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 .
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 1-2 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nehm (US. 2009/0258530 A1)
In Regards to Claim 1:
Nehm teaches a connector (1), comprising:
a housing (2); and a locking member (4) rotatably connected to the housing (2) and rotatable between a locking position adapted to engage with a mating housing (3) and an unlocking position adapted to be separated from the mating housing (3), the locking member (4) including:
a pair of force arms (16), first ends of which are rotatably connected to an outer side of the housing (2); a pair of hook shaped locking parts (14) respectively formed on second ends of the pair of force arms (16), when the locking member (4) is rotated to the locking position, the hook shaped locking part (14) of the locking member (4) is adapted to be locked onto a locking post (7) of the mating housing (3) to lock the housing (2) and the mating housing (3) together; and a pair of rollers (5) rotatably installed on the ends of the hook shaped locking parts (14), respectively, as the hook shaped locking part (14) is locked onto the locking post (7), the roller (5) of the hook shaped locking part (14) is adapted to be in rolling contact with the locking post (7).
In Regards to Claim 2:
Nehm teaches the connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking member (4) further comprises a pair of connecting shafts (5) respectively fixed to the ends of the pair of hook shaped locking parts (14), the pair of rollers (5) are respectively rotatably installed on the pair of connecting shafts (5).
In Regards to Claim 12:
Nehm teaches the connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking member (4) further includes a connecting arm (See Reproduced Drawing 1) connected between the other ends of the pair of force arms (16) to ensure synchronous rotation of the pair of force arms (16).
In Regards to Claim 13:
Nehm teaches the connector according to claim 12, wherein the locking member (4) further includes a handle part (13) connected to the connecting arm (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and adapted to drive the locking member (4) to rotate between the locking position and the unlocking position.
In Regards to Claim 14:
Nehm teaches the connector according to claim 13, wherein the pair of force arms (16), the pair of hook shaped locking parts (14), the connecting arm (See Reproduced Drawing 1) and the handle part (13) are formed as an integral piece.
In Regards to Claim 15:
Nehm teaches the connector according to claim 1, further comprising:
an insulator arranged in the housing (2); and a terminal arranged in the insulator. (Paragraph 29, Within the two housing parts 2, 3, there can be several terminals which are connected to one another to form a terminal strip or contact insert for connection of the individual leads of an electrical cable which are, however, not shown in the figures since this invention relates to interlocking of the two housing parts 2, 3)
In Regards to Claim 16:
Nehm teaches a connector assembly, comprising:
a connector (1), including:
a housing (2); and a locking member (4) rotatably connected to the housing (2) and rotatable between a locking position engaged with a mating housing (3) and an unlocking position separated from the mating housing (3), the locking member (4) including:
a pair of force arms (16), first ends of which are rotatably connected to an outer side of the housing (2); and a pair of hook shaped locking parts (14) respectively formed on second ends of the pair of force arms (16); and a mating connector mated with the connector (1), including:
a mating housing (3) for mating with the housing (2) of the connector (1); and a locking post (7) fixedly on the outer side of the mating housing (3), the hook shaped locking part (14) of the locking member (4) of the connector (1) is locked onto the locking post (7) of the mating housing (3) and locking the connector (1) and the mating connector in a mating state.
In Regards to Claim 17:
Nehm teaches the connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the locking member (4) further includes a pair of rollers (5) rotatably installed on the ends of the hook shaped locking parts (14), respectively, as the hook shaped locking part (14) is locked onto the locking post (7), the roller (5) on the hook shaped locking part (14) is in rolling contact with the locking post (7).
In Regards to Claim 18:
Nehm teaches the connector assembly according to claim 17, wherein the locking member (4) further includes a pair of connecting shafts (5) respectively fixed to the ends of the pair of hook shaped locking parts (14), the pair of rollers (5) are respectively rotatably installed on the pair of connecting shafts (5).
In Regards to Claim 19:
Nehm teaches the connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the locking post (7) is riveted or welded to the mating housing (3).
In Regards to Claim 20:
Nehm teaches the connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the mating connector (See Reproduced Drawing 2) further comprises:
a mating insulator (See Reproduced Drawing 2) arranged in the mating housing (3) for mating with the insulator (See Reproduced Drawing 2) of the connector (1); and a mating terminal arranged in the mating insulator (See Reproduced Drawing 2) for mating with the terminal of the connector (1). (Paragraph 29, Within the two housing parts 2, 3, there can be several terminals which are connected to one another to form a terminal strip or contact insert for connection of the individual leads of an electrical cable which are, however, not shown in the figures since this invention relates to interlocking of the two housing parts 2, 3)
PNG
media_image1.png
416
683
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
604
722
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 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.
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.
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.
/NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights