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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because they have elements shown in cross section which are not properly crosshatched. Some members are shown with the same angle of cross hatching. See Figures 38 and 39. The hatching of juxtaposed different elements must be angled in a different way, i.e. different directions. See 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3).
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because in line 2, “the first and second ends” lacks antecedent basis. In particular, the second end is introduced here for the first time.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 13 – 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 8,435,075 (“Lim”).
Regarding claim 13, Lim discloses a connector (1) comprising:
a shell (3) including:
a main body (31);
an opening (35) at a first end of the main body;
a channel (the interior space within 31) extending into the main body from the opening;
a mounting fin (334/335) extending from an exterior surface (right side surface, see Fig. 8) of the shell in a first direction (laterally outward, Fig. 8), the mounting fin having a first side and a second side (334 is on a right side, 335 is on a left side, as seen in Fig. 12), each of the first and second sides including a plurality of ridges (on either side of recesses 334C/335C on each fin section there are raised portions which are ridges which define the recesses, e.g. the portion near 334B is one of the ridges defining recess 334C, see Fig. 11) extending in the first direction (the ridges have a depth along their plate thickness and this depth extends along the lateral direction) along at least a portion of the mounting fin (see Fig. 11), neighboring ridges of the plurality of ridges forming solder channels between them (recesses 334C/334C form solder channels, see the abstract and col. 6, lns. 18 – 21);
a contact block (2) positioned at least partially within the channel, the contact block including a mating interface (22); and at least one electrical contact (5) connected to the contact block with a first contact end at the mating interface (see Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 14, Lim discloses the mounting fin integrally formed with the shell (see Fig. 9).
Regarding claim 15, Lim discloses the plurality of ridges extend along a majority of a length of the mounting fin in the first direction (the ridges extend the sheet thickness length of the fin).
Regarding claim 18, Lim discloses wherein the mounting fin extends a length along the exterior surface of the shell that is between 25% and 75% a length of the shell between the first end and a second end (a second end can be defined such that the length of the fin meets this limitation, for instance length A below is between the front end of the shell and the second end point where the opening for the fin begins, and the length B of the fin along the same direction meets the claimed limitation, as shown below the length B is greater than one third and less than one half of length A)
PNG
media_image1.png
760
491
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claims 19 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 10,658,801 (“Jafari”).
Regarding claim 19, Jafari discloses a shell (12) for an electrical connector comprising: a main body (two walls 46, wall 58, and wall 45) having an opening at a first end (the four portions define an square tubular structure open to a left end as seen in Fig. 3) and forming a channel that extends from the opening and toward a second end within the main body (the open space extends to a right end of the body portions as seen in Fig. 3); a pair of latch arms (54) integrally formed with the main body and positioned at least partially within the opening (54 are positioned in the opening space at least while the arms bend during insertion into 14), the pair of latch arms being flexible in first and second phases, the first phase corresponding to flexing initiating proximate an anchor (when portion 56 contacts an interior of member 14 this initiates flexing of the arm 54 at a location near the base of arm 54, see at least col. 5, lns. 38 - 59) and the second phase corresponding to flexing initiating proximate a contact region of the pair of latch arms in response to the contact region engaging a contact portion on an interior surface of the main body (when portion 40 contacts an interior of 14, including at least portion 35, flexing of arm 54 is initiated at contact region 40, see at least col. 4, lns. 9 – 21).
Regarding claim 20, Jafari discloses wherein the pair of latch arms each includes a first outward apex formed by a curve at the contact region (see curved portion 40), wherein when the contact region engages the contact portion of the shell, the first outward apex contacts a sidewall of the shell such that other portions of the pair latch arms do not contact the sidewall (the curved portion of 40 engages the interior of 14 and pushes other arm portions including the intermediate bent portions of the arm away from the sidewall).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 12 are allowed.
Claims 16 and 17 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.
Regarding Claim 1, the prior art does not disclose or suggest an electrical connector including: a latch arm extending from an anchor toward a tip, the latch arm having a contact region at an intermediate position and being flexible in a first phase and a second phase, the first phase corresponding to flexing initiating proximate the anchor, and the second phase corresponding to flexing concentrating proximate the contact region in response to the contact region engaging a contact portion of the shell, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Regarding Claim 16, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed connector wherein the plurality of ridges have a height between 0.002 and 0.006 inches, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Regarding Claim 17, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed connector, wherein the shell further includes a pair of latch arms that are flexible in accordance with a first phase and a second phase, wherein the first phase corresponding to flexing initiating proximate an anchor and the second phase corresponding to flexing initiating proximate a contact region of the pair of latch arms in response to the contact region engaging a contact portion of the shell, along with the remaining elements of the claim.
Jafari does not disclose flexing in two phases, the second phase corresponding to flexing concentrating proximate the contact region, as required by claim 1. Jafari discloses the latch arms as described above but does not disclose or teach integrating the latch arms into the shell having the mounting fin of Lim. Sakaizawa, Eaby, Manning, and Corban each disclose connectors with latch arms, but none disclose a latch arm being flexible in first and second phases as required by the claims. Lim discloses the ridges having a height but does not disclose or teach the height as recited by the claim.
The prior art, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all 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.
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, Renee Luebke can be reached at (571) 272-2009.
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.
/PAUL D BAILLARGEON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831
/renee s luebke/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights