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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, line 31, “the housing portion” is unclear since there are housing portion of the first receiving portion and housing portion of the second receiving portion cited earlier in the claim.
Claim 5, line 10, “the receiving portion” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 12, lines 12-13, “the biasing portion of the first one” is unclear since earlier in lines 8-9 of the claim, it is cited “receiving portions…including a biasing portion”.
In claim 12, “the housing portion”, in lines 13-15 and 20-21, lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 12, lines 16-17, “a second one” is unclear to how this relates to “a second one” cited in line 14 of the claim.
Claim 12, lines 19-20, “the biasing portion of the second one” is unclear since earlier in lines 8-9 of the claim, it is cited “receiving portions…including a biasing portion”.
Claim 20, line 1, “the receiving portion” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 20, line 2, “a housing portion” is unclear to how this relates to “housing portion” cited in claim 12.
Claim 20, line 2, “end port portion” is unclear to how this relates to “end port portion” cited in claim 12.
Claims 2-4, 6-11, and 13-19 are included in this rejection because of dependency.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claims 15-18, each depends on claim 12.
Claim 15 recites “the first one…to receive a non-conductive plug…the second one…to receive a conductive pin of a hardline cable connector.”
Claim 16 recites “the second one…to receive a non-conductive plug…the first one…to receive a conductive pin of a hardline cable connector.”
Claim 17 recites “the first one…to receive a non-conductive plug…the second one…to receive a second non-conductive plug.”
Claim 18 recites “the first one…to receive a conductive pin of a hardline cable connector…the second one…to receive a conductive pin of a second hardline cable connector.”
However,
Claim 1 earlier recites that “a first one…to be engaged by a first connector…a second one…to be engaged by a second connector”.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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 12-13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lankford et al. (3675181).
Lankford et al. discloses a hardline cable splice block having a biased conductor receiving portion structurally configured to provide enhanced electrical performance, comprising: a body portion (102) structurally configured to include an end port portion (engaged by connector 154) and an additional port portion (104) that opens in a direction perpendicular to the end port portion; an electrically conductive contact portion (152) supported in and electrically isolated from the body portion; electrically conductive receiving portions configured to be disposed in the end port portion and in the additional port portion and including a biasing portion; and wherein a first one of the receiving portions is configured to be engaged by a first connector (154) via the end port portion such that the biasing portion (spring finger 158) of the first one of the receiving portions urges the housing portion (spcer 158) of the first one of the receiving portions against the housing portion (114a) of a second one of the receiving portions and urges the housing portion (114a) of the second one of the receiving portions into engagement with the electrically conductive contact portion (152), and wherein a second one of the receiving portions is configured to be engaged by a second connector via the additional port portion (104, see col. 3, lines 10-14) such that the biasing portion (122) of the second one of the receiving portions urges the housing portion (114a) of the second one of the receiving portions into contact with the housing portion (150) of the first one of the receiving portions and the electrically conductive contact portion (152) such that the first and second receiving portions provide a signal pathway from an input conductor to an output conductor with reduced electrical noise so as to provide enhanced electrical performance (re-claim 12).
Re-claim 13, the first and second receiving portions of Lankford et al. are structurally configured to provide a return loss of 20 dB out to 3 GHz since they comprise structure and material as claimed.
Re-claim 15, Lankford et al. discloses the first one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a non-conductive plug (insulating spacer 158) and the second one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a conductive pin (138, see col. 3 lines 10-13, cable 132 being inserted in bore 104) of a hardline cable connector.
Re-calaim 16, Lankford et al. discloses the second one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a non-conductive plug (124) and the first one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a conductive pin (156) of a hardline cable connector.
Re-claim 17, Lankford et al. discloses the first one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a non-conductive plug (spacer 158) and the second one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a second non-conductive plug (124).
Re-claim 18, Lankford et al. discloses the first one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a conductive pin (138, see col. 3 lines 10-13, cable 132 being inserted in bore 104) of a hardline cable connector and the second one of the receiving portions is structurally configured to receive a conductive pin (156) of a second hardline cable connector.
Re-claim 19, Lankford et al. discloses the body portion (102) being structurally configured to include a through bore portion (108) that opens to the end port portion, wherein the conductive contact (152) is configured to be supported in the bore portion.
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.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lankford et al.
Lankford et al. discloses the invention substantially as claimed except for the bias portion (spring finger 158) comprising a helical spring. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use a helical spring for the spring finger of Lankford et al. to meet the specific use of the resulting splice since helical springs are well-known in the art for being used as biasing means.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 5 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. It is noted that claim 1 and claim 5 are allowed ONLY, if claim 1 is amended to change “the housing portion”, in line 31, to --each housing portion--; and if claim 5 is amended to change “the receiving portion”, in line 10, to --each receiving portion--.
Claims 2-4, 6-11, and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAU N NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1980. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 7am to 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N Hayman can be reached at 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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/CHAU N NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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