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 (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.
Claim(s) 1, 4-10, 12-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Huang et al. (CN 112924726 hereinafter Huang).
As to claim 1, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, A testing apparatus, comprising:
a circuit board (400 as shown in Fig. 5) comprising a board body (bottom portion of the 400), at least one via portion penetrated through the board body (Fig. 5), and at least one electrical contact located on one surface of the board body and electrically connected to the at least one via portion (Fig. 5);
at least one base located on the circuit board and formed with at least one limiting groove (310 as shown in Fig. 5); and
at least one conductive terminal comprising:
a main body (portion 400) held within the at least one limiting groove (310 as shown in Fig. 5);
an abutment portion (230 as shown in Fig. 1) extended outwardly from one side of the main body for contacting with a contact pin of a device under test (DUT);
a conductive portion (220 as shown in Fig. 1) extended outwardly from the side of the main body, and removably contacting with the at least one electrical contact;
an elastic piece portion (210 as shown in Fig. 1) connected to the conductive portion and the abutment portion; and
at least one supporting portion extended outwardly from another side of the main body, arranged opposite to the conductive portion, and removably contacting with the circuit board (as shown in Fig. 1).
As to claim 12, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, A conductive terminal (200 as shown in fig. 1, comprising:
a main body (middle portion of 200 as shown in Fig. 1);
an abutment portion (230 as shown in Fig. 1) extended outwardly from one side of the main body for contacting with a contact pin of a device under test (Chip or PCB as shown in the background);
a conductive portion (220 as shown in Fig. 1) extended outwardly from the side of the main body for contacting an electrical contact of a circuit board (Figs. 1-4);
an elastic piece portion (210 as shown in Fig. 1) connected to the abutment portion and the conductive portion (as shown in Fig. 1); and
at least one supporting portion (300 as shown in Fig. 1) extended outwardly from another side of the main body, arranged opposite to the conductive portion, and removably contacting with the circuit board (as shown in Fig. 1).
As to claims 4, 13, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the main body (210) is recessed with a recess connected to the elastic piece portion, and the elastic piece portion protrudes toward the recess (Fig. 1).
As to claims 5, 14, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the elastic piece portion (210) is C-shaped or V-shaped (as shown in Fig. 1).
As to claims 6, 15, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the abutment portion (230 as shown in Fig. 1) is provided with an arc-shaped outer edge (Fig. 1), and the arc-shaped outer edge is used to be in contact with the contact pin (Fig.1).
As to claims 7, 16, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the main body (middle portion of 200 as shown in Fig. 1) is further provided with an elastic ring, the elastic ring is formed with a through hole, located between the conductive portion and the at least one supporting portion, and collectively supported by the conductive portion and the at least one supporting portion in a suspended manner (Fig. 1).
As to claims 8, 17, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the main body (middle portion of 200 as shown in Fig. 1) is further provided with a pre-press portion that is located between the abutment portion and the at least one supporting portion (Fig. 1).
As to claims 9, 18, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the abutment portion 230 as shown in Fig. 1), the conductive portion (220), the elastic piece portion (210) and the at least one supporting portion are integrally connected to the main body (as shown in Fig. 1).
AS to claims 10, 19, Huang discloses in Figs. 1-8, wherein the at least one supporting portion (300 as shown in Fig. 1) comprises two supporting portions (the left and the right of 300 as shown in Fig. 1), and the supporting portions and the conductive portion are arranged in a triangle together (Fig.1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 11 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.
As to claims 2-3, the prior art does not disclose at least one dummy contact located on the surface of the board body, electrically insulated from the at least one via portion and the at least one
electrical contact, and one surface of the at least one dummy contact and one surface of the at least one electrical contact are at the same height, wherein the conductive portion is in contact with the surface of the at least one electrical contact, and the at least one supporting portion is in contact with the surface of the at least one dummy contact.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUNG X NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1967. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30am-6:30pm M-F.
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, Judy Nguyen can be reached at 571-272-2258. 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.
/TUNG X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 8/8/2026