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 .
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 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) 1-5 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by AKAIKE et al. (US Patent Application Publication 20220102891 A1).
As per claim 1, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, which can be coupled with a mating connector 500 inserted from a tip side 52 thereof, comprising: a contact pin 2; a cylindrical insulating housing 3 for containing the contact pin 2 therein; and a metal shell 4 for holding the contact pin 2 and the housing 3, wherein the housing 3 includes an engagement protrusion 423 protruding from an outer surface (of 31) of the housing 3 toward an outer side X, wherein the shell 4 includes a containing portion 42 for containing the housing 3 therein and an engagement protrusion 423 protruding from an inner surface (of 42) of the containing portion 42 toward an inner side (of 42), and wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 423 of the shell 4 in a state that the housing 3 is contained in the containing portion 42 of the shell 4, and thereby the housing 3 is locked in the containing portion 42 of the shell 4.
As per claim 2, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the shell 4 is located on a base side (of 3) of the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 in the state that the housing 3 is contained in the containing portion 42 of the shell 4.
As per claim 3, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 includes: a front slope portion (along 51 and 52, shown in figure 6) which protrudes from the outer surface (of 31) of the housing 3 and whose outward protruding amount gradually increases as it extends from the tip side 52 toward a base side (of 3), and a rear slope portion (along 311) which protrudes from the outer surface (of 31) of the housing 3 on the base side (of 3) of the front slope portion (along 51 and 52, shown in figure 6) and whose outward protruding amount gradually decreases as it extends from the tip side 52 toward the base side (of 3).
As per claim 4, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 further includes a flat portion (along 31) linearly extending between the front slope portion (along 51 and 52, shown in figure 6) and the rear slope portion (along 311) in an insertion and extraction direction Z of the mating connector 500.
As per claim 5, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the shell 4 has a tapered shape (along 423) whose width in an insertion and extraction direction Z of the mating connector 500 gradually decreases as a distance (between 2 in the Y) from the inner surface (of 42) of the containing portion 42 increases.
As per claim 8, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the housing 3 further includes a cylindrical portion 32 linearly extending in an insertion and extraction direction Z of the mating connector 500 and a downwardly extending portion (along 23) extending from a base end portion (of 32) of the cylindrical portion 32 toward a lower side X, and wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 is formed on an outer surface (of 31) of the downwardly extending portion (along 23).
As per claim 9, AKAIKE teaches an electrical connector 1, wherein the engagement protrusion 423 of the housing 3 extends on the outer surface (of 31) of the downwardly extending portion (along 23) in a vertical direction X perpendicular to the insertion and extraction direction Z of the mating connector 500.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
As per claim 6, The prior art does not disclose or suggest: wherein the engagement protrusion of the shell includes a first inclined surface located on the tip side and a second inclined surface located on a base side of the first inclined surface, and wherein an inclination of the first inclined surface with respect to the inner surface of the containing portion of the shell is larger than an inclination of the second inclined surface with respect to the inner surface of the containing portion of the shell.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NELSON R BURGOS-GUNTIN whose telephone number is (571)270-0574. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am-5:00PM, Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A. Riyami can be reached on (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Nelson R. Burgos-Guntin/Examiner, Art Unit 2831
/ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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