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 7, line 3, --and-- should be inserted after “;”;
Claim 10, line 3, “a plug” should be --the plug--;
Claim 10, line 3, “a plug wall guide” should be --the plug wall guide--;
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 6-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6, lines 11 and 12, what “that” refers to?
Claim 10, line 5, what “which” refers to?
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 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jalbert (10,044,139).
Regarding claim 6, Jalbert discloses a system (100, Fig. 1) for connecting electrical signals between a plurality of trunk sections of an artificial tree comprising:
a first trunk section (102, Fig. 2) of said plurality of trunk sections of said artificial tree;
a second trunk section (104, Fig. 2) of said plurality of trunk sections of said artificial tree that connects to said first trunk section;
a plug (112, fig. 3B) disposed in and secured to an interior portion of said first trunk section (Fig. 2), said plug having a plug connection post (FIG. 5A below), a plug housing (FIG. 5A below) and plug rotational alignment surfaces (side edges of 150, Fig. 3B) formed in said plug housing;
a socket (114, Fig. 6A) disposed in and secured to an interior portion of said second trunk section (Fig. 2), said socket having a socket connection post (FIG. 6A below), a socket housing (FIG. 6A below) and socket rotational alignment surfaces (FIG. 6A below) formed in said socket housing, that abut against said plug rotational alignment surfaces that align said plug and said socket when said plug and said socket are assembled (Fig. 2);
socket connector receptacles (146, Fig. 6A) disposed in said socket connection post;
plug connector pins (124 and 126, Fig. 3B) disposed on said plug connection post that extend from said plug connection post by an amount that is less that said plug rotational alignment surfaces and said socket rotational alignment surfaces so that said plug connector pins are aligned with said socket connector receptacles prior to said plug connector pins touching said socket connection post.
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Regarding claim 7, Fig. 1 shows additional trunk sections;
additional plugs in said additional trunk sections; and
additional sockets in said additional trunk sections.
Regarding claim 8, Fig. 2 shows a reduced diameter portion of said first trunk section that engages and slides into a non-reduced diameter portion said second trunk section.
Regarding claim 9, the features in the method claim are identical to those in the apparatus claims; therefore, the method of connecting electrical signals between a plurality of trunk sections of a tree trunk of a pre-lit artificial tree alone is not a patentable feature.
Regarding claim 10, the process of aligning said plug with said socket further comprises: using the plug (112, fig. 3B) having the plug wall guide (150) that extends beyond said plug connector pins (124 and 126) so that said plug wall guide engages said socket connection post without said plug connector pins engaging said socket connector receptacles (Fig. 7B), which assists in aligning said plug and said socket.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdul Riyami can be reached at 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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/THANH TAM T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 08/14/26
thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov
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