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 December 16, 2024; April 9, 2026, August 24, 2026 and September 4, 2026 have been considered by the Examiner.
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 Murowaki et al (US 6,280,205; hereinafter Murowaki).
Regarding claim 1, Murowaki discloses a wire harness (see figure 1) comprising: a connector (see figure 1) including a plurality of terminals (2) having insertion portions (3), and a terminal holding part (1) that holds the plurality of terminals (2) arranged in a plurality of rows in a state where the insertion portions (3) protrude therefrom; and a planar routing member including a flat plate-shaped flexible printed board part (7) having flexibility, with a plurality of through holes (8) formed therein to be physically and electrically connected to the terminals (2) through the through holes (8), wherein the flexible printed board part (7) is disposed to cover an end surface from which the insertion portions (3) of the plurality of terminals (2) protrude in the terminal holding part (1, see figure 1), and is physically and electrically connected to the insertion portions (3) via solders in a state where the insertion portions (3) of the terminals (11) corresponding to the plurality of through holes (8) are inserted into the plurality of through holes, respectively (see figure 1).
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.
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 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murowaki et al (US 6,280,205; hereinafter Murowaki) in view of Miura ( JP 2016-58357; cited in the IDS).
Regarding claim 3, Murowaki discloses the claimed invention except for the terminal holding part includes a plurality of flat plate parts having a flat plate shape, each holding the plurality of terminals in one of the rows, and the connector further includes a housing that holds the plurality of flat plate parts stacked in a plate thickness direction of the plurality of flat plate parts in a state where the end surface of the terminal holding part is exposed outward. Miura teaches a connector (1) comping a terminal holding part (11) includes a plurality of flat plate parts having a flat plate shape (see figure 4), each holding the plurality of terminals (12) in one of the rows, and the connector (1) further includes a housing (2) that holds the plurality of flat plate parts (11) stacked in a plate thickness direction of the plurality of flat plate parts in a state where the end surface of the terminal holding part is exposed outward (see figures 1-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide to Murowaki’s terminal holding part with plurality of flat plate parts having a flat plate shape, each holding the plurality of terminals in one of the rows, and the connector further includes a housing that holds the plurality of flat plate parts stacked in a plate thickness direction of the plurality of flat plate parts in a state where the end surface of the terminal holding part is exposed outward as taught by Miura to provide a connector that allows for easy modification of the terminal arrangement.
Regarding claim 5, the modified Murowaki discloses the wire harness (see figure 1), wherein the terminal holding part (11; as taught by Miura ) holds the plurality of terminals (12) arranged in such a manner that the plurality of terminals (12) in one of the rows adjacent to each other are shifted in a row direction of the plurality of terminals (12) with respect to the plurality of terminals in the other one of the rows adjacent to each other (as taught by Miura).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4 and 6 are 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.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: The primary reason for the indication of the allowability of claims 2, 4 and 6 is:
Regarding claims 2, 4 and 6, the prior art does not teach or fairly suggest in combination with the other claimed limitations the wire harness wherein the planar routing member further includes a flat plate-shaped rigid board part connected to one end of the flexible printed board part and having higher rigidity than the flexible printed board part, with electronic components being physically and electrically connected thereto via solders, and in a state where the flexible printed board part is bent on one end side, the flexible printed board part is positioned to face the terminal holding part in a protruding direction of the insertion portions with respect to the terminal holding part, and the rigid board part is positioned to face the terminal holding part in a direction intersecting the protruding direction.
This limitation is found in claims 2, 4 and 6, and are neither disclosed nor taught by the prior art of record, alone or in combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Murakami et al (US 7,354,318), Grek (US 6,719,574), Wu et al (US 5,605,477), Ozaki et al (US 5,295,842), Fukami et al (US 10,931,071), Ohyama et al (US 10,513,231) disclose a wire harness.
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.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) OR 571-272-1000.
September 2, 2026
/ANGEL R ESTRADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights