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
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 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KOBAYASHI et al. (US Patent Application Publication 20230187867 A1).
As per claim 1, KOBAYASHI teaches a connector F, comprising a first connector F and a second connector M configured to be mated with the first connector F from one surface side of a panel (along 49), wherein the first connector F includes a restricting portion 53 configured to elastically deform (shown in figure 7-9) in a direction to come into contact with the one surface during a mating process (of F) in which the first connector F and the second connector M are mated together, and a first mating lock portion 12 formed continuously from the restricting portion 53, the second connector M includes a pressing portion 28 configured to press the restricting portion 53 in the direction to come into contact with the one surface during the mating process (of F), and a lock arm 54 configured to elastically deform (shown in figure 7-9) and disposed separately from the pressing portion 28, and the lock arm 54 has a second mating lock portion 27 configured to engage with the first mating lock portion 12.
As per claim 3, KOBAYASHI teaches a connector F, wherein the restricting portion 53 is disposed on the first connector F as a pair of restricting portions 53 with a gap (along 53) therebetween in a direction intersecting (shown in figure 2) a direction in which the first connector F and the second connector M are mated together (shown in figure 7-9), and the first mating lock portion 12 is shaped to span the pair of restricting portions 53.
As per claim 4, KOBAYASHI teaches a connector F, wherein the first mating lock portion 12 and the second mating lock portion 27 are positioned in a non-contact state (along F) during the mating process (of F).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
As per claim 2, The prior art does not disclose or suggest: wherein the lock arm extends from another surface side of the panel to the one surface side in a cantilevered manner, the second mating lock portion is disposed at an intermediate portion of the lock arm in a direction in which the lock arm extends, and a free end portion of the lock arm is positioned to face the one surface side.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NELSON R BURGOS-GUNTIN whose telephone number is (571)270-0574. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am-5:00PM, Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A. Riyami can be reached on (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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/Nelson R. Burgos-Guntin/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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