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
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yang (US 9,437,987).
Regarding claim 1: Yang teaches a headphone audio cable connection structure (see Fig. 3 and Col. 1, lines 11-22), comprising a headphone body (e.g. not shown but described in Col. 1, lines 11-22 and would be at the end connector 2) and an audio cable 1, wherein the headphone body is provided with an audio cable insertion hole 2200 and a clamping sleeve 220, the audio cable 1 extends into the clamping sleeve and is inserted into the audio cable insertion hole (see Figs. 3-4), and the audio cable 1 is connected to the clamping sleeve in a buckled manner (see Col. 2, lines 61-67 and Col. 3, lines 1-9).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 9,437,987), in view of Arcykiewicz (US 6,226,068).
Regarding claim 2: Yang teaches all the limitations of claim 1.
Yang does not explicitly teach wherein inserting grooves and clamping grooves are formed on a side wall of the clamping sleeve, the inserting groove extends along an axis direction of the clamping sleeve, the clamping groove extends along a radial direction of the clamping sleeve, the clamping groove is communicated with the inserting groove, the audio cable is sleeved with a clamping seat, protruding clamping blocks are arranged on the clamping seat, and the protruding clamping block extends into the inserting groove and then the clamping seat rotates to move the protruding clamping block into the clamping groove, so that the clamping seat is securely fastened to the clamping sleeve.
Arcykiewicz teaches inserting grooves 25 (Fig. 5) and clamping grooves 44 (see Fig. 10) are formed on a side wall of a clamping sleeve (see Fig. 5), the inserting groove extends along an axis direction of the clamping sleeve (see Fig. 5), the clamping groove extends along a radial direction of the clamping sleeve (see Fig. 5), the clamping groove is communicated with the inserting groove (see Fig. 5), a connector 21 is sleeved with a clamping seat 22, protruding clamping blocks 26 are arranged on the clamping seat 22 (see Fig. 5), and the protruding clamping block 26 extends into the inserting groove and then the clamping seat rotates to move the protruding clamping block into the clamping groove, so that the clamping seat is securely fastened to the clamping sleeve (see Figs. 7-10).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to be able to modify the invention with inserting grooves and clamping grooves are formed on a side wall of the clamping sleeve, the inserting groove extends along an axis direction of the clamping sleeve, the clamping groove extends along a radial direction of the clamping sleeve, the clamping groove is communicated with the inserting groove, the audio cable is sleeved with a clamping seat, protruding clamping blocks are arranged on the clamping seat, and the protruding clamping block extends into the inserting groove and then the clamping seat rotates to move the protruding clamping block into the clamping groove, so that the clamping seat is securely fastened to the clamping sleeve as taught by Arcykiewicz into the headphone audio cable connection structure of Yang in order to achieve the advantage of multiple of points of connection to ensure mechanical connection is achieved and maintained.
Regarding claim 3: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein crack grooves (e.g. groove located left of 44; Fig. 10 of Arcykiewicz) are further formed on the clamping seat 22 (Arcykiewicz), and the crack groove is communicated with the clamping groove (see Figs. 7-10 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 4: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 3 and further teaches wherein the inserting groove and the clamping groove are distributed in a vertical direction, and the crack groove and the clamping groove are arranged in the same direction (see Figs. 5-10 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 5: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the side wall of the clamping sleeve is symmetrically provided with two inserting grooves, two clamping grooves and two crack grooves, and the clamping seat is symmetrically provided with two protruding clamping blocks (see Fig. 5 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 6: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the clamping groove is provided with a groove position, and a portion of the protruding clamping block extends into the groove position after the protruding clamping block moves into the clamping groove (see Figs. 7-10 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 7: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the protruding clamping block 26 is cylindrical (see Fig. 5 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 8: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the protruding clamping blocks 26 are integrally formed on the clamping seat (see Fig. 5 of Arcykiewicz).
Regarding claim 9: Yang, in view of Arcykiewicz, teaches all the limitations of claim 2 and further teaches wherein the side wall of the clamping seat is provided with anti-slip fringes (e.g. see sloped faces; Fig. 2 of Yang).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892 for pertinent prior art, the following references being of closest relevance:
Tsai (US 2007/0298664) teaches a cable connection structure comprising protruding blocks and clamping grooves;
Antonini (US 7,553,177) teaches a cable connection structure comprising protruding blocks and clamping grooves and anti slip features on the sleeve;
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSCAR C JIMENEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-0272. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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.
/OSCAR C JIMENEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights