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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the counterpart housing must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miwa et al. (US. 2018/0269627 A1).
In Regards to Claim 1:
Miwa teaches a connector (3) comprising:
a housing (3f) fitted to a counterpart housing (4b); and an actuator (10) assembled to the housing (3f) along an intersecting direction with a fitting direction of the housing (3f) and the counterpart housing (4b), wherein the actuator (10) includes a detection part (52) configured to detect fitting of the housing (3f) and the counterpart housing (4b), and the housing (3f) includes a hole portion (3k) into which the detection part is inserted, and a guide portion (3g) inclined to guide the detection part (52) to the hole portion (3k) when the actuator (10) is assembled to the housing (3f).
In Regards to Claim 2:
Miwa teaches the connector according to claim 1, wherein the actuator (10) includes a projection portion (13/14) protruding in the intersecting direction, and the housing (3f) includes a recessed portion (3s, 3t, and 3u) fitted to the projection portion (13/14).
In Regards to Claim 3:
Miwa teaches the connector according to claim 1, wherein the detection part (52) is a cylindrical pin, and the guide portion (3g) is a pair of ribs.
In Regards to Claim 4:
Miwa teaches the connector according to claim 1, wherein the detection part (52) is configured to be displaceable in the fitting direction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NADER J ALHAWAMDEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9Am - 6Pm EST.
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.
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/NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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