Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/926,417

Information Handling System Connector Adapter System

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 25, 2024
Examiner
SASSERATH, ELISA MARIE
Art Unit
2841
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Dell Products L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
35 granted / 39 resolved
+21.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
50
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
66.0%
+26.0% vs TC avg
§102
25.5%
-14.5% vs TC avg
§112
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 39 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Election/Restrictions Claims 1-6 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/13/2026. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. Claims 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Wong et. al (US 20220252797 A1) hereafter referred to as Wong Regarding claim 7, Wong teaches a connector adapter system of an information handling system, comprising: a connector adapter (500 fiber optic connector), the connector adapter comprising an adapter chassis (combination of 530 latch and 520 connector housing), the adapter chassis being configured to slidably mount a cable connector (see annotated Fig 5B below) within the adapter chassis (Fig 6 shows the assembly where the cable couples with the 500 fiber optic connector), the adapter chassis facilitating connection of the cable connector with an internally mounted component (not numbered, cable ¶111) of the information handling system (Fig 6A-D shows the cable coupled to the adapter, Fig 25 shows the cable and adapter seated in an adapter to mount in an information handling system, ¶127). PNG media_image1.png 224 578 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 8, Wong teaches the connector adapter system of claim 7, wherein: the adapter chassis (520 connector housing and 530 latch) includes a top cover (530 latch) and a bottom cover (520 housing), the top cover and the bottom cover being removable attached to allow mounting of the cable connection within the adapter chassis (process shown in Fig 6A-6D). Regarding claim 9, Wong teaches the connector adapter system of claim 8, wherein: the adapter chassis (combination of 530 latch and 520 connector housing) includes a spring component (532 projection and 531 protrusion), the spring component providing a constraint to allow a plurality of cable connector shapes to be mounted within the adapter chassis (¶87, 531 protrusion engages with 521 recess of the 520 housing to couple the housings together). Regarding claim 10, Wong teaches the connector adapter system of claim 7, further comprising: a strap portion (540 pull tab) mounted within the adapter chassis (Fig 5A), the strap portion being configured to be attached to the cable connection to provide an extended release function when disconnection the cable connector from the internally mounted component (¶86-87, 540 pull tab releases 530 latch and disengages the cable from 520 and 530). Regarding claim 11, Wong teaches the connector adapter system of claim 10, wherein: the strap portion (540 pull tab) is attached to a release handle of the cable connector (portion of 540 which extends past 520 housing). Regarding claim 12, Wong teaches the connector adapter system of claim 7, further comprising: a guiding structure (see annotated Fig 5B below), the guiding structure interacting with the cable connector when the cable connector is attached to the internally mounted component (see annotated Fig 5B below). PNG media_image2.png 224 578 media_image2.png Greyscale Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 13-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong in view of Qi (WO 2024041077 A1) Regarding claim 13, Wong teaches a server type information handling system comprising: an internally mounted component (not numbered, cable ¶111) and, a connector adapter (500 fiber optic connector), the connector adapter comprising an adapter chassis (combination of 530 latch and 520 connector housing), the adapter chassis being configured to slidably mount a cable connector within the adapter chassis (Fig 6 shows the assembly where the cable slides into the 500 fiber optic connector), the adapter chassis being configured to slidably mount a cable connector (see annotated Fig 5B below) within the adapter chassis (Fig 6 shows the assembly where the cable couples with the 500 fiber optic connector). Wong fails to teach a processor; a data bus coupled to the processor; a chassis. However, Qi teaches a processor (1212 GPU card, pg 6 ¶6); a data bus (not numbered, data bus housed in the CPU, pg 5 9th full paragraph) coupled to the processor (pg 5 10th full paragraph); a chassis (1 chassis). Wong and Qi are both in the industry of information handling systems therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Wong to include the additional components and chassis in order to create a functional server package (Qi pg 1 ¶1) Regarding claim 14, Wong in view of Qi teach the system of claim 13, wherein: the adapter chassis (520 connector housing and 530 latch) includes a top cover (530 latch) and a bottom cover (520 housing), the top cover and the bottom cover being removable attached to allow mounting of the cable connection within the adapter chassis (process shown in Fig 6A-6D). Regarding claim 15, Wong in view of Qi teach the system of claim 14, wherein: the adapter chassis (combination of 530 latch and 520 connector housing) includes a spring component (532 projection and 531 protrusion), the spring component providing a constraint to allow a plurality of cable connector shapes to be mounted within the adapter chassis (¶87, 531 protrusion engages with 521 recess of the 520 housing to couple the housings together). Regarding claim 16, Wong in view of Qi teach the system of claim 13, wherein: a strap portion (540 pull tab) mounted within the adapter chassis (Fig 5A), the strap portion being configured to be attached to the cable connection to provide an extended release function when disconnection the cable connector from the internally mounted component (¶86-87, 540 pull tab releases 530 latch and disengages the cable from 520 and 530). Regarding claim 17, Wong in view of Qi teach the system of claim 16, wherein: the strap portion (540 pull tab) is attached to a release handle of the cable connector (portion of 540 which extends past 520 housing). Regarding claim 18, Wong in view of Qi teach the system of claim 13, wherein: a guiding structure (see annotated Fig 5B below), the guiding structure interacting with the cable connector when the cable connector is attached to the internally mounted component (see annotated Fig 5B below). PNG media_image2.png 224 578 media_image2.png Greyscale Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Takano et. al (US 20230204872 A1) and Chang et. al (US 20230152535 A1) show similar adapter housings for fiber optic cables. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELISA SASSERATH whose telephone number is (703)756-5847. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm. 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, Allen Parker can be reached at (303) 297-4722. 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. /E.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /HUNG S. BUI/Acting Patent Examiner, 2841/2800
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 25, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+11.8%)
2y 6m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 39 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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