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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on November 20, 2024 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohori et al (US 10,102,944; hereinafter Kohori)
Regarding claim 1, Kohori discloses a multi-core cable (1) comprising: a core (see figure 1) including a plurality of sheathed electrical wires twisted together (see figure 1); a tape member (51) disposed outside the core and wound spirally around the core along a longitudinal direction of the core (see figure 1); and an outer sheath (40) disposed outside the tape member (51, see figure 1); wherein: the tape member (51) has a water absorption amount (column 7 lines 33-44; polyester, which has a very low water absorption; based on the specification “The smaller the water absorption amount of the tape, the more preferable”; paragraph 0049); but Kohori lacks the tape member having a water absorption amount of 4 mm/10 minutes or less, and the water absorption amount is a length of a region in which absorbed water is distributed in a state where one end of the multi-core cable along a longitudinal direction of the tape member is immersed in water. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was make the tape member having a water absorption amount of 4 mm/10 minutes or less to provide a means from preventing water from entering and damaging the cable. Furthermore, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Regarding claim 2, Kohori discloses the multi-core cable (1), wherein: the core (see figure 1) includes two first electrical wires (10), and a twisted pair wire (30 or 20) that are twisted together, the twisted pair wire (30 or 20) includes two second electrical wires (31 or 21) that are twisted together (see figure 1), and an outer diameter of each of the two second electrical wires (31 or 21), is smaller than an outer diameter of the each of the two first electrical wires (10).
Regarding claim 3, Kohori discloses the multi-core cable (1), wherein: each of the two first electrical wires (10) includes a first conductor (12) and a first insulator (13) covering an outer surface of the first conductor (see figure 1), and each of the two second electrical wires (30 or 20) includes a second conductor (22, 32) and a second insulator (see figure 1) covering an outer surface of the second conductor (see figure 1).
Regarding claim 4, Kohori discloses the multi-core cable (1), wherein an outer diameter of the twisted pair wire (30 or 20) approximately coincides with the outer diameter of each of the two first electrical wires (10, see figure 3).
Regarding claim 5, Kohori discloses the multi-core cable (1), wherein a winding direction of the tape member (51) coincides with a twisting direction of the plurality of sheathed electrical wires included in the core (column 7 lines 33-55) .
Regarding claim 6, Kohori discloses the multi-core cable (1), wherein a winding direction of the tape member (51) is opposite to a twisting direction of the plurality of sheathed electrical wires included in the core (column 7 lines 33-55).
Conclusion
4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hashimoto et al (US 9,905,338), Medling (US 7,411,132), Ooshima et al (US 11,410,792), Kobayashi et al (US 11,133,121 and US 11, 338,746) disclose a shield cable.
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Angel R. Estrada at telephone number (571) 272-1973. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:30am -5:00pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N. Hayman can be reached on (571) 270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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July 23, 2026
/ANGEL R ESTRADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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