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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