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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by XU et al. US 20230318223 A1.
In reference to claim 17, XU teaches a method, comprising: arranging an upper mounting unit (100; fig. 1, 6) of an electrical connector (100, 200; fig. 1) in a staged position in an aperture (23) in a substrate (20; fig. 1. Viewing the term “substrate” as a component that supports the electrical connector 100, 200), wherein arranging the upper mounting unit comprises engaging a first surface (portion of 100 that abuts 22) of the upper mounting unit with a first planar surface (22; fig. 6) of the substrate through which the aperture is defined, and engaging a second planar surface (sidewall of 23) of the substrate arranged substantially perpendicular to the first planar surface of the substrate; coupling a lower mounting unit (130; fig. 6) of the electrical connector to the upper mounting unit to engage a third surface (21; fig. 6) of the substrate opposed to the first planar surface of the substrate to secure the electrical connector (100, 200) in the aperture.
In reference to claim 18, XU teaches the method of claim 17, wherein coupling the lower mounting unit to the upper mounting unit comprises twisting the lower mounting unit onto a cylinder of the upper mounting unit (see fig. 1, 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19 and 20 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record does not teach or suggest the combination of elements including:
(Claim 1) a lower mounting unit configured to be coupled to the upper mounting unit and secured within the aperture via engaging with a third planar surface of the substrate, wherein the third planar surface of the substrate is opposed to the first planar surface of the substrate.
Conclusion
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/TRAVIS S CHAMBERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 09/10/2026
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