Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/752,497

HOUSING ASSEMBLY FOR A CONNECTOR, CONNECTOR AND CONNECTION ASSEMBLY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 24, 2024
Priority
Jun 28, 2023 — IN 202341043322
Examiner
CHAMBERS, TRAVIS SLOAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
TE Connectivity Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1019 granted / 1181 resolved
+26.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
1194
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
44.1%
+4.1% vs TC avg
§102
40.6%
+0.6% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1181 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . DETAILED ACTION Claim Objections Claim objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 5 Appropriate correction is required. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. Claims 1, 4, 5, 12-14, 16, 17, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Davidsz et al. US 11322867 B1. In reference to claim 1, Davidsz teaches housing assembly for an electrical connector (shown in fig. 10) that is intermateable with a mating connector (not shown, but mates with the connector shown in fig. 10), wherein the housing assembly comprises: a connector housing (40; fig. 10); and a cover element (48) attachable to the connector housing, wherein the housing assembly further comprises at least two exit openings (i.e. the recesses (near lead line 154) formed in the sides of the cover and the recesses (82) formed in the sides of the housing, together, form the exit openings) for passing electrical wires (similar to the wires of 14; fig. 6), wherein the at least two exit openings are mutually angled at 90° or more (the openings are formed 180 degrees apart from each other), and wherein at least one of the exit openings is jointly formed by the connector housing (40) and the cover element (48). In reference to claim 4, Davidsz teaches housing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing comprises a mating face (near lead line 58; fig. 10) configured complementarily to the mating connector, and wherein the cover element is attachable to the connector housing opposite of the mating face (see fig. 10). In reference to claim 5, Davidsz teaches housing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing comprises internal contact chambers (120) for holding contact terminals (i.e. the conductors of ribbon cable 14) of the electrical wires, and wherein the cover element attached to the connector housing covers the contact chambers. In reference to claim 12, Davidsz teaches housing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the housing assembly comprises three, four or five exit openings (pertaining to the recesses 82 and the recesses in the sides 140 that accommodate the wires of the ribbon cable 40. The recesses are formed on both sides of the connector 34) that are pairwise mutually angled at 90° or more (the recesses are formed 180 degrees apart from each other). In reference to claim 13, Davidsz teaches electrical connector (34; fig. 10) comprising: a housing assembly (i.e. the housing of 34) including a connector housing (40) and a cover element (34) attachable to the connector housing, the housing assembly including at least two exit openings (i.e. the recesses (near lead line 154) formed in the sides of the cover and the recesses (82) formed in the sides of the housing, together, form the exit openings) for passing electrical wires (similar to the wires of 14; fig. 6), wherein the at least two exit openings are mutually angled at 90° or more (the openings are formed 180 degrees apart from each other), and wherein at least one of the exit openings is jointly formed by the connector housing and the cover element; and at least two contact terminals (i.e. the conductor wires of the ribbon cable 14) held in the connector housing. In reference to claim 14, Davidsz teaches electrical connector according to claim 13, wherein the electrical connector comprises at least two electrical wires (i.e. the wires of 14, where ribbon cable 14 is made up of many wires) each connected to a different contact terminal (each wire of the ribbon cable 14 connects to a different contact terminal 52), wherein the at least two electrical wires are each passed through a different exit opening (the connector housing comprises many recesses that accommodate the many wires in the ribbon cable 14) and routed in directions that are mutually angled at 90° or more (the direction is 180 degrees between the recess on the left side of the connector housing and the recess on the right side of the connector housing. The electrical wires of the ribbon cable pass from the left side through the right side of the connector housing 14). In reference to claim 16, Davidsz teaches electrical connector according to claim 13, wherein the connector housing comprises a mating face (near lead line 58) configured complementarily to the mating connector, and wherein the cover element is attachable to the connector housing opposite of the mating face (see fig. 10). In reference to claim 17, Davidsz teaches electrical connector according to claim 13, wherein the connector housing comprises internal contact chambers (120) for holding the contact terminals (i.e. the conductor wires of the ribbon cable 14) of the electrical wires (i.e. the conductors wires of ribbon cable 14), and wherein the cover element attached to the connector housing covers the contact chambers. In reference to claim 19, Davidsz teaches electrical connector according to claim 13, wherein the housing assembly comprises three, four or five exit openings (pertaining to the recesses 82 and the recesses in the sides 140 that accommodate the wires of the ribbon cable 40. The recesses are formed on both sides of the connector 34) that are pairwise mutually angled at 90° or more (the recesses are formed 180 degrees apart from each other). In reference to claim 20, Davidsz teaches electrical connection assembly comprising: an electrical connector (34; fig. 10) including a housing assembly (40, 44, 46, 48) and at least two contact terminals (52) held in the connector housing, the housing assembly including a connector housing (40) and a cover element (48) attachable to the connector housing, the housing assembly including at least two exit openings (i.e. the recesses (near lead line 154) formed in the sides of the cover and the recesses (82) formed in the sides of the housing, together, form the exit openings) for passing electrical wires (similar to the wires of 14; fig. 6), wherein the at least two exit openings are mutually angled at 90° or more (the openings are formed 180 degrees apart from each other), and wherein at least one of the exit openings is jointly formed by the connector housing and the cover element; and a mating connector (not shown, but mates to 34) including at least two mating contacts configured complementarily to the at least two contact terminals of the electrical connector. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRAVIS SLOAN CHAMBERS whose telephone number is (571)272-6813. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30a.m.-5:00p.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, Abdullah A 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. 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. /TRAVIS S CHAMBERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 09/16/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 24, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 8m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
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Patent 12738705
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+11.5%)
1y 11m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1181 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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