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 Objections
Claim 9, lines 24-25; claim 10, lines 2-6; and claim 14, line 17, “central” should be deleted;
Claim 13, line 2, “first” should be --second--;
Claim 13, line 3, “second” should be --first--;
Claims 19-20 should be canceled because they are similar to claims 11-12.
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 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (8,870,404).
Regarding claims 9 and 17, Chen discloses a system for connecting electrical signals between plurality of trunk sections of an artificial tree comprising:
a first round trunk section (110, Fig. 1A) of said plurality of trunk sections of said artificial tree, said plurality of trunk sections configured to be connected together to form an artificial tree trunk that has a center axis;
a second round trunk section (160, Fig. 1A) of said plurality of trunk sections of said artificial tree that connects to said first trunk section so that said first trunk section and said second trunk section are centered on said center axis;
a round plug (210, Fig. 2) disposed in said second round trunk section, said round plug having a plug interior wall portion (358, Fig. 19) that is aligned with, and parallel to, said center axis and said round plug having a round exterior wall portion (340, Fig. 17) adjacent to said second round trunk section and having inclined curved surfaces (curved top part of 360, Fig. 19) that are inclined in an axial direction aligned with said center axis;
a round socket (200, Fig. 6) disposed in said first round trunk section, said round socket having a socket interior wall portion (232, Fig. 8) that is aligned with, and parallel to, said center axis, said round socket having a round exterior wall portion (220, Fig. 8) adjacent to said first round trunk section and having inclined curved surfaces (top curved surfaces of 234, Fig. 8) that have an inclination and curved shape that match said plug inclined surfaces, said plug inclined curved surfaces and said socket inclined curved surfaces causing said plug and said socket to rotationally align during assembly of said plug and said socket (column 14, lines 55-57);
plug contacts (213 and 215, Fig. 20) mounted on said plug interior wall portion, said plug interior wall portion aligned with said center axis;
socket contacts mounted on said socket interior central wall portion, said
socket interior wall portion aligned with said center axis, so that said
socket contacts engage said plug contacts when said plug and said socket are
assembled, said plug contacts protruding from said plug interior wall portion
and said socket contacts protruding from said socket interior wall portion
sufficiently to cause said plug contacts and said plug interior wall portion,
and said socket contacts and said socket interior-central wall portion, to deflect
when said first round trunk section connects to said second round trunk section, to
create a force between said plug contacts and said socket contacts that provides a
solid and stable electrical connection between said plug contacts and said socket
contacts.
Regarding claim 10, said plug interior wall portion (358) made from a material having an elasticity that allows said plug interior central wall portion to flex (column 14, lines 46-51);
said socket interior wall portion (232) made from a material having an elasticity that allows said socket interior central wall portion to flex (column 11, lines 61-66), when engaged by said plug interior wall portion when said first round trunk section connects to said second round trunk section to create a force between said plug contacts and said socket contacts and provides a stable electrical connection between said plug contacts and said socket contacts.
Regarding claims 11 and 19, additional round trunk sections (170, Fig. 1A); additional round plugs (not labeled, Fig. 2) on said additional round trunk sections; additional round sockets (not labeled, Fig. 2) on said additional round trunk sections.
Regarding claims 12 and 20, a reduced diameter portion (164, Fig. 1A) of said second round trunk section that engages and slides into a non-reduced diameter portion (122, Fig. 1A) of said first round trunk section.
Regarding claim 13, a bonding agent (231 or column 14, lines 58-60) that secures said round plug to said second round trunk section and a bonding agent (column 12, lines 8-15) that secures said round socket to said first round trunk section.
Regarding claims 14-16, the features in the method claims are identical to those in the apparatus claims; therefore, the method of connecting electrical signals between a plurality of round trunk sections of a round trunk of an artificial tree alone is not a patentable feature.
Regarding claim 18, convex or concave surfaces, or both, on said plug inclined surfaces (360, Fig. 19), and concave or convex surfaces, or both, on said socket inclined surfaces (234, Fig. 8) that mate with said convex or concave surfaces of said plug and assist in retaining said plug and said socket in a mated position.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 9-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THANH TAM T LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2094. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM.
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/THANH TAM T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 01/23/26
thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov