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 .
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 “a fixed portion” in claim 4, line 10 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.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujisaki (11,081,817) in view of Fujiwara et al. (8,167,634).
Regarding claim 1, Fujisaki discloses a relay connector (1, Fig. 1) that is configured to be attached to a device case (13, Fig. 6) to electrically connect an inside and an outside of the device case, the relay connector comprising:
a terminal (31, Fig. 1);
a connector housing (2, Fig. 1) that holds the terminal; and
a seal (14, Fig. 1) that is configured to seal between the connector housing and the device case (Fig. 6), the seal having:
an annular seal body (pointed at 14, Fig. 1) that is configured to be sandwiched and compressed between the connector housing and the device case (Fig. 6); and
a fixing piece (FIGURE A below) extending from the seal body outward of the seal body, and
the connector housing having a positioning column (FIGURE A below) through the fixing piece and holding the fixing piece (Fig. 5).
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Fujisaki discloses the claimed invention as described above except for
the positioning column that is configured to be fitted into a positioning recess provided in the device case.
Fujiwara et al., Fig. 1 shows the positioning column (94) that is configured to be fitted into a positioning recess (29) provided in the device case (20, column 4, line 37). It would have been obvious to provide Fujisaki to have the positioning column that is configured to be fitted into a positioning recess provided in the device case, as taught by Fujiwara et al. for better connection.
Regarding claim 2, Fujisaki, the FIGURE A above shows the positioning column has a retaining structure that prevents the fixing piece from coming off from the positioning column.
Regarding claim 4, Fujisaki discloses the connector housing has: a fixing flange (23, Fig. 1) that is configured to be fixed to the device case so as to cover an opening provided in the device case (Fig. 6); and an insertion (22, Fig. 3) that is configured to be inserted into the opening (Fig. 6), the insertion extending from the fixing flange, the fixing flange has: an annular accommodating groove (231, Fig. 6) that accommodates the seal body; and a fixed portion (11, Fig. 6) that is configured to be fixed to the device case (combination of Fujisaki and Fujiwara et al.), and the fixed portion and the positioning column are located in an outer region of the fixing flange relative to the accommodating groove.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujisaki and Fujiwara et al. as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Sjostedt et al. (8,382,532).
Regarding claim 3, Fujisaki and Fujiwara et al. disclose the claimed invention as described above except for the positioning column has a cutout that serves as the retaining structure and is formed in an outer face of the positioning column.
Sjostedt et al., Fig. 23 shows the positioning column (512) has a cutout (560) that serves as the retaining structure and is formed in an outer face of the positioning column. It would have been obvious to provide Fujisaki to have the positioning column has a cutout that serves as the retaining structure and is formed in an outer face of the positioning column, as taught by Sjostedt et al. for better connection.
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.
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, 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 09/26/26
thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov
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