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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment dated 6/1/2026 has been considered and entered into the record. Claim 1 has been amended to now require a conductor comprising a plurality of conductor element wires, wherein a degree of compression of the conductor is 30–70%. The previous rejection based upon Hori and Yamada fail to teach this new limitation. Accordingly, the previous rejection is hereby withdrawn. Claims 1 and 2 remain pending and are examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 6/1/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 2 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hori (JP 2021106131 A) in view of Kobayashi (US 2020/0219635 A1).
Hori teaches the formation of a heat-resistant electrical insulation cable comprising a conductor and an insulator that covers the conductor. Hori Abstract. The insulator has a preferred outer diameter of 2.0 mm or less and the insulator has an outer diameter of 4 mm or less. Id. Description of Embodiments. Accordingly, the ratio of the conductor’s outer diameter relative to the outer diameter of the insulator may be 0.50. The insulator is made from a fluororesin or fluororubber material. Id. The insulator may further comprise a plurality voids or cavities. Id. The insulator may further comprise an average porosity in the range of up to 50%. Id.
Hori fails to teach that the conductor is a compressed conductor in which a stranded wire including a plurality of conductor element wires is compressed, and the plurality of conductor element wire are twisted together.
Kobayashi teaches the formation of a covered electrical wire comprising a conductor and an insulating coating layer covering the outer periphery of the conductor, wherein the conductor comprises a plurality of wires that are twisted. Kobayashi abstract. The twisting of the plurality of wires allows for a covered electrical wire that can bend, but does not buckle. Id. ¶¶ 20, 25, 36. The plurality of wires may also be compressed to a degree of up to 30 percent to work harden the wires thereby yielding a conductor with increased strength, toughness, and impact resistance. Id. ¶ 110.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have replaced the conductor of Hori with the twisted and compressed plurality of wires motivated by the desire to form an electrical wire with strength, toughness, and impact resistance, while also being able to be bent.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW D MATZEK whose telephone number is (571)272-5732. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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/MATTHEW D MATZEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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