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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Darr et al (US 20040264113; “Darr” hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Darr teaches: an electrical junction box (10) comprising:
a circuit board (18, fig. 2);
a first case (14, fig. 4) including a first side wall (14b, 14c, fig. 2) and covering one surface of the circuit board (figs. 1-3);
a second case (12, fig. 2) including a second side wall (12b, 12c, fig. 2) that covers the first side wall from an outer side (fig. 1),
the second case covering another surface of the circuit board opposite the one surface (figs. 1-3);
wherein the first side wall includes a protruding portion (16a, fig. 2) protruding toward the second side wall,
the second side wall includes a fitting hole (16b, fig. 2, “snap lock part 16b, which is in the form of a relief or opening 16c”, ¶[0018]) into which the protruding portion is forcibly
fitted by flexural deformation of the second side wall (“resulting in a camming engagement between the two parts 16a, 16b. This causes a deflection between the snap lock parts 16a, 16b”, ¶[0018], [0025]),
the first case includes:
a first contact portion (24, fig. 2) configured to come into contact with the one
surface of the circuit board (fig. 4, ¶[0027]), and
the second case includes:
a pair of second contact portions (24, fig. 2) that come into contact with the other surface of the circuit board (fig. 4, ¶[0027]) at two positions interposing the fitting hole of the second side wall therebetween (fig. 2 discloses this limitation),
and
a non-contact portion (inner surface of sidewalls 12b, 12c in between the second contact portions 24, fig. 2) that does not to come into contact with the other surface between the pair of second contact portions in order to allow the flexural deformation of the second
side wall (as disclosed upon examination of figs. 2 and ¶[0018]).
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 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Darr, in view of Koike et al (US 20030147228; “Koike” hereinafter).
Regarding claim 2, Darr teaches the limitations of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first case further includes a claw body that is deformable in a curvature manner
toward the second side wall side with respect to the first side wall, and
the claw body allows the first contact portion to come into contact with the one surface of
the circuit board by the curvature deformation, and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto
the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where
the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board.
However, Koike teaches:
a first case (12, fig. 2) includes a claw body (1, figs. 1-2) that is deformable in a curvature manner (figs. 1 and 8 discloses this limitation, where portion 1b of 1, would represent the radius of curvature, ¶[0037]) toward a second side wall side (14a, figs. 1 and 11) with respect to a first side wall (12a, fig. 5), and
the claw body allows a first contact portion (24a) to come into contact with one surface of
the circuit board by the curvature deformation (fig. 8), and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board (as disclosed upon examination of figures 1, 8 and 15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to Modify the first case of Darr and include Koike’s claw body, such that first case further includes a claw body that is deformable in a curvature manner toward the second side wall side with respect to the first side wall, and the claw body allows the first contact portion to come into contact with the one surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation, and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board, in order to provide an circuit board engagement structure capable of withstanding stress produced by volumetric variation and/or vibration (¶[0012]). Furthermore, the claim would have been obvious because the particular known technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art, as evidenced by Koike. Therefore, the claimed subject matter would have been no more than a predictable combination of a plurality of known techniques according to their respective purposes within routine skill and creativity (§MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 4, Darr teaches: an electrical junction box (10) comprising:
a circuit board (18, fig. 2);
a first case (14, fig. 4) including a first side wall (14b, 14c, fig. 2) and covering one surface of the circuit board (figs. 1-3);
a second case (12, fig. 2) including a second side wall (12b, 12c, fig. 2) that covers the first side wall from an outer side (fig. 1),
the second case covering another surface of the circuit board opposite the one surface (figs. 1-3);
wherein the first case includes:
a first contact portion (24, fig. 2) that comes into contact with the one surface of the circuit board (fig. 4, ¶[0027]).
Darr does not explicitly teach:
a claw body that is deformable in a curvature manner toward the second side wall
side with respect to the first side wall, and
the claw body allows the first contact portion to come into contact with the one surface of
the circuit board by the curvature deformation, and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto
the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where
the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board.
However, Koike teaches:
a first case (12, fig. 2) includes a claw body (1, figs. 1-2) that is deformable in a curvature manner (figs. 1 and 8 discloses this limitation, where portion 1b of 1, would represent the radius of curvature, ¶[0037]) toward a second side wall side (14a, figs. 1 and 11) with respect to a first side wall (12a, fig. 5), and
the claw body allows a first contact portion (24a) to come into contact with one surface of
the circuit board by the curvature deformation (fig. 8), and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board (as disclosed upon examination of figures 1, 8 and 15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to Modify the first case of Darr and include Koike’s claw body, such that first case further includes a claw body that is deformable in a curvature manner toward the second side wall side with respect to the first side wall, and the claw body allows the first contact portion to come into contact with the one surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation, and is formed such that the claw body hooks onto the other surface of the circuit board by the curvature deformation being canceled in the state where the first contact portion is in contact with the one surface of the circuit board, in order to provide an circuit board engagement structure capable of withstanding stress produced by volumetric variation and/or vibration (¶[0012]). Furthermore, the claim would have been obvious because the particular known technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art, as evidenced by Koike. Therefore, the claimed subject matter would have been no more than a predictable combination of a plurality of known techniques according to their respective purposes within routine skill and creativity (§MPEP 2143).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Darr, in view of Koike et al (US 20030147228; “Koike” hereinafter), and further in view of Tsukahara (JP 2013004617 A; “Tsukahara” hereinafter).
Regarding claim 3, Darr in view of Koike teaches the limitations of claim 2, but does not explicitly teach:
wherein the second case further includes a restricting portion that restricts the curvature
deformation by coming into contact with the claw body in a state where the claw body hooks onto
the other surface of the circuit board.
However, Tsukahara teaches:
a second case (2, fig. 12) further includes a restricting portion (9G, fig. 12) that restricts curvature
deformation (fig. 5A) by coming into contact with a claw body (7, fig. 12) in a state where the claw body hooks onto a surface of a circuit board (6, fig. 12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Darr in view if Koike, and include Tsukahara’s restricting portion, such that the second case further includes a restricting portion that restricts the curvature deformation by coming into contact with the claw body in a state where the claw body hooks onto the other surface of the circuit board, in order to improve the holding force of the claw body with the circuit board with a simple configuration (¶[0007],[0033]-[0034]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is:
US 20230363095 A1 Housing for a Circuit Which is Arranged on a Printed Circuit Board. This invention relates generally to a housing for an electronic circuit comprises tub-shaped lower and upper parts and a rectangular printed circuit board, PCB. The lower part comprises PCB supports and molded position fixing formations on opposite inner walls and first parts of latching apparatuses, for connecting to the upper part, on opposite outer walls.
US 11291132 B2 Housing and Electronic Device Using the Same. This invention generally relates to a housing including a base and a mark piece. The base includes a bottom wall and at least one side wall. The at least one side wall is vertically connected to the bottom wall. A height of the side wall exists between a top end of the at least one side wall and the bottom wall. The mark piece is disposed on the bottom wall and extends from the bottom wall in a direction away from the bottom wall.
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/ALLEN L PARKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/P.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2841